i love the wine country on the west coast... but i also love the west coast of Oz... but it is a long hike over there.... i would say that you should try to check out Margret river and exmouth... i did them on my last trip over there and both were amazing... during that trip i also went down to Tazmania for 2 nights... beautiful place and great to rent a car and drive around... there are some pretty cheap flights on Virgin blue or jetstar typically.  if you are not much for traveling outside of Mel and Syd i believe there is some nice wine country right outside of melbourne... however i am not sure which great dive places to go since i have not been to that region.  Oz is a great place and the people are amazing... i recomend trying the meat pies... a classic!

Posted Nov 30, 2010

I'll throw my support behind the idea of meandering down the coast from Sydney to Melbourne. There's beautiful & diverse scenery, especially if you get off the main highway. Not sure how long you have but recommend saving Perth, Adelaide & the west for another trip. It's a huge country & you can't do it all. We had 2 weeks for Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane (all east coast) & it wasn't enough. Would limit myself to 2 cities if I did it again. That would give me time to visit the Blue Mountains & the Hunter Valley (wine country), which I missed. We did visit Wilson's Promontory, just east of Melbourne. The whole area is very beautiful, rural coastline.

Posted Dec 02, 2010

I highly recommend jumping on a Virgin Blue flight once you are in Sydney to see Adelaide.  I did Sydney, Adelaide and then Melbourne in 2003 and had a blast.  Only wish I had added Aires Rock for hiking and Cairnes for diving.  I ended up running into a group of local surfers in Melbourne and well got stuck there for a little while. ;)

There are a number of wineries I loved including Penfolds, Fern Hill and Wirra Wirra Vineyards. Personally I think the most fun way to see the wineries is on camel back.  Tons of fun and you literally ride from one winery to the next in a group.  St. Francis Winery Hotel is a good place to stay.  Shipping wine out of AUS to the U.S. can be pricey.  The fella that runs The Olive Grove Cottage can help.

If you get the chance drive along the Shipwreck coast to Bell's Beach just outside of Melbourne. Great nightlife and locals. 12 Apostles is worth the trek - though I would recommend going in the morning, to avoid the crowds.  Cape Otway Lighthouse is also a great stop and climb.

Posted Nov 30, 2010

Stefanie - If possible, you should take a flight out to Perth. Great wine country nearby and its absolutely an enjoyable up and coming city.

Posted Nov 30, 2010

if you want to see some great coast line take the great ocean road between Sydney and Melbourne to check out the 12 apostles before they all crumble away. Philip island is also a treat if you are in the Melbourne area --> you can catch the ferry penguins as they come to nest

Posted Dec 01, 2010

Depending on how long you're planning on being here for you could drive from Sydney to Melbourne over a couple of days. That way you'd be able to cover both the coast and wine regions.

Newcastle was recently voted one of the top 10 must see cities in the world. It's about 2 hours north of Sydney, though, so may not be on the cards. About the same distance to the west are the Blue Mountains which have quite a few wineries.

Travelling south she could go along the coast, though there isn't much aside from lost of small towns. Probably better off travelling along the Hume. Plenty of places to stop off on the way to Melbourne. In Victoria the Yarra Valley (great whites, very nice fortified - Innocent Bystander, Panton Hill, DeBortoli) and Goulburn Valley (really amazing reds - Tahbilk, Monichino) wineries are the best, easy to spend days in both regions. Then of course there's the Great Ocean Rd (12 apostles) and that should easily fill her coastal needs without needing to plan ahead.

There's really so much, but the easy part is that as long as she has transport and accommodation finding things to do is really easy in those areas.

Posted Dec 02, 2010

While in Sydney, you may want to do the Bridge Climb - http://bridgeclimb.com/ and do a day tour to the Blue Mountains which your hotel can help you arrange.  I cannot remember the one we used but they picked us up at the hotel, took us to a park where we were able to feed kangaroos, pet koalas, and after the Blue Mountain, return via a harbour ferry at sunset. 

