Plan for Australia

Hi all !

Encouraged by numerous replies in my thread:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/australasia-pacific-australia-new-zealand-antarctica/australia/koalas-and-kangaroos-in-the-wild?page=2#post_21944007
I decided to ask for help with preparing my plan for trip to Australia.

Assumptionsr:

• two aduts + 4 or 5 yo child
• three weeks in Australia
• rather south-west (because of animals), eventually trip to outback (Cober Pedy(?)-Alice Springs-Uluru)
• koalas, kangaroos, emus are a must
• we are not cities enthusiasts, one day in Sydney before flight back home would be enough
• Tasmania - I consider few days in the wild to see tasmanian devils, wombats etc.
• we don't consider North nor Great Reef
• besides furry animals we would like to see some petroglyphs / rock paintings
• because of the age of our daughter we don't consider any trekkings

When:
- South West and Tasmania means we can go December-March only, but how will it fit with Outback ?

Transport:
- we plan to rent a car, "normal one", not a camper - we've got a ground tent and have great experience with it during our last trip to Namibia

Budgeting:
- I'm afraid that renting a car means expenses
- we consider CS, not because we are enthusiasts of CS, but because Aussies are renowned as hosts, and we want to meet as many of them as possible :-)
- food: we can do barbecues when camping, use cheap eateries when in towns

Could you suggest us an itinerary based on all the assumptions given above ?
What costs should we prepare for ?

All sugestions warmly welcome !

Asking where to see wild animals is a lot different to asking posters to plan your trip for you.

What is "CS"?

Wombats are reasonably common to see in southern NSW, around Canbera, Braidwood. I do wonder how much in the wild you would need to be to see a devil in Tasmanina. I think it is Maria Island where this is efficiently possible.

Correct about the desert and timings. You could travel in September- October (spring in Tasmania). That should still be very good weather for desert around South Australia.

Thanks for replies.
CS is Couchsurfing.

I try to estimate the time needed for Tasmania.
You surprised me with Maria island. Examining the map I saw large national park areas in the west of of the island.

Generally I see that I should look for flights to Melbourne, because all animals I seek seems to congregate in the vincinity (Australia scale !).
Also - Tasmania is nearby.

if you can choose when to travel, i would consider going in september or october, which will be not as busy as december and january.

with 3 weeks, and especially travelling with a child, the main thing in my opinion is not to include too much. i dont think that you will have a good time if you have to move every day, or spend days in the car just driving.

i very like kangaroo island, and its great for animals. it has beautiful beaches and rock formations and is not very big. you can spend 2-3 days there and will see koala, kangaroos, wombats, pinguins and seals. also the drive from adelaide via the fleurieu peninsula to take the ferry in cape jervis is beautiful. we saw plenty of kangaroos and some wombats on the drive.

if you want to include the red centre, i would very much consider flying, and doing a 4-5 days tour to uluru, katja tjuta and kings canyon from/to alice springs.

Seeing koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and emus in the wild, plus rock paintings is going to be hard to achieve in one 3-week trip. Just the fact that there are national parks does not mean that Tasmanian devils or wombats are going to appear in front of you. The only sure way to see these animals is in a zoo. I have lived and travelled in Australia all my life and have only once seen a koala in the wild. I fear your expectations are unrealistic.

On the Great Ocean Road near Cape Otway is probably the best place to see koalas. Maybe you could drive from Melbourne to Adelaide, then visit Kangaroo Island for other wildlife, followed by a flight to Alice Springs for a drive to Uluru - guaranteed to see kangaroos, emus and camels on that trip, plus rock paintings. That covers everything except the Tasmanian devils - I'd go to a zoo for them.

Many thanks !
So far my plan looks like this:
- flight to Melbourne (if I find a chep one)
- renting a car
- overnight ferry to Tasmania (I stil can't skip it)
- 3-4 nights on Tasmania (I must rethibk it twice :-) )
- ferry back to mainland
- one week for Great Ocean Road up to Adelaide and Kangaroo Island
- car drop off (means additinal costs)
- flight to Alice Springs
- one week in the outback with car rented in AS
- flight back to Melbourne
- flight back home

Does it look OK ?

yes, this looks okay. it will be rushed, but its feasible. i very much like the red centre, but still, i would consider spending 1-2 days less there, and 1-2 day more in other places.

Just a couple thoughts: If you time your Tassie trip right, you can probably avoid the car rental in Melbourne. The trams and trains are easy to get around. Drive down the Peninsula on your way out to the GOR.
A week isn't much for the GOR all the way to Adelaide then Kangaroo Island. Might prioritise.
Finally, the "car" for the drive to Uluru, which is fantastic, will definitely have to be a hefty SUV or caravan to handle the roads. We had a Land Cruiser and still had a puncture 100kms from anywhere. Wouldn't have missed it though.
Cheers.

You have planned a very awesome trip.It will be very good and everything is wonderful in your plan package.
Heathrow Terminal 3 Taxis

Finally, the "car" for the drive to Uluru, which is fantastic, will definitely have to be a hefty SUV or caravan to handle the roads. We had a Land Cruiser and still had a puncture 100kms from anywhere.

Nonsense, the road from Alice to Uluru is sealed. A normal car will handle it perfectly well.

And here's another tip - if you pre-book a normal sedan from Thrifty in Alice Springs, you will get a 4WD anyway, as that's the only type of vehicle they have.

Apologies, I must have been lost on the road to King's canyon or some such which was not sealed a few years ago. Good tip on the Thrifty 4WD option in case any side trips are planned as suggested.
Cheers.

Many, many thanks.

Now I have even better plan:

To take flight to Alice Springs just after arrival to Australia (alows more flexibibilty later)
Now I must examine closely LP guidebook to figure out how many days should I spend there and what are the highlights not to be missed - Uluru, Katja Tjuta and Kings Canyon seems obvious but is there anything more worth an effort ?

From Alice Springs we would take a flight to Adelaide.
We will visit Kangaroo Island (with a car ?)
Then we will drive GOR , skip Melbourne (!) and continue for Tasmania.

Depending of animals seen in the outback and GOR we would tailor our Tasmania trip.
I've found place called devils@cradle, located in Cradle Mountains - they call themselves "sanctuary" (sounds better than zoo) and have devils in semi-wild state.
In case of dissapointement there we can go further, maybe to Marie Island or Bonorog Wildlife centre.

If we manange to spare few days, we go back to mainland and spend the there.
If not, we go back to Melbourne, drop off the car and take the flight back home.

while in Adelaide visit the animal farm its in the hills a real nice bus ride from city center. roos koalas etc glen elg is a safe beach in Adelaide for the kiddies for bus # to the farm simply check into the transit office or take a guided tour. I simply packed a lunch and enjoyed the bus ride.

coober not quite the place for kiddies as for Alice its much like one shopping mall. as a male I enjoyed walking around . a lot of walking as I wanted pics of road trains. the RSL in alice served great meals etc.then again ? not realy kiddie friendly. if you have own car. at roadhouse MARLA is a pretty decent motel with campground also a swimming pool. marla is midway coober and alice,

Not sure if this thread is still relevant....but 3-4 days in Tasmania with a car seems tremendously rushed, particularly for people who want to get out into the national parks and camp and see wildlife.

If you came to Tasmania for 10 days, you could do a nice loop through the north of the state, starting and finishing at the Bass Strait ferry terminal at Devonport and including Narawntapu NP, Cradle Mountain NP and Mt William NP. There is a 99% chance you will see a variety of wildlife in all of them.

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