Melb3000 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Not to sound negative but.... melbourne although its very nice, it isnt that amazing, its just more of a normal city compared with say Perth. When looking at it or comparing to a city in another country to be honest its nice but just a bit bland I do plan on seeing these places myself and hope to be blown over by some of them but up to now nothing is amazing like Rio, London, Ankor wat etc... Melbourne is a very different city to what it was 50 years ago. A lot of fantastic buildings and whole streetscapes demolished to make way for modern international style buildings and skyscrapers. It used to be one of the worlds greatest Victorian era cities. Only pockets of noteworthy Victorian architecture remain in the city today, enough to be significant but nothing like it once was. Look up some older pictures of Melbourne to get an idea of what it used to look like... I wouldn't say Melbourne is bland at all, geographically it may be a little but not in terms of the city's atmosphere. It has extremely eclectic architecture from multiple eras (since around 1840), contains some fantastic Victorian era commercial and government buildings, terrace housing and Italianate style mansions in the suburbs and is probably the most horticulturally significant city in Australia on account of its parks and gardens. It also is very well developed in terms of 'cultural' elements, eg. festivals, live music scene, theatre, arts etc. I guess there is nothing much for people traveling from the other side of the world in terms of 'marquee' attractions, but that's not what Melbourne is all about. It's just a really nice place to be around in between all the real hectic tourist stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maidensarah Posted November 22, 2013 Author Share Posted November 22, 2013 What I liked about when I was travelling there was that although I didn't get all Australia, I spent a few months in both Sydney and Brisbane, as well a shorter visits to many other places up to FNQ, so I got to know both of those cities fairly well, which gave me a fair idea of what it might be like to live there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack13 Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Or Hobart, or Launceston, or Alice Springs, or Mount Isa, or Mildura, or Kalgoorlie, or... Yes but hu really wants to go there, they are very small places. Theres nothing to see. Alice Springs is just a rock. Sure it would be nice to go one day but I'm in no hurry Ive been all up the eastern coast.:smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack13 Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 So which do you recommend? And what did you do in each. We're wondering about Canberra, just been told it's crap. Canberra is crap. Lived in Melbourne twice its da best place. Syndey visited too many people. Adelaide stayed with freinds loved it but wudnt live dere. Brissy was good and would be mys econd choice after melbourne (mainly cos its close to byron bay and stuff) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 I have been to Melbourne three times in 2010, 2012 and 2013 Sydney twice in 2010 and 2012 Adelaide in 2012 and will revsit in 2014 Brisbane in 2012 Cairns in 2012 Canberra in 2012 Only places I haven't done are Darwin and perth So you haven't been to every city then. Guess you didn't get to Isa either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Alice Springs is just a rock. Sure it would be nice to go one day but I'm in no hurry Ive been all up the eastern coast.:smile: That just shows you know nothing about Australia. The "rock" is a 6 hour drive from Alice :laugh: How do you know who wants to go there or not. You haven't been yourself so how can you judge a place with no knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Canberra is crap. ) So how long did you live there Jack? I know I've visited Canberra but there is no way I could judge a place just on a visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Les Patterson Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 That just shows you know nothing about Australia. The "rock" is a 6 hour drive from Alice :laugh:How do you know who wants to go there or not. You haven't been yourself so how can you judge a place with no knowledge. Kate I could remind him of that old adage "that it is better to remain silent and appear a fool than to open his mouth and remove all doubt" but I won't as last time I did the quotation was deleted for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack13 Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 So how long did you live there Jack? I know I've visited Canberra but there is no way I could judge a place just on a visit. Well for starters theres no beach, so I wouldnt live there anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack13 Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 That just shows you know nothing about Australia. The "rock" is a 6 hour drive from Alice :laugh:How do you know who wants to go there or not. You haven't been yourself so how can you judge a place with no knowledge. yes but I bet half my Australian freinds dont know that either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack13 Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 So you haven't been to every city then. Guess you didn't get to Isa either why in god's name would i need to visit isa? Its in land isnt it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 why in god's name would i need to visit isa? Its in land isnt it? If you