Posted Dec 02, 2010

Oh! This is going to be an amazing time for you! People are quite different in all their similarities to us! I studied in Oz for a semester and had an incredible time learning about the country with my fellow foreigners and the aussie bloke I spent the majority of my time with. I could go on and on about this, despite yesterday being my 5 year anniversary of arriving home. Here are some of my suggestions: 1. Do tour the Blue Mountains that takes you to the zoo where you can hold a koala and pet/feed a Roo. Beautiful views and holy moly, just thinking about the koalas makes my heart melt 2. Have a few drinks at the opera bar one night. Its a really cool scene. If you can take in a show-do it! But its beautiful down there by the harbour at night. 3. If you venture away from the city, head to Coogee (376 bus) and do the Coogee to Bondi walk along the coastline. Its spectacular. Between the rugged coastline, the natural pools and the surfers you're bound to see, its amazing. S Drink at a hotel. Or "hotel" - they're bars. Actually, 3 wisemen is fun in Syd. Don't forget- this is part of their culture, drinking. Next: take the ferry in the harbour to Manly Beach. And: Have a kebab at 2am Def: play pool at a bar-its diff than US (2color) and mingle with aussies. They're some of my favorite people. Have fun!!

Posted Dec 02, 2010

The truth is, you just really can't do everything. There is TOO much to see and do in Oz! I have been here since March, first living in Sydney then taking six weeks to travel and drive out to Perth (taking the long way all along the coast) where I am now living. So I have recently done Sydney to Melbourne, etc.

I am assuming you don't have a huge amount of time and probably not an endless budget (Australia is *expensive*) so I'm going to give you some recommendations with that in mind.

From Sydney to Melbourne is a fantastic drive. If you have the time to take your time, I would do mostly coastal but dip inland (i.e. to Canberra and maybe to the Alpine region, neither of which I was able to do because we were doing a two day car relocation to Melb). Highlights on the coast for me were Jervis Bay (gorgeous beaches, check out Hyams Beach), Batemans Bay (specifically Pebbly Beach, where you can see some kangaroos hanging out by the beach), and Narooma (just a beautiful setting, though we only spent a couple hours there). There are plenty of nice towns and things to do in that area. If you just stop at a tourist office and get some maps and guides, they will give you more detail on good places for this and that.

Melbourne is a great place to spend some time, and of course take a day or two to do the Great Ocean Road is recommended. Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula (wine) are also close by. Melb is also a great place to fly from if you do want to go somewhere else. We flew to Alice Springs and Cairns from Melbourne for really cheap (with Tiger but we had no problems). If you've always had your heart set on Uluru or GBR or something, Melbourne's the place to go from.

While WA is awesome and I love Perth and am ridiculously excited to get up to Ningaloo, etc. I really don't think you should stress yourself out trying to get over here and fit all that in if you are on limited time or funds. It's a big place and getting around is time-consuming and expensive. But consider giving it its own trip some day!

You mentioned wine regions. Aside from those near Melbourne, if you are spending some time in Sydney, Hunter Valley is a couple hours away (you can drive yourself and make a couple days of it, or there are day tours from Sydney at less than $100). Port Stephens is another worthwhile place to visit just a couple hours' drive north of Sydney. You could probably fly to Brisbane or Gold Coast at a reasonable price, too if you're just looking for some beach time (April is moving into winter, so even Bondi/Coogee/Manly and all the Syd beaches will be getting cooler, not to mention everything south of it). 

If you're willing to go beyond Sydney north or Melbourne west, that opens up a lot of other things to do. As someone mentioned, beyond Melb closer to Adelaide are many more wine regions, including Barossa and McLaren Vale. There's national parks absolutely everywhere, some in gorgeous forested, mountainous(ish) areas, some on beaches and marine parks, etc, etc, etc. The East Coast is a popular roadtrip, if you want to fly north from Sydney then drive back or vice versa. It all depends how much time you have.

