Qantas/Australia

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We're booked on the QF31/32 going to Sydney via Singapore in August. We have heard lots of good things about Qantas, just wondering about others experiences? After all, we're going to be spending about 25 hours on the plane each way. Not sure how long the Singapore stop-over is, but I presume we all have to get off the plane? So there will be time for a shower, food etc.

We're going Biz, and I'm hoping we'll be able to get a seat on the upper-deck (fewer people). I think we can choose our seats on-line 24 hours before check-in (I hope). I'm also going to check out the Molton Brown spa at Heathrow, anybody been in there for treatments?

Any ideas on things in Australia?

Our itineray is six days in Sydney, two days at Ayers rock and five days at the Barrier of Reef.

So far, it's the usual touristy things I have noted down. I'm going to book the bridge climb, a cruise around the harbour and so on. I read about a cruise out to an Island that used to hold prisoners which is marketed as being a spooky sort of thing?

Oh, I'm going to book the Sounds of Silence dinner at Ayers rock, but is there anywhere where I can get it cheaper for sixty pounds?

Any ideas on snorkelling trips out on the Reef? So far, I have found Quicksilver cruises which look to be fine. Oh, we're looking into the various passes for the Daintree Rainforest (thinking it's a good idea to go on the Skyrail one way and on the train another way, with a trip into Rainforestation when we get there?).

Any advice welcomed. Trying to get over my phobia about Australian creepy crawlies before I go too, lol.

pierreblonde

i have flown to oz a couple of times and yes it is a long flight but they have more leg room ( i've only done economy) and the meals are better. I wouldnt drink on the plane or maybe just one as you can get really dehydrated. try to set your watch to oz time after singapore ( which i would check to see how long the stopover is as there will only be a few showers and the more experienced or quick people will nab them )
try to sleep and dont forget to walk around even if everyone does think you are never away from the toilet !!

i lived in oz and i would wait and book things when you get there
the people are quite laid back and stuff can be haggled over so i would go with the flow

most of the tours to the reef are the same

cheers

dayzee_2

Where about's are you staying in regards to the Great Barrier? If you are in Cairns, do not bother pre-booking outings. When you get to cairns head towards the tourist shopping center (not the one with big name stores or cinemas). Inside you will see companies advertising outings. I found it cheaper to do it this way, not only that but each one offers something different.

Let me know where around daintree and reef you are staying and I will give you more specific places to look at.

In regards to Sydney try to book your stuff in advanced. You might also want to look at Bondi Beach as well as the Opera house, etc etc.


As for the singapore stop over. The shortest stop over I had was 45mins, longest 6 hours, so it all depends on length as to how much you can do. I am guessing that you will have about a 4 or 5 hour stop over based on ... well extensive flying between oz and here. If you have a few hours check out the duty free for some good bargins.

I have flown with a few companies and Qantas is ranked number 2 out of airlines that do that UK to Australia run. Food is what you expect. Entertainment is good, but its still a 20 hour flight.

Any other questions etc. I am an ex-pat and can probably answer them or do my best.

john.xs

i went diving with quiksilver and it was fantastic. a real professional outfit particularly for a scaredy cat like myself.
the bridge climb is fun .they always say its best to time your climb so you go up when the sun is setting so you can witness the views and then come down in the dark so you get to see the city lit up.
my wife did a tour of olympic village and stadium and went for swim in pool which she really enjoyed.
croc show in cairns/port douglas was good.
spent a night in pub gambling on toad racing which was different!
how about a night watching something at the opera house !
taronga zoo was v.good for a zoo.
we watched gb v oz rugby international.take in a sporting event if you can its worth it for the friendly banter alone.

AlmightyCorgi

I went to Oz last year, We used a combination of Quantas ( cant fault them ) BA ( not up to Quantas standards at all ) and Virgin Blue ( The Oz easyjet option which was on a par with Quantas for legroom, seat comfort, and facilities ).

We stopped in Singapore for 3 nights on the way out and we were struck by the humidity, if you are stopping for a while, there are a few things to visit, like Raffles and Sentosa Island, if its a quick stopover they had a free area with varying types of massage chairs to use which we found useful on the way home!

In Sydney we turned up at the Opera house, and got tickets for a orchestra perfoming that night, even if thats not your sort of thing, its well worth it for the experience alone. Our first night in Sydney was spent there and i will never forget drinking on the balcony in our posh frocks surounded by people in cocktail dresses and people in shorts and flip flops! They keep in cheap so everyone has the opportunity to go.
We did the Bridge climb at sunset, you get to the mid point, watch the sunset and climb back in the dark, but its adviseable to prebook this timeslot as its the most popular and its sells out weeks in advance. Bondi's worth a look, you can get the bus from Sydney which takes about 30mins, as is a boat trip round the harbour. I did one of the haunted walks round sydney which was a good way to see it and they do make it fun!

In Cairns you have to see the reef, (it was my first snorkelling experience) and Quicksilver are very good to go with. In the rainforest we went up by train and came back down by skyrail which is a very good way to see it. Rainforestation let you have your picture taking with a koala, (some states dont.) have aboriginal shows and an amphibian vehicle tour.

