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Decisions Decisions - Is it too hot to visit Uluru in mid March????


pink845
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We are cruising RCCL Radiance of the Seas mid March, 2020. Sydney to New Zealand return. Prior to boarding that cruise, would like to fly into Brisbane (coming from Canada) through Vancouver. We would like to visit Red Centre. Yes, we have to fly to get there from Brisbane. Would the weather be too uncomfortable in Uluru? Also, once done that we would want to fly to Cairns and make our way out to the Great Barrier Reef. I have read that there are box stingers (deadly) at that time of year on the beaches and that swimming is greatly discouraged. Is that true for Snorkelling on Hardy Reef or on the Agincourt Reef???

 

I guess the question is what is the best time of year to visit Australia to see both the Red Centre and the Great Barrier Reef but to also take a cruise to New Zealand out of Sydney. I would have loved to be able to find a Queenland cruise that dovetailed with my Radiance cruise but to no avail.

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It is always hot in the middle of the day in the Centre. In March you can expect a high of 31 degrees C. It is a very dry heat so not too uncomfortable. Nights are chilly even in the middle of summer.

 

Marine stingers (box jellyfish) are a danger in summer in Far North Queensland but they are found close to the beaches. Hardy Reef and Agincourt Reef should be OK. If it is a potential problem, companies taking tourists supply 'stinger suits'. There is another jellyfish that is also dangerous (but very rarely deadly). It is the Irukandji.

March is near the end of the wet season so there is more possibility of rain in the far north than there would be a couple of months later. March is also in the cyclone season, but you would be unlucky to have one affect your trip. To sum it up, if you could travel in April or later the weather would be better in the Centre and FNQ.

 

NZ is quite different. Most cruises go there in summer because the winters are quite cold.

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March is a good time to cruise NZ, but you'll rarely find cruises later than March. I suggest doing your Australian land travel after the cruise rather than before that way there is a extra month for the weather to cool off a bit.

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Don’t worry about the heat it’s the humidity in Cairns that you will find uncomfortable.

Uluru,you have to see.its a magical place.

When you get back to Canada to subzero temperature you will be able to dine out for months for free with the stories .

 

For example,we went to the red Center and they were trying plastic guide posts on the side of the road.

For a hundred kilometres they melted and bent over and the tops were touching the ground. TRUE.

It will be hot everywhere.

Edited by Chiliburn
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We are cruising RCCL Radiance of the Seas mid March, 2020. Sydney to New Zealand return. Prior to boarding that cruise, would like to fly into Brisbane (coming from Canada) through Vancouver. We would like to visit Red Centre. Yes, we have to fly to get there from Brisbane. Would the weather be too uncomfortable in Uluru? Also, once done that we would want to fly to Cairns and make our way out to the Great Barrier Reef. I have read that there are box stingers (deadly) at that time of year on the beaches and that swimming is greatly discouraged. Is that true for Snorkelling on Hardy Reef or on the Agincourt Reef???

 

 

 

I guess the question is what is the best time of year to visit Australia to see both the Red Centre and the Great Barrier Reef but to also take a cruise to New Zealand out of Sydney. I would have loved to be able to find a Queenland cruise that dovetailed with my Radiance cruise but to no avail.

 

pink845

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Cairns is a lovely place to visit and even if you do not get to swim on the reef, they have a wonderful aquarium which replicates, or even surpasses what you may see by being on the reef.

 

Also lots of attractions to see around the city and one day drives.

 

We were there recently and saw the wonderful Cairns Botanic Gardens (world class in my view) plus live platypus swimming in a local creek behind the motel we stayed in - about an hours drive from Cairns.

 

There is also a man made swimming area on the Cairns foreshore that, but for waves, is just like swimming in the ocean- with no nasties therein (excepting youngsters peeing in the pool!) Yes I like to tell it - warts and all!

 

For me, call me what you like. but there is no way I would ever swim in the ocean in the tropical north given the "nasties that could be there" and the occasional saltwater croc lurking someone and eyeing me off for his next feed.

 

A wonderful place to visit in Australia and they have good cold beer at good prices - which of course is important to us Aussies and overseas visitors alike. (On has certain priorities that need to be met on one's holiday, thats for sure)

Edited by Bpos
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