Let's Stay in the Northern Beaches. No...Let's Not

For some unknown reason, yesterday, I started thinking about our next Australia trip. This is kind of ridiculous, since I'm not planning on us going until 2022...or even later.

I don't think I started thinking and planning because I'm itching to travel. I think it's more like I'm itching to travel-plan.

I came up with this idea that we'd do one flight within Australia and one drive. For example, we'd fly into Sydney from Dallas; stay awhile. Then we'd fly to some other city and take a driving trip from there.  I'm kind of tired of Sydney, though. I hate saying that, because I used to be so in love with it. And you know...I do still love it. I'm just fine loving it from afar. I'm fine with our long distance relationship.

I thought about how we could fly into Sydney, but not stay in the city. We could stay in the Northern Beaches. I wanted to visit there the last time we were in Australia, and we never got around to it. And now since I've become a fan of Home and Away, we could stay in Palm Beach. Then we could do a day trip into the CBD.

Late last night when I should have been getting into bed, I instead started researching all of this. After I looked at Google Maps and reminded myself about the long bus rides, I decided maybe the Northern Beaches wasn't the best idea. Maybe we'd do something else.

What's funny is, this morning I did my daily reading of an old blog post. I don't choose what post I'm reading. I've been reading them in order.

Well, the post for today was about me considering staying in the Northern Beaches for our 2012 trip,  but then deciding against it.  I talk about how Tim is so sick of the Sydney CBD.

We didn't end up going in 2012. We didn't go until 2013, and I think it was Tim's idea that we actually stay closer to the CBD this time. So I guess he got over his being-tired-of the CBD.

While I was doing my extremely premature travel planning, Jack was sitting next to me and started looking at the Dreamworld website. He suggested we go there. I thought it would be nice to do that for him, but I started thinking no, by the time we go, he'll be an adult. He probably won't care about Dreamworld. Then I thought about Jack's involvement with a Disney Minecraft server. We've encountered some adults who are passionate Disney World fans. Tim and I got married there...as adults. So it's quite likely that Jack will still be interested in going to Dreamworld when he's in his early 20's.

Right now, my idea is to fly from Dallas to Brisbane; skip Sydney all together; Do some driving in Queensland;visit the Gold Coast; then fly somewhere else. Maybe Hobart?  Who knows....

I'm looking at the Qantas website. Certain places are much more expensive than others.

There are deals right now. It's $149 one way to Hobart. It's $215 to Perth. That's not great, but reasonable. But then Alice Springs is $320 and Uluru is $351. Geraldton is $424.

I know distance determines a lot of the price, but there must be other factors. Taxes? Airport size?

Whatever.

I think, though, that I'm changing my mind about the one drive. Because if we go somewhere like Hobart, Perth, or Adelaide I'm definitely going to want to explore at least some of the states. So maybe we'd rent a car in both Brisbane and the other city we visit.  

10 comments:

  1. Why not visit Melbourne and drfive across the south of the continent to Perth? I <a href="http://verygoodcooking.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/come-for-drive-with-my-uncle-said-youll.html>did it once</a> - as a teenager - and have been obsessed with the journey ever since.

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  2. Kitchen Hand,

    We went to Melbourne last time, and I want to go somewhere new. I also don't know if I want to do that long of a drive.

    It would depend on how much time we have. I wouldn't mind a drive that long if it could be a slow drive and we could stop in many places.

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  3. Just read your old post...can't say it inspired me to change my mind!

    I'm not adventurous enough.

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  5. If you haven't been to Brisbane before then I would highly recommend Brisbane and south east Queensland.

    If you fly into Brisbane airport and hire a car there is so much to see there. From Noosa, just north of Brisbane down to Byron Bay in Northern NSW.

    There is a lot to see and do in that region of Australia. It is also sub tropical so it is very different to Sydney and Melbourne.

    Also I highly recommend Tasmania. There is so much colonial Australian history there and the climate is very similar to England and New Zealand.

    Also the south western region of Tasmania is remote and spectacular. Especially the Gordon River cruise tours from Strahan.

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  6. Jason,

    I love your ideas.

    I would really like to see south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales.

    Is it strange that I'm more interested in the lower part of Queensland than all the fancy GBR stuff.

    I look at photos of the GBR and it doesn't attract me for some reason.

    And yes. I would love to go to Tasmania.

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  7. It's not strange that you would rather see south east Queensland compared to the tropical North. They are very different regions in so many ways.

    But given that, far north Queensland is stunning. It is a lot more than the great barrier reef. But at the end of the day I personally prefer far north queensland because of the weather. Coming from Melbourne I crave warmer weather.

    In Dallas Fort Worth you have all spectrums of the weather covered, from the bitterly cold winters to the extremely hot summers.

    But for experiencing contemporary Australian culture then South East Queensland is the best choice. There is just so much more to see and do there than the tropical North.

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  8. Hi!

    Winters aren't too cold here usually. Or at least not as cold as places like Chicago or NYC.

    I forget. Where in Texas is your partner from? Did you spend time in DFW area. Sorry I forgot all this stuff.

    You're right about North Queensland. It's more than just the GBR. Lots of beautiful things. And crocodiles. I can't say I'm into the crocodile scene.

    I really like your Noosa to Byron Bay idea.

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  9. My Partner lived in Dallas before he moved to Australia. However when we are in Texas we stay at his mother's ranch in Goliad Texas, which is south of I-10 near the coast.

    We also spend time in the San Antonio / Austin region visiting friends and family and also will visit Corpus Christi to eat at Catfish Charlies for their fried catfish and hush puppies. Corpus is a 90 min drive from the ranch and my Partner's moms best friend has a second home in Rockport.

    We also have several friends in DFW who live in just north east of Fort Worth.

    Even though it isn't as cold there as Chicago, it gets a lot colder there than here in Melbourne. It never snows here and never gets below freezing. But the flip side of that is that our summers are never as hot as Dallas.

    I really think that you would love the Noosa to Byron Bay region. We are considering retiring to that region in the decades to come.

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  10. Jason,

    You know Texas better than we do.

    Maybe the next time you come here, you guys can visit us.

    We haven't been to many places in Texas...really just Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth. My husband has been to Houston. We really should see more though.

    I guess you're right. We do have a few days below freezing here. Or maybe more than a few?

    I think this winter was one of the coldest. Or the snowiest, at least. Usually we have one snow storm, but I think this year we had 2 or 3?

    Or maybe it was the winter before last that we had more than the usual amount of snow days. ????

    By the way, I follow a woman on Twitter and Instagram. She's Australian and is a huge Texas fan. I think she was looking for people who have an Australian-Texas connection. If you're interested...here's a link to her Twitter Page. https://twitter.com/claireisabel

    Or you might already know of her.

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