After I lived 1 year in Australia and had several guests whom I organized a visit in Ozzy I decided to put all my tips on paper (on the web) so more people can benefit from my experience.

Australia is a big country and usually we do not have enough holidays to take to see it all - but it is minimum 3 weeks that you need to see the most beautiful parts of Australia and so that it makes sense to fly so far.

Below I described the itinerary for a month, which would be even better. If you don't have that much time at least you have few options to choose from.

To see all my photos from Australia click here

This page describes:

1 Week in SYDNEY (including restaurants, bars, walking tours..)
New South Wales ( Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains)
Great Barrier Reef /1 week/
Queensland (Whitsunday's & Fraser Island) /1 week/
Victoria (Melbourne and Great Ocean Road) / 4 days/
Tasmania /3 days/
Northern Territory (Ayers Rock & Kakadu Park)

1 week in Sydney

If you think that Sydney is just another city and its not worth staying here more than 1 or 2 days you are very wrong. The Sydney experience can be so many different things; beaches, parks, sailing in the harbor, financial city, shopping, partying, events...Sydney is one of my favorite cities and i would recommend staying for a whole week if you have time!

-----------------------------MONDAY-----------------------------

Take a trip to Hunter Valley and taste famous Australian Shiraz . (website)

Hunter Valley - The Hunter Valley is a 2 hour drive North of Sydney. There is so much to do in the Valley that it is hard to know where to start. Exciting wineries and cellar doors have been joined by a fantastic spread of shops restaurants and attractions making it the most visited wine region in Australia. The best way to explore Hunter is go there for a romantic weekend - like this you can stay over night, have great dinner, get drunk with some of delicious local wines and visit the wineries admiring beautiful views. If you don't have time to come here for the weekend - its still worth to come for at least one day. There is plenty of tours that start early in the morning in Sydney, take you to 5 wineries, cheese factory and bring you back on the evening.If you have someone to go with you I recommend renting a car. Drive there early as most of the wineries close around 4 pm. At the beggining of Hunter there is information center where you can get a map with all the wineries. Tasting is for free and in many of them you will even get cheese and crackers. Stuff is extremely friendly. You definitely should make a stop in the cheese factory. If you are here by car you can stay longer and have dinner as there is couple of excellent restaurants. Last but not least buy some wines to take to Sydney!!!

Hunter Valley

-----------------------------TUESDAY-----------------------------

Walk around Sydney Harbor, Botanic Gardens, Opera House , climb or cross Harbor Bridge.

There is probably the most famous walking tour you can do in Sydney so you will find plenty of descriptions in the guide books thus i am limiting mine to the minimum. You can start with the Sydney Harbor Bridge. You can do it in 2 ways: cheaper is to take a ferry to Milsons Point and walk through the bridge back, more expensive and more exciting is to climb the bridge. It is not cheap thus i have not done it but most of my friends who did said it was great. You need to book in advance and count about 4 hours for that! Its worth providing the weather is good! After crossing the bridge you will enter the Rocks where you can hang around for about an hour. Have nice Frutti did mare lunch in one of the restaurants facing the water and enjoying the sun (The Italian Village or one next door)! Than continue along the water, pass Circular Quay till you get to the Sydney Opera House. There are tours inside but its not worth it. Or you manage to get tickets for some performances or just take the photos from outside. After that continue along the water and relax in the Royal Botanic Gardens.Take your time, watch the sleeping bats and the kakatoos and just lay down and enjoy the sun and the view of the Harbor Pass the Domain (last part of the park) till you get to one of my favorite places Woolloomooloo.

Have dinner outside in one of the restaurants in Woolloomooloo on Finger Wharf followed by the drink in the Lounge of the W Hotel.

Finger Wharf has emerged as one of Sydney's most stellar eating, drinking and sleeping addresses. A slick five-star W Hotel has transformed this bastion of working-class into a star-spotting paparazzi haunt. At the end of the building lives Russell Crowe. What really makes the place so nice is the walk along the boardwalk, admiring the gin-palace boats and savoring salty air. All the restaurants have tables outside so you can just seat, eat, drink and enjoy! Try Otto Restaurant. Smooth service, a waterside location, indoor and outdoor seating and great Italian food makes it my favorite choice. If you did not book in advance or don't want to spend that much money try Nove Cucina next door or one of the next door spots. A must after the dinner is a cocktail in the W Hotel Lounge - Water Bar. Amazing interior decoration and great cocktails! Cheaper and less posh but also really nice is the pub across the street XXX. They have very nice back yard garden!