The only time i saw any insects was at the night zoo in Cairns (good fun if you get time ) part of it includes going round by torchlight which picks out the webs and some of the spiders were rather large, but im terrified of them anyway and when i got bitten by something ( they thought probably some sort of ant ), which i didnt actually see, just felt the after effects and the medical centre is very easy to find!!

Sorry this is so long but i had the time of my life there and i could go on for hours!!!! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

lday77

I flew from Heathrow - KL - Sydney - Wellington this time last year, with with Quantas and they were the best airline I have flown with and I went economy. We had a choice of meals with a menu beforehand, about 10 films, cosole type games (basic ones) and free drinks. The leg room was plenty and the seats really comfortable.

When we stopped at KL airport I had a massage which costs about £4 and I had kept my goodie bag (supplied by Quantas) so I tucked into that, but that was all we had time for, on the way back however I had a shower at Bangkok airport and a foot massage which was also about £4 - I think the shower was free.

If you're going business class the seats tip right back and have sides to hold you in, but their not upstairs usually, that's for first class.

Hope you have a great time

Sheel

Just come back from Oz a couple of weeks ago.

You can find out how long your stopover will be HERE. The date I tried (5th August) is a 1hr 30mins stopover. That's about how long our stopover in Hong Kong was on our return journey. It was enough time to freshen up and do some shopping. I was dreading the long journey back , but it was ok , slept quite a bit and watched a few films.

The Bridge climb is a fantastic experience and the harbour cruise is very nice. The island that used to hold prisoners that you mention could be Goat Island (you can see it from the bridge) or possibly Fort Dennison which we didn't go to , but saw on the cruise. It's got a restaurant on it apparently.

We went to the Sounds of Silence dinner and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a great atmosphere and the talk on the night sky was both entertaining and interesting. Be prepared for the flies in the Red Centre , they're in your face all the time. The insect repellant spray we took with us was useless , but we were recommended a herbal cream that you can buy at the newsagents at the shopping centre in Yulara and that was quite good.

We went up to the rainforest by train and came down by the Skyrail too. A tip for the train is to try and sit on the right hand side going up as the view is better on that side. Another vote for Quicksilver here too

I was worried about encountering creepy crawlies too , but apart from ants and the pesky flies we only saw one spider at Uluru. Here's a pic of it , so don't look if you're squeamish about spiders!

shazrazmataz

Sheel wrote:

Just come back from Oz a couple of weeks ago.

You can find out how long your stopover will be HERE. The date I tried (5th August) is a 1hr 30mins stopover. That's about how long our stopover in Hong Kong was on our return journey. It was enough time to freshen up and do some shopping. I was dreading the long journey back , but it was ok , slept quite a bit and watched a few films.

The Bridge climb is a fantastic experience and the harbour cruise is very nice. The island that used to hold prisoners that you mention could be Goat Island (you can see it from the bridge) or possibly Fort Dennison which we didn't go to , but saw on the cruise. It's got a restaurant on it apparently.

We went to the Sounds of Silence dinner and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a great atmosphere and the talk on the night sky was both entertaining and interesting. Be prepared for the flies in the Red Centre , they're in your face all the time. The insect repellant spray we took with us was useless , but we were recommended a herbal cream that you can buy at the newsagents at the shopping centre in Yulara and that was quite good.

We went up to the rainforest by train and came down by the Skyrail too. A tip for the train is to try and sit on the right hand side going up as the view is better on that side. Another vote for Quicksilver here too

I was worried about encountering creepy crawlies too , but apart from ants and the pesky flies we only saw one spider at Uluru. Here's a pic of it , so don't look if you're squeamish about spiders!

You didn't come to visit me

P.S. that spider is tiny, you should have seen the huntsman we had it was huge!

Sheel

shazrazmataz wrote:

You didn't come to visit me

P.S. that spider is tiny, you should have seen the huntsman we had it was huge!

Sorry , but we only had about half an hour at Adelaide airport in between flights Next time!

Do you know what kind of spider that is on my pic?

shazrazmataz

Sheel wrote:

Sorry , but we only had about half an hour at Adelaide airport in between flights Next time!

Do you know what kind of spider that is on my pic?

Adelaide airport is 5 mins from my house, I'd of popped down to see you !

Don't know what sort of spider that is but have seen loads of poisonous ones:eek:

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

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Hiya,

Thanks all. I think I'm going to stick with Quicksilver then.

Has anybody done anything more adventorous like a parachute jump over the Reef? I'm thinking about it. And what about the Jungle Swing in the rainforest? I'm trying to persuade my partner to do these things, but I think she's having a heart attack just entertaining the idea.

Oh, we're staying at the Oasis resort which seems to have good reviews on tripadvisor.

I've checked the seats - upper deck and lower deck are business (First is the bit in the nose downstairs). So I'm going to try to check in 24 hours beforehand, as I know what seats I want. I think we will have access to a lounge in Singapore, so finding a shower shouldn't be a problem.

Cannot believe that spider (at Uluru). Well, as long as it is OUTDOORS and we are not likely to see anything indoors, I think I can cope.