oh ben, you must be smoking crack like the franger locals do....not out of a pipe though, straight off the spoon.

have a look at great ocean rd for sure. where else you going in the world?

sydneys good for a coule days but its sooo busy as a city.
melbourne can be a bit boring at times but relaxing too. adelaides only good if you like wine or whine if you run into the locals

perth is nice for beaches too. so much to do soo little time.

gold coast is only good for theme parks, and the hinterland.

it all depends what you want to do and see.

This would be the 3rd to last stop on a round the world trip. I'm planning on coming west to east, fly into Perth & leave the country from Sydney or somewhere on the east coast to Tahiti.

This isn't going to happen till summer of 2013 since I gotta figure out how to pay for it. the plan would be to take 3 months - 1 month Europe, 1 month in AU then the rest scattered between new york/DC area & the south pacific.

It looked like the AU rail system was pretty well connected so i was thinking of that mainly for overland transport but everythings up for grabs at this point. i thought about buying & selling a car while I was there to but I'm not sure I want to drive that much, train travel is pretty nice.

thanks for the idea's, keep them coming if you more.

E

I dunno, that trans pacific line that runs right through the center is probly boring if you don't want ot look at our great southern land

I agree Fraser Island is awesome, cape tribulation and
daintree forest are one of my favorites place period.
The Daintree is the oldest forest in the world almost
3 times older than the Amazon so many weird and dangerous
things have existed there for eons.
Great Barrier Reef amongst others.... its just such a big
vast country its like saying lets go to the states for a
month but with 15 times less people, cities and burbs.

I gotta put a vote to flying, if you only have a month you don't want to spend 3 weeks of it on a train..

If you are looking that far ahead you can get flights between capital cities for dirt cheap and simply rent a car to look around..

And yes, will reiterate what the others have said, it is a damn big country..

+1 Tasmania
Disregard the 2 headed jokes...adelade wears that crown now ;) this place is a must for lovers of awesome daytrip/roadtrips.

I took the Datto around the island a couple of years ago and it was probably the best time Ive had on 4 wheels

Wilderness, convict and maritime history, incredible craftspeople...and now the mind blowing, world class Museum of Old and New Art(MONA)

yep another Tassie Vote. great fun roads (follow the Targa Tasmania routes??) great people and some great spots.let me know if your heading to Tas I can give you more info on some great spots to vist.

Dont go the train ride across Australia it would be the longest and most boring time of your life.
I have a spare room if you need it in Perth.

very cool you guys, much appreciated - its a long ways off currently but pre planning a must as its a lot of traveling in a relatively short period.

I want to do this as my daughter will be 13 then & still old enough to appreciate her parents & not hate us quite yet, originally was thinking about when she was 16 but I think thats too late - she'll hate us by then and her nothing but a pain in the ass to travel with at that point.

edp...good call on the daughter part!! - i have a daughter who is jsut 10 (yesterday!!) and the attitude has been coming for MONTHS!!! get it out B4 she hates you for ruining her life just coz your her parent!! hahaha

Definately fly as has been said you'll spend 3 of the 4 wks on a train otherwise, unless u can buy a datto whilst here and then sell on here b4 u go!

Hamilton Island is another great island to go to, and the Barrier Reef is even better in person than in pictures or tv!

Darwin is a different place, but kakadu is amazing, sydney can be hectic but regardless of what the melbournites and Adelaidians say, Sydney has the best dattos around!!!

Australians in general are a very friendly bunch - you will encounter many bogan people n ppl who just downright rude, but you get that anywhere you go just take no notice of them or let them ruin your trip!!

As for the two-headed comment about ppl in adelaide i would have to say that Newcastle in NSW holds that title! - sorry guys!

The joy of most cities here in Australia you can drive an hour out of them and still be classified as being in the area - i mean you can drive out to Richmond or penrith in Sydney and still be classified as being in Sydney - just an example......Eastern Creek has the International Drag Way, Richmond has the RAAF Base - always fun watching the C-17s and Hercs taking off and landing..and occiasionally the hornets doing fly overs or the blackhawks doing training....for the plane enthusiasts!

Adelaide is dubbed the City oF Churches, speaks for itself

Everywhere you go in Australia there is something different to see.....its just amazing!!