Climb Sydney Harbor Bridge, TICKET HOTLINE +61 2 8274 7777, website

Sydney Opera House, website

Restaurant SAILOR's THAI, 106 George Street ,The Rocks, (02) 9251-2466, website - considered to be one of the best Thai restaurants in Sydney, not cheap at all, you might run into some politicians or celebs. Food is amazing!

OTTO Restaurant, 8 Cowper Wharf Rdwy, 9368 7488, book in advance! website

WATER BAR - The Wharf at Woolloomooloo inside W Hotel, 61 2 9331 9000,website & more info

-----------------------------WEDNESDAY-----------------------------

During the day take a trip to Blue Mountains.

This is another next to Hunter popular 1 day trip from Sydney. With its spectacular scenery, waterfalls, lookouts, cliff faces, flora and fauna; numerous walking tracks its really nice place for a trip. And again - there is plenty of organized tours that you can take from Sydney. This time I recommend taking one of them as they are extremely well organized and the you will be able to see much more than just Blue Mountains in 1 day. The trip I recommend (see the ling on the right) includes: visit to Featherdale Wildlife Park (wildlife park where you can hand feed Kangaroos, pat Koalas and see over 2000 different types of Australian animals including), Sydney 2000 Olympic site (where you can take photos and see Stadium Australia, The Superdome, The Aquatic Centre, The Olympic Village), river cruise from Homebush Bay down the Parramatta River and into Sydney Harbor
Apart from that you can off course admire 3 sisters, waterfalls and more...

In the evening have a dinner in famous Cafe Sydney followed by drinks on the Harbor

(After they drop you in the Darling Harbor you can walk to Cirqular Quay). One of the most famous restaurants in Sydney is Cafe Sydney. It is usually full with tourists but lots of Australians still come here as its difficult to resist the amazing view from the terrace of that restaurant - it faces the Harbor so you can see the Harbor Bridge and the Opera. The modern australian food is very good!
After the dinner have a drink in one of the bars on the Harbor; Opera Bar (again amazing view of the Harbor) on the West side of the Circular Quay or Aqua Luna on the East side.

1 Day Trip to Blue Mountains with Activity Tours - website

CAFE SYDNEY - Fifth Floor, Customs House, 31 Alfred St
reservations@cafesydney.com
9251 8683, website

OPERA BAR - Lower Concourse Level
Sydney Opera House, 61 2 9247 1666, website

AQUA LUNA - Opera Quays
Shop 18, 7 Macquarie St
East Circular Quay, more info

-----------------------------THURSDAY-----------------------------

During the day do Manly Scenic walk starting with Kayaking in Spit Bay.

This long but supremely gorgeous walk includes panoramic views of Sydney Harbor as well as areas of pristine native bushland. Its about 10 km long and can take about 4h plus stops. Its nice to take some picnic food with you as there is not many restaurants on the way but its plenty with great places to stop for picnic. You can take the bus from Wynyard Bus Station to Spit Bridge. The bay around the bridge is one of my favorite places in Sydney. Maybe its because of the yachts that the bay if full of, maybe because of the beautiful houses facing the water or simply because of the holiday atmosphere this place has. Perfect way to spend time here is to rent a kayak for 1 or 2 hours. After that you can start the walk. The first stop would be Clontarf Beach on the other side of the bay from the Kayak rental place. This tiny and empty beach is perfect for a short nap. After that there is a bit of walking to do! Next on the way there will be lighthouse, Grotto Point. The views of the Harbor are breathtaking and it does not feel like you are in a big city at all - it feels like on holidays far away from any civilization. Going forward you will pass Sydney Harbor National Park and Reef Beach. Towards the end the walk gets less "native" but you can see how Manly people live - you can see people power walking, doing the Barbie and residential area. If you include all the stops I have recommended the walk will take you the whole day. If not you still might have time to pass by Manly beach. You will need to take a ferry back to the city.

