Australia -Camera/Luggage

[RSM]

We are also thinking of doing the walk from Bondi to Coogee on a pre-trip day, after a surfing lesson at Bondi. Was it worthwhile? Interested in how you liked the private evening photo tour, the walking tour of the Rocks, and anything else you would recommend!

We enjoyed the Bondi to Coogee walk. It was good to stretch out after a long flight. It gives you some great coastal views that you can do at your own pace. Later on in the tour there will be that opportunity on the Gold Coast, but there is obviously time constraints. It is about a 3+ mile walk (6 km), so if you are doing surf lessons, you may want to do Bondi to Bronte Beach. This is about half the distance and captures some stunning coastal views. The walking tour of the Rocks was very good if you are interested in the history of the area and city. Our guide gave us alot of information in the form of stories from the past and not just a bunch of facts. The evening photo tour was great. We got some spectacular shots of the bridge and opera house from different perspectives of the city. Our guide (Andy from Aperture Photo Tours) was very patient and helpful in framing up the photo and helping to shoot in manual mode. He was full of helpful tips. If you do elect to do it, I'd recommend that you have an idea of what you want to shoot. It will help him to plan locations and be most efficient.

The first few days of this ABD (the Sydney portion) starts out a bit slowly. But once you leave Sydney, it gets really active and there is not a lot of time to do things on your own.

 

[Grifdog22]

Would you say these times were pretty close to the actuals? We would like to do the Bridge Climb on the morning of Day 3, but want to book in advance if possible. (And I'm incredibly scared to do it so I won't cry if it doesn't work out!! )



We are also thinking of doing the walk from Bondi to Coogee on a pre-trip day, after a surfing lesson at Bondi. Was it worthwhile? Interested in how you liked the private evening photo tour, the walking tour of the Rocks, and anything else you would recommend!

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A general question. What was the attire like on the trip? This is our first ABD, and because I live in a cold climate, I'm trying to make sure I have most everything I need now. Warm weather attire will be scarce here in November/December. Thanks!

Sorry for the delay - got good and sick after the return from a total rundown. Our home MAC computer was also virus stricken, so I don't have the pictures updated yet. Will have a trip report finished in a few weeks. In the meantime, we bought an underwater camera at Costco and used it out on the reef. Glad we did. Guides do take some pictures, but they are also busy with the groups. We used this throughout the trip, and it worked out very well. Even took some in the water during the sea kayaking. I'll post some pictures in the trip report.

The times we were given were pretty darn close to the actual times for free time. Again, we bypassed sleep a lot, to do more things, as that's who we are. Really the best time for the bridge climb is day 3, the first open time available. We finished, had time to grab a quick pizza and pint with some others in our groups on the way back to the hotel, but that was it. My wife, who was terrified of heights and visibly shaking when we started, said it was a piece of cake and she was delighted she did it. It's not hard. It is beautiful. And expensive.

Attire was comfortable causal all the way through.

Still digesting the trip, as it was a VERY active trip if you do everything offered. As much as I hate to admit it, this one finally trumped the original old long South Africa trip! All the things we thought would be the best were indeed, great, but things we didn't think much of turned out to be the best. The Sheep station, the Beef station. Wow oh wow! Uluru camels at sunrise...The Sea Kayaking...home of Thor (Chris Helmsworth)...keep your eyes peeled, as he reportedly pops up a lot. My favorite part was still the add on we did at Brisbane for a day of whale watching. We were up close and personal with lots of humpbacks and calves. If you going to Australia and its in their winter, I strongly recommend this add on. ABD did accommodate us to get us to a Brisbane hotel instead of the airport, for pickup for the whales. That was a nonstop 10 points.

 

[RSM]

A general question. What was the attire like on the trip? This is our first ABD, and because I live in a cold climate, I'm trying to make sure I have most everything I need now. Warm weather attire will be scarce here in November/December. Thanks!

We found it to be close to 3 season weather. We were there in early July, so the heart of their winter. Sydney was actually very nice, mid 60's and sunny. We are from the Northeast, so this was shorts weather for us, although at night it dipped down into the 40-50 range. In Uluru it was warm during the day, but very cold at night and morning. For the sunrise camel ride you will need to dress in layers. The day we did it, it was freezing (literally)--strongly recommend that you bring gloves. Palm Cove was mid to high 70's, so pretty warm. The Gold Coast was warm the day we arrived, but got cooler each subsequent day. By the final active day it felt like it was high 50's/low 60's. Overall, we had great weather. I think we got drizzle for maybe an hour on one day, then the rest of the time was mostly sunny to partly cloudy.

If you have a chance, we found a great local restaurant on the Gold Coast. It was called the Little Plate. It was about a 20 minute taxi ride from the Sheraton Mirage ($35-40 AUD each way), but well worth it. The food was outstanding. Although the taxi ride may sound like alot, the meal is very well priced, so it ended up being about the same total cost as eating near the Sheraton.