Forewarned is forearmed – Australia is not one of the world’s best places to ski.

If you require evidence, just take note of the fact that Australia won its first ever Winter Olympics gold medal when everyone except Sydneysider Stephen Bradbury crashed in the 1000m short track speed skate final.

If you’re from Canada, the US, Europe or Japan, then you have better snow at home. If you’re from Egypt, we have better snow than you.

Furthermore, if you’re going on to New Zealand you’ll save money (and get better snow) over there.

However, if you’re either: a) living in Sydney for a while; b) learning to ski / snowboard; or c) you want an expensive way to get smashed (drunk) with ski bunnies and university students, read on!

If you’re looking for an organised ski trip / ski tour, you could use a company such as Ski Kaos.

Ski Kaos offer 2-, 3-, 4- or 6-day ski trips to Thredbo (500 km from Sydney).

For example, you could take a 2-day ski trip to Thredbo during the weekend of August 21-23, 2009.

You’d be picked up in Sydney on the Friday night (5:50pm from Sydney’s Central Station) and get to know your group as you drive down. You’d stop in Cooma to pick up any ski hire you need. You’d arrive quite late (1:45 am) and head straight to bed (with whom is up to you).

You’d ski or board all day Saturday and Sunday (until 4:30pm) and have the choice of partying or relaxing on the Saturday night. Finally, you’d head back on the bus to Sydney on the Sunday afternoon and arrive at Central Station at 12:45 am (Monday).

The price? $219 for the accommodation and bus trips, plus $186 for a 2-day lift pass, plus $42 (skis, poles and boot hire) or $63 (snowboard and boot hire) and an optional $39 (ski pants and ski jacket hire). Total cost: $507 plus meals and drinks for a 2-day snowboarding trip, or $486 plus meals and drinks for a 2-day ski trip. It’s not cheap, but it is fun.

Resources: Ski Kaos.

You can learn to surf literally across the road from your hostel. Or you could have a surf tour pick you up from your hostel and take you over sand dunes to an uncrowded beach just out of Sydney.

Finally, you can even take a 5 day tour from Sydney to Byron Bay that stops at many beaches along the way.

All schools cater for first time surfers and will provide you with surfboards and wetsuits.

Learn To Surf Near Your Hostel

If you want a couple of 2 hour lessons, there are plenty of surf schools near the main hostel areas:

Learn to surf in Sydney at Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, Maroubra Beach or other beaches.

• Bondi Beach: Let’s Go Surfing ($75 per two hour lesson; less with international concession card)
• Manly Beach: Manly Surf School ($50 per two hour lesson)
• Maroubra Beach: Sydney Safe Surf Schools ($55 per two hour lesson; less with international concession card)

Full Day “Learn To Surf” Tours

You can take a full day out of your vacation to learn to surf at uncrowded beaches just outside of Sydney.

There are a number of companies that organise day trips, such as SydneySurf and Waves Surf School. Here’s how they work. Waves Surf School, for example, will pick you up in a 4WD from one of three backpacker / hostel precincts: Coogee (8:30 am), Bondi (8:45 am) and Central Station in the city (9 am).

Waves staff will drive you for 45 minutes out of the city. The last part of the drive will be over sand dunes, hence the need for a 4WD (although surfers do have an image to keep up with)! The fact that you are driving to beaches which are only accessible by 4WD pretty much guarantees you will be surfing at uncrowded beaches.

On a Waves surf tour, you are guaranteed over four and a half hours of surfing time. This will give you the chance to consolidate new skills, as well as have a great time and meet other travellers.

The cost of a Waves one day tour (including lessons, transfers, surfboard, wetsuit and lunch) is $69 AUD, which is not a bad deal.

5 Day “Sydney To Byron Bay” “Learn To Surf” Tours

If you’re looking for an extended surfing holiday in Australia, you can also join learn-to-surf tours that will take you from Sydney up to Byron Bay (about 800 km or 500 miles to the north). These tours stop at a number of beaches along the way as they wind their way up the coast.

For example, Surfaris Remote Coastal Adventures run a five-day learn-to-surf tour from Sydney to Byron Bay. The thing I like about Surfari’s is that the tour operators will stop the bus wherever they see good waves, rather than at predetermined locations.

All surf schools will generally provide you with a surfboard, a rash vest and a wetsuit. You’ll need to bring a swimming costume (to wear under the wetsuit) a towel and sunscreen.

