Melbourne or Sydney holiday spots - help

[kjoy2]

I need any recommendations for a place to stay / vacation for a few days in or outside of Melbourne or Sydney.

DH and I will be traveling to Australia in April to visit with his family. We are thinking about tacking a few days onto the end of our trip to do something very low key with just us and our 11 month old twins. We would end in Melbourne or Sydney and so are looking for nature-oriented ideas outside of either of those cities - but not too far outside (2 hour drive max?).

Any and all ideas welcome! Thank you.

[aussiemum]

Well, I'd recommend a few days in a holiday house in the Blue Mountains (about 2 hours drive west from Sydney). There are lots of great little towns you can stay in up there, plus there is a lot of bushwalking, & the national park of course.

It's beautiful there, & one of my favourite places in Australia. It may be a bit cool that time of year, but 11 month old twins would be just fine if you each had one in a backpack or a sling.

Some linkies:

http://www.bluemts.com.au/tourist/Default.asp

http://www.australianexplorer.com/blue_mountains.htm

Just google Blue Mountains National Park, & away you go- lots of links. hth.

[kjoy2]

Thanks so much! That sounds right up our alley.

And goodness knows I'm going to need some rejuvenating nature time after a few weeks with the in-laws

[Ms Apricot]

How nature oriented? Do you like to camp? If you don't mind a couple of days in a tent, the best deal in Sydney is on Cockatoo Island, right in the Harbour, with a great view of the city. I think you can rent the camp spot for $45 a night, and if you need the tent and equipment, it's $75. The camp site overlooks the water. It's accessible by ferry. The ferry wharf has a little cafe.

April might be a little cool, but that's all relative - if you are used to winter camping, it won't bother you at all. We haven't camped there, but we know several Sydney families that have done it just for fun, and they had a great time. Cockatoo Island was once a prison, and a shipyard, among other things, so it's fairly industrial - not quite like camping in the bush.

Near Sydney, the Southern Highlands are also beautiful, and less "touristy" than the Blue Mountains - you won't have tour buses and rented vans and crowds all around you.

For Melbourne area, we had a great time on Phillips Island at the All Seasons Eco Resort - very comfortable little cabins, but it's a little like a mini-subdivision of resort cabins, so perhaps not to everyone's liking. But it's only a couple hours outside Melbourne, and we loved watching the penguins come ashore at night.

[kjoy2]

Ms Apricot, those are wonderful ideas, as well. DH and I have been to Phillips Island, and we loved it!

Unfortunately, now the plans have changed, and it looks like we'll be spending 2+ weeks with extended family and no nuclear family time. I'm gonna go bonkers. BUT I will keep these ideas tucked away for holidays when our girls are older.

Thanks again!