Just to give you an idea of details, places, prices, etc. I kept a blog of all our travels so far in Oz. Here's the entry on driving from Sydney to Melbourne: 

http://girlunmapped.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/epic-aussie-road-trip-part-1-sydney-to-melbourne/

And if you're interested in anything else I mentioned (Hunter Valley/Port Stephens, Uluru/Cairns, Great Ocean Road, etc.) just search it on the site.

You'll have a great time. One of the best things about Oz, is there are so many little things, or just beautiful middle-of-nowhere places, you'll find your own favorites outside the big must-dos. It'll be amazing! 

Enjoy!

Posted Dec 02, 2010

If you are into horseback riding, a farm stay is great!  I hopped a flight (on Virgin Blue) to Rockhampton and was picked up for a two hour drive to a farm bordering the Outback.  Spent three days out there milking cows, riding--great experience! 

Posted Dec 02, 2010

It sounds like you've got an amazing trip arranged. I roadtripped on my own from Sydney to Melbourne inland on the trip south and on the coast on the return north. If you're just going one way, I would recommend the coast.

There are amazing beaches the entire way down and lots of quaint little towns. Here is a smattering of what I recommend (I didn't have a plan, just got in the car and drove every day):

It poured just south of Syndey for me, but in Sydney, definitely take the walking tour. A great hotel is the YWCA--very clean (has dorms, but also offers private rooms) and is walkable everywhere. It's a great mid-range hotel option with free breakfast. We found out by accident that if you go to the bridge tower 15 minutes before closing you can get up in the tower for free.

- Tuross Head was a great landscape (blue lakes, yellow beaches, green hills, and aqua seas).

- Camel rock really looks like a camel--was on a quiet beach.

- I camped at Gillards Beach in Mimosa Rocks National Park where it's like a kangaroo invasion.

- Apparently the Fish 'n Chips in the town of Eden are 'the best in Australia.'

- I got lost near Mallacoota only to find some of the most stunning aquamarine waters and beaches on my trip.

- I missed the turnoff, but heard climbing Genoa Peak is a grand 360degree view from mountains to sea.

- Orbost, where the Snowy River flows through (if you've seen the Man from Snowy River, this may mean something). The guy at the info station had TONS of travel advice for me.

- Great scones at the Pelican Cafe in Lakes Entrance.

Melbourne is challenging to drive in. Someone recommended that I part on the outskirts of town and take the trams/public transport in. I sort of wish I'd listened to them, but getting lost and dodging those trams was all part of the adventure, I guess.

Posted Dec 02, 2010

If you went to Adelaide you could visit the hallmark wineries of the Barossa Valley, with many wineries creating delicious wines..  Maybe SYD - > ADL -> MEL - you could do the Barossa Valley on a long day trip from Adelaide..

Posted Dec 03, 2010

Take surf lessons at Bondi Beach, not far from Sydney.  Blue Mountains are gorgeous and visit the Three Sisters,  plenty of hiking.  Don't miss Great Ocean Road from Melbourne and Twelve Apostles, Bell's Beach. Fly to Adelaide and head to the Barossa Valley for wineries. If you're on the road from place to place stay at caravan parks.  They range from bare-bones camp sites to tented cottages with cots and stoves with restroom facilities and showers.   Don't know how much time you have in Oz but if you end up in Perth,  go to Scarborough Beach in hopes of seeing the incredible lifeguard competitions. Head south for wineries and then to Margaret River and Yallingup for unbelievable beaches and more surf.   Some of my favorite caravan parks are on the route from Perth to Yallingup. 

Posted Dec 04, 2010

Go snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef.

Posted Dec 04, 2010

Just rent a car and meander through the bush and/or outback.  The small farming towns (Young, Yass, Broken Hill, etc) are all really unique.  The more remote you get, the better the experience you'll have in Oz.

Posted Dec 08, 2010

The Blue Mountains as well as Canberra are a day trip out of Sydney. 

Posted Dec 15, 2010

Beautiful coastal drive AND wineries down in Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. Two birds with one stone I say.

Posted Dec 23, 2010