The Auswine Forum

Serge, you presume to know me very well. As I said in an earlier post, I am an enthusiastic Australian and contrary to what you believe you can deduce from an anonymous post on a forum, I have the utmost respect for my fellow countrymen and women. By suggesting some of the posters on here are "learning impaired", I was merely indicating (tongue in cheek as Ratcatcher smartly realised) that some of them were completely missing the point of what I was saying in clear English. Please do not arrogantly claim you know the Australian people better than I do, by your own admission, you have never been here.

With the extra days, I would recommend as Ratcatcher suggested, spending more time in a regional (and by regional, I don't mean middle of nowhere) area of one of the states you are already visiting...area of NSW coast, Victoria's Wilsons Promontory? You decide, Serge.

If any of you want to debate my patriotism or lack thereof any further, feel free, I have all day to do so. Otherwise, I am taking my bat and ball and going home now. This topic is becoming the proverbial dead horse.

Ratcatcher...NO.

Here is how it shapes at the moment:
http://www.affordabletours.com/search/it/?t=IPEB


9 nights


and

http://www.affordabletours.com/search/it/?t=PTASA

Day 1 - Arrive Hobart (2 nights)
On arrival at Hobart Airport you will be transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 2 - Port Arthur - Richmond.
This morning travel to Port Arthur. Enjoy a cruise around the Isle of the Dead and a guided tour of the historic Port Arthur site. Later, stop at the Tasman Arch, Blowhole and visit the quaint town of Richmond, before returning to Hobart. (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 3 - Hobart - Launceston (2 nights).
Today enjoy a guided tour of Hobart including the Salamanca Markets, Battery Point and Mount Nelson. Depart for Launceston. On arrival, tour the sights of this lovely riverside city. (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 4 - Cradle Mountain
This morning after breakfast, you'll travel to Cradle Mountain. Stroll through Pencil Forest and enjoy the breathtaking views at Dove Lake. Then you'll visit the nearby Information Center, before returning to Launceston. (Buffet Breakfast)

Day 5 - Depart Launceston
You will be transferred to Launceston Airport for your return flight home.

after a week in Brisbane and vicinties.

No Adelaide, and 11 days in NZ prior to Brisbane, of course.

Dear God,
please have us see laundromat along the hotels, as bringing fresh underwear for 2 for 30 days is very tough

WG, you right, we do start to sound like a married couple

you'll love Tassie. my mother in law lives on the NW coast. I love going to visit, we've taken in most of it except Cradle Mountain

roo, when I book organised trip, I am at the mercy of Trafalgar, they do it all. There are certain losses of "free will", but there are benefits as well - lack of worries of any sorts. For the first time visit I'll go with them,
my second time in Australia we'll be on our own and hopefully by that time my wedding witness will be free (pun intended) to show it ALL.

Well done, Serge, you made an itinerary. Hope you have a great trip with plenty of laundromats and be sure to call me when you are in Melbourne so we can catch up for a glass of the local wine!

Wine Girl wrote:Well done, Serge, you made an itinerary. Hope you have a great trip with plenty of laundromats and be sure to call me when you are in Melbourne so we can catch up for a glass of the local wine!

you bet!
You were the one who convinced me to go to the Reef.
(along with Globus description of it as one of 7 natural wonders of the world. I've seen 5 so far, that would be 6th)


(Ratcatcher, I need your help, she is friendly now and invites us over, does it mean she hates my guts? )


WG, I only call COLLECT, to make sure of your honorable intentions
Please FedEX me your number.

STOP!!!

That Tassie itinerary is absolute crap.

Skip Port Arthur and Richmond - BORING AS HELL AND SOOOOOO COMMERCIALISED.

Launceston is pleasant but I wouldn't spend any time there at all and miss out on Freycinet and the chance to spend more time at Cradle Mountain. 2 nights in Launceston - even people from Hobart try and avoid spending 2 nights in Launceston.

If that's your Tassie leg I would leave it out completely and come back and do it on your next trip to AUS on your own. Personally I would think that tour was a waste of time.

Based on what you've said so far and your reaction to other suggestions the big 3 for you in Tas are Cradle Mountain, Freycinet and Hobart.

And, you defineitely don't need to be on an organised tour in Tassie. You will be stuck on a bus with a load of 80 year olds who will be wanting to eat cheap and play the poker machines.