In the evening party in the CBD and see how local financial world can party!

Thursday is a good day to go out in CBD ss on Friday lots of people go back home after work or leave for weekend and on Saturday the district is completely dead. There are few places worth checking - all full of handsome Ozzy men in suits :-) My favorite place was Establishment - where t Thursday is usually packed as there is champagne for free - perfect for meeting people and aperitivo before the dinner. Its in a very nice building which is owned by kind of young& rich "celebrity" - Justin. You might spent the whole evening there without leaving the building as there is not only Establishment on the ground floor but also one of the best sushi places in town - Sushi e - upstairs and very famous posh bar with very comfortable sofas, perfect for a drink after the dinner called Hemmesphere.

Manly to Spit Bridge Scenic walk - more info

Sydney Harbor Kayaks - kayaks rental on SPIT Bay - website

All 3 places below are located in the same building - 252 George St, and owned by the same person (website)

ESTABLISHMENT - Ground floor, 9240 3000, website

SUSHI E - Level 4, website

HEMMESPHERE - Level 4, 9240 3040, website

-----------------------------FRIDAY-----------------------------

Walk around City Center, China Town and Darling Harbor

Finish the day in the restaurants and clubs in Cockle Bay Wharf.

Cockle Bay Wharf - part of Darling Harbor - will get noticed for its architecture alone. This modern development has dozens of restaurants, bars and clubs all half open with tables outside and open balconies. Its perfect for warm Friday night!

You can start with drinks in Bungalow 8. You can eat a dinner there as well - its very crowded and more drinking rather than eating place. For dinner you can go to one of the restaurants next door like Malyaya. You will get great sea food in most of them. After dinner Loft bar is a must. It's not just the superb waterfront view from this spacious cocktail lounge that's the attraction - it's the groomed goddesses who recline on its couches and waitresses who all look like models. You have to dress smart to get in, and those doormen guarding the entrance can be brutes, but then it's worth it once you find yourself in such elegant surrounds, with awesome panoramas and the magazine-cover company. Its located over Bungalow 8. Later the music becomes lauder and the party crazier. For a change later on you should also try Cargo bar only few minutes walk along the water. There are 2 dancing floors there - less posh downstairs and more cool upstairs. Both are good fun! If you are hardcore going out person you may continue in the Sydney's biggest club - Home.

BUNGALOW 8 -3 Lime Street King Street Wharf - website

MALYA - 39 Lime Street, King Street Wharf, 9279 1170, more info

LOFT - 3 Lime Street King Street Wharf, 02 9299 4770, website

CARGO - 52-60 The Promenade, King Street Wharf, 9262-1777 - website

-----------------------------SATURDAY-----------------------------

Take Cooge to Bondi beach walk during the day.

Coogee to Bondi Walk is 6kms long and takes about 2 hours to complete.
It is mostly level, or gently sloping and combines coastal views, places to swim and places to eat. Easy to follow signs along the coast line, with numerous stops.

Start with Coogee Beach . There is a Bus from Circular Quay 373 that departs every 10 to 15 minutes. Coogee is more family beach and not my favorite one so I would not spend to much time there.
Next is Gordons bay which is great for scuba diving or snorkeling. You might not be able to do it in one day so just enjoy the view and go to next stop which is a sheltered beach Clovelly.
After that you will pass by Waverley Cemetery that has great ocean views and graves of many famous Australian's.
My favorite Bronte Beach is next. Have a swim in the surf or at the ocean pool plus a number of cafes. Its great to stop here for brunch / lunch. All of the cafes with the tables outside are really good so you cannot choose wrong.
After lunch continue to Tamarama - small beach also called "GLAMARAMA" beach, which is a lovely cove, popular with Sydney's "posh people".
At Mackenzies Point , enjoy the views north and south. There is an Aboriginal carving of a fish near the lookout.
At the south end of Bondi pass Bondi Iceberg's club, where members swim summer and winter. If you say you are a foreigner you will be able to get inside to a bar. If you are lucky you might even get a table outside on the balcony overlooking the whole Bondi beach. If so you should definitely grab a beer!

