yarramar

Australia now has a "tap" culture, as in tap & go your credit or debit card on the eftpos machine. Some places allow you to key in extra but mostly people just "tap & "go". Even tip jars are becoming a thing of the past as there is no longer any change to deposit.

Agree with Possum, don't waste time and money on a harbour cruise, ferries will give you a better experience. Especially the trip to Manly with fish & chips on the beach.

If you are spending time in Cairns, take a trip out to the Botanical Gardens. There are many exotic tropical fruit trees that may be bursting with fresh bounty. There are also towns north of Brisbane that have streets lined with mango trees as part of their urban landscaping. As a kid I loved being up there in January

I'm extremely disappointed with their offerings. The cruises seem to be from nowhere to nowhere and just an excuse to be onboard for their signature entertainment, fitness classes and culinary offerings. Staying in a 5* hotel in Melbourne would probably be better value and more entertaining

Any Woolworths supermarket (and probably Coles and others) sell it. https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/113395/moore-s-ultra-pure-still-water Countdown in New Zealand is owned by Woolworths. https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=507566&name=pure-dew-water-ultra-distilled

Who decides these things? https://kitchen.nine.com.au/latest/australias-best-pie-and-pastie-competition-2023-winners-country-cob-bakery/6a6bdd0f-cc79-444b-93d6-4ad7e4712761 Doesn't sound dinki di to me.

It will be slightly cooler than in Cairns. Yes, it is worth it. You are at a higher altitude and in a rainforest and it is beautiful.

We did an overnight cruise in The Bay of Islands. It sounded great but it was a backpacker cruise and we felt totally out of place. I wondered why it seemed like such good value!

There never were 12 "apostles". Just nine originally. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Apostles_(Victoria) I always thought that 2 were lost, leaving 7 and then London Bridge collapsed making the 8th. I may be wrong.

A couple of corrections are in order. the distance travelled on a day tour is approximately 500km, not 650km. Someone else does the driving while you relax in the coach seats. The tours are approximately 14 hours, the last 3 can be spent sleeping on the way home. It is only 1.5 hours until you arrive at the GOR when the sightseeing begins. Actual time on the coach looking at the magnificent view is only 3 hours, the other 6 hours are off the bus exploring. That gives you 9 hours, not 4 as suggested above. The reviews of the one day tours are predominantly positive and if you don’t have the luxury of several days and self driving, a tour is a great option.

Whilst the Mornington Peninsula is beautiful (I live there) I would not recommend staying without a car. If you do make some time for a days visit, Rosebud is NOT the epicentre, the most popular spot is Sorrento and towards Point Nepean National Park and the back beaches. The other side of the MP on Westernport Bay is also beautiful with Flinders, Pt Leo and other lovely spots. Of course there is also Red Hill & Main Ridge, famous for their amazing wines and beautiful wineries. Day tours are popular to visit a few wineries for tastings and lunch as well as a tour of some of the scenic areas and outlooks. For the best place without a car, the suggestions of St Kilda & Port Melbourne are good. Also Middle Park, Albert Park and Elwood which are all along the bay. South Yarra would also be a good option but the suggestion of the CWA in Lansell Rd may put you a bit far from restaurants at night. Melbourne has a great transport system with it's trams so getting into and out of the city is very easy and you will not need to wait long for a tram from any of the above mentioned places. You will need a Myki card for travel on any of the trams, trains or buses but this is fairly cheap and has daily caps. If you stay within the CBD, there is a free tram zone that will get you to most of the attractions.

Get them on Amazon https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=laundrysheets&crid=UUVOBGLUFAUX&sprefix=laundrysheet%2Caps%2C510&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Exactly what I was thinking. We have been to Honolulu as well but not the other Islands, which by all accounts, are more worthwhile visiting than Oahu.

Arxcards, to get behind most paywalls, pefix it with"12ft.io/". eg. https://12ft.io/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/tours/ultimate-itineraries/tasmania-perfect-holiday-itinerary/ You don't need to include the first https://

Kangaroo "babies" are called joeys. Those cute koalas can be more aggressive and vicious than emu's. Only go near ones that are in a petting zoo. And don't even mention the "drop bears" If you see a kangaroo in the wild, make sure that it has a pouch. The males can send you to hospital, or worse.

Agree with above comments. Use your miles to get to West Coast, stay a night then fly direct to Melbourne. Alternatively if you can avoid Tuesday & Thursday there is a Jetstar flight from Honolulu direct to Melbourne. Hopefully by next March they will have improved on their reliability.

You can get around the pay wall here. https://12ft.io/proxy?&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Ftravel%2Fdestinations%2Foceania%2Faustralia%2Faustralia-best-island-holidays

Chances are that some are making more than you are. A job advertised last week for a tour bus driver gave a salary of $65K to $85K plus 10.5% superannuation. Traffic control personnel (holding a stop/slow sign) can earn up to $193K PA (with penalty payments) in Melbourne

The Lord Nelson is a very popular watering hole which means that it may be quite noisy if you need your sleep. Apart from that, as you mentioned, it is in a great location and the prices are very attractive

Cradle Mountain is over 4 hours away from the port. I don't think you will find anyone who does single day tours. Freycinet is closer but still 2.5 hours away. Maybe something like this would work. https://www.paravion.com.au/

This old but still relevant discussion may help. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g255055-i120-k788965-Stinger_suits-Australia.html

You will be given a "stinger suit" which is a lightweight wetsuit by the tour operators. You can still safely snorkel

OP is in Cairns 9am to 10pm. Plenty of time to do Kuranda plus Cairns or even a trip to the reef. Besides snorkeling, there are submersibles and glass bottom boat tours for those that cannot dive or snorkel. From Airlie Beach, you could do a Whitehaven beach tour, which is a favourite among Americans. This link also has other ideas. https://www.airliebeach.com/daytrips/whitehavenbeach.php

The Red Bottle at Town Hall is just up the road from your hotel. https://redbottle.com.au/store-locations/sydney-town-hall/

Maybe it is because the destinations offered are easy to get to without a cruise and the itineraries are predictable and not particularly good value. If a cruise line was to have it's "season" in Australia's winter and travel north to warmer climes instead of competing with all the others, and now also Virgin Voyages, they would likely find a lucrative market. The few cruises that I have found out of an Australian port which were of interest to me were sold out extremely quickly. This one looks good https://www.pocruises.com.au/cruises/solomon-sea-islands/x327 but unfortunately it is on P&O.