1

Tasmania will tick the Australian wildlife boxes; Mount Field and Cradle Mountain campsites are particular places to be. Go out after dark and just look.

also lots of great scenery and walking too - IF you have time.

2

I'd like to know why, all of a sudden, there's so many punters wanting to visit Kangaroo bloody Island..lol
...me thinks the S.A Government must of stumbled across a worthy advertising agency !!!
Unfortunately, Kangaroo Island makes for some logistical problems, especially if you're in a hurry.. Im sure its a wonderful Island to visit with all those pure breed animals and such, but its just too out of the way considering the same animals can be seen in Tassie..

The Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park and Watarrka National Park are very impressive if you have the slightest understanding of Australian Indigenous history (Tjkurpa - Dreaming).
I understand why folks who fly in for a 2 day visit find it all underwhelming. To make the most of the area then you really must have a genuine interest in our Indigenous culture....
... otherwise its all just a bunch of rocks, isnt it?

Kakadu National Park is like no other in the world and, very close by but less known, is the more interesting (imo) Litchfield National Park.. Both are fantastic showcases for Ozi flora and fauna and wild scenery and landscapes..
Hopefully by October/November there would of been some rain to freshen and green things up a bit, and maybe get the waterfalls pumping, otherwise a dry Kakadu will disappoint tourists who are only there, because they just are ???
Kakadu has lots of fine rock art, some wild rivers teaming with Crocodiles and beautiful swimming holes with some interesting hikes to enjoy.

The bottom line is, if you don't have a genuine interest in Australian Indigenous history and culture then you could easily drop Uluru from your plans and probably just concentrate on Darwin and Kakadu / Litchfield parks..

I hope that helps..

3

You should take Kangaroo Island off your list. There are plenty of other places you'll see wildlife that don't require that much of a detour.

IMO, the best way to make the most of 21 days in Australia would be something like:

7 days based around Cairns. GBR, Daintree, etc.
5 days based in Sydney. Couple days in the city, day trips to Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley/Newcastle.
5 days driving Sydney to Melbourne. Pass through Kangaroo Valley, Narooma, Snowy Mountains, Wilsons Promontory.
2 days driving GOR & back to Melbourne.
2 days in Melbourne. Then fly back home, presumably via Sydney.

That'd give you a good taste of the most interesting cities, great snorkelling/diving, and varied wildlife & landscapes. That'd be a comfortable pace - not relaxed, not rushed. If you don't mind being rushed, you could potentially skim 2-3 days off Cairns and 1 from Sydney to add in another destination (Tasmania would be my choice of those you listed).

4

...and don't try to cram New Zealand's South Island into 5-7 days. It deserves just as much time as Australia, if not more.

5

i'm another that would say forget Kangaroo Island. You're not going to see anything there that you won't see in any other bushland part of Aust.

and i would not miss Kakadu and Litchfield (both near each other and will give you totally different, but equally beautiful, experiences in Aust).

It is a long way to Uluru. Personally, if you're not going to spend a few days and do Kata Tjuta and a couple of the free ranger guided tours to get a REAL feel for the place then i would not bother. The time you waste travelling etc you could put better to better use elsewhere and come away with a better overall experience of Aust.

I don't know what sort of things you are interested in seeing, or what would be different to wherever you are from, but you could easily add in a day trip to the Blue Mountains from Sydney that would give you as good an experience as Kangaroo Island with much less travel.

6

I would say definitely do Tasmania, it is a great time of year to be in Tasmania, the weather is usually stable at that time. There is an abundance of wildlife, great food, and natural beauty, with also lovely specialty shops, markets, etc etc.

7

Uluru and Kakadu are vastly different landscapes, Uluru being desert, and Kakadu is wet tropics, although it probably won't be as wet at that time of year, just before the wet season. In October and November, do the tropics and centre first, and the southern states later, to get the best weather.

