Need some advice from Aussie CR Members

Rienzphotoz

Peace unto all ye Canon, Nikon & Sony shooters
Aug 22, 2012
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Hello all you Aussie CR members,

I am going on a 15 day vacation to Australia, to see your great country, starting mid December(during Christmas and New year) ... I'll be based at Melbourne and would like to make short trips to nearby areas. In addition to landscape, wildlife, city and architecture photography, I plan on capturing lots of time lapse footage (preferably where there will be lots of blue skies, clouds and clear night skies for star trail/time lapse.photography .. so, I'd like some advice on locations that you could suggest (I'll be with my 3 teen aged boys and only 1 wife :) but I don't mind getting up really early for sunrise and get back home before the family is ready for sightseeing) ... anyway here is the plan so far ... with that in mind I'd like your advice on locations/times I should go to, your advice is highly appreciated:
DAY 1 - Melbourne Zoo
DAY 2 & 3 - Lorne , Great Ocean Road, Apollo Bay & Twelve Apostles
DAY 4 - Aquarium
DAY 5 - Dandenongs Ranges & Puffing Billy.
DAY 6 - City, Museum & a 1 hour sightseeing trip of the city on Harley Davidson
DAY 7 -
DAY 8 -
Springvale & Chadstone - Shopping Centre
DAY 9 - Werribee Zoo - open range zoo
DAY 10 - San Remos & Nobies (philip Island)
DAY 11 -
DAY 12 -
Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary
DAY 13 -
DAY 14 -
DAY 15 -

Except for Day 2 & 3 (which had to be pre-booked due to season rush), all other activities can can be changed to any other day ... also, plan on making a day trip to Sydney (fliy out very early in the morning from MEL and fly back late night to SYD).

Thanks in advance

Rien
 
Nope just sobering up enough to reply :)

I haven't lived in Melbourne for a long time now so I am not the best with locations but I will give you some advice. Melbourne weather can change rapidly so don't be surprised if you get 40 degree days and then 20 degree days.
Melbourne lane ways are well known for their graffiti you will get some great street scenes with these. And the food and cafe scene is very good in Melbourne.
If you are doing Phillip Island seeing the fairy penguins nest is great. I am not sure if you can photograph this anymore but I think it's a sight worth seeing.

Hopefully you will get someone who knows Melbourne better than I do to respond, but I hope you enjoy your trip. Have you visited Australia before?
 
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Hello Rein,
I'm not from Melbourne, I'm on the other side, Perth. But I have been to Melbourne plenty of times so can offer a little advice / info. Your schedule looks good, I like the great ocean road drive and the apostles. We did it in a convertible with me in the back seat and I promptly froze...

You don't have in your list the Victorian markets. Great place for all sorts of foods, stall, leather and other goods. It is large and I personally like markets so lots of things to photograph.

What about the wine regions? There are a number around and lots of cellars door sales. Yarra valley is worth a visit and with rolling hills and lovely reds. If I remember correctly, chandon/moet have a factory too...if you like bubbles that is! The war office likes her bubbles so we went there. And stayed for a while...

Melbourne has trams, so you can include them in travels and photos. In the centre of town the trams are in the middle of the road, while cars are either side. Something interesting happens when there is an intersection and cars want to turn right (we drive on the left) but trams have right of way - hook turns! The most unusual way to turn, probably hard to portray in one image, but you should at least see it done while you are there.

The Fourth ashes test match (cricket) will be played from the 26th dec until 30th in Melbourne. But unless you know about cricket, it might not be your thing and definitely not something that would appeal to teen kids + wifey. I love it though, but picture ops are few and you really need a long lens as all the "action" is in the middle.there might be rules as to what you can bring in too.

There are many cafe and food places, lygon street for one. Night shots there?

There are old buildings, you mentioned architecture so you will find them, big and small. A local cr reader might be better with specifics. Old building + trams and tracks while you have an espresso in hand, camera in the other, you'll have a great trip. Post a selection when you get back if you don't mind.

P.
 
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Well as a Sydney sider, you won't get to see too much in a day but you can take a train from the airport to Circular Quay, which is where the Harbour ferries dock and from there you can walk around the Opera House and onward past the Botanic Gardens and a waterside lookout known as Mrs Macquaries Chair. From there you can look back at the Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background. The walking is all level pathways.