Finally enjoy Bondi beach! BONDI - sun, sand, surf & exposed skin...you will see more boobs & G strings clud bums, than you will know what to do with! All just 8 km from CBD. Have an aperivtivo at my favorite spot RAVESIS.
Ravesis Street bar has a groove all its own. The foldback glass doors invite the outside in making Ravesis the perfect place to relax with friends, enjoy your favorite cocktail and soak up the ambience. While the waves roll in just across the road you can sit and watch the world go by.

Go out and party in Kings Cross. That's not the end of Saturday though! There is still time for nightlife!

One of the best places on Saturday night is Kings Cross - its known as red light district and partially it is but at the same time its full of great restaurants, bars and clubs. My favorite restaurants I very much recommend on Saturday night is Jimmy Lik's. Great modern Thai food and cocktail list, nice decoration and very nice people! After that just 5 min walking distance there is a small street called Bayswater Rd where there are only clubs! The one i like the most is Hugo's Lounge. This small place with balcony has great house music and lots of good looking posh people. The only disadvantage is that they close at 3.30 am. You can continue across the street in one of the places opened longer: Le Panic, Sephire Lounge or places 2 blocks away like Lady Laks. If you manage to party in the morning and you are hungry don't eat the junk food on the Darlinghurst street but walk down to famous Harry's Cafe de Wheels, which is opened 24h a day and serves the best pies in Sydney. Opened in 1945, has photos of famous people who has eaten here all over (Pamela Anderson, Prince Charles ...).

BONDI ICEBERGS - Notts Ave, Bondi, 9365 9000, website

RAVESI'S- cnr pf Campbell Pde & Hall St, Bondi, 9365 4422 - website - very much the place to be, this huge bar has floor-to-seiling windows looking right onto the beach

JIMMY LIK'S - 186 Victoria St, Potts Point, 8354 1400, no reservation but bar section where you can wait with great cocktails.

HUGO'S LOUNGE -Oaks Crescent on Bayswater, Level 1, 33 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross, 9357 4411

DRAGONFLY - 1 Earl Place, Potts Point,just next to the Kings Cross subway station, 9356 2666, more info

LE PANIC

LADY LAKS

Harry's Cafe de Whills

-----------------------------SUNDAY-----------------------------

Take a ferry through the whole Harbor to Manly Beach.

Taking a ferry to Manly is one of the highlights of a visit to Sydney - it's easily the best way to experience the Harbor! It takes about 30 min. You should make it a whole day trip and you will feel like on holidays. Start the day with breakfast in one of the beach facing cafes, than enjoy the beach, take surfing class, play volleyball. Than hang around on the The Corso (Malnly's famous pedestrian mall) and finish with a beer on the terrace of the XX Pub.

Have a dinner in "young" neighborhood - Surry Hills.

From modern Australian to Modern Chinese, French or Italian. This area has been booming since the 1990's with the avid diners from out of town and arty locals. There is so many great restaurants that i cannot recommend just one. You can choose from:

Billy Kwong - modern Chinese, tiny tea-house-style setting, fresh ingredients, famous chef Kylie Kwong who also got her own cookbooks, no reservation; its the best to give them your number and go for a drink to White Horse down the road.

Il Baretto - this Italian place is usually packed as the food is great and very cheap, no reservations; its best to get your number and wait in the pub across the road.

Mohr Fish - At this likable, small and ever-popular designer fish cafe, which used to be a butchery, you can get fantastic seafood.

Manly Surf School - North Steyne Surf Lifesaving Club (In the middle of Manly Beach, opposite Pine St), website

BILLY KWONG - 3/355 Crown St, Surry Hills, 9332 3300, no reservation but you can leave your number and go to bar down the road.

