Australia (Besides Melbourne And Sydney) Master Thread

[Dan]

Na, its a beautiful area and Hayman Island has been redone as well

Need to go see the Great Barrier Reef if you go all the way put there and its a good jumping off point

What makes it better than Cairns?
It's very expensive to get from HTI to GBR as there's no competition.

Frankly I thought it felt cheesy with all of those golf carts running around everywhere. I mean it's a cute island, but not that nice and everything is expensive. Though the Qualia area of the island seemed really nice.  Was my biggest regret not springing for it when it was 50% off the lowest rate with that AMEX travel promo in 2010.

Instead I booked the YWCA HKG for 50% off 
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294217-d309407-r99694563-Garden_View_Hong_Kong-Hong_Kong.html

[damaxer91]

What makes it better than Cairns?
It's very expensive to get from HTI to GBR as there's no competition.

Frankly I thought it felt cheesy with all of those golf carts running around everywhere. I mean it's a cute island, but not that nice and everything is expensive. Though the Qualia area of the island seemed really nice.  Was my biggest regret not springing for it when it was 50% off the lowest rate with that AMEX travel promo in 2010.

Instead I booked the YWCA HKG for 50% off 
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294217-d309407-r99694563-Garden_View_Hong_Kong-Hong_Kong.html

I'm not talking about actually needing to stay in Hamilton Island, just flying into there and seeing the area. The Whitsundays are unreal.

There are cheaper options to sleep in Airlie Beach

Other than the reef trips, Cairns is pretty bland and the hotels pretty average as well

[Dan]

I'm not talking about actually needing to stay in Hamilton Island, just flying into there and seeing the area. The Whitsundays are unreal.

But the primary way of seeing the Whitsundays are on booze cruises.

[Moishebatchy]

Hmmmmm... I do confess, I would very much like to see the Great Barrier Reef. Now, how to work it in... 

[Dan]

Hmmmmm... I do confess, I would very much like to see the Great Barrier Reef. Now, how to work it in... 

Add more time to the trip.

[damaxer91]

But the primary way of seeing the Whitsundays are on booze cruises.

We did a private full day Barrier Reef and Whitsundays trip and it was $400 (without shopping around too much). Bet some of the tour operators at Airlie Beach have it much cheaper and considering the strond USD, its a great time to go

[Dan]

We did a private full day Barrier Reef and Whitsundays trip and it was $400 (without shopping around too much). Bet some of the tour operators at Airlie Beach have it much cheaper and considering the strond USD, its a great time to go

Wow.
But that must not have been to the actual reef.  A public boat for 2 to the actual reef from HTI was more than that.

[damaxer91]

Wow.
But that must not have been to the actual reef.  A public boat for 2 to the actual reef from HTI was more than that.

Was to the "Outer Reef".

[Dan]

Was to the "Outer Reef".

Did you snorkel in it or just look?

[damaxer91]

Did you snorkel in it or just look?

Snorkeled for about an hour till we saw sharks (Yes, I know that they aren't dangerous)

[Moishebatchy]

Add more time to the trip.

But it would cut significantly into my time at the previous and next continents on the trip. Ugh, decisions, decisions... am I gonna have to pull an AJK, and scrap and completely redo an entire 9-segment J/F itinerary just when it's more or less decided?

Seriously, though... how much time to I have to add on to make this work? At this point, I'd be carving into valuable other parts of the trip (i.e. it's not like I can just leave home a few days earlier, or end the trip a few days later - I've stretched the available days to the max), so I'm looking to shift as little time as possible for this. But if a day or two makes enough of a difference, it may be worth it.

Is there whale watching down there, BTW? #RandomThought

[AJK]

am I gonna have to pull an AJK, and scrap and completely redo an entire 9-segment J/F itinerary just when it's more or less decided?

 

[AJK]

And, oh lord, the whitsundays are on the ol' BL.

[Dan]

And, oh lord, the whitsundays are on the ol' BL.

Just don't go there with a pregnant wife like I did.
But most of those pictures are more glamorous than it really is.

[AJK]

Just don't go there with a pregnant wife like I did.

Lama?

[Dan]

Lama?

Too sick for extended boat rides

[AJK]

Doesn't look like the water can even get choppy, let alone too choppy.

Any place to stay IN the whitsundays?

[Dan]

Doesn't look like the water can even get choppy, let alone too choppy.

Any place to stay IN the whitsundays?

You have a lot to learn about pregnancy and kids padawan.

HTI is in the Whitsundays.  Rented a house there.
Tried chartering a boat from there and it was wayyyyyyyyyy beyond my budget.  Rented our own boat for a couple hours but I'm no captain and most of the time was spent getting the boat unstuck from places.

A public boat goes from HTI to the reef daily but it's 2 hours to get there each way and was $250/person.

[AJK]

You have a lot to learn about pregnancy and kids padawan.

HTI is in the Whitsundays.  Rented a house there.
Tried chartering a boat from there and it was wayyyyyyyyyy beyond my budget.  Rented our own boat for a couple hours but I'm no captain and most of the time was spent getting the boat unstuck from places.

A public boat goes from HTI to the reef daily but it's 2 hours to get there each way and was $250/person.

If Mrs. AJK sees this post, I'm done for.

So there is a main "reef" that people visit when going to whitsundays?

Frankly, I must see Whitehaven Beach before I die.

[Dan]

If Mrs. AJK sees this post, I'm done for.

So there is a main "reef" that people visit when going to whitsundays?

Frankly, I must see Whitehaven Beach before I die.

The main reef is a couple hours away.
To get a boat from HTI to Whitehaven would have been 4 figures.  No beach is worth that.
A big public boat went there once a day, but we weren't interested in that.

Probably the way to do it is as Damax said, from Airlie Beach, not from HTI.