About Australia

Reviews 3

AN

Andy Grubb

Recently returned from my first trip to Australia, and what a memorable adventure. About Australia not only made the trip smooth and seamless, careful consideration was taken when proposing and planning the trip to my active lifestyle. The first stop of my trip was Cairns. Cairns is a beautiful city with an exquisite atmosphere. The Esplanade has a beautiful man made lagoon for swimming, highlighted with steel fish sculptures. The boardwalk that lines the harbor is perfect for a morning jog, and has exercise equipment along the way. The opposite side of the street is lined with numerous restaurants which will not disappoint. While in Cairns snorkeling or diving on the Great Barrier Reef is a must do, and is indescribable experience. The Tusa T-6 Dive boat was an amazing vessel, and its staff kind, courteous, and eager to show the treasures just beneath the waves. After viewing the reef the next item to see is the Daintree Rainforest. The Daintree Rainforest is a World Heritage site. While in the Daintree, I selected to Jungle Surf (Zip line) through the Canopy. A truly unique perspective of the forest as you zip from platform to platform in a very safe and controlled fashion. From some of the platforms you can see the contrast of the sea as it meets the lush forest at it shores. The upbeat staff made learning about the rainforest and its hidden treasures fun, enjoyable, and memorable. The second city I visited was Melbourne. My first impression of Melbourne was that it was a bustling center with more trolleys than San Francisco. I never hopped on a trolley or took a cab while in this city, and found the best way to see the charm is to walk. From street art and performers to numerous eateries and the night markets entertainment can be found very easily. During my walk I made it to Captain Cooks Cabin, Melbourne Aquarium (Stunning), and the botanical gardens. The next activity was the Great Ocean Road tour which is filled with breath taking landscapes of the southern shore, and a passionate and knowledgeable guide. Sydney was my last stop. The first activity was riding on an Americas cup boat in Sydney Harbor. The crew actively encourage people to hop on the grinders to hoist or trim the sails, and take hold of the wheel and feel the power of this world class boat as it harnessed the wind. The second item on the agenda was surfing at Bondi Beach. Although surf conditions were not ideal due to the wind (cant control the weather), it was a beautiful beach and a must go for any beach lover. The last item was the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb. While the idea of climbing a bridge may deter the less adventurous, the climb is easily performed by young and old. It provides a unique view of the Opera house, harbor, and the city. The nightlife in Sydney varies from the Circular Quay, Rocks, to Kings Cross, or to the more mellow Darling Harbor which has numerous restaurants /café and the Worlds Largest IMAX Theater. About Australias hard work and dedication to provide a quality and memorable experience, was clearly apparent from the first shuttle transfer to last. I will definitely plan my next adventure with them.

ST

Steve Strauchler

Several of our friends had visited Australia and told us that it was a "must see" destination. Some of these people had gone on sightseeing and cultural tours, while others had gone on nature and bird watching tours. We wanted all of it, so we contacted About Australia and asked them to put together an itinerary for us that would meet our needs. We wanted to tour for 30 days. We dealt with both Bekah and Paul, and what they managed to put together for us was extraordinary. The package they put together, utilized more than 40 different service providers. These included hotels, lodges, birding guides, naturalists guided tours, and drivers. They also arranged all our internal flights. When we saw the completed itinerary it looked too good to be true. We would be spending time in major cities such as Cairns, Melbourne and Sydney. We would tour virtually all of Australias major landmarks including the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge, the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. We would also travel with private guides to some of the areas richest in birds and other wildlife. Areas like Kangaroo Island, Bruny Island (in Tasmania) and Kakadu. They say that when something seems too good to be true, it usually isnt true, so it was with a sense of trepidation that we agreed to the itinerary and set out on our adventure. How did it turn out? In a word "great". The lodges were incredible. We saw and identified well over 300 species of birds. We saw kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, platypuses, dingoes and many other animals in the wild....not in zoos. We also got to see all the cultural attractions that were on the itinerary. Of course, in a 30 day trip, there has to be at least one glitch. The one scheduled event that didnt take place, was a light airplane flight to try to see a certain rare parrot. The vendor had to cancel at the last minute. About Australia showed their integrity by immediately offering to refund the money we had paid for that tour. They are a company that truly stands behind their product. Every time we go on a trip, somebody says, "Thats really the trip of a lifetime". In this case we must agree with them.

JA

Jacy Holland

Wasnt even sure where to begin planning at trip to Australia so of course I searched the web for a travel agent. I found About Australia and read all the great reviews. I called them and they took care of my plans so graciously. I was meeting my husband in Brisbane because he was coming from India after working there, and they coordinated with all of his prearranged flights. I told Rebekah what we liked and were wanting to do (so many choices...can be overwhelming) and she sent me info and answered all my MANY questions. We only had about 10 days to spend there and so we crammed a lot of things into those 10 days. We traveled from Brisbane to Cairns, then to Sydney and finally back home to Texas. We snorkeled at the reef and saw lots of sea turtles, blue starfish, giant clams and much more. We sand surfed at Tangalooma and fed dolphins. We held koalas, we fed kangaroos and lounged with them too! We jungle surfed (zip line) in the rainforest, we did the canopy walk at Daintree. We stopped to see Malanda Falls and then swam at Josephine Falls...that is a MUST DO! We saw the giant Curtain Fig (must see). We went to 3 different wildlife zoo/sanctuaries and they were all wonderful. We had amazing guides while we were there that were very personable and helpful. They made stops on our excursions that were bonus stops. Go to The Humpy in Tolga if you are out that way...gourmet peanuts, macadamia nuts and other yummy things. That was all in Queensland. In Sydney, we saw the Opera House and had the 1 hour tour (that building is AMAZING!) It was also the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day while we were there so that was pretty special. We went to the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves and also did a hop on/off harbor boat tour. We had a great trip and couldnt have done it without Rebekah and the About Australia group. MANY THANKS REBEKAH!

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