Avoid this part of the tour like the plague. I am sure it will be a disappointment. Try as hard as you can to get out of that part of the tour and come to Tassie under your own steam. Either join up with the tour back in melbourne or finish the tour and then come to Tasmania at the end.

If you book and drive yourself you could stay somewhere like this:

http://www.stayz.com.au/16484

Ratcatcher,
thanks for the idea. Nothing is cast in stone and I'll check with my hosts in Brissie if they can book something better.

WG, wanna drive?

Serge, you couldn't afford me!

Wine Girl wrote:Serge, you couldn't afford me!

really?

I'll tell you the true story and you may scratch your head wondering....

Barnard Shaw, the famous Brittish writer wrote the story which portrayed women less than flattering and quinessentially proclaimed that every woman has her price. On one of the routs he ran into the Queen of England who asked him:
"Barnard Shaw, do you really believe that every woman has her price"?
-Yes, answered Barnard Shaw.
"And how much would you pay for...me"?
-3000 pounds.
"For me??? The ruer of Great Britain and all the colonies"?
-Yes, 3000 pounds. You see, your Majesty, you are the ruler of the Great Britain and all the colonies, but you already bargaining!

Now.....how much?

Hang on, what are we negotiating here for exactly? Tell me the terms and conditions, and then we can discuss price.

Gosh, all this talk will get me a reputation!

Wine Girl wrote:Hang on, what are we negotiating here for exactly? Tell me the terms and conditions, and then we can discuss price.

Gosh, all this talk will get me a reputation!

Sorry, but my better half is a lawyer in the family,
you'll have to contact her for the details. I only get myself involved in global things like:
UN Elections,
Femine in Somalia,
North Korea.

EVERYTHING else is her department.


We just got back from a kick butt dinner at Commander Palace, Aladdin Hotel, Las Vegas,
1998 Dujac was singing songs, clove, Indian spice on the nose,
45 seconds finish, great 'til the last drop, and I just can't conduct any negotiations in my condition.

Wine Girl wrote:Hang on, what are we negotiating here for exactly? Tell me the terms and conditions, and then we can discuss price.

Gosh, all this talk will get me a reputation!

Your reputation is probably hanging in the balance.

I cannot express just how strongly I recommend that you do the Tasmania leg on your own not in a tour and do it as recommended below.

Finish your organised tour in Melbourne then fly to Launceston. Do not stay there, drive straight to Cradle Mountain.

Then either, 2 nights at Cradle Mountain and 1 night at Freycinet or 1 night at Cradle Mountain and 2 nights at Freycinet. At Freycinet walk to Wineglass Bay and go to Freycinet Vineyard then drive to Hobart. Then 1 night in Hobart then fly back to Melbourne to catch your flight home. Personally I'd do the 2 nights at Cradle Mountain, 1 at Freycinet.

If you can't get a flight to Launceston, then if you arrive in Hobart remember it's about 4.5 hours to Cradle Mountain and 1.5 hours to Freycinet so your first destination will probably depend on the time you arrive in Hobart.

People rave about Salamanca Market in Hobart on Saturday mornings but I don't see all that much difference between the Market and any other market around the world. You'll see most of the items available at the market in other places in your travels.

In Hobart do a river cruise or drive to the top of the mountain for the best overviews of the city. Or have lunch somewhere down near the waterfront.

There are several nice day trips from Hobart but you might be a bit pushed for time. If you were going to take one go South to the Huon Valley.

Richmond and Port Arthur are really "touristy". It doesn't sound like the sort of thing that would grab you.

I'm probably getting a bit too detailed so I'll leave it there.

You could probably even organise this from Brisbane when you get there.

Aussie is a great country. The thing with NZ is things are so much closer together. You are unlikely to see a sign that says Perth 4100km away or Waiwaggafoggadogga 1200km

NZ has changing landscapes which you can see driving in a very short distance. No sand and gum trees for 1000km You can see thermal, mountain and volcanic, rivers, deserts and beaches all in a days drive.

Id screw the organised tours, prebook accomodation in busy centres and get a rental car.

North Island highlights include bay of islands, auckland (we do ya an offline), coromandel, rotorua, taupo, napier, wellington

South Island id look at marlborough and the sounds, nelson, west coast, fiordland, kaikora, hanmer springs. Max can help further south aint seen much there!

Wine regions. I like Hawkes Bay. I havent dont Otago though heard its very pretty.

Need any detailed help drop me a line!

Day 1 - 2
Board your transpacific flight and cross the International Date Line.