IL BARETTO - 496 Bourke St, Surry Hills, 9361 6163, nor reservation but you get a number & can grab drink in the bar opposite side of the st. more info

MOHR FISH - 202 Devonshire St, Surry Hills, 9218 1326

-----------------------------Other things to do-----------------------------

Watson Bay

Watsons Bay is located on the southern head of the entrance to Sydney Harbor To the east is the Tasman Sea and to the west is the Harbor with a glorious view of the city of Sydney in the distance. If you're going by bus then catch the 324 from Circular Quay. Alternatively, you can catch a ferry from the Quay. Allow yourself a good half a day to see all that Watsons Bay has to offer. Its really nice there!
There are two walking paths from the wharf, both require around one hour for the round trip. From the wharf you can walk north past Lady Bay (see their nude beach) and on to South Head and see the Hornsby Lighthouse. Alternatively, you can walk south past The Gap and take in Signal Station and Macquarie Lighthouse. See the site of the wreck of the Dunbar.
The Bay is famous for being the home of the first Doyles Restaurant. The site on which the restaurant now stands is where Doyle originally sold his daily fish catch in 1845. It's well worth the trip to Watsons Bay to eat at the restaurant or, alternatively, for a more informal meal, buy a take-away lunch from Doyles' fish and chip outlet, located on the wharf, and eat it in the park and feed the seagulls. Its perfect place to hang around on Sunday - killing the hangover with a beer on the terrace facing the water!

Cremorne Point - Nutral Bay walk

You can take a ferry to Kurraba Point and than from Bogota Ave take a footpath that runs from Kirribilli Point through bushy gardens to the end of Cremone Point. Great view as well as some beautiful houses you can see on the way. Its very popular jogging path as well as a spot to picnic on the grass. It is especially popular on the days like Australia Day or New Year's Eve as there is a great view on the Harbor From here you can continue up to the other side to Mosman Day and Taronga Zoo.

Paddington Market - this Saturday market (from 10 am till 4 pm) is one of Sydney's most popular markets, everything from vintage clothing to jeweler, massage and food. You can combine it with shopping on Oxford street (the best shopping place in Sydney).

Bondi Sunday Market - from 9 am to 4 pm every Sunday you can not only hunt for hip clothing, swim wear, jeweler, furniture but also watch beautiful people!

View from Watson Bay

Bondi Market - Bodni Beach Public School, corner of Campbell Pde & Warners Ave, 9315 8988, you can take 380 bus

Paddington Market - St John's Church, 395 Oxford St, Paddington, 9331 2646, bus 378 and 380

Barbie in Cremorne Point

Flying: Virgin Blue (web site) has usually the best fares. If you look in advance you might be lucky to find the cheapest Green fair (otherwise take Blue one) and fly from Sydney to Cairns for little over 100 AUD (one way). That is the cheapest you can get.

Great Barrier Reef in North Australia, Queensland is one of the most famous diving spots in the world. Not without a reason. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and only living thing visible from space. It is also one of the seven wonders of the natural world.This planet's biggest reef system is 2.000 km long and 80 km width. There is much more to know about Great Barrier Reef but I will leave it to the guidebooks.

Where to stay? The is few places you can stay when visiting Great Barrier Reef:

CAIRNS (website): the commonest choice, that is where the airport is.. It is very city-like and commercial. Beach is rather small its full of shops, Backpackers Inn, bars and clubs. It is good solution if: you are single and want to have fun, are only going to stay in that area for few days, traveling on a budget.

PORT DOUGLAS (website): the most posh and expensive place. Full of expensive hotels and resorts, has quite a nice beach, one main street with more elegant boutiques and some good restaurants. If you have a lot of money and like to hang around where rich, famous and posh people do - that is the place. Otherwise you can take a bus from Cairns and go visit for one day. There is one amazing restaurant NAUTILIUS considered to be the finest one in PD.

PALM COVE (website): is an idyllic setting with beautiful long and empty beach. Its popular with Europeans and honeymooners. As I stayed there with my boyfriend that was indeed a perfect place. Smaller than other 2, much less crowded and the least city-like. I have stayed in the Outrigger Hotel / Beach Club (website) and I loved it ( beautiful SPA, fake beach inside, Jacuzzi on the balcony, nice restaurants within the hotel) but there are many other places there. Definitely worth trying is the best restaurant in Palm Cove - FAR HORIZONS.