Retrace your steps and take a ferry ride to Manly which takes you out past the the harbour entrance and across to Manly itself which has ocean beaches a short walk away. Quite touristy but locals love it too and there is plenty for the family to see and places to eat. Take the ferry back to the Quay (maybe take the slow ferry one way and the fast one back), and then head to either the historic part of Sydney, known as The Rocks (5 minutes walk from the ferry terminal), or if you prefer to Darling Harbour, 10 minutes or so by taxi or another ferry ride if you want to go under the Bridge.

Darling Harbour has an Aquarium and a tourist oriented Zoo right next to each other with lots of bars and restaurants and the National Maritime Museum is a walk across a bridge away. The kids can go through a submarine and a Destroyer and the replica James Cook ship HMAS Endeavour is there as well. All very close and picturesque on a nice day. Plenty to do and very little travel time lost but a simple caution to allow time to get back to the airport as traffic is always busy around there if going by taxi.

Have a great holiday but bring hats and use a high factor sunscreen as sunburn is a serious issue for the unwary here. Wouldn't want that to ruin your holiday would you. :)
 
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Rienzphotoz

Peace unto all ye Canon, Nikon & Sony shooters
Aug 22, 2012
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Marsu42 said:
Rienzphotoz said:
No Australians in CR? :eek:

I'm not Australian, but my guess they were already exhausted after reading your packed schedule and fear you need a vacation from the vacation :p
;D ;D ;D ... I don't know when I'll get to go to Australia (took me almost 3 years to save up) ... its a freakin expensive place to get to, especially during Christmas/New Year and if you are family of 5 people ... so I might as well make the most of it and see as much as possible.
 
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Rienzphotoz

Peace unto all ye Canon, Nikon & Sony shooters
Aug 22, 2012
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Synkka said:
Nope just sobering up enough to reply :)
;D ;D ;D ... from what I read, Beer and Wine are about the only two things that are not very expensive in Australia, so I can understand. ;D

Synkka said:
I haven't lived in Melbourne for a long time now so I am not the best with locations but I will give you some advice. Melbourne weather can change rapidly so don't be surprised if you get 40 degree days and then 20 degree days.
Melbourne lane ways are well known for their graffiti you will get some great street scenes with these. And the food and cafe scene is very good in Melbourne.
If you are doing Phillip Island seeing the fairy penguins nest is great. I am not sure if you can photograph this anymore but I think it's a sight worth seeing.

Hopefully you will get someone who knows Melbourne better than I do to respond, but I hope you enjoy your trip. Have you visited Australia before?
Thanks for the tips.
Graffitti! yes I saw some youtube videos of the grafitti on Melbourne streets, I'll definitely photographs a billion of those for sure :)
I hope they allow me to take some photos of the fairy penguins in Phillip Island .
No, I've never been to Australia before.
Thanks
 
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Rienzphotoz

Peace unto all ye Canon, Nikon & Sony shooters
Aug 22, 2012
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P_R said:
Hello Rein,
You don't have in your list the Victorian markets. Great place for all sorts of foods, stall, leather and other goods. It is large and I personally like markets so lots of things to photograph.
What about the wine regions? There are a number around and lots of cellars door sales.
Thank you ... I'll add the Victorian markets & the wine regions to my schedule
P_R said:
Melbourne has trams, so you can include them in travels and photos. In the centre of town the trams are in the middle of the road, while cars are either side. Something interesting happens when there is an intersection and cars want to turn right (we drive on the left) but trams have right of way - hook turns! The most unusual way to turn, probably hard to portray in one image, but you should at least see it done while you are there.
Thanks ... will do.
P_R said:
The Fourth ashes test match (cricket) will be played from the 26th dec until 30th in Melbourne. But unless you know about cricket, it might not be your thing and definitely not something that would appeal to teen kids + wifey. I love it though, but picture ops are few and you really need a long lens as all the "action" is in the middle.there might be rules as to what you can bring in too.
Yes Cricket! My eldest son really likes cricket, he did remind me of the Ashes series ... we'll try to squeeze in a few hours at the MCG ... I wish it was a T20, instead of a test match, coz we're only there for 15 days and one of the days will be a day trip to Sydney ... so the schedule is a bit tight. About 10 years ago I used to work for Travelex (they used to sponsor Australian Test team when they tour outside Australia), at that time I got to meet the entire Aussie test team ... I even have miniature bats with the signatures of Mathew Hayden (my all time favorite batsmen), Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Bret Lee, Glen McGrath, Mark Waugh, Michael Slater,Justin Langer, Ricky Pomting ... got to shake hands with them and take a few snap shots, so it was pretty awesome.
P_R said:
There are many cafe and food places, lygon street for one. Night shots there?
Yes that sounds good ... I'll definitely get some night shots ... any suggestions on where I can get good night sky without light pollution? want to make some star trail time lapse.
P_R said:
There are old buildings, you mentioned architecture so you will find them, big and small. A local cr reader might be better with specifics. Old building + trams and tracks while you have an espresso in hand, camera in the other, you'll have a great trip. Post a selection when you get back if you don't mind.
I will definitely post lots of pics ... my family & I are very excited to see your beautiful country.
Thanks for all the tips.
 
