Australia Questions (tourism - Aussies only please)?

Question

Recently I've decided that I would like to travel, and my first pick of overseas journey is none other than Australia.

Currently I reside in Canada, and have never been outside of country other than to visit Seattle several years back.

Obviously a flight to Australia from here is fairly pricey per-person so I would like to know what kind of areas I should visit in order to get my "money's worth". One of my flight options is to Sydney (since that's pretty much the only city I know of).

I like sightseeing and would love to swim (or cage dive) with the great whites and other sharks/wildlife, but I have trouble when I try find a reputable (and cheap) place of operation.

Are there skydiving options around the Sydney area as well? If so do they take you to scenic areas and are they reasonably priced as well?

Another one, and please just give unbiased information, are there any outfits that offer kangaroo and/or dingo hunts? Or even places that sell kangaroo/dingo hides. I do hold a valid firearms certificate here in Canada, and have a clear background - would I need to get another one to hunt in Australia?

If I can`t legally hunt that`s fine... But are there restaurants around Sydney that offer kangaroo (crocodile, snake, etc also acceptable) meat so I can give it the tourist-try?

Any and all tourist information is greatly appreciated as I really want to enjoy it. Thanks :)

Answer 1

If you are on a limited budget & want a real Australian experience I'd be inclined to give the major cities a miss ....



Sure they're different & have all the rush & bustle that go with big cities but when all is said & done they aren't uniquely Australian..



I would recommend either a top end experience taking in the Northern Territory including Kakadu national park or a North Queensland package based in Cairns but including features like a trip up the Cape , a trip out to the outer reef , white water rafting etc etc



If the funds allow a few days on the Gold Coast shouldn't be overly expensive ....I would suggest mid year when the tropical north has stable days around mid 20s ...rain at that time of year is rare !

Answer 2

Flying into Sydney is proabably going to be easiest as a most stuff stops there anyway... You can get some cheap plane tickets on Virgin, Jetstar or Tiger airlines. Keep an eye out for specials eg Virgin has a happy hour from midday to 1 pm (Eastern daylight saving time) and they change every day... If you travel mid week or out of peak times (so weekdays business people want to travel early morning and later afternoon / early evening so travelling at noon is easier / cheaper). You can travel to Brisbane or Melbourne for under $100, Cairns and the east coast and Adelaide is $100 and $200 and Perth is over $250.



For wild great whites South Australia is probably your best and they are or should be caged, you can go swimming on the Great Barrier Reef and see a variety of reef life and some aquatic based wildife parks like Sea World on the Gold Coast and Underwater World at Mooloolaba and possibly Aquariums like those in Sydney and Melbourne offer controlled dives...



There is skydiving and ballooning around Australia - tye in Yellow Pages Australia and get that website and you can look up companies on that. The yellow pages are the business / advertising phone directory by the way!



You'd need to get local gun licences here... Not too sure you could get them being from overseas. Hunting is not a big thing here. Dingos are protected and kangaroo not so much. You may be able to find a farming or professional hunting group but go for feral animals like foxes or rabbits or pigs...



Kangaroo, emu and crocodile can be found on menus from time to time. It's not common but not uncommon...



You are probably best visiting mid year, March to October depending on the place...

Answer 3

In Sydney We have the Centerpoint Tower. There's a revolving restaurant which serves Kangaroo meat as well as Crocodile meat with other exotic food. There's a one week reservation list but that is definitely one to check out if you're interested.



About 2 hours drive south is a city called Wollongong. Over there is a company called sky dive the beach (you can just google it and should be the first website). Sky diving to the beach and around it is a great view (My Godsister has a video and it looked superb, also there's videos on their website). You're looking at roughly 300 dollars give or take.



In the Sydney area however there isn't anywhere you can cage dive. Closest thing you can get is the Sydney aquarium/Manly Oceanworld which you can dive in their tanks but it's not as great as the real thing. You need to head up north to Cairns or Townsville where they have the Great barrier reef. its about a 2 hour flight form Sydney. Largest natural reef in the world and if you have the money it is darn worth it.



Also about hunting, as far as I know hunting Kangaroo's are illegal as some species are endangered. Though In Sydney you can find Kanagroo/Dingo hides at the local markets. Parklea markets, Paddy's markets or Flemington markets usually have that sort of merchandise as well as many other Australian Souvenirs. If not then Darling Harbor's Harborside Mall also has that sort of Merchandise.



