Head down to the Gold Coast or Byron Bay. Lots of surfing, beautiful beaches and relaxed culture. They are just a couple of hours south. Brisbane isn’t all that interesting

Go up to Port Douglas not Cairns. See the Daintree maybe even overnight there at Silky Oaks or the like.
If you stay an extra week go to Sydney.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to Cairnes - Great barrier reef.

This^ before it goes away itself.

It was so disappointing when I visited. Tunnels Beach in Kauai was way better and no charge.

Thanks everyone. I noted the recommendations to skip the cities and become familiar with floral and fauna. GBR, Tasmania.
I'll do some reading but it's helpful to hear about your first hand experiences.

I've never been to Australia. I'm not planning on going again, but who knows, that could change once I've visited.

Brisbane is the "south" of Australia in terms of people. Nice weather though!

Anonymous wrote:Go to Cairnes - Great barrier reef.

This^ before it goes away itself.

Anonymous wrote:I am but a huge fan of that part of Australia. It reminds me of Florida.

Having said that, we passed a fun evening here:

https://eatstreetnorthshore.com.au/

It is like a food festival, filled with a variety of booths/vendors. Casual food but good quality.

* not a huge fan

I am but a huge fan of that part of Australia. It reminds me of Florida.

Having said that, we passed a fun evening here:

https://eatstreetnorthshore.com.au/

It is like a food festival, filled with a variety of booths/vendors. Casual food but good quality.

Tasmania is incredible. Hobart is nice. Sydney is scenic. Melbourne is more interesting.

Brisbane is nice- a week is enough there. If you do beaches then that could take another week. We were there last July with kids and enjoyed the Asian food scene. Queensland Museum is also interesting.

For cities, would recommend Sydney and for nature you could do to GBR or maybe Great Ocean Road. Tasmania is supposed to be nice.

Anonymous wrote:Go to Cairnes - Great barrier reef.

Read about coral bleaching before you pay a lot of money.

Anonymous wrote:I’m attending conference in Brisbane and will plan to stay 1 week later, maybe 2 weeks longer.
If you’ve been there, where did you visit? What do you recommend?
Would be interested in hearing about hiking trails, places to do water sports like SUP, kayaking.
I love nature but also big cities, architecture, art, music, dance.
Thanks for any leads.

Go to Oz for nature. The cities are bland, especially Brisbane.

If you can spend 2 weeks exploring nature, do it. Unless you'll likely be there again.

Go to Cairnes - Great barrier reef.

No matter where you are in Australia, I HIGHLY encourage you to learn about all the flora and fauna there. There are many plants, animals, reptiles and bugs which are poisonous. This is especially important if you intend to go hiking.

We went all over Australia and stayed in mostly populated areas/parks but still had things slither across our path. (Eg. Tiger & Brown snakes)

I’m attending conference in Brisbane and will plan to stay 1 week later, maybe 2 weeks longer.
If you’ve been there, where did you visit? What do you recommend?
Would be interested in hearing about hiking trails, places to do water sports like SUP, kayaking.
I love nature but also big cities, architecture, art, music, dance.
Thanks for any leads.