Sorry I haven't have a chance to reply sooner. Thanks to everyone who has commented so far. Lots of good info; I'm making a list of everything I might be able to use for preparing and while I'm there.
Brian Walters wrote: > May is a good time to visit Victoria and New South Wales. The weather > is generally excellent for travelling. Temperatures would be in the > high teens- low 20s (Celsius) in lowland/coastal areas - a bit cooler > if you get into the alpine areas but it wont be freezing. May is also > good because I'm fairly sure it's within the school term period for > both Vic and NSW, so accommodation shouldn't be a problem. Very glad to hear this. I was worried it'd be rainy or cold since it's so far south, but it sounds like I could get by with a sweatshirt and a light jacket > Melbourne to Sydney is about 880 km by the shortest route and about > 1100 by the coast. I'm not sure I'd want to tackle that in two weeks > by bicycle but that's me... Well, it'd be bicycle + bus/train for longer stretches. I bike everywhere these days, so the idea of long distances isn't too daunting. > Anyway I've done quite a bit of touring in Vic and NSW (and I'm sure > others have too) so I can probably suggest places to visit but first I > think you should decide how you want to get around because that will > pretty much determine what places are practical - you might be > restricted to defined coach/train routes. That's the tough part. I have no idea what's around. I figure I'll spend a few days in Melbourne exploring after my work obligations are done, and I'll spend a few days (or more) in Sydney at the end, but it's the in-between space that I have no clue about. I know there are easy ways to go straight from one city to the other, but I'd like to see the Australian countryside and smaller towns. A friend of mine keeps pushing me to go to Tasmania for a couple days, but I don't do well on choppy seas (I get seasick super easily). Say, is it worth swinging through Canberra at all? I know it's the capital, but the few people I've asked say it's extremely boring. > As far as accommodation goes, there are backpackers hostels in most > major towns. So far I've found a lot of good hostel options for the cities. I haven't looked for places in between because I don't know my route yet, but I figure it shouldn't be too hard to find something. I'm also considering signing up with couchsurfing.org and seeing if I can find places to stay for a night along the way. David Mann wrote: > but I don't think they ever allowed you to take a holiday after the work was > done because of the travel insurance arrangements. So make sure you're > covered. I made sure and double sure this was okay. Apparently my organization lets people do this pretty frequently, which means I'll get to take a neat vacation like this almost every year (though not two weeks every time) when we have our big international event. Bob W wrote: > [a lot of really good advice] Thanks Bob, that's a lot of stuff I never would have thought of (especially the "rule of 3"). Regarding clothes, do you just have to keep an eye out for a laundromat every few days, or are there some tricks to cleaning things along the way that might be helpful? Also, since you've been around the world, are there any immunization shots I should think about getting before this trip? Knarf wrote: > Watch out for those dingos. It's alright, I'm not bringing any babies along. Darren Addy wrote: > Great Ocean Road I've heard of this and seen photos, and I definitely want to try to get down there. > Melbourne Opera House Now that sounds like something I'll have to see (and hear). > a visit to the historic Sydney Observatory I LOVE astronomy, so I am DEFINITELY going to have to see this. Thanks for the tips!! Tim Bray wrote: > [some really great points on places to go in Melbourne] Oh man, those all sound awesome. You and Darren both mentioned architecture, which is an interest of mine, so I'm glad to know a few places to check out. Thanks everyone! This is some great stuff for me to start with. I can hardly wait to be there! John P.S.: I hear Australia is a better place for beer & wine than liquor, so I may have to pass on the gin. ;) -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
