A beach for Christmas.

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MasterofHera

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We have deceided that the Moray Firth is not the place to be this Christmas so have made up our minds (and bought the tickets) to spend some time in the sunshine of Aus. and then Newzealand. Leaving UK 1st Dec. 1st week with family in Melbourne then we have a 4WD camper van for 3 weeks expect to do some sandy bits up to Alice Springs then on to the Barrrier Reef coast hang a right at Cairns swim and surf a bit and expect to be near Fraser Island arround the 25th Dec. Have you any better ideas where to spend Christmas Day? We need to be at Brisbane for New Years Eve to drop of the camper as we fly to Auckland on 1st Jan for another 3 hard weeks of searching for sunshine and wine testing. Its a hard life this retirement| Ideas for NZ please as to where to visit.
 
G'day Heras_Master,

I do hope the 4wd has a very very good and very reliable air con, you are going to need it.

The weather on the south coast is variable, cool and windy one day still and very hot the next, they have a saying in Melbourne " four seasons in one day" and "if you don't like the weather, just wait 20 minutes".

To drive North I would go via South Oz and the Barossa Valley for some great wine tasting, some of the best are from this area.

Heading north to Alice the conditions will get hotter during the day but cooler at night with low humidity day and night.

As you get closer to the east coast and Cairns the humidity will increase as will the overnight temperatures. Swimming off the mainland beaches is possible but wear a stinger suit, less chance of stingers around the offshore islands. Surfing is not good in this area as the Great Barrier Reef stops the ocean swells reaching the mainland, better down south though.

Have a ride on the Cairns 'Sky Rail' to the markets and return via the old train (both are air conditioned) and take a camara for some good shots.

We will head south for Christmas with the whole family meeting just south of Brisbane, otherwise we would be in Cairns or the Whitsundays for a couple of weeks just sailing around.

You will need lots of 30+ sun screen, lots of hats and light clothing, I hope you enjoy your stay but is the warmer time of year to visit the north.

Avagoodweekend......
 
In Oz, don't miss Cairns. For the stinger suit mentioned above, try two pairs of pantyhose, even if this feels funny!, its better than a bluebottle sting. You put one pair on legs, and the other pair, cut a hole in the crotch and put head thru here, and arms into the legs. Hopefully they meet in the middle!
In NZ:
The south island of NZ is by far the most scenic, though the following places in north island are worth considering:
Bay of Islands (great yachting there), Tauranga (Bay of Plenty, and my birthplace), Rotorua geothermal area, Auckland (You'd likely land there if flying anyway). Skip the rest.
South Island: See everything! Nelson area, Get the ferry from Wellington to Picton if time, the northern part of SI is great, Christchurch for an England away from home, Dunedin for a Scotland away from home, Fiordland, the lakes, the mountains -( Mt Cook, Mitre Peak), the glaciers (Fox, Franz Joseph).
 
Thanks Oldsaltz so now all us Pom/s know that the bluebottle is a nasty bit of work. Its a jelly fish very common on the Barrier Reef . What do you recon to the idea of the tights as a stinger suit ?The SWMBO recons she has a couple with not too many holes in we could use.
 
No problem they work a treat, many life savers use them here, though they only use them on their legs and a long sleeve shirt.

Very few around the islands and along the GB Reef, I have only ever seen one myself and that was spotted by another diver in the marina at Cairns, but they have stopped diving on boats for inspections and anode changes etc due to the increase in salt water crocodiles in the area.

I have only ever seen two of them in the wild, both around the Hinchinbrook island when we were pulling a few mud crabs in. If you get the chance call into Cardwell on your way south and do whatever you have to get a boat into Zoe Bay on the eastern side on Hinchinbrook island; go ashore at the southern end near the creek and follow the track on the right hand side, this will take you to a deep swimming hole below a waterfall. There is another track on the far side that will take you to the top of the falls, there you will find a sting of pools just a couple of feet deep, the view is breathtaking and very comfortable in the cool running water with a coldie in one hand.

BTW if you want to have some fun in the pool below the falls, take a couple of slices of bread with you, get someone to swim close to you (there is a big round rock you sit on with water all round it), wait till the swimmer stops a few feet away and toss in a handful of bread crumbs then block your ears because they are going to scream; the water is full of jungle brim and it boils with them as if it were a pack of Piranha's, some get so excited they take a harmless nip at the swimmer.

Andavagoodweekend......
 
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