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Rienzphotoz

Peace unto all ye Canon, Nikon & Sony shooters
Aug 22, 2012
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Tez said:
Well as a Sydney sider, you won't get to see too much in a day but you can take a train from the airport to Circular Quay, which is where the Harbour ferries dock and from there you can walk around the Opera House and onward past the Botanic Gardens and a waterside lookout known as Mrs Macquaries Chair. From there you can look back at the Opera House with the Harbour Bridge in the background. The walking is all level pathways.

Retrace your steps and take a ferry ride to Manly which takes you out past the the harbour entrance and across to Manly itself which has ocean beaches a short walk away. Quite touristy but locals love it too and there is plenty for the family to see and places to eat. Take the ferry back to the Quay (maybe take the slow ferry one way and the fast one back), and then head to either the historic part of Sydney, known as The Rocks (5 minutes walk from the ferry terminal), or if you prefer to Darling Harbour, 10 minutes or so by taxi or another ferry ride if you want to go under the Bridge.

Darling Harbour has an Aquarium and a tourist oriented Zoo right next to each other with lots of bars and restaurants and the National Maritime Museum is a walk across a bridge away. The kids can go through a submarine and a Destroyer and the replica James Cook ship HMAS Endeavour is there as well. All very close and picturesque on a nice day. Plenty to do and very little travel time lost but a simple caution to allow time to get back to the airport as traffic is always busy around there if going by taxi.
Thanks for the tips ... our original plan was to stay 3 nights in Sydney but there were a few problems
1. Accommodation in Sydney is bloody expensive ... every place I tried to book, wanted us to commit to minimum 5 days ... unfortunately I can't afford to book 5 days in Sydney. But I feel a trip to Australia without going Sydney seems like a waste of an opportunity (who knows if I will get the same opportunity again).

2. Christmas and our marriage anniversary are during that period, so the wife has clearly dictated that 2 full days MUST be reserved for romantic/relaxing time otherwise she gave me the option of ending our 18 years of married life ... I know she won't go through with her threat, but she will sure as hell give me the enough silent treatment, which will make divorce seem a lot less painful ... you see, I really like my wife so very much, so I have no choice but to obey her. ;D

If I could, I would really like being in Sydney for the new year eve to see the fire works ... heard its pretty epic, at least that's what I'm made to believe by all the news channels when they show new year's eve celebrations.

Tez said:
Have a great holiday but bring hats and use a high factor sunscreen as sunburn is a serious issue for the unwary here. Wouldn't want that to ruin your holiday would you. :)
Thanks for taking the time to explain and for the great tips ... I don't know how much I can see with only one day in Sydney, but I'll definitely push myself to see as much as possible ... very excited to see your great country and hope to bring back lots of great memories and photos. The only not so exciting part is sitting in a 14 hour non-stop flight.
Thanks once again.
 