DIVING / Snorkeling

Cairns is definitely the scuba-diving capital of the Great Barrier Reef but it does not really matter where you live as the mini buses will pick you up from each of the above mentioned places. Absolutely the best company to go diving with is PRODIVE! If you have not done yet your PADI open-water certification do it with them! They have excellent 5 days course (2 days classes+pool, 3 days/2night on the boat). It might be a bit more expensive than the other companies (about 700 AUD all included) but they are the best. Great organization, new equipment, super friendly staff, clean boat with lots of food and very professional). If you already have PADI you should take 3 days/2 nights on the boat and you will be able to do about 10 dives including night dive. If you don't dive you still can admire the reef snorkeling. The reef is so big that it actually sticks out of the water. I still think diving is much more exciting. You can see sharks, turtles, cucumbers, clown fish, huge corals and much much more (see some of my photos in the Australia photo album).

ISLANDS of CAIRNS

All the Islands around Cairns are popular day trips especially for snorkeling. You can reach them by ferries that depart from the Reef Fleet terminal. I went to GREEN ISLAND and FITZROY ISLAND. I must admit that neither of them were the highlights of my trip. Although they are surrounded by blue water and mall reef both are very very commercial. Packed with tourists - mainly older ones or families - who can not dive so they do snorkeling instead. Plenty of restaurants with really bad fast food and very crowded beach. In my opinion you might as well skip it - especially if you don't have much time. If you want to go diving only for 1 day PRO-DIVE does not offer 1 day trip. They will redirect you to other companies that can take you for example to Fitzroy Island. You will be able to do 3 dives. Once again is nothing compared to being on a boat in the middle of the sea for more than 1 day.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

It is worth staying 1 or 2 days longer after the diving course. Nice trip to do is CAPE TRIBULATION. If you are not on your own I would suggest renting a car instead of taking an organized trip. In one day you can drive up through DAINTREE VILLAGE (where you can take one of the crocodile-watching cruises) to CAPE TRIBULATION. Part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, the region between Daintree River to Cape Tribulation is extraordinary nearly beautiful and famed for its ancient rainforest, looooong sandy and completely empty beaches and rugged mountains. It is also one of the few places in the world where ethe tropical rainforest meets the sea. If you have 2 days you can drive even further to Cooktown and see Bloomfield Falls.

To sum up you need from 7 days to visit Great Barrier Reef:
1) up to 5 days for diving
2) 1 day to visit Port Douglas or/and Palm Cove
3) 1 to 2 days to go to Cape Tribulation
4) 1 day to hang around (shopping in Cairns, Zoo, pool in Cairns)

NAUTILIUS Restaurant in Port Dauglas, 17 Murphy St, 4099 5330. Not only you feel like in the middle of jungle but also the food is delicious. Bill Clinton and Seinfeld used to eat here. Expensive and book in advance though. website

PRO-DIVE Cairns - 4031-2223, 319 Draper St, website Book in advance especially if you don't have much time as this school is very popular!

Cape Tribulation

and Daintree Rainforest

FRASER ISLAND

more info

Fraser is the world's biggest sand island. Rainforest and some 200 freshwater lakes make the island one of the must destinations in Australia. Its also famous for its dingos, wildlife, native birds, rainforests, creeks, lakes, fishing, and scenery. website

How to get there? Virgin (website) and Jetstar Airlines (website) operate direct flights from Sydney to the Fraser Coast. You can also fly to Brisbane and from there take Sunshine Express flight (website) that operates daily from Brisbane to the Fraser Coast or if you are more people choose cheaper option and rent a car in Brisbane (its about 4h drive). Than you can leave the car and take the passenger catamaran transfers from Hervey Bay to Kingfisher Bay Resort (schedule).

Where to stay?

There is not mane places to stay on Fraser so its a good idea to book ahead.
Kingfisher Bay - is more luxurious option. Its a resort with small bungalows and swimming pool. Its not cheap but still ok. Especially that you gonna stay there only 1 or 2 nights.

There are some hostels like YHA Hostel but they are all in Harvey Bay and as a part of organized trip they take you to the Island.

What to do on the Island?

Once on Fraser you can take organized 1 or 2 days tours or if you are there with someone rent a car, which i have done with my friends and find much better option! There is lots of 4WD hire places - you have freedom and stay wherever you want for how long you want!

I flew from Sydney to Brisbane with Sam and Rainer. We took the earliest plane and we got to Brisbane around 8 am. We rented a car on the airport and drove to Harvey Bay, which took us about 4h. We left the car in Urangan and took the passenger catamaran to Kingfisher Bay Resort. After we checked in to the hotel it was late afternoon. After one beer we went to the beach to admire one of the most amazing sunsets i have ever seen! (photo). God knows how many photos we have taken - especially Sam!