Day 3 Arrive Auckland, New Zealand. ***good**
Use your free time to explore the “City of Sails.”

Day 4 Auckland-Waitomo-Rotorua. ***spare me waitomo is so over rated***
Travel to the Waitomo Caves for a guided tour of the GLOWWORM GROTTO by underground boat ride. Continue to Rotorua.

Day 5 Rotorua. ***yes but not all this touristy crap. farm show spare me yawn. rotorua has some amazing stuff outside the tourist money grabs. i will give u a list***
Today visit TE PUIA to view Maori weaving and geysers, RAINBOW SPRINGS, and the NEW ZEALAND FARM SHOW. Afternoon at leisure. Enjoy a MAORI HANGI (feast) and CONCERT.

Day 6 Rotorua-Queenstown.
Fly to Queenstown. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Day 7 Queenstown. ****dont miss fiordland****
Travel by coach to FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK and your Milford Sound CRUISE. (L)

Day 8 Queenstown.
A free day to enjoy the many leisure pursuits offered here.

Day 9 Queenstown-Mt. Cook Region.
Leave Queenstown for Mt. Cook National Park.

Day 10 Mt. Cook Region-Christchurch.
Travel via stunning Lake Tekapo where the Southern Alps make a great photo stop. Arrive in Christchurch, the “Garden City.”

Day 11
Your vacation arrangements conclude today.

Serge
It looks as though you've just about got your trip sorted out. As an Adelaidian I would have to recommend Adelaide as it is surrounded by some of the world's great wine growing regions and our fresh local produce is amazing. With regards to 'not saying you are American' I couldn't disagree more. We love people from all over the world and Americans are no exception. It is not where you are from but rather how you act that may turn some Aussies off. We are a rather laid back lot who dislike loud, aggressive self opinionated people regardless of where they are from. Most of us don't care much for authority figures, religion or guns so these are some topics to avoid expressing in an over expressive manner.
Anyway we hope you have a great time and if you get to Adelaide send me an email and I may be able to steer you towards a good winery(or two).

Ratcatcher,
only an idiot would ask for advice and not use it. I'll talk to my friends and check with local travel agent if she can book us Tasmania along your suggested pass. I don't see much sense either going there if we can't see anything worth while seeing. I hate touristy traps, they ARE the same all over the world.

Craig,
I'll hit you for more infor after we book it all and I have exact dates. You are the only "kiwi" I know who still lives there and will rely on your advice. Thank you for your side notes, we usualy skip touristy shows in favor of other things we find interesting, "organized tour" is not exactly "prison on wheels"

Utah & Nevada

Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon

Dixie National Forest

Kodachrome State Park

From Bryce to Las Vegas

Eating & Drinking in Utah and Las Vegas

I still work on OZ trip and this is one of the opinions I received:

Cairns will be unbearably hot and humid being very tropical at that time of year. It will be the wet season in the north.

Have anybody actualy been there in March? What's your impression of the weather?

Serge wrote:I still work on OZ trip and this is one of the opinions I received:

Cairns will be unbearably hot and humid being very tropical at that time of year. It will be the wet season in the north.

Have anybody actualy been there in March? What's your impression of the weather?

March is usually still hot and often still humid with temps up to 90F+ and humidity up to 80%+. It all depends on the meteorological conditions at the time. I live in Townsville, about 220 kms south of Cairns and both places have experienced cyclones (southern hemisphere typhoons) as late as April. I lived in Cairns for about a year in 1978/9. It mostly rains more at Cairns than here and may be marginally cooler but the humidity is made higher by the moisture from the rain/clouds.

Cairns' hinterland, the Atherton Tableland (plateau) is the place to go at that time of year. The southern part of the Tableland is more elevated, cooler and greener than the northern part. I started to mention some of the highlights of the Tablelands but you can Google (try Skyrail) heaps more information than I could give here. If you intend to visit the Reef, that's a day trip. The Tablelands would easily fill a day, or two.

Hope you enjoy your visit.

Bon Voyage

daz

Australia = big country

=> can't do it all

take a few highlights
go bush as well as city & city as well as bush
recognise that you can't see everything
enjoy what you do see

There's no perfect plan, but there is some good contrast in the current plan

- Sydney vs. Melbourne (make your own call on the rivalry - I did a three week holiday split evenly between the two cities a while back - interesting to compare and contrast)

- Tassie vs. Mainland. Another good compare and contrast

- Guided tour vs free time. Personally I hate guided coach tours as they can be dull as dishwater, calling in at tourist trap after tourist trap - but that's my preference. For others holidays are for other people to do the driving and organising! As an alternative, some of the 1 day / 2 day trips are excellent and offer a chance to do a lot of things in a short space of time.

