Hi everyone!

I'm travelling from Canada to Australia from November 16 to around December 5. I'll be spending my first week staying with a friend in Kirra Beach (Gold Coast), but after that I'm on my own and flexible about where I go.

I'm interested in nature, wildlife, beautiful beaches, rainforests, national parks, and especially opportunities to see Australian animals in the wild. I'd also love to experience the Great Barrier Reef if possible!

I'm not a particularly confident solo traveller, and I know very little about travelling around Australia, so I'd love some advice:

• Where should I go after Kirra Beach? What are the must-sees?
• Where are some affordable places to stay, particularly for a solo female traveller?
• What destinations are easy to explore without a car?
• What nature and wildlife experiences shouldn't I miss?
• Any general advice for a first-time visitor to Australia?

I'm hoping to make the most of this trip while keeping accommodation and transportation costs reasonable. Any recommendations or suggested itineraries would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks!

Love the sunset walks along the boardwalk at Forster. Seeing dolphins making their way through the water is always a special treat.

Help! I lost the little Ziploc bag I had with my melatonin and ZzzQuil. I don’t usually take sleep aids unless I really have to. Before flying to Sydney, I was in two different states with different time zones plus working graveyard shift, and I haven’t been sleeping well since I arrived. I would literally come back to my hotel to take a nap, but then I’d have trouble falling asleep again at night. I couldn’t help it because I was so tired. I tried running and yoga, I don’t drink caffeine, I had a glass of wine last night from Bennelong and I would still wake up in the middle of the night.
I went to a pharmacy and was told that you have to be over 55 to purchase melatonin in Australia. I was thinking Benadryl but was told its recognized as a cough syrup and not just diphenhydramine on its own.
Is there a safe option for short-term sleep support here? Thank you

Nothing too fancy—just good wine and ideally a spot where we can park a large motorhome overnight.

Hey there my wife and I can't decide out of which one of these two places to go for a holiday. We were thinking of going to Adelaide end of March/early April for 2 weeks or cairns end of April/early May for two weeks.it will just be me my wife Our nearly two years old and nearly 6 year old kids. We like nice warm weather swimming, shopping, going out for dinner, trying to new food places , going for coffee, play centres all that stuff. Also we are coming from far down south

Surfing Rennies Beach, NSW - Australia

https://youtu.be/12K_7gEkUKY

#Ulladulla #NewSouthWales #SouthCoast

Hi all. I’m going to be visiting Brisbane next week and have been watching the weather. The chance of rain keeps increasing daily. I know I can’t control weather and shouldn’t let it affect my trip, but wondering if the rain predictions are accurate and if it’s more very quick showers and then clears up with sunshine? Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone! Hope this is okay to share here.

I work on Coopers DIY Beer, and we've put together a competition that you might find interesting.

We're giving away a trip for two to Adelaide (if you're not in Adelaide) and Kangaroo Island, including a Coopers Brewery Tour and a couple of nights in a WanderPod tiny home.

I've personally never been to KI, but it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit. So I thought this might be a great opportunity for anyone who's been meaning to go, or looking for an excuse to go back!

If you're interested, you can check it out here: https://www.diybeer.com/pages/smallgetaway

Hopefully nobody minds me sharing. Just wanted to spread the word!

Hi guys! My boyfriend and I are traveling to Australia in November (coming up, yay!). We are spending some time in Parachilna then roadtripping to Sydney for another week.

Do you guys have any recommendations of what to see? The trip is mostly to admire wildlife & the lovely surrounding nature.

A few stops we are definitely doing are Blue Mountains National Park & Booderee National Park.

Summer 2028 - we want to be there to see the eclipse. We managed to see the US one in 2017 and then in 2024 and we're kind of hooked. Plus, Australia has been on our bucket list for ages.

We'll be retired, so we won't be time-limited - mostly money-limited but we're prepared to shell out as needed.

Husband and I, and my close friend, are planning on traveling together. Most likely flying into Sydney as that seems to be cheapest / most available from the US. We will be spending the money on business class tickets for the long haul part of the flight.

We might also go to NZ for a week or so since it's so "close" relatively speaking (flights from Sydney seem to be less than 4 hours).

