joebhoy

Hi all,

me, the wife and the 2 kids are planning a hol in OZ next year for 3 weeks to check the place out. We were thinking of doing a week in perth and then moving over to the gold coast etc for the other 2 weeks. anyone done this with any tips etc - the main one being best time for climate. I know its quite a broad question but hey ... so is the country!

cheers

JoeBhoy.

GCS15

Gold Coast sucks. Don't bother. It's a tourist town and nothing more.

You want to look at work, schools, shops and livability.

Hilton`s

In my opinion the Gold Coast was great especially if you want to sell oz to
the kids. You might not want to live right on top of it but there is nothing
wrong with it as far as I could see, fantastic beaches for as far as the eye
can see and a great atmosphere. I do agree though that it is a good idea to
look at work, schools, shops etc.

Tracey

GCS15

IMHO - I wish that we could move the NSW QLD border north just a bit to take in the Gold Coast.

Shazrazmataz

We went to the Gold coast last Dec, its very 'touristy', high rised appartments etc, my kids loves the theme parks but personaly we enjoyed the Sunshine coast more as it had lovely beaches plus the Australian zoo is also there.

Jonahs_mummy

I feel I need to say something here - please don't be mistaken that "The Gold Coast" comprises of Surfers Paradise, Movie World and the other "touristy" things & nothing more!

My family have lived there for years & years & that is where we are moving to - I find the hinterland area, and suburbs of cities like Southport (Ashmore, Carrara, Varsity, etc) are really lovely.......

To catagorise "The Gold Coast" as some people have on this thread is ridiculous to say the least........

jc_hoops

You want a tip.......then make it at least five weeks.

With kids on a long distance trip, you will lose a good two days to Jetlag when you get there. The flight from Perth to Brisbane, must be at least 5 hours - so all of a sudden, you are down to two and a half weeks !

On top of that, you have the driving around with kids......sorry, non starter. :scared:

Make it easy on yourself and family, get the atlas out, and increase the annual leave, and you will have a lot better understanding of "what" Aus can offer.

joebhoy

5 weeks Would be ideal - dunno If the old bank account could afford the hammerring. We were maybe thinking of hiring one of those camper vans and doing a tour - I know it would be a lot of driving but would give us a good idea of what the places are like. Never done that camper van thing though so dunno if I could stand being in a small box like that for so long!!

cheers

Joe.

sunshine23

THE GOLD COAST IS FABULOUS. IF YOU TRAVEL ABOUT 4 MILES IN LAND YOU COME TO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES. WORONGARY AND MUGEREEBA ARE BOTH LOVELY. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE TOURISM GO THOSE FEW MILES AWAY AND HAVE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. THAT IS WHAT WE PLAN ON DOING.

jc_hoops

Trouble with camper vans, the sites will never be where you want them, ie not in town for instance. Nice for seeing the country and coast etc. You really need to make you your mind up on "what" the trip is about - hoilday or reccy for living out there ?

You can do both, but only with a good amount of time and no camper van

wombat42

Tourists often make the mistake of leaving out the most scenic part of OZ,
Tasmania, Spectacular unspoilt coastline, mountains, forests, rivers, green countryside, nice small towns. Wineglass bay at Freycinet national park was voted in the top 10 most scenic places on earth. Tasmania is the smallest
state in OZ , the best way to see it is to hire a car and drive around it for 2 or 3 weeks.
In terms of climate the best time to visit OZ in my opinion is September,
October, November, December, Most of the time it will be a pleasant
20-30 c, however you may get a few 35c+ hot days.
January and February it can get too hot and May ,June and July it may be too
cold and too much rain.
The Gold Coast is a good place if you want an American style Aussie holiday
its sort of like a cross between Miami with its high rise buildings and Disneyland with its theme parks. Its a good way to see America in OZ.
It has good beaches but so does thousands of other places in OZ.
If you are going to Victoria go along the great ocean road up to Port Fairy
great small coastal towns with great beaches and spectacular scenery, also Grampians national park and Halls Gap, great mountain scenery and great bushwalking tracks.