Chris

I was thinking about going to Sydney for my next vacation but I'm open to all other suggestions. I've heard great things about Perth as well. I'm a young guy and like to be around a more urban type setting.

How far does the dollar go over there?

Any must-see spots? Beaches? (Is the summer starting to die down now that it's almost March..)

How are the women?

I've done a bit of research on google and wikipedia over the last few days. If anyone has been there for a vacation or lived there please offer your input.

Thanks!

Chris

ryane946

Been there once when I was pretty young. Awesome place.

My free flying benefits are about to expire, so I am gonna take a trip around the globe and I want to make Australia one of my stops. I have been checking the loads on the SFO-SYD and LAX-SYD flights and they are incredibly full. My advice is to buy your plane ticket as soon as possible to get a decent fare. United and Quantas fly non-stop from the west coast. Good connections on Air New Zealand and Air Canada. Your looking at about $1,000 round trip.

I am sure you know this, but don't forget to go during THEIR summertime(Dec, Jan), not our summer.

Chris

I work for CAL so the ticketing isn't an issue unless a flight is booked. Getting off Guam is the only issue (sometimes), and getting back home. As a result I check the pax count on "good" days and schedule my trips accordingly.

Where in Australia did you go..?

Kill Bill

australia is the best.

i used to layover there all the time back when cal flew down under. in sydney don't miss darling harbor, pancakes on the rocks, the opera house, manley beach (take the hydrofoil from circular quay), paddy's market, the woolshed steak house in woolamaloo (best steak i ever ate), and the elevated train that goes around downtown.

the aussie girls are quite nice and the accent will kill you. the beaches are topless. aussie guys are macho and like to fight, but not in anger; they just like a good contest. they are world champ drinkers and partiers. their priorities (in order) drinking, their mates (pals), and aussie rules football. women are in there somewhere but hard to discern exactly where. you should be able to turn this to your advantage.

you will love australia and will want to go back again and again.

Chris

Thanks KB. I'll definitely check those out.

I don't have a problem sparring aussie guys as long as they don't send me to the hospital. I imagine the bar fights can get pretty ugly too.

I'm gonna make sure to visit Chinatown too. The concept of an Asian girl with an Aussie accent is too much to resist!

ASpilot2be

I cant wait to head down there either My friend and I want to rent an RV and drive around .

Skygirl

I love Australia. I used to work for George Lucas and we shot the last couple of Star Wars movies in Sydney. There is much to do there and the US dollar is stronger than the Aussie buck, so that is an advantage.

Bondi Beach is the most famous beach in Australia and it's in Sydney. You can easily get there by transit if you don't rent a car. You can get almost anywhere in the vicinity from Circular Quay, the transit/ferry center in City Centre. We used to catch a ferry and go out to Watson's Bay to have seafood and beers at Doyle's. For nightlife, there is the neighborhood called "The Rocks" as well as many restaurants/bars in Darling Harbour.

Since I'm a gal, I can't really speak much about the girls, although the Aussie girls that worked on the set and in production were lovely, as well as friendly. Aussie's are a friendly bunch, although some of the guys tend to be a bit on the macho side. Aussies love to drink, even some of the gals can drink you under the table...LOL.

It's definitely going in to their fall season there, but the weather is still nice. If you want warm weather though, go up to Cairns in Northern Queensland. I'm a scuba divemaster so I spent over a week up there diving the Great Barrier Reef. You should also visit the Daintree rainforest while up there. There are a lot of backpackers in Cairns so there are tons of hostels to stay in if you want to go on the cheap. I'm a bit past that stage so I stayed in a resort.

I recently returned from a trip to New Zealand as well, and highly recommend going there as well. It's a beautiful pristine country and the people are also very friendly. It's actually quite fun to be in a pub with Aussies and Kiwis during a rugby game, but if it's a game between Australia and New Zealand, be prepared to run for your life if a fight breaks out!

DaveP2

I was in Christchurch for a few weeks (one of my better Air Force deployments, it beat the HELL out of that month in Qatar!), and I strayed [stumbled] into a bar with an NZ/AUS rugby game on. Your best bet is to NOT pick a team and play the dumb (but polite) American. If it gets rough, bail.

The Aussies and NZ'ers are nice people, but very rowdy drunks! I suggest you go and have fun!

WingOffLight

OMG! Yeah, Im so ugly I have to sneak up on FA's. Yet even I can get an Ausi to throw leg. My buddie looks like Eddie Murphy, he hooked up the first night with two and we didnt see him for 2 days.

schwanm

Did you end up doing any antarctic flights?

It's great seeing the C17s buzzing around Christchurch, dwarfs everything else there