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Couple of days late but here's my two bobs worth. If you're looking for star trails Melbourne is probably not the place to be. Mornington peninsula would be your best bet, It's probably a 2 or 3 hour drive from Melb at the least but is the only place close enough to the city that will give you a good combination of spectacular scenery and minimal light pollution. You should be able to face south and escape the glow from melb but as always in Victoria it is weather dependent and cloudy days and nights are sadly a standard in Victoria though being summer that is reduced. You could try the dandenong ranges to the north east of the city, very pretty with lots of temperate rainforest, but probably still too close to the city to escape light pollution. The coastal road around the twelve apostles will still be good for astro-photogaphy but you would be limited to a southerly viewpoint. The only other alternative is the grampians, about a 5 hour drive from melb. Once again very pretty but also very localised, it's surrounded by flat plains for hundreds of kilometres around it.

The best place for Astro-photography in Australia (I'm a little biased because I live there ;D) is South Australia. You probably wouldn't have time judging by your already busy itinerary (it's truly a massive country) but a one hour flight to Adelaide and then a five or six hour drive will take you to the Flinders ranges which will put you in truly spectacular scenery with absolutely no light pollution in any direction for at least 500 hundred kilometres. If you point your camera north there will literally be nothing but desert for 3000 km. It's a bit of effort at the best of times. It's very remote and the only accommodation is at the resort at Wilpena pond or the Gammon ranges resort at Arkaroola but you cannot believe just what the milky way really looks like until you've seen it under unpolluted southern skies.
Good luck and I hope your have a great time.
 
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If you have a couple of days spare, look into going to Tasmania, especially bay of fires aka Binnalong bay (Google it), you can take the car ferry (spirit of Tasmania) and drive down from Melbourne then drive around Tasmania.
Nice scenery there, amazing seafood, gorgeous beaches, fresh locally produced food and cheaper than Sydney.
You can even camp at the Binnalong bay, and have a nice romantic time under the stars, watching the sunset and then sunrise the next morning whilst you stroll on the fine soft white sand and amazing blue waters.
 
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Rienzphotoz

Peace unto all ye Canon, Nikon & Sony shooters
Aug 22, 2012
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the lizard of oz said:
Couple of days late but here's my two bobs worth. If you're looking for star trails Melbourne is probably not the place to be. Mornington peninsula would be your best bet, It's probably a 2 or 3 hour drive from Melb at the least but is the only place close enough to the city that will give you a good combination of spectacular scenery and minimal light pollution. You should be able to face south and escape the glow from melb but as always in Victoria it is weather dependent and cloudy days and nights are sadly a standard in Victoria though being summer that is reduced. You could try the dandenong ranges to the north east of the city, very pretty with lots of temperate rainforest, but probably still too close to the city to escape light pollution. The coastal road around the twelve apostles will still be good for astro-photogaphy but you would be limited to a southerly viewpoint. The only other alternative is the grampians, about a 5 hour drive from melb. Once again very pretty but also very localised, it's surrounded by flat plains for hundreds of kilometres around it.
Those sound workable ... thank you very much for the tips.

the lizard of oz said:
The best place for Astro-photography in Australia (I'm a little biased because I live there ;D) is South Australia. You probably wouldn't have time judging by your already busy itinerary (it's truly a massive country) but a one hour flight to Adelaide and then a five or six hour drive will take you to the Flinders ranges which will put you in truly spectacular scenery with absolutely no light pollution in any direction for at least 500 hundred kilometres. If you point your camera north there will literally be nothing but desert for 3000 km. It's a bit of effort at the best of times. It's very remote and the only accommodation is at the resort at Wilpena pond or the Gammon ranges resort at Arkaroola but you cannot believe just what the milky way really looks like until you've seen it under unpolluted southern skies.
Unfortunately I don't think it can done with my schedule.

the lizard of oz said:
Good luck and I hope your have a great time.
Thank you very much
 
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Oct 8, 2012
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I was going to also suggest Adelaide to your schedule for some wine tasting amidst all the photography but I get the logistics. I am biased, being from there. Nonetheless, Melbourne is a great place - some remarkable street art to photograph if that's something of interest. Some brilliant little atmospheric laneways too.

I recall every (or some)Sunday mornings,balloons (hot air) float across the city.

Very photogenic.
 
