Will you be flying from place to place? Your itinerary is ambitious and you don't say how long you'll be in Oz. You don't want to be stuck on a bus for long periods of time (or maybe you don't mind). Our Australian Ziners can advise on this.

I agree with Debby that Sydney is "just another city" but still warrants a visit, especially the Zoo because it is home to so many animals that we don't usually see. The wombats were our favourites. The Blue Mountains are beautiful and reached from Sydney. On the way you might stop at the Jenolan Caves, which are fascinating to walk through.

We stayed in Yulara for three nights, which we thoroughly enjoyed as it was our downtime after having travelled for 10 days. Ayers Rock is sacred to the Aboriginal people and they are not wholly in favour of having tourists climb it. Your choice, obviously.

The Olgas was one among many high points of our visit. It is an eerie, beautiful and peaceful place to hike through. We were there until dark and listened to a lecture on the astronmy of the Southern sky which is so different from what we see here in the northern hemisphere.

Kuranda is reached from Cairns either by bus or the train which passes by sugar cane fields into and through the hills. Most tourists visit Kuranda as a day trip, which is what we did - toured the outdoor market and had lunch. We were glad we visited but wouldn't feel the need to go again.

Lucy, Toronto