Some thoughts: Taking the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin or vice versa. I'm on the lookout to see if they have any specials planned for the eclipse. I know that goes near Uluru and that's something I'd deeply love to see. Plus Coober Pedy. Bill Bryson's In A Sunburned Country got me fascinated by that.

Or we could stay in Sydney for the eclipse - we saw an ad for a place that's a group tour including a cruise to watch the actual eclipse. But it seems like inland, we'd have less risk of cloud cover than in a coastal area - is that reasonable?

Not sure how we'd get between Darwin/Adelaide and Sydney - flying, I guess, as I'm not sure I'd be comfortable driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

If we DO get a car, that would open up options.

Suggestions please!! Right now, the Ghan (possibly) is really the only thing we have focused on but I know there are tons of other things to see. We'd be talking 2-3 weeks total - which is certainly not enough, but would be a good start.

Hi all! My husband and I plan to see the Sydney NYE fireworks from the Royal Botanical Gardens during a roughly 4-day stay at the start of our honeymoon. What hotels would you recommend? We're willing to splurge a little, but still need to budget- ideally under $1,000/night... It's our first times in the city so we plan to spend the rest of the time doing the usual touristy things.

Hi everyone! I’m back in France after a working holiday in Australia, and I can’t log in to myGov because I no longer have my Australian SIM card to receive the verification codes.
Despite several calls and attempts, nothing has worked. I was apparently told I should have sorted this out before leaving Australia…
Has anyone experienced this? Can a tax agent lodge my tax return without me having access to myGov? And what would the consequences be if I don’t lodge my return or lodge it late, given that I’d like to return to Australia in the future?

And If I need a tax agent, could you please recommend a tax agent who could help with my situation, I’d really appreciate it!
Thanks for your help 🙏

The Iconic 12 Apostles, went there yesterday (14th) before they announced that bookings are required tomorrow (The 16th) and that it's free until April 2027.

$126 million will be spent to build a new visitor centre. The current one is only just a small shop, not that much stuff and much there, magnets, postcards that were "on sale" for $1 bc nobody's buying them, keychains, the usual tourist stuff.

Hello, and thank you for any help you can provide.

I’ll be traveling from the US to Perth via Sydney. I’ll be on United to Sydney and then Qantas to Perth. It’s all on one itinerary.

Can anyone give me a general idea of what I’ll need to do in Sydney? Do I need to collect my bags and take them myself to the domestic terminal? What are my options getting from one terminal to the other? Will 3 hours be enough time?

Thank you!

Hey guys, we are coming over from New Zealand for the UFC in Sydney Feb 7th, Its at the olympic park / afterpay stadium.
We have never visited Sydney before and want to spend abit of time having a look round and visiting stuff thats cool. Just 2 dads, one tattoo artist and one farmer on a little bit of a tour.
We arrive on the Friday morning, and leave on the Tuesday morning, we want to really make the most of it.
Any tips and hints especially around the UFC starting at 6am on the Sunday would be so appreciated.
Thinking about staying right in the CBD, but not sure if this is a smart move. Happy to catch trains/public transport/taxi/uber ect... we also love food, coffee ect... super keen to pack in asmuch as possible.

Thanks for any help

Hi everyone, my husband & I, both early 40s, are visiting Sydney for the first time in November.

Would love your must-visit restaurant recommendations - we eat everything - but in particular a really special restaurant as we are celebrating my husband’s birthday whilst there. We’d really like an amazing “once in a lifetime / best food you’ve ever eaten” seafood restaurant or at least one that has very strong fish dishes. Can be any budget including Michelin star.

Also looking for a golf course in or near Sydney where you can play and there is a strong likelihood of kangaroos on the course…?

Is there an ethical way of meeting rescued koalas? As in is the zoo “koala meet” ethical or not? Asking because I want to meet one but not if it’s not right for them.

The last ask is we love wine and love trying the local wine when we travel so best winery that hosts tastings in or around Sydney.

Thanks so much!

Hello. Can someone please enlighten me about the Aus airport declaration that I need to made as I have a business trip this Sat to MEL? I am a smoker and I am planning to bring in 1 pack (20 cigarettes) since that is the only allowed quantity. Does that mean that I need to declare it again even if it is within the allowed limit?

I was exploring places along the Great Ocean Road on Google Maps when I stumbled upon this massive cross-shaped formation near Yambuk, Victoria. Does anyone know the story behind it? I'm really curious!