Australia

[empire]

my brother livs in melbourne,grange boulevard,he has married a lovely aussi bird,lovely baby boy and a great house built to his specs.He came over last month for 4 weeks and he cant beleive how its changed,couldnt wait to get back.The lifestyl he has makes me very jealous.Athough he emigrated through the navy to darwin,he is now out of that and self employed perhaps made it easier by the navy route,In a word go to oz,and you will no doubt have a ball

 

[Icy Gull]

I'm gonna have to make this question fixtures

Long story short.

One of my first games of football i ever watched over here was the Albion on some now long defunct Aussie soccer program in the early 80's.

Also i live in a city by the sea and who has more than enough of it's own seagulls hanging around for a free chip in the local KFC carpark.

Also my Australin rules football team wears blue and white as well.

So all those things combined to make the Albion the logical choice.

Also back then soccer was only for the "ethnic" kids, so the fact i followed it at all back then made me a bit different from the other aussie kids who thought it was a soft poofs game.

So you support a team that you have never actually seen play? I'm impressed that you picked the mighty Albion

 

[Lankyseagull]

Agree with Badger about Fraser Island.

If you're down Melbourne way it's worth seeking out the William Rickett's Sanctuary in the Dandenongs - probably the most spiritual place I've been to.

A visit to the Blue Mountains out of Sydney is worthwhile too.

 

[nobody's dupe]

Go to New Zealand instead.

Is the correct answer.

Spent a month in Oz including Perth, Alice Springs, The Rock, Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns. Holidayed in NZ for three weeks. It wasn't enough time, and I just had to go back to do it properly.

Oz just pales in to insignificance compared to New Zealand.

 

[tedebear]

This thread makes me laugh!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Byron Bay - second best place in the world after Brighton. And sort of the Oz equivalent of Brighton in many ways.

Seven surfing beaches, whales (March & September) and dolphins (all year round) abound and it's got all all the action adventure type stuff you could ever want. And about 80% of the adult population are blissed out hippies. I tell's thee it's BRILLIANT - and handy for Brisbane and Surfers Paradise and only an hour's flight out of Sydney.

I'm going in January. It'll be my third time. Wish I'd discovered it twenty years ago.

 

[John Dorian]

Well, thanks guys. Alot of useful stuff to consider, and special thanks go to Tyrone Biggums and Stumpy Tim, I shall no doubt have to ask you a bit more later on as we start to plan our trip to the south of OZ !! Currently trying to persuade my mate into takin a week or two to go to NZ but who knows as we are also going on the INCA TRAIL a few months before.

Thanks alot for the great information and I would be grateful for any more titbits.

 

[empire]

phillip island

 

[withdeanwombat]

Don't forget Alice and Darwin.

Sydney is excellent,Perth a little ..err...quiet,though it has the WACA and nearby Rottnest Island.

New Zealand is mostly all good news.

 

[empire]

boxing day at the MCG

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Fraser Island was wicked. I went on a three day/two night venture with the friend I was travelling with and six randoms.

You can do a camping/4x4 trip. You get a budget to spend on booze/food and then you are let loose on the island. Magnificent place - biggest sand island in the world. Watch out for those dingoes, you drongo.

Nimbin is a bit of fun and you can do some cheap stuff in Byron Bay. I went on a mountain biking trip which lasted all day and ended up with a barbie. Very cheap. Also, did 4 hours of surf school there.

Coogie is fun and maybe worth visiting 'Summer Bay' - can't remember the real name of it. Bumped into Alf 'Flamin Galaa' Stewart out there!

I liked Cairns, but wish I had gone down to Melbourne. Ran out of time and money. Each cheaply!

Magnetic Island was great (near Townsville). You can rent some mopeds and head out to some deserted beaches.

 

[Djmiles]

Only went to NZ for a couple of weeks, but some of the places you should visit...

Mount Cook - Highest mountain in NZ, stunning views from the village nearby.

Franz Josef - One of the few glaciers in the WORLD to be advancing (even with all this global warming), and you're able to climb it. Very tough, but worth it!

Christchurch - Google it for yourself, the most beautiful city I've visitied. Plenty of watering holes, and pints are cheaper than over here. Frequent flights to the North Island.

Whakapapa (sp?) - A small village situated next to 2 volcanoes, with the famous Tongariro crossing (Only for the very very very fit) a mile or two away. New Zealand's highest hotel (for backpackers) is here.

Lake Taupo - A 50km lake which is a crater for one of the worlds largest supervolcanoes. Not much to do here, but certaintly worth seeing if you're nearby. Stunning.

Auckland - The biggest city in New Zealand, didn't see much of it when I went but plenty of bars/ pubs in the city.

I flew with Air New Zealand, and got a flight via Hong Kong to Auckland with 2 internal flights, cost about £900 for the lot I think. (Flight to NZ - Your own TV with hundreds of the latest films, and an open bar (drink as much as you want, they didnt seem to care).

You'd be stupid not to! Have a good time whatever you choose to do!

 

[John Dorian]

Thanks DjMiles....that is fantastic !!! I'm gonna print this thread off tomorrow at work, and show my mate some of the suggestions. I wanna go to Summer Bay as I wanna bump into cassie and maybe that rotter Martha Stuart and give her a good seeing too

 

[Booley]

I'm going out to Rodders to see my bro in the blue mountains!
I thought everyone knew Fosters is not drunk in oz VB, MB and Tooheys.

 

[The Maharajah of Sydney]

boxing day at the MCG

That tradition is currently under threat .
The Indians who are 1 of the teams touring here in the summer
say it doesn't fit their schedule for Indian TV .
As they have the weight of numbers , the ICC might well support their request .
The Sydney New Years' Test isn't safe either .


Back on the original subject , I'd add , "The Great Ocean Road" to the list .


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Ocean_Road

 

[John Dorian]

I'm going out to Rodders to see my bro in the blue mountains!
I thought everyone knew Fosters is not drunk in oz VB, MB and Tooheys.

Well it's me and Jordan. We should make a big gay date out there !!!