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Australia Ports info wanted


rurn0321
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Looking for some suggestions for not to miss excursions/tours in Adelaide, Albany, Darwin and Freemantle for next March/April cruise. Either ship or private tours. We are not so much museum people as we love to be outside. TIA.

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Looking for some suggestions for not to miss excursions/tours in Adelaide, Albany, Darwin and Freemantle for next March/April cruise. Either ship or private tours. We are not so much museum people as we love to be outside. TIA.

 

For Albany I would recommend Whale World. Not only for the history of whaling but the scenery is awesome.

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I've been to all of these ports except Albany, but on land vacations and not as part of a cruise. So, I don't know if the following are available as ships excursions or private tours, but these are the things I'd want do if I had a day in port:

 

Adelaide--Cleland Wildlife Park (great native animal exhibits) and Rundle Mall pedestrian street.

 

Darwin--Definitely a day trip to Litchfield National Park for the natural pools and magnetic termite mounds.

 

Fremantle--I'd want to take the ferry to Rottnest Island and rent bikes to ride around and see great scenery and quokkas. But I doubt that's available, so my second choice would be a visit to and tour of Fremantle Gaol. The penal institutions are a major aspect of Australia's history and Fremantle Gaol is an excellent example. (It's also an UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

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Looking for some suggestions for not to miss excursions/tours in Adelaide, Albany, Darwin and Freemantle for next March/April cruise. Either ship or private tours. We are not so much museum people as we love to be outside. TIA.

 

We did a Top End of Australia cruise in 2013 and visited Darwin and Freemantle.

 

For Darwin, there is not much to choose from. There are basically two choices, stay in the city (we took a walking tour that was good) or do the Crocodile hut boat ride, where you go out in a boat and they hang meat over the water and a huge croc flies out of the water and grabs the meat.

 

For Freemantle, the city is small and interesting, we flew into Perth and spent three days there including Freemantle. There was a trolley tour that was fun. We did a river cruise from Perth up river to the wine country that was very nice, as well as a tour of Perth. Also, we took a river tour down to Freemantle that included the trolley tour, both good.

There are other tours that go out to the desert to see odd rock formations.

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I've been to all of these ports except Albany, but on land vacations and not as part of a cruise. So, I don't know if the following are available as ships excursions or private tours, but these are the things I'd want do if I had a day in port:

 

Fremantle--I'd want to take the ferry to Rottnest Island and rent bikes to ride around and see great scenery and quokkas. But I doubt that's available, so my second choice would be a visit to and tour of Fremantle Gaol. The penal institutions are a major aspect of Australia's history and Fremantle Gaol is an excellent example. (It's also an UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

 

Why would this be not available. If we dock at 8am is it possible to get the 9:30 ferry? How far is the ferry pick up from where the cruise ship docks.

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Why would this be not available. If we dock at 8am is it possible to get the 9:30 ferry? How far is the ferry pick up from where the cruise ship docks.

 

I said this only assuming that your ship would not be in Port long enough to make this a worthwhile trip. If your times in Port work out, then go for it. I would plan on a minimum of 4 hours on Rottnest Island if you plan to bike. (There are package tours for the ferry/bike and ferry/bike/snorkel.)

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Check out Northern Territory Indigenous Tours from Darwin. Tess and her husband are wonderful. We enjoyed our tour to Litchfield National Park where Tess spent much of her childhood and where her family still owns land. The termite mounds alone are worth the trip. My husbamd enjoyed the lunch of barramundi, crocodile, and kangaroo. I enjoyed the salad and watermelon.

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Overseas visitors should bone up on the following thread for information and advice before visiting Australia.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showthread.php?t=2362723

 

I've read parts of this before, especially about the drop bears. Ha Ha. Love the Australian sense of humor. Although I think it's Australia that has the top 10 deadliest animals! Still trying to figure out some of your sayings that are so different from the US. Should make for a interesting trip. I'll go back over the above link when we get closer. Thanks for the suggestion.

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I've read parts of this before, especially about the drop bears. Ha Ha. Love the Australian sense of humor. Although I think it's Australia that has the top 10 deadliest animals! Still trying to figure out some of your sayings that are so different from the US. Should make for a interesting trip. I'll go back over the above link when we get closer. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Yes, plenty of good advice there, pity the moderators closed the threat as I, and no doubt many other Aussie contributors to this forum, had plenty more tips etc to give to help our overseas visitors out.

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  • 1 month later...

While on a cruise, we will be in Adelaide on a Thursday and the most recommended tour company does not conduct tours on that day of the week to Cleland Wildlife Park. Can someone recommend a good tour company for a Thursday?

 

 

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While on a cruise, we will be in Adelaide on a Thursday and the most recommended tour company does not conduct tours on that day of the week to Cleland Wildlife Park. Can someone recommend a good tour company for a Thursday?

