Our son, Oz, is "studying" in Melbourne and we will visit him and tour some of Australia for 3 weeks beginning in mid-Sept. Our itineary is Cairns (4 nights), Melbourne (7 nights), Kangaroo Island (4 nights), and Sydney (3 nights).

We value the information and insights of LCT folks and look forward to your Australia-related postings or e-mails (oldavis3@gmail.com).

Our lodging is set, but we welcome any and all comments about restaurants, sights, shopping, excursions, etc. on our itinerary -- what to see/experience and what to avoid.

BTW, our time in Kangaroo Island is not an issue due to the VERY all-inclusive nature of the spectacular Southern Ocean Lodge (http://www.southernoceanlodge.com).

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Kangroo Island is the best part of Australia. It is so much fun, beautiful & the animala viewing is amazing. Be sure to go at night with a guide to see the little fairy penguins.

Thanks, Jackie! I don't think we have ever anticipated a destination and lodging as much as Kangaroo Island and Southern Ocean Lodge --- wildlife, vistas, daily excursions, dining, etc., etc.

Luke, we had the BEST time in Melbourne. Go on a "private" penguin viewing on Phillips Island. SO fun, instead of siting on bleachers with 100s of fellow humans, you go with 6-8 to a different beach, sit in the sand with night goggles on and watch the show. It was a real highlight for us.
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Helen

Helen - That private penguin show sounds very good. Do you have any contact info for it or recall how you arranged it? It might be a fun thing to do when we're in Melbourne next year on T-Devil aka Dingo. Cheers, Fred

Luke: I should have loads of information about Sydney I could give you but unfortunately (well not for me) I'm in New York at the moment. If I remember correctly, there is a website called www.Sydney.com.au (Google 'Sydney') and it should come up (it may have been 'visitSydney'). If you feel you'd like to do the Harbour Bridge Climb, leave it until the day you want to do it to book as they go in all sorts of weather and it's not cheap. There is a 'hop on - hop off' bus that's good value. Marcie has Sydney 'down pat' - she saw all there was to see - so here's hoping she reads this! Please feel free to ask me any questions though. We took Ray and Penny to the zoo but you may find you see enough native animals not to bother, although on a good day, the view back to the city is quite nice. Lee

Thanks, all. The penguins are on our list if we have time ... most of our Melbourne time will be spent roaming with Oz as he shows us what he likes of the city, along with an epicurean day trip to the Yarra Valley (www.epicureantours.com.au) and a LONG day trip on the Great Ocean Road (www.gowest.com.au/great-ocean-road.html)

Our "must sees" in Sydney are the bridge climb and the opera house. We also hope to do a harbor cruise.

The Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne is really fun - we enjoyed a foodies tour , complete with samples from vendors.

Luke:

Hope someday we meet. I wish I could be more helpful to you in re to your Australian visit but Penny and I were spoiled as we had Lee & Brian showing us around for two wonderful days and on other ports, Regent was the excursion host.

In any event, here are some photos we took and perhaps something here may glean your interest.

http://ray-penny.smugmug.com/World-Cruise-2008/Segment-2

http://ray-penny.smugmug.com/World-Cruise-2008/Segment-3

Have fun!

Cheers! Ray

Luke - One of my favorite things in both Sydney and Melbourne is to do an early morning power walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens just as the sun rises in order to be there when the thousands of huge fruit bats come flying in to take up their (upside down) perches for the day in the trees. Quite an unusual and thrilling event, indeed. (Of course, just to be on the safe side, I always carried a silver cross and a small jug of holy water with me.) Cheers, Fred

We pop over to Sydney quite often and have also joined/finished many cruises there.
Favourites.
Manly Ferry .
Leaves from Circular Quay, great trip, lunch at Manly, then back to town.
Bondi Explorer Bus ,
Leaves from Circular Quay. You can hop on and off as much as you like. Make sure you get off at Watsons Bay, view the Harbour Entrance, and visit Doyles Seafood Reataurant for lunch. Doyles is a bit "touristy" but its become an icon and well worth a visit.
Darling Harbour .
Great to wander around.
Opera House .
Do a tour.
Sydney is an exciting City.
Will 3 days be enough?

David, 3 days are NOT enough in Sydney ... then again, 3 weeks in Australia are not enough ... but we're excited about each of our stops.

Leslie, we are VERY excited about the Queen Victoria Market and will DEFINITELY do the foodies tour -- in fact, the market was on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservatins" episode in Australia a few weeks ago.

Fruit bats? I imagine that I'll be alone on that walk.

Ray, thanks for the pics to further whet our appetite for this trip.

Freddie, we did the trip with a private guide and driver that unfortunately I no longer have info for BUT I still have my little badge from the tour and it was called the Phillip Island Ultimate Penguin Tour.
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Helen

In Sydney, for a great seafood lunch take the ferry from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay and eat at Doyles. A walk around to Camp Cove beach is fun. For dinner, try Kingsley's in Woolloomoo on the pier.
Cheers,
Jim

Thanks, Jim ... we ALWAYS appreciate restaurant recommendations!