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Rienzphotoz

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Aug 22, 2012
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Eli said:
If you have a couple of days spare, look into going to Tasmania, especially bay of fires aka Binnalong bay (Google it), you can take the car ferry (spirit of Tasmania) and drive down from Melbourne then drive around Tasmania.
Nice scenery there, amazing seafood, gorgeous beaches, fresh locally produced food and cheaper than Sydney.
You can even camp at the Binnalong bay, and have a nice romantic time under the stars, watching the sunset and then sunrise the next morning whilst you stroll on the fine soft white sand and amazing blue waters.
This sounds perfect ... I might be able to do this ... just saw a place called Bed in the Treetops (Binalong Bay), you think the accommodation prices quoted here are reasonable? http://www.bedinthetreetops.com.au/rates.html
Thanks for the suggestion.
 
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Prices aren't too bad, a bit more than what I usually pay (about $250 per night), though the places I stay at are usuall owned by people who just rent it out as a holiday house, which is cheaper, and they give all the amenities, linen, towels etc as usual, plus they have a kitchen and fridge, microwave, oven, etc so you can cook also if you wish, I like to cook breakky so I can eat in my pyjamas.
Look up the surrounding areas, especially St. Helens, that's where I usually stay and it's literally 2 minutes drive to Binalong beach.
Oh did I mention you'll get to see a heap of native Australian animals, but watch out for the road kill.
Even at the bushy camping ground near the beach there's be wallabies jumping around and wombats.
Also Spirit of Tasmania will drop you guys off at devonport which is about an hour from launceston (one of the major cities in Tas), spend a night there, visit cataract gorge (Google it also), go for a swim at the pools at the gorge, go for a walk around the gorge and find free roaming peacocks..
Tasmania is an awesome place and I'm going back in January!
 
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Rienzphotoz

Peace unto all ye Canon, Nikon & Sony shooters
Aug 22, 2012
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Eli said:
Prices aren't too bad, a bit more than what I usually pay (about $250 per night), though the places I stay at are usuall owned by people who just rent it out as a holiday house, which is cheaper, and they give all the amenities, linen, towels etc as usual, plus they have a kitchen and fridge, microwave, oven, etc so you can cook also if you wish, I like to cook breakky so I can eat in my pyjamas.
Look up the surrounding areas, especially St. Helens, that's where I usually stay and it's literally 2 minutes drive to Binalong beach.
Oh did I mention you'll get to see a heap of native Australian animals, but watch out for the road kill.
Even at the bushy camping ground near the beach there's be wallabies jumping around and wombats.
Also Spirit of Tasmania will drop you guys off at devonport which is about an hour from launceston (one of the major cities in Tas), spend a night there, visit cataract gorge (Google it also), go for a swim at the pools at the gorge, go for a walk around the gorge and find free roaming peacocks..
Tasmania is an awesome place and I'm going back in January!
I actually prefer staying at places where people rent out as a holiday house ... not only are they cheaper than staying at a hotel, they also provide a more customer friendly service as one gets direct contact with the owner who cares about his service rather than impersonal front office "professionals" in hotels who may or may not care about the customer ... also you get a very family oriented location. I will look up places in St. Helens ... thanks for the tip ... if you feel comfortable naming a place where you stayed, where I can refer your name, you can PM me ... but no issues if you are not comfortable with it.
Thanks once again for your helpful tips, much appreciated.
 
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Totally agree, you get to meet some lovely people that own those houses sometimes, one lady even gave us daily home made peanut butter cookies and her husband offered to shuck our oysters and gave us recommendations on places to go.. Though unfortunately I can't remember that place we stayed at but have a look at stayz.com.au cause that's where I usually book through anyway.
Also camera gear in Australia is expensive, I'd suggest buying your remote before you come..
 
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Aug 28, 2012
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Rienzphotoz said:
One more question:
I have the CamRanger which is capable of Intervelometer capability, but I want a cheap back-up timer remote, just in case the battery in CamRanger runs out of juice ... Does anyone know a good camera store in Melbourne where they sell cheap remote timers for 5D MK III?
There is a congregation of camera stores in Elizabeth Street in the Melbourne CBD, between Bourke and Lonsdale Streets. Compare prices and then make them do you a deal, they are reasonably competitive. Always helps if you are purchasing more than one item. Ted's is probably the cheapest overall. Enjoy your trip.
 
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