Australia Vacation

Raina.Rae

I'm heading to Australia in mid May for vactaion. I'll be in Cairns for 3 full days, Melbourn for 3 full days and Sydney for 3 full days, doing an independent tour, so I won't have a car. Does any one have any suggestions as to good photo sites besides the usaual opera house in Sydney? And are there any photos restrictions I should be aware of?

Mr Eddy

Raina.Rae wrote:

I'm heading to Australia in mid May for vactaion. I'll be in Cairns for 3 full days, Melbourn for 3 full days and Sydney for 3 full days, doing an independent tour, so I won't have a car. Does any one have any suggestions as to good photo sites besides the usaual opera house in Sydney? And are there any photos restrictions I should be aware of?

Lots of options in both Melbourne and Sydney that I can give you some advice on. You've picked a lovely time of year to be here.

For Sydney, outside of the obligatory opera house stuff (the rocks area near the opera house is worth investigating - especially the pubs) there are LOTS of beautiful spots within easy ferry range of the city. Milsons Points/Lavender Bay and Luna Park on the north side of the bridge and cremorne, Tooronga Zoo (yes, I know. it's a zoo. trust me on this one) is really in a stunning location overlooking the harbour but there's also a beautiful walking track from near the zoo to Balmoral. Manly has both harbour and ocean sides, as do Watsons Bay and south head. The walking track south from Bondi to Bronte along the shore passing the rock pools is probably the most famous walk in Sydney, and for a good reason. Bondi generally is great for people (backpacker?) watching. Parts of the inner western suburbs (Newtown) can be great spots for urban/graffiti and street photography. If you have something specific in mind let me know. Not surprisingly a lot of Sydney's best opportunities are around the water. If you want to get out of town for a day you can easily do a day trip in the blue mountains or hunter valley.

Melbourne is a whole different beast. To get the best out of Melbourne you have to explore the alleyways and the hidden away spots. Go exploring. Strongly recommend you track down one of the tours that can show you the secrets. It's a perfect city for interesting night shots, both in the alleys and along the river. A lot of the new developments along the river as well as on the bay near the CBD (Fed Square, Crown, Docklands) have some interesting architecture if that's your thing. Get on a tram and see the suburbs around the city center - St Kilda (and the beach - the weekend market can be fun), South Yarra/Chapel St, Brunswick St Fitzroy, Richmond. All vibrant areas with bars and restaurants and plenty of live music. To bet honest, Melbourne's less flashy, rewards exploration and definitely has fewer big ticket sights then Sydney. But it's a great city for nightlife, if you know where to look. By the way, if you like coffee go to St Ali in South Melbourne. Day trip from Melbourne I would probably suggest the Dandenongs (Emerald or similar), or the Yarra Valley wine region.

Happy to answer any questions you might have.