I'm excited! My best friend and I decided that for our birthdays (we were born in the same month) we should go to AUSTRALIA !! Woo-Hoo !
There some Aussies in town doing some Air-Force training/exercise thing and one of them said we could stay at his place, since he's like 40 yards from the beach.

SO, my questions are....

Is August a good month to visit ?

How are the surrounding areas of Sydney ?

Are any of you Aussie Scrollers near by ?
If so, we shoud grab a tasty beverage !!

And is there anything I should know ? Look out for ? Make plans to see ?

This will be the first time I travel internationally, and I'm SO STOKED !!!!

August is a good time to visit. Hell, any time is a good time to visit. It's cold in August, but it never gets so cold in Sydney that it snows. A jumper or a jacket should be fine - no need for thermals.

For surrounding areas you might want to check out the Blue Mountaisn near Sydney (you can catch a bus tour there) and maybe the Hunter Valley - which is our closest wine region and absolutely delightful. Both are just over an hour by car from the CBD (Central Business District of Sydney).

There are some interesting historical buildings in Parramatta, about half an hour from Sydney, and lots of clean, Central Coast beaches to the North, about an hour away. Central Coast is where the majority of the Aussie Scrollers live.

Sydney itself has many, many things to do, though. You might find not enough time to do everything there.

MUST SEE/DO:

* Climb the Harbour Bridge
* See an event at the Opera House (drama, opera, classical music)
* Spend a day walking through the Rocks, around the fore shore to the Opera House and through the Botanical Gardens - stop to take lots of pictures and have lunch somewhere nice (I suggest Rosinni's at Circular Quay)
* Go to the new outdoor viewing deck on Centre Point Tower
* Catch a ferry to Manly from Circular Quay and have fish and chips on the promenade (go to the aquarium or the beach while you are there, if you want to)
* Eat a meat pie with peas and gravy from Harry's Cafe de Wheels in Woolloomoloo - best pie in Australia!
* Buy a terry towling hat to take home
* Visit Taronga Zoo to hold a koala bear and see kangaroo, platypus and echidna
* Tell someone you'd root for their team
* Drink some Aussie lager, which we call beer. VB (Victoria Bitter) is the most widely drunk here. Carlton Crown Lager is thought of as our best premium brew. I like Coopers, as it feels hand crafted. Cascade is also good

OTHER STUFF YOU COULD DO:
* Go to Darling Harbour and eat something/shop
* Visit the NSW Art Gallery (they have a good selection of Aboriginal art on the lower floor)
* See Hyde Park Barracks and then walk through Hyde Park to Oxford Street - where you can eat something/have a coffee/go to a Queer night club (if it's late enough)
* Shop and eat on King Street in Newtown or Glebe Point Road (very trendy suburbs of Sydney - King Street is dyke central)
* Eat a degustation at Tsetuya's (best restaurant in the world) - need to book three months in advance
* Go on a wine tasting day tour of the Hunter Valley
* Take a dinner cruise on Captain Cook cruises, around Sydney Harbour
* Eat a seafood platter at Doyles, Watson's Bay

The usual stuff about making sure you keep your valuables close to you applies in Sydney, but mostly around the touristy districts of Circular Quay and the Rocks.

Don't offer to buy the Harbour Bridge from anyone, no matter how good the price sounds.

Everything here will seem very cheap to you, as your dollar is worth more than ours. Our food is very Asian/fusion - influenced by our closest neighbouring countries.

I'm sure we could rustle up a genuine Aussie barbie for you at my place, for you to meet the other Oz Scrollers. Along with some beers and maybe even some Xena.

Good onya for planning to visit us!

First off, I have to say your response Arqeaux was the CUTEST THING EVER... I was smilling the entire time reading it. You are SO wonderful and THANK YOU for taking the time out to give me a detailed response.
I, of course, haven't bought my tickets yet, but I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I DO !!! Woo-Hoo! I don't think I'd rather vacation anywhere else right now.... Australia is the SH*T !!

quote:

Originally posted by Argeaux:

I'm sure we could rustle up a genuine Aussie barbie for you at my place, for you to meet the other Oz Scrollers. Along with some beers and maybe even some Xena.

If there were to be an Aussie bbq at Arqeaux's WITH fellow scrollers AND some Xena.... I might just keel over.

It is ONLY February right now, and I'm not going to get too excited yet... I will once I save and buy the plane tickets...

PS~ Thanks again, Argie... YOU ROCK !!

opps, forgot to comment about beer... .LOVE beer, it's SO ON !!

i typed a long winded response, and then it wouldn't post.... very p'd off.

It didn't give as much detail as Argy's... ( no where near in fact)..

Salem, Madogis, Argy and I (Amethyst) , i think are the only Aussie scrollers left these days.

Salem and Maddie are the only 2 scrollers (aussie) who have met me and Argy, then NOT moved states

*has been thinking of moving to QLD*

for the TO DO IN SYDNEY list...

• have Argy show you a MORTON Fig Tree
• light something on fire with Ame

oh, that was something i did mention in my long winded post...

Ask Lila!... since she has been here.....and had huge fun. she hasn't been back in about 6 years though, how terribly thoughtless of her..

*waves*
blast from the past

i moved states too. sydney wasn't for me. i went to live in Mackay in Queensland for a bit. but i had to come back to go back to uni which sucked majorly cause i love queensland.

if you have time, i recommend you go to the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and enjoy the wineries there