are only interested in east coast state capitals then that is your prerogative. But a holiday to Melbourne and Sydney in 2010 and a road trip from Adelaide to Cairns in 2012 hardly makes you an expert on the relative merits of a place. However, your notion that there is nothing to see in Australia outwith the coastal cities is absurd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 you haven't seen nothing Jack! I personally weren't fussed about the big cities. I enjoyed seeing the smaller places on the road more. Haven't been to Sydney yet so hope that'll be good. I thought you would have been to Sydney BC. It's great I reckon you'll love it. It's a place where you can spend a lot of money or have a good time on the cheap. I find it very easy to walk around and sight see. The Opera House is just as spectacular when you see it as it looks in photos. The ferry from Circular key to Manly has to be one of the best cheap trips around. The botanic gardens are lovely and you don't feel that you even close to a big City. You can then walk out of them straight into a busy bustling shopping or bar area. I know Sydney a lot better than I know Perth as I've had the opportunity to spend heaps of weekends there on my own when work have been paying. There are happy hour deals in the bars in the rocks and around Darling Harbour and if you time it right you can get a happy 2 hours as they change there times. Great place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Not to sound negative but.... I find many places in Australia totally hyped up and when you actually get there to be honest there a bit of a let down, this is especially the case in Western Australia. This does resonate *slightly* with me. Just got back from a week in Palm Cove, north of Cairns and while we enjoyed it we felt it was slightly overrated - and of course it is quite expensive to get there from Melbourne, plus accommodation is expensive in most places. Port Douglas was rather disappointing, just seemed a moderately picturesque spot filled with braying Aussie and overseas tourists eating and drinking vast quantities of alcohol. In the past we've been to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts - enjoyable, but I liked our trip to Lakes Entrance or the Great Ocean Road (which is less than an hour's drive from us) just as much. Sydney I've visited a few times, not very keen on it - in some ways Canberra was more interesting - I would be happy to go there every few years. We've decided we just enjoy road trips more (as you feel 'on holiday' the minute you set off) so will drive around Victoria/possible NSW and also fly to Tasmania. Next trip to Echuca maybe. I won't be going to FNQ/WA again I think, no desire to visit Uluru at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Well i can let you know lichfield park is lovely but not out of this world .... we live in darwin and went last wkend hubby had been going on n on about it so we packed up the car n kids and off we went 1 1/2 hours later (it says only 1 hr in map ) we arrive at one of the watering holes lovely, and then one of the water falls lovely, but even my hubby felt let down he thought we were going to see amazing things but all you see is bush more bush and then o some more bush lol , dont get me wrong it was beautiful but not at all what they make it out to be ....... just thought i'd let you know I visited it in 2000 and did think it was lovely. However, much of Australia is rather overhyped by the Aussies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I visited it in 2000 and did think it was lovely. However, much of Australia is rather overhyped by the Aussies! Pommies like it, so does everybody else. Well all except one that is............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyay1 Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I just came back from Kakadu National Park - it's an awesomely beautiful, harsh, flyblown, magical, scary part of the world. it feels like the first spot on earth that was created and parts of it feel incredibly alien, anywhere which can make you feel such contradictory emotions must be quite special. I loved it and it was amazing and we had it to ourselves as it was low season so no tourists really - but i also kind of disliked it at the same time! i'm not sure what i expected it to be, it kind of reveals itself to you the longer you are there. distances are huge. i wanted to see more but when you leave the main highway you are off roading and the off road parts are really not great, very bumpy and corrugated - in a hired city type 4x4 it was a bit nerve wracking so we didnt dare do too much for fear of wrecking the vehicle. all the locals have completely tooled up 4x4s for this purpose and its one part of Oz you can see there's a justification for it. i would love to go back properly kitted up and really explore. basic Toorak Tractors just don't really cut it up there. It really is a huge wilderness with an abundance of natural beauty, and hazards. it's all very exciting and there is amazing animal and plant life but it's not really somewhere that you go walking off on your own without telling someone where you're going, or having a plan and the distances between places is large. for Brits used to thinking of driving to places outside of cities as having a break in "the countryside", places such as Kakadu just don't fit that neat description and i think as a recent migrant i am still getting used to the sheer scale of this country! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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