We recommend flying Air New Zealand from the west coast of the states to Sydney on our lowest budget fares. From Sydney you will connect on to Cairns, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Queensland. There is a minimal charge for those stopping over in Sydney. We can arrange other destinations in Australia with a "good day" pass on Ansett Airlines. For all of our  programs you can add and delete days to your itinerary.

We can arrange hotels in Sydney, Cairns and Port Douglas.

The temperatures in this tropical area are approximately around 78-86F degrees in the warmer October to April months, dropping to 69-78F degrees in the cooler winter from May to September. Rain has a decisive effect on when one should travel in this area as the wet season starts in December but gets heavier rains from January through March.

The water temperatures in Australia's winter, especially in June, July and August can get quite low in the 70's. One might bring a 5 to 7 mil suit at this time of the year. However this is the dry season. In the summer season the water temperature should be in the low 80's.