Sharon....my brother was down there in OZ and New Zealand travelling around not long ago and I will ask him for any tips from his experience.

Also...my cousin's daughter went there after university when she was about Meredith's age ....also not long ago....and stayed many months working in different places. She's back in Canada now (another Vancouver Islander) and I can try to get in touch with her and see if she can give any tips from her experience to Meredith.

If I make contact with her I'll get in touch with you via a PM...I still have your email addie from a long time ago so unless it has changed you'll hear from me there.

SharonCb

I'm on the other side of the country so not a lot of advice. Safety shouldn't be a big issue, if Meredith is reasonably savvy- you know, don't wander down dark alleys at night sort of thing. Places to stay out of in Sydney are Redfern, Cabramatta, King's Cross (the red-light district).
January will be hot, as it's the summer here. Hot as in 40C. It will cool off by mid-year, though the Gold Coast will still be warm, so that's the direction to head.
A good resource is www.tripadvisor.com, you can ask questions over there about all kinds of stuff.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trip Advisor Australia Forums

Several of my former students from my college teaching days spent a semester in Australia and loved it, good experiences. Common sense very important always for students, especially in the area of trust. OK to trust people you meet somewhat, but ALWAYS have a safe way out/backup/chaperone, etc. The biggest problem my students had was getting ripped off financially on tour types of things.

Thanks for the input and thanks Colleen for the website. To bad you are on the other side or you might have had drop ins for a homemade dinner!

Meredith is a very independent kid a bit too trusting but she has good antenna. Actually she is traveling with a few of her friends and I know they will stay together.

Sharon would welcome any and all info! My email address has chnaged in the last few months. It's sharonhoward at cogeco dot com.

Thanks again

Well, if they do make it over to the other side they'll be welcome- I'll even give them a tour!

Chase, my husband's older son has lived in Cabarita Beach, aka Boganger (pronounced BOW gan gah), for about 20 years. It's a small beach town about 60 miles south of Brisbane. He & his SO live on a bluff overlooking the town. It is a safe area - he's never talked of crimes. My husband has been there twice & was warmly welcomed by the Aussies - they like Americans (a nice change).

My daughter & a girl friend went about 15 years ago, & did most of the east coast. The only area they didn't like was Darwin - horribly hot, with swarms of flies. People spend so much time brushing the flies off their faces that it's called the Australian wave. They got off the train, spent about an hour, & got back on the next one south!

Meredith will have a fine time. I'm glad she will be with others, for safety & to share good times. Though I know you will worry - that's what we do. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabarita Beach

Thanks Kathleen, I'll be sure to pass on the info about DArwin and the flies!

I lived in Sydney for most of my life, and it's a good starting point for seeing a lot of the East Coast of Australia. Sydney itself has a lot of historical and interesting sites - to mention a few:

The Rocks (near Circular Quay, on the harbour)
Parramatta (Elizabeth Farm, Parramatta Park)
Fort Denison (near the Harbour Bridge)
Darling Harbour
The Botanical Gardens (and nearby the old library)
Taronga Park Zoo
the Opera House

There are buses in the inner city which take you all around the place, showing you this at this. You can get off the bus anywhere at one of its stops, and explore further, then hop on the next bus that comes and go onto the next spot. Great for tourists, and quite a reasonable cost.

You MUST hop on a ferry from Circular Quay (easily accessible on the train system) and take a trip across the harbour to Manly Beach (or the Zoo). There are harbour 'taxis' and tourist mini-cruises and hovercraft, too.

From Sydney you can do day-trips to the Central Coast (Gosford), to the Blue Mountains (Katoomba, Jenolan Caves, Hill End), or to the South Coast (Wollongong, Kiama) and lots of other places in between.

Take a couple of days and go to central New South Wales for the Open Plains Zoo near Dubbo, or the Observatory at Parkes.

From Sydney, fly down to Melbourne and do day-trips from there. Or fly north to Brisbane, take a trip along the river; and from there go down to the Gold Coast or up to the Sunshine Coast. Do day-trips to Toowoomba or the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin's place), or the Big Pineapple, Buderim Ginger. Travel further north for a few days to Hervey Bay and do a bit of whale-watching and some of the islands; go right up to the pointy bit on the map to see Townsville and Cairns and some tropical rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef and some beautiful island - some have holiday resorts. Travel west to Mt Isa, Emerald and other mining towns. Really experience the Outback and visit Birdsville! (one of the hottest places in Australia!)

Fly up to Darwin, then travel down to the Centre to see Uluru (Ayre's Rock) and other sites of the outback.

Fly down to Adelaide,capital of South Australia, the City of Churches, visit Kangaroo Island. Go north again to the desert to see an underground city, Coober Pedy (opal mining).

Time permitting, you shouldn't miss going from Melbourne across Tasman Strait to Tasmania, a truly magnificent place for tourists, with stunning scenery.

Melbourne is a city of restaurants!

Back up to northern Victoria or southern New South Wales and take in our highest mountains and ski resorts. There'll be no snow in summer of course, but the scenery is fabulous.

Fly (or take a 4-day train trip) across from Melbourne or Adelaide to Perth, then across to Kalgoorlie (largest gold mining area in the world.) Do some sightseeing tours for the wildflowers. Fly up to Broome and see some pearl-diving. Call in to Exmouth (where there was recently an airbus incident.) My son is in charge of the investigation into that incident, and he said it's a truly beautiful spot for a holiday.

Don't forget places like Kakadu, a huge national park, owned and run by native Australians.

January is our hottest month of the year, and she can expect flies wherever she goes. It's the Wet Season in the north, so some places might not be accessible, and they'll be stinking hot and humid as well. Perhaps keep those places for a winter (Dry Season) visit!

Don't be too concerned about safety. Just take the usual precautions (like not flashing your money around!), and remember than very few people in Australia have guns! Private ownership is forbidden unless you can convince the Powers That Be that you have an excellent excuse for having one. Never, never go into the Outback or bush without having a knowledgeable escort.

Take a visit to Cabramatta (known locally as Vietnamatta!) in company. It's just a suburb with a large population of Vietnamese immigrants. It has a bad reputation, and there are some nasty types there, but also some decent people - but it's interesting because it's hard to imagine you're in Australia - most of the shops and street signs etc are in Vietnamese! Interesting. Best seen in daylight hours - perhaps take a taxi ride around the place.

Redfern is similar, except that it's an enclave of a large population of Aboriginal residents. Again, take a taxi-ride - it's only a short distance from the inner city. Actually, it is undergoing a sort of transformation, and has a place on the list of Desirable Suburbs to Live.

King's Cross - well, it's the red-light district sure enough, but it has some interesting sites (including the local residents and businesses!) - including the Alamein Fountain, some great restaurants, a waxworks museum etc. Find a tour-guide to take you there, and you'll be safe enough. You don't HAVE to enter the naughty shops and theatres!! And yes, avoid dark alleys.

Remember that Australia is an entire and very diverse continent - HUGE, the distances are vast - and you could spend a life-time seeing all of it. But I hope I've given Meredith some ideas.

Daisy you have been extremely helpful, Thank You. I'll be sure to pass on all you have said.

They flying into Sydney and then using the rail and bus services to proceed north along the Gold Coast. They plan on being there until June or July so hopefully will have time to enjoy much of the East coast.