 

 

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Would you be willing to go to Cleland Wildlife Park on your own? It's only 20 minutes from Adelaide, so you could take a taxi or even get there via public transportation. Here's a link to their website with info in how to get there: http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/clelandwildlife/plan-your-visit/opening-hours-and-getting-here

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Would you be willing to go to Cleland Wildlife Park on your own? It's only 20 minutes from Adelaide, so you could take a taxi or even get there via public transportation. Here's a link to their website with info in how to get there: http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/clelandwildlife/plan-your-visit/opening-hours-and-getting-here

 

 

Thanks for the information. We'd be more than willing to do it on our own. Are taxis easy to get back from the park? In San Francisco, we can get taxis to places, but getting back is problematic.

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Looking for some suggestions for not to miss excursions/tours in Adelaide, Albany, Darwin and Freemantle for next March/April cruise. Either ship or private tours. We are not so much museum people as we love to be outside. TIA.

 

Plenty of outside space here in Australia - sometimes you can drive in the countryside all day and not see another soul!

 

For hundreds of miles between Perth and Adelaide there is not even a tree over 5 ft tall to be seen - how about that!

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  • 6 months later...
Check out Northern Territory Indigenous Tours from Darwin. Tess and her husband are wonderful. We enjoyed our tour to Litchfield National Park where Tess spent much of her childhood and where her family still owns land. The termite mounds alone are worth the trip. My husbamd enjoyed the lunch of barramundi, crocodile, and kangaroo. I enjoyed the salad and watermelon.

 

I just looked at this tour and seems a bit pricey at AUD $249. You felt it was worth it?

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I just looked at this tour and seems a bit pricey at AUD $249. You felt it was worth it?

 

 

 

It was a full day tour. I definitely thought it was worth it. We saw some unusual sites and learned much about the life of the indigenous people. It was very different from anything we did on our trip.

 

 

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I've read parts of this before, especially about the drop bears. Ha Ha. Love the Australian sense of humor. Although I think it's Australia that has the top 10 deadliest animals! Still trying to figure out some of your sayings that are so different from the US. Should make for a interesting trip. I'll go back over the above link when we get closer. Thanks for the suggestion.

Ha Ha you may say but Droppies are no laughing matter for unsuspecting tourists.Make sure you have Toast with Vegemite for Brekkie everyday and dab a little behind the ears. Drop Bears don't like the odour of Vegie.clear.png?emoji-winktongue-1704

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I notice a few people have recommended the Whale World in Albany. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it to anybody. Instead, I think you may find a visit to the National ANZAC Centre both fascinating and moving. Here is a link to Trip Advisor comments on the Centre: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g261671-d7275819-Reviews-National_Anzac_Centre-Albany_Western_Australia.html

 

For many people, it was only through the Australian involvement in WWI - and particularly their experience in Gallipoli, Turkey - that a real national sense of self was born. My grandfather was one of the many ANZACs who passed through Albany on his way to the Middle East, and was actually one of those who landed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. I always think a visit to a war memorial is a great way to appreciate the spirit of a country. Highly recommended.

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I notice a few people have recommended the Whale World in Albany. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it to anybody. Instead, I think you may find a visit to the National ANZAC Centre both fascinating and moving. Here is a link to Trip Advisor comments on the Centre: https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g261671-d7275819-Reviews-National_Anzac_Centre-Albany_Western_Australia.html

 

For many people, it was only through the Australian involvement in WWI - and particularly their experience in Gallipoli, Turkey - that a real national sense of self was born. My grandfather was one of the many ANZACs who passed through Albany on his way to the Middle East, and was actually one of those who landed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. I always think a visit to a war memorial is a great way to appreciate the spirit of a country. Highly recommended.

I agree wholeheartedly. Skip the Whale Museum. The harbour and it's importance to Australian War History is phenomenal but so is the coastline around here. Take a tour to the Torndirrup National Park. You'll pass the old whaling station, a huge wind farm and then see some incredible clifftop coastline and Australian flora. There's so much to see in Albany why go inside a bone joint when you can be outside experiencing the place?

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I think that (if available) you might look into the "Valley of the Giants" and it's "Tree Top Walk" near Albany (about 80 km) if you got time and you'll like the Outdoors.

 

For Rottnest Island; the Rottnest terminal is not even 10 min walking distance from the Cruise Terminal; and you can go straight to the counter and buy your ticket (including Bike Rentals). If you land by 8 am a departure at 9.30 am (if tickets are available) is possible; and if not Fremantle is a nice colonial town and Perth is reachable by train (King's Park above Down Town is something to visit; if you should have time) - for sure no reason to book a tour there

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