Vacation to Oz

[tbones86]

Something I have always wanted to do, is to take a cycle tour of Austrailia. Granted this won't happen anytime soon(5yrs, maybe) but I was curious about a few things after watching a travel channel show this morning.


1) Would a month be long enough to really see all that are must see items or places.

2) What are the must see places & things

3) Should I stick to the coastal areas or a mix of coastal & inland

4) Would an Adventure series bike be best suited for the job or could it be
done reasonably well on a sport tour.

5) Is a journey that any one would recommend doing two up or would it be far better solo.

I'm sure I can think of other things to ask but I've just been given some work to do( time to get the wrenchs dirty). Any help appreciated as I'd like to start roughing out the plan now as it will help it seem attainable that way.

[KC-10 FE]

1. A month should be fine. In my experience after about 3 weeks anywhere, you start experiencing "get-home-itus".

2. Sidney
The wine country
Cairns
Koranda (great shopping for Australian stuff & a great place to do a rain forest tour)
Port Douglas
Snorkeling on Agincourt Reef (best snorkeling I've ever seen in my life) go thru Quicksilver Tours, you will not be disappointed
Uluru/Ayer's Rock (it's almost the dead center of the continent but you can catch a commuter flight to Alice Springs)
You must go deep sea fishing
Great White shark cage diving
Darwin (great place to do eco tours & such)

3. There really isn't much inland except Alice Spring & Uluru

4. You can rent VFR's in Australia, I've actually seen places that do so. If you plan on doing the entire month on 2 wheels, I would recommend a bike like the BMW R1200GS which are commonly available as rental bikes

5. I would never do such a tour 2-Up. That's just me. I would much rather get the significant other their own ride. If the significant other doesn't ride, 5 years is plenty of time to get them to learn.

I travel for a living. Australia is the no contest, hands down winner of "KC-10 FE's Favorite Place In The World To Go" award. If someone doesn't like their trip to Oz, I would really question their intellect. I've been their probably 15 times. If you want any more info from a tourists perspective, give me a PM. I'm sure some of the Aussie's will post up shortly.

KC-10 FE out...

[skidvicious]

Originally Posted by tbones86

Something I have always wanted to do, is to take a cycle tour of Austrailia. Granted this won't happen anytime soon(5yrs, maybe) but I was curious about a few things after watching a travel channel show this morning.


1) Would a month be long enough to really see all that are must see items or places.

2) What are the must see places & things

3) Should I stick to the coastal areas or a mix of coastal & inland

4) Would an Adventure series bike be best suited for the job or could it be
done reasonably well on a sport tour.

5) Is a journey that any one would recommend doing two up or would it be far better solo.

I'm sure I can think of other things to ask but I've just been given some work to do( time to get the wrenchs dirty). Any help appreciated as I'd like to start roughing out the plan now as it will help it seem attainable that way.

Hiya Tbones,

Hope my two cents might help!

1) Tough call but I reckon that your gonna want to plan for maybe 2 months if your considering doing a around Oz trip which also takes in Tasmania. If your just considering the east coast - from Melbourne up to Cairns - one month would do.

2) KC-10 has got some great places listed already. I'd check out some of the websites for visiting Aus - you might want to coincide your visit with some of the major events that happen around the country at various times. I would add the following though:
Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland - especially riding from Port Douglas.
Tasmania - great riding and beautiful scenery with fantastic seafood
The Snowy Mountain Highway/Alpine area - great riding in our summer.
Cable Beach in Western Australia, Mindel Beach in Darwin
Barossa Valley in South Australia - if your into wines its a must see/taste experience.
I'm sure plenty of other Oz members will chime in with their recommendations!!

3) The coast is great (away from the major cities) but to help round out the experience I would definitely go inland. The country isn't at its best at the moment and a lot of people are doing it tough with the drought but if your looking five years down the track I'm hoping that things will be better.

4) If you do get the hankering to go off the black top then a dual sport would be the go. If this is what you want to do I would really recommend riding with someone else. A guy at my bike shop took his BMW GS for a run to the Kimberly Ranges in Western Australa - by himself. He came unstuck on a dirt road when he hit bulldust (really fine dust like talcum powder) at about 80km/h and highsided. Luckily he was ok but the area was very remote so if he had busted himself up bad....
You can definitely get around to a lot of the must see places without needing to leave the tar though.

5) Up to you man - sometimes I think that having my wife ride on her own bike would be great. Then I think of those colder rides when having her snuggle up is mighty nice!

The only other thing I would suggest you consider is the timing of your visit concerning the seasons. If you just wanted to do the East Coast/inland areas I would suggest late summer/early autumn if you start down south like in Tasmania. By the time you hit somewhere like Cairns the heat and humidity will have settled down some.

Hope this all helps Tbones and if you need a place to stay around Canberra there's always room at my place for a fellow rider!

Cheers!

[slugfest]

G'day T-bones,

There are so many different parts...sort of the same as asking about the US in a month. For what its worth here is my fifty cents worth.
Depends on what sort of travelling you like...touristy things that every one sees or the other stuff... whether it is based on two wheels or four.. how remote you would like to go.
Can recommend Tasmania up the coast to Queensland along the Great Dividing range... lots of great roads and different character from state to state ( although this may be subtle ).
Can recommend the West coast and the views of the Indian ocean. Ningaloo reeef in the north of the state is supurb. The areas of the Pilbara and Kimberley are remote and stunning. Recommend chosing the right season for any travel... in most cases the cold is not too bad, its the heat.
All I can recommend is try and take a little time away from some of the excessively well known places, ask a local , and see what advice you get. A month is such a short time... so miuch to see no little time.
Hope the planning goes well

Slugfest

[Davidvfr]

Originally Posted by KC-10 FE

2. Sidney

Correct spelling is Sydney.



If you want someone to ride with, I'm sure something could be arranged if you visit www.ozvfr.net

[alexi]

hi

1. I have to agree that you should plan on two months, this is a big brown land.

2. I would add the War Memorial in Canberra as a must see in Oz.

agree with the rest.

cheers, look me up when your coming always have room for a couple of travelers.

cheers