Next day we rented 4WD and drove around the Island. We started with lake Wabby. Than we drove on the beach up and stop to see the wreck of the Maheno and than further north to Champagne Pools. In the late afternoon we went for a swim to Lake McKenzie and watched the sunset there. In one day you can see the most beautiful places. As we still had few hours on the day after we drove down to the South of the island. I liked the northern part more though.

In the afternoon we took the boat and drove back to Brisbane where we have spent the night. We flew back to work the morning after.

To sum up Fraser Island is beautiful! I enjoyed that long weekend there a lot and I definitely recommend everyone traveling around Australia spending some time on Fraser. Its not only beautiful but also not crowded!

WHITSUNDAYS ISLANDS

Renowned around the world for its superb sailing waterways, the Whitsunday's dazzle the visitor with its rich blue sea and 74 tropical islands. It's a visual delight with aquamarine blue waterways merging with clear blue skies on a fine day.

How to get there? Hamilton and Proserpine are the only 2 airports. Both Jetstar and Vergin fly there. It takes about 2,5 h from Sydney and 1,5 h from Brisbane.

What to do there?

The best way to explore is to go sailing! The main place for the departures for crewed charter of 1,2,3 or 6 days duration is Airlie Beach. Most of the tours include snorkeling and some offer diving as an option. Its worth asking how many people the boat will take and how long you will spend at sea. More info on the internet.

Unfortunately I can not give you any more details as I have not been to Whitsunday's myself. It is on my list though. My next visit to Australia will include sailing on Whitsunday's for SURE!

You will need at least 5 days in Queensland:
You can fly to Brisbane and from there go to:
1) Up to 2 days on Fraser Island
2) At least 3 days on Whitsunday's Islands

Kingfisher Bay Resort (website) located on the western side of Fraser Island - Directly opposite Hervey Bay

YHA Hostel, Harvey Bay, (website)

To see the map of the Island with the shots of the places click here.

Good websites for Whitsunday's:

- With sundays tourism

- TravelOnline

- Queensland Holidays

MELBOURNE

Melbourne is Australia's second-largest city. It vibrant, cosmopolitan, multicultural, renowned for its obsession with the arts, sport and the thriving cafe, bar and restaurant scene. The shopping is great to! This is also a city of events so you should plane your visit around some world famous events like Melbourne Cup, Australian Open ect.

You should be able to see Melbourne in 2 days. There are few things you definitely need to do! more details

Melbourne is the city of events. All year long you can find something exciting so its worth to plan your trip around one of them. You can find the full list on the following website.

These were the most famous ones but there are still many many more, like:

• International Jazz Festival in January
• St Kilda Festival (the biggest free music festival in Australia) in February
• as well as other film, comedy, music, good and wine festivals

GREAT OCEAN ROAD

Great Ocean Road is one of the world's most spectacular coastal drives. 12 APOSTELS - Port Campbell National Park is the most photographed stretch - dramatic limestone cliffs towes above the ocean. more info

There is plenty of organized one day trips from Melbourne to Great Ocean Road so if you are on your own you should not have a problem with finding one. For more people i would definitely recommend renting a car and going there on your own. Although you might be able to do this trip in 1 days its actually much nicer to do it in 2 days and stay overnight in Port Campbell. During the day its packed with buses full of tourists that all leave back to Melbourne around 6 pm so the evening and early morning are the best. Not only can you have the beach for yourself but you can take the best photos.

But Great Ocean Road is not only 12 Apostles. Lets start from the beggining...

The whole drive is very beautiful so you will probably take few stops to take photos or make a short stop on the beach. There is a couple of small cozy towns on the way; Turquay, Lorne or Apollo Bay. There is also one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world: Bells Beach. If you are driving and you have chosen the option of doing this trip, take time to stop. Its enough when you get to Port Campbell in the late afternoon.

Once you get to Port Campbell National Park there is many looking points and places to see: Gibson Steps, Twelve Apostles, Loche and Gorge, The Arch, The Grotto, The Cove. Some of them you may leave for the following morning. In the evening you should drive to the very last beach and enjoy the beautiful sunset on the empty beach.