Wine tours in the Hunter Valley (2.5 hours drive) are a great way to sample famous Australian wines in a truly beautiful part of the world.

You’ll get to sample legendary drops such as Lindemans, Hardy’s and McGuigan.

Day Trip From Sydney In A Luxury Mercedes Minivan

If you’ve got access to a car, you can drive to the Hunter and back in a day. If you’d rather join a tour, you can hook up with outfits such as Boutique Wine Tours. You’ll be picked up from your hotel and driven to the Hunter in a luxury Mercedes minivan. We’re talking TV, fridge and leather seats.

Hunter Valley Wine Tours. Photo: Krossbow.

The owners of Boutique Wine Tours will take you to their favourite wineries, and can alter the route to accomodate your wine preferences.

There’s a maximum of 14 people per group, so it’s pretty flexible. If you like a particular winery, you can even stay behind and have the drivers pick you up an hour later.

For about $100 AUD per person, it’s an easy way to enjoy Hunter Valley wine tasting.

Weekend Hunter Valley Wine Tours In A Classic Cadillac Convertible

If you want to spend a night or two in the Hunter, you can be picked up from your hotel in a classic 1960 Cadillac convertible with whitewall tires and huge fins.

It’s quite a stylish way to hop from winery to winery and the photos with the car in the background should be priceless.

At around $600 AUD for a 10am – 4:30 pm tour, it’s not cheap, but if you have 4 people, that’s only $150 each.

The Blue Mountains are not really mountains, nor are they blue. So why the name? I guess in Australian terms, these are mountains, although they would be dwarfed by a serious mountain range. And the “blue” label comes from the fact that you can see a bluish tinge when you are far away from the mountains (I never have).

Cable Car over the Blue Mountains, Sydney. Photo: Aschaf.

Anyway, the Blue Mountains are well worth a visit if you want to see a beautiful World Heritage-listed natural area. There are plenty of things to do (most revolve around physical activity) although it is also a favourite spot with Sydneysiders looking to get away for a weekend.

Nature Walks

One of the best things to do in the Blue Mountains is the Furber Steps walk. The Furber Steps walk will give you a great view of the famous Three Sisters rock formation (which is the Blue Mountains’ Kodak moment).

World’s Steepest Railway

At the end of the Furber Steps walk you can also ride the famous Scenic Railway back up to the cliff top. According to the Guiness Book of Records, the Scenic Railway is the steepest railway in the world, travelling 415 m (0.25 miles) at a staggering 52 degree elevation. It’s quite a unique experience and well worth a ride. Tickets are $8 AUD one way. Access to the Furber Steps bushwalking trail itself is from the Katoomba Falls Kiosk, Cliff Drive, Katoomba. Admission is free.

Arts and Crafts in Katoomba

Katoomba is a gorgeous little town in the heart of the Blue Mountains with plenty of arts and craft stores and relaxed cafes. I highly recommend the vegie burger from Niche Nosh (10 Katoomba St, Katoomba) – even if you love meat. They’ve got a sign out the front saying it’s the best vegie burger in Australia and they may just be right.

Mountain Bike Tours

Another great way to see the area is with a mountain bike tour of the Blue Mountains. Everything is provided for you including a mountain bike, helmet, lunch and a couple of expert guides. The best part is that there are no long hill climbs.

A great ride is the Narrowneck ride which takes you around the refreshing and green Jamison Valley. Typically a bike day tour of the Blue Mountains starts at 9 am and ends at 4:30 pm. Blue Mountains mountain bike tours are offered through the Blue Mountains Adventure Company, River Deep Mountain High or OzTrails.

Rock Climbing

You can also go on (outdoor) rock-climbing tours of the Blue Mountains. On a one-day tour, you will do about four different climbs of increasing height, the last being about 40 metres (131 ft). The instructors are very professional and use only high-quality ropes and gear. It’s a lot of fun and certainly a day you will remember.

Abseiling and Canyoning

Finally, you can also go on abseiling / canyoning tours of the Blue Mountains. (Canyoning is a combination of hiking, river wading and abseiling). These are a lot of fun. As with the rock climbing tours, you work your way up to increasingly high abseils, the ultimate being a 30 metre (98 ft) abseil down a waterfall into a pool of fresh clear water.

How To Get To The Blue Mountains By Train

CityRail trains leave Sydney’s Central Station (right next to the YHA Sydney Central backpacker accomodation hostel) almost hourly for Katoomba. Train tickets cost $11.40 AUD one-way.

How To Get To The Blue