first time in Australia , planning 3 - 4 weks by camper van in August from Cairns to Brisbae / or Sydney , need informations , see full text
Thanks MItti from Germany
WE are a fit couple in our 50´s from Germany and want to travel the East coast from Cairns to Brisbane or down to Sydnes for 3 1/2 weeks from 10th August to 4th of September most probably in a camper van .
Plan will be to stay in an appartment , rent a car at the beginning in Cairs , from there 2 0r 3 times snorkeling in the barrier reef than rent the camper and go down south .
So my questions are: will the weather be fine at this time of the year goiing fron North to South , is up tom Sydney too long ?? for this these 3 weeks ??
Do you know anything cheap for a 3 night cruise on a boat into the barrier reef for snorkeling , no scuba . What I found was extremely expensive .
Any other insider stuff from you for the north ??
Thanks a lot for answering
Have a great time
Mitti from Germany Reply to this
Reply to this Hello Mitti and welcome to Travelblog!
First, you are travelling at the best time of year. The weather in north Queensland is beautiful.
You should be aware that the roads for most of that journey are a single or double lane each way. They are much smaller than the Autobahns in Germany and so your journey time will not be as fast - 110kmh is the maximum speed limit on some roads - 100kmh is usual.
I would not recommend going to Sydney from Cairns in three weeks - you will not be able to stop and relax along the way (i.e. three days on the Barrier Reef etc). The distance is more than 2000km. I have driven from the Gold Coast (south of Brisbane) to Townsville in a day but I was not sightseeing at all - just driving. An option would be to drive to the Gold Coast and then fly to Sydney. It would be a shame to visit Australia and not see the beautiful Sydney Harbour and Opera House.
I would see sights around Cairns - Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge, Daintree Rainforest, the Waterfalls Circuit on Atherton Tablelands, Barron River Falls to start with. Heading south, the coast route is lovely, but see if you can see a bit of inland - how about Charters Towers near Townsville?
Another highlight is Fraser Island and Rainbow Beach - but you will need to go on a day or overnight tour - you will not be able to drive your campervan. Also, August is whale watching season in Hervey Bay and that is worth seeing from people I know who have done it.
Prices in Australia are more expensive than Germany - especially food - whatever your food budget is, double it. However, petrol is much cheaper than Germany. For snorkelling tours, it is best to organise it once you have arrived - you will not have any problems finding something.
If you have further questions, please ask.
Reply to this You are welcome. There is one thing I forgot - it is more expensive to hire a car or campervan from airports due to a government surcharge. Go to city or suburban locations instead.
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