Do you come from a land down under?

In case any of you didn't know... It's REALLY hard to plan an itinerary, especially if you're backpacking alone... This has taken a lot of man hours, research and a ton of reading... The best book I've found so far is "Let's Go: Australia - Australia on a budget" and I've dabbled in "Frommers: Australia from $60 a day", but the Frommers book just isn't as good as the Let's Go book. Frommers does have some good information, for example I would have never known that Whitsundays has an airport on Hamilton Island, but thanks to my handy Frommers book I now know! I don't even know why Frommers says "from $60 a day" because none of their recommended accomodations are even really in that ballpark. I'd go way over my $60 budget if I was really trying to follow that book. I also like how it tells you the estimated travel time from bus, car, train or plane to or from your destination. That's really helpful when trying to manage your time.

All I have to say is the Australian rail system is F'd up in the worst way. Their schedules are nearly impossible to read and trains only leave on certain days which is a pain when you're trying to just get somewhere. It can really throw off your entire schedule when the train only leaves on Thursdays and Sundays, which forces you to cut out days, add days to waste time or take a plane...It's the main reason I'm flying from Hamilton Island to Cairns. I either have to have a boat load of time in Cairns or one day and my main reason for going to Oz is to see, snorkel, dive The Great Barrier Reef... If their train schedules were even 1/2 as normal to understand as the Eurail schedules, this would be an easier trip to plan, but unfortunately, it's not... it's a colossal pain in the ass... I basically have to plan my entire trip on what days the trains run. If I happen to miss a train, I'm seriously hosed Tommy....

Enough ranting, here's what I've got so far:

Australia 2007 Itinerary


Friday February 16, 2007
· 10:35 pm - Leave SFO to Sydney

Sunday February 18, 2007
· 8:05 am Arrive Sydney, take train to Richmond
· Stay and catch up with Nathaniel 1 night :)

Monday February 19, 2007
· Take train back into Sydney for sightseeing and
· Check into Hostel 1 night

Wake Up! Hostel
509 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Telephone Number: +61 9288 7888

Tuesday February 20, 2007
· Leave Sydney for Coffs Harbour, Depart 7:15 am
· Arrive 3:54 pm
· Check into Hostel for 2 nights

Aussitel Backpackers
312 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia

Wednesday February 21, 2007
· Sight see Coffs Harbour

Aussitel Backpackers
312 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia

Thursday February 22, 2007
· Leave Coff’s Harbour for Byron Bay 3:54 pm
· Arrive Byron Bay 8:08 pmCheck into Hostel 2 nights

Aquarius Backpackers
16 Lawson Street, Byron Bay, NSW 2481, Australia
phone: +61 2 6685 7663

Friday February 23, 2007
· Byron Bay Sightseeing

Aquarius Backpackers
16 Lawson Street, Byron Bay, NSW 2481,
Australiaphone: +61 2 6685 7663

Saturday February 24, 2007
· Leave Byron Bay for Surfers Paradise 8:08 pm
· Arrive at Surfers Paradise 8:59 pm

Trekkers Backpackers Resort
22 White St, Southport, Surfers Paradise, QLD 4215, Australia

Sunday February 25, 2007
· Surfers Paradise

Trekkers Backpackers Resort
22 White St, Southport, Surfers Paradise, QLD 4215, Australia

Monday February 26, 2007
· Leave Surfers Paradise for Brisbane 8:29 pm
· Arrive in Brisbane 9:21 pm
· Check into Hostel and stay 2 nights

Palace Backpackers Embassy
Corner Ann & Edward Streets, Brisbane, ., Australia
+1800676340

Tuesday February 27, 2007
· Sightsee Brisbane

Palace Backpackers Embassy
Corner Ann & Edward Streets, Brisbane, Australia
+1800676340

Wednesday February 28, 2007
· Leave Brisbane for Fraser Island – Depart 8:55 am
· Arrive 2:07 pm Marysborough West train station
· Arrive in Hervey Bay
· Stay 1 night in Hervey Bay Hostel

Beaches Backpackers Hervey Bay
195 Torquay Terrace, Hervey Bay, Queensland, 4655, Australia

Thursday March 1, 2007
· 8:45 am – meet up with Fraser Island Tour
· Stay on Fraser Island 2 nights
· http://www.cooldingotour.com

Friday March 2, 2007
· Fraser Island Tour

Saturday March 3, 2007
· Return from Fraser Island to Hervey Bay at 5:45 pm

Beaches Backpackers Hervey Bay
195 Torquay Terrace, Hervey Bay, Queensland, 4655, Australia

Sunday March 4, 2007
· 11:40 am - Depart Hervey Bay - Qantas flight to Cairns
· 4:45 pm – Arrive Cairns
· Stay in Hostel 1 night

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Monday March 5, 2007
· Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Tuesday March 6, 2007
· Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Wednesday March 7, 2007
· Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling

Dreamtime Travellers Rest Cnr.
Bunda & Terminus St., Cairns, Australia, ., Australia

Thursday March 8, 2007
· Fly back to Sydney
· Nath will pick me up

Friday March 9, 2007
· Sydney
· Hang with Nath

Saturday March 10, 2007
· Sydney
· Hang with Nath

Wake Up! Hostel
509 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia

Sunday March 11, 2007
· Fly back to USA