Night will be very relaxing as there is not much to do in the tiny Port Campbell but that's what is nice about it. You can have nice dinner in the one of the restaurants on the terrace facing the water. Don't go to sleep to late as its worth getting up early to see both the sunrise and to get to all the view points before the buses with tourists arrive.

To sum up to the minimum to see Victoria is;
1) 1 - 2 days in Melbourne
2) 1 - 2 days to see Great Ocean Road

Federation Square

STOKEHOUSE Restaurant - 30 Jacka Blvd, 9525 5555 - great location facing the sea, packed downstairs bistro and bar with outdoor seating and one of the best restaurants in Melbourne upstairs.

QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET - crn Elizabeth & Victoria Sts, 9320 5822

ROCK'N'SKATE Shop - 22 Fitroy St, St Kilda, 9529 34343

Derby Day

Australian Open

Where to stay in Port Campbell - website with accommodation

Tasmania is Australia's only island state. It has some of the cleanest air in the world, postcard-perfect beaches, vast areas of untouched wilderness, more than 2.000 km of walking tracks and 19 national parks. Its perfect for camping and relaxing. It not crowded with tourists, its cheaper and people are extremely friendly here. You can see a lot of typical Australian animals here like Wombat or Tasmania Devil. Its a bit colder here and for me its more like New Zealand than the rest of Australia, so its especially worth going there if you cannot make it to NZ so you can have at least a taste of it. On the top of it flights to Tassie are very cheap!

The best way to explore Tassie is to flight to North part, rent a car and drive all the way down and than fly back from the South - or the other way around of course.

One of the possible routes you can take and that I have done is:

Flying to Launceston and renting a car there. It is a nice small cozy town but i would not spend there more than half day. Next you should make your way down to Cardle Mountain - Lake St Clai National Park. If you leave Launceston not to late you should be able to make it here by late afternoon as it takes only few hours. There is a beautiful track to take here on the top of the Cardle Mountain around Lake St Clai. Overland Track is one of the best-known bush walk in Tasmania - still you will meet only few people on the way. It takes few hours to go around the lake. You can get more info in the Visitors Centre on the entrance to the park. Afterwards you can stay in a very nice place CARDLE MOUNTAIN LODGE. If you have more time you can than drive to Strahan - beautiful tiny village on the West Coast of Australia. Next "must-see" is Wineglass Bay on the Freycient Paninsula. Coles Bay is the gateway to many white-sand beaches, secluded coves, rocky cliffs and excellent bush walks. That is also where you can spot some wild animal like wallabies, wombats or cockatoos. The best know and the most beautiful track is called Wineglass Bay. It is definitely worth going all the way down to the beach (takes about 2,5 h). The final stop is Hobart. Half a day would be probably enough if you don't have more time. There is few things were seeing like the docks, Salamanca Place or historic Battery Point. It is also just a small nice town where its nice to hang around. You can leave the car here and fly back to Sydney.

3 days would be the minimum to make the route I recommend.

Urulu (Ayers Rock) - website

See red as you watch the sun set on the continent's massive heart stone!
Nothing in Australia is as readily identifiable as Ayers Rock - the world's biggest monolith. Australia's favorite postcard image. You can climb Uluru - although it is not recommended by the local people Anangu. If you want to visit Uluru you can stay at Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort) and take Uluru Express from there. You can fly to Connellan airport (5km north from Yulara) or if you don't have time directly to Uluru. Neither flights nor the accommodation there are not cheap. I have not been there so can not advise you more. Some people told me it was amazing, others not worth the hassle. I leave that decision up to you.

Kakadu National Park (Darwin) - website

Kakadu National Park is a natural marvel encompassing a variety of habitats, a mass of wildlife and significant rock-art sites. It's possible to explore the main sights here in 2 or 3 days, but the longer you stay, the more rewarding it becomes. There is lot of Aboriginal culture you can experience here and a great wild life. You can see crocodiles, mammals, reptiles and many more. Kakadu is the ideal environment for camping. I have not been to Kakadu park yet so cannot advise you more.

Website

Hugo's Lounge