- As an alternative to Cairns/Brisvegas the great ocean road trip from Melbourne to Adelaide would be an alternative. If the Barrier reef is a must, then focus on that instead though.

As I said though, too much to do to do more than scratch the surface, so make your choice and enjoy what you do, without worrying about what you didn't.

and above all else, have fun and prop up the local economy!

regards

Ian

I have little to add Serge other than one cautionary tale..

The Dog on the Tuckerbox near Gundagai is not the life altering experience the unassuming tourist might expect it to be.

And I don't want to sound unoztralian but that probably rings true for most of the 'big' attractions as well...whether it be the big banana, pineapple, merino, potato, strawberry et al, there really more a testament to the wonders of fibreglass than a genuine tourist attraction in their own right.

Have fun,

LL

Serge,

I notice on your NZ trip you have free time in Queenstown. I would strongly recommend the restaurant Saffron. It is in Arrowtown which is about ten kms or so away. Ten minute drive - you could get a cab, I would think.

http://www.saffronrestaurant.co.nz/index.htm#

Their website has more info but we went here a couple of years ago whilst skiing in the area and it is a quite decent restaurant. Very good food, excellent local wine list and for the quality, very well priced. Probably expensive by NZ standards but a bargain by Sydney standards.

Across the laneway is a little bar called the blue door. You'll find it by the blue door, unsurprisingly. It is also owned by the same people so you can continue to run your bill over there and finish with a port or something in front of a roaring fire in a sort of little underground club. Great furnishings, great atmosphere and more great drinks.

Also in Arrowtown is a pretty groovy cinema. Unfortunately we didn't time it right to catch a flick but it is supposed to be fun in an old skool way.

If you have a free day, it might be worth hiring a car for the day. The central Otago wineries are very close by to Queenstown and I would definitely recommend Chard Farm for the drive in alone. I found the wines nothing special though. Peregrine is also there as is Mount Difficulty and Gibbston Valley all of which we visited and enjoyed. There are a heap of others there and it's a lovely area to visit and would be nice to go solo for a day and get off the tour. The very first bungy jumping site is right by the entrance to Chard Farm too, if you're feeling lucky. I'd also recommend a jet boat ride while in Queenstown. It's a bit touristy but fun. And of course there are a million Lord of the Rings tours as it was all filmed around this area. You'd have to be a fan though.

I'd recommend booking at Saffron if you're interested.

Guys, thank you very much for all your suggestions. After giving it a deep thought, we have decided to make 2 trips down under:
in March of 07 to New Zealand and Australia in 2008

I am in process of booking as I post, NOT the same trip I posted earlier,
much more interesting one which includes lots of activities, which is good for the hermit like me.

Kayking in the ocean, kayaking in the rivers, climbing to the top of active volcanoes, glacier climbing, just to give you some idea.

When I know the dates better, I'll post and hopefully meet with some of you if you so desire.

serge you can spot the used car salesmen a mile away. I agree - that oversized sandpit can wait till 2008

us kiwis are way more friendly, we need to be we dont have our own airforce or navy or ......

Serge, I thought the whole reason for the trip was to attend a 30th birthday party in Brisbane?????

Craig, you don't need a navy or an air force - won't God Defend New Zealand?

Wine Girl wrote:Craig, you don't need a navy or an air force - won't God Defend New Zealand?

Defend them from what - who want's to invade New Zealand when the only thing of value is the sheep!

Craig(NZ) wrote:serge you can spot the used car salesmen a mile away. I agree - that oversized sandpit can wait till 2008

us kiwis are way more friendly, we need to be we dont have our own airforce or navy or ......

The news that we won't be coming to OZ in '07 sent Qantas shares up 15% today!
Thank you, Craig, I hope you made some dough for "spreading the news"!

... and the most important reason:
I never got myself into any troubles on ALL NZ wine boards!

Wine Girl wrote:Serge, I thought the whole reason for the trip was to attend a 30th birthday party in Brisbane?????

Yeap, but...we haven't heard from the gal in a month, the last communique was:
"I still hasn't decided on the exact date." I can't plan my life taking women's whims into a consideration.