Good time to come to avoid 30+ heat is between March and October Where average temperatures in Sydney range from 17-25. Anything Later then October or Earlier than March about 30 is the Average

Answer 4

Firstly what airline are you flying? If you're going Qantas or something you'd find you can save hundreds if you fly the V Australia plane from Los Angeles to Brisbane/Sydney, landing city depends on the arrival date. V Australia is about $780 one way. $1,300 return, of course it depends how far in advance you book too, and those hundreds saved will definitely come in handy in this country as it isn't cheap. I haven't really spent a lot of time in Sydney so I don't remember it well, but I think you would enjoy Queensland more. You can get a short (one hour) flight from Brisbane to Cairns and catch a boat out into the Great Barrier Reef and go scuba diving. I don't think great white's live their though, I'm not sure. In Queensland too it's easy to get to the outback, just head west. If you were in Sydney you'd have to cross over the blue mountains and that could be a bit of a hassle for a tourist. Restaurants I'm not sure who serves what, but I do recommend the kangaroo, it's delicious. Hunting - I'm not sure, But I'd think plenty of people do it anyway without licenses. You'll find skydiving pretty much everywhere though it's not cheap. I looked about 2 weeks back and it was $375 per person. Bloody rought.



The rainy season depends where you're going. Up north it's more of a tropical climate so it mostly rains in the Southern summer. Though the drier states over summer are well over 30, constant heatwaves at around 40 or more. If you want to come in Southern winter then you'll do well to avoid Melbourne because it does nothing but rain. Sydney I think is pretty nice over winter, someone can clarify that. Queensland hovers around the mid 20s. The outback stays up in the 30's. You should decide when you want to visit, after you've decided where you want to visit.

Answer 5

If you don't like the heat, come in the Australian winter, or at least the cooler months. Winter is officially June to August but really April to October would all be OK. That's "dry" season in the tropical areas (which is always better). Sydney will still be OK, maybe maxima in the low 20s (Celsius). Going further south than sydney isn't very exciting for winter though.



You can eat kangaroo at lots and lots of restaurants (it's really getting quite common), and crocodile at a few of the more exotic ones. Not sure about snake though.



I'm not a shooter myself but I don't think your chances are good. You can probably get a 'roo hide, I'm less sure about dingo. Dingo is protected in some areas, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Dingo



Sydney is our best tourist city - Opera house, harbour bridge, shopping, nearby wildlife, zoo, aquarium etc. Our other capital cities are nice too but nowhere near as touristy. I think you can dive with sharks at sydney aquarium, but these are the smaller harmless sharks like grey nurse sharks.



Great whites are most common on the southern coast of Australia, especially a small South Australian town called Port Lincoln. You can go on a trip to see great whites. I THINK you can go in a cage there, I'm not sure but I'm sure I saw someone do it on a travel doco. Aha. Here we go, I followed this link from the official Port Lincoln site so I'm pretty sure this is legitimate: http://www.visitportlincoln.net/attractions/boatcharters.htm and http://www.sharkcagediving.com.au/



p.s. to get to port lincoln, you take a plane from Adelaide, the state capital.

Answer 6

get a copy of lonely planet travel guides australia

check out these websites

http://www.australia.com/index.aspx

http://www.visitvictoria.com/



it is probably best to come in spring or autumn to avoid the extreme heat. australia is a continent and the rainy season varies depending upon which region you are referring to. the lonely planet guide, wikipedia, and other tourist information will give you an indication of when rain can be expected.



the east coast gives you the opportunity to visit the great barrier reef (the largest structure on earth built by living organisms), sydney - with it's beautiful harbour and iconic bridge and opera house, as well as many other attractions, and melbourne - the cultural hub of australia



however if you come all this way you should take a trip into the red centre/the outback. visit uluru and alice springs



you cannot hunt kangaroos or dingos - why would you want to come here to kill our animals anyway? kangaroo meat is readily available in supermarkets and is served in some restaurants, although it is not standard fare. crocodile meat is also available in some places

Answer 7

ok firstly :) cairns is a good place for seadiving and stuff, its located on the great barrier reef. Its near the top of Australia, and secondly, we dont go out and hunt Dingoes and Kangaroos here. I have seen some various shops where you can buy hides of the animals thought. You can buy kangeroo at most supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths mainly. and you'd better look into Australian firearm laws before you decide to venture over here ;)

Answer 8

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