Anyone been to Australia in the winter?

[treestar]

I mean, the summer here in the U.S., but winter in Australia, say August.

I want to go see that country but my only time I can take off is - August.

Would it be crazy or is it just as beautiful? I can see from research that the temperatures are mild. I'd be visiting in NSW and Queensland maybe. (As Joe Harman says, you can't go home without seeing the Great Barrier Reef).

[treestar]

1. Kick in case there are Aussie travelers on board today

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Ask in the Australia Forum under State and Country Forums

There are a few Aussie regulars, and they would be the best sources.

However, at this time of day (10AM central), it's now the middle of the night in Australia, so you may have to wait for a reply.

[treestar]

5. Good point

Forgot about those.

[bikebloke]

3. I bike trekked Oz in their winter.

Started in Sydney, pedaling up the east coast to Queensland. It's summery the further north you go.

[treestar]

4. Thanks

The climate seemed mild from my researches.

The Tropic of Capricorn goes through, so in the far north it must even be tropical.

[Kali]

6. ...

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=10

[timtom]

7. Theirs or ours?

[distantearlywarning]

8. Yes, I went in July.

The weather south of Sydney was cold, but we snorkled and swam up north (near Cannes and farther north). I remember it being quite tropical, not like winter at all until we went south.

[elocs]

9. After I finished college in 1975 I really thought about emigrating to Australia.

Back then they were still paying for your passage if you stayed enough years. I can only imagine how different my life would have been had I done that.

[Demoiselle]

10. We stayed from mid May to mid June a few years ago.

Visiting our daughter and her husband. Sidney was spring like. Balmy, not hot enough to make me want to get into the sea, but very very pleasant.
Went all the way north to the Daintree (sp.?) forest and Port Douglas. We snorkeled on the Reef. Not too cold for that.
We also went to Alice Springs and the great red middle of the country, Ularu. (Ayre's Rock.) All mild. In August it will probably be a bit cooler....but still, I can't imagine that it wouldn't be great traveling, exploring weather.
The only strange thing we experienced was a torrential downpour in the middle of the country. It was weird, because with all the rain, Ularu felt like a tropical paradise (humid, wet, etc.) and in fact, it is a dry dry desert place. Everybody kept telling us how lucky we were to experience such an unusual rain storm. I was annoyed because they cancelled my camel ride. Apparently camels have great traction on sand, but not so great on wet mud..
GO! It's a fascinating place and the people are great.

[Demoiselle]

11. We stayed from mid-May to mid-June a few years ago.

We were visiting our daughter and her husband. Sidney was springlike. Balmy, not hot enough to make me want to get into the sea, but very very pleasant.
Went all the way north to the Daintree (sp.?) forest and Port Douglas. We snorkeled on the Reef. Not too cold for that.
We also went to Alice Springs and the great red middle of the country, Ularu. (Ayre's Rock.) All mild. In August it will probably be a bit cooler....but still, I can't imagine that it wouldn't be great traveling, exploring weather.
The only strange thing we experienced was a torrential downpour in the middle of the country. It was weird, because with all the rain, Ularu felt like a tropical paradise (humid, wet, etc.) and in fact, it is a dry dry desert place. Everybody kept telling us how lucky we were to experience such an unusual rain storm. I was annoyed because they cancelled my camel ride. Apparently camels have great traction on sand, but not so great on wet mud..
GO! It's a fascinating place and the people are great.

[SwissTony]

12. I hope you come

August is a pretty good time of the year, particularly if you are not used to the heat.

A small word of warning...don't try and see too much. Australia is a big country (comparable in area to the US excluding Alaska, I believe) and many people come here expecting to be able see all of it in a few weeks. For example, the distance from Sydney to Cairns is 2730 km (1695 m). Very doable in a month if that was all you were going to do. But knock off a few days in Sydney, a few days in the Blue Mountains etc etc and you have the danger of seeing Australia largely from inside your car. But if you keep your ambition in check when planning your trip, you should be OK.

I hope you come here. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Greetings from a tropical (and very wet - anyone for a monsoon?) Darwin

[velvet]

13. Yes, come

August is good, coldish in Sydney but mellow in Queensland.