8

I totally loved Kangaroo Island and I don`t get how anyone can compare it to Blue Mountains -it will be hard to find seals on the beach in the Blue Mountains... If you are into nature, go to Kangaroo, it is totally worth the detour. I did a 3 day tour from Adelaide and it wasn`t a logistical problem. It`s not that far from Sydney if you fly.

The problem is that there is just way too much to do in Australia to cover in 1 month - the GBR alone is over 2000 km, so you need to decide from where you want to do that. Cairns, Whitsundys, Lady Musgrove?? Many many choices.

Kakadu is totally out of the way from the east coast and Uluru is too. Both are fantastic, but you just can`t do it all. You need serveral days to properly see what the red center has to offer - I did a trip to Uluru, Kata Tjuta (fantastic 3 hour walk) and then Kings Canyon. Another fantastic walk. You will however see many more animals on Kangaroo Island.

You could go to Sydney first, then fly to Adelaide, do Kangaroo Island, and then going from Adelaide to Alice via Flinders Range, Coober Pedy and then Ulura, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon. This means a lot of driving ot joining a tour. There may be time for a few days on the reef after that.

9

a'ha... funny what you find when you start googl'n about...
O.K.. I'll jump on the bandwagon.. Kangaroo Island rocks !!!

Kangaroo Island aims to encourage people to let themselves go in ...
http://www.campaignbrief.com/2012/02/post-172.html
21 Feb 2012 – Kangaroo Island aims to encourage people to let themselves go in new ad ... The point I was making is that all this ad will do is make everyone ...

it reads..

A new national campaign to promote South Australia's Kangaroo Island has just launched via kwp! Adelaide and KOJO.

Directed and shot by Jeff Darling and backed by the track Ride by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, the campaign captures the raw beauty and splendor of this amazing and relatively little known island.

VIEW THE SPOT

The collaboration between KOJO and Moth Projects is also a first and the result is a rich and engaging tvc where the viewer is swept away to this unique destination in regional South Australia.

Says South Australian Tourism Commission's Director of Marketing and Communications, David O'Loughlin: "Building an emotional connection with potential travellers is vital in a category that has become so commodotised and clichéd. Particularly with a product as powerful and transformational as Kangaroo Island."

Says James Rickard, creative director for kwp!: "We're talking to experience seekers, not your traditional tourists.They're looking for unique experiences where they can actively connect with the environment and not just passively observe it. They want to truly connect not just have a leisurely escape."

The campaign includes outdoor and indoor cinema, Free-to-air and Pay TV, along with newspaper, magazine, digital and social executions.

Creative Director: James Rickard
Creative Team: James Rickard, George Vargas
Media Team: Natalie Morely, Lucy McFarlane, Karyn Smith
Account Team: John Baker, Lucy Noblet
Art: Jodie Kunze, Jo Spargo
Agency Producer Di Willson
Client Team: David O'Loughlin, Emma Fletcher, Alda Ward, Melissa Librandi
Director/DoP: Jeff Darling
Production Company: Co-Production: KOJO and Moth Projects
Executive Producer: Barbara Devlin (KOJO)
Producer: Kate Sawyer (Moth Projects)
Editor: Adam Wills
VFX: Marty Pepper
Music: Rise, Eddie Vedder
Sound Engineer: Scott Illingworth - Best FX

• • • • noice !!!

10

Thanks - keep the comments coming! We have taken New Zealand off our list for this trip. Maybe next time.

I haven't seen any advertising campain for Kangaroo Island. My husband and I are just very interested in wildlife and googled to see where we could see the most in one spot - and Kangaroo Island came up. We are keeping it on our list and very excited for it... we won't bother trying to find Kangaroo's in other places we go (Sydney, GBR area, etc.), We'll soak in the animals on Kangaroo Island. How many days to you think is needed for this place? I've seen people say 3 days is enough... while others say you need 1 week. How long does it take to drive around Kangaroo Island???

We are still thinking of Whitsunday and/OR Port Douglas and the Rainforest, Darwin to see the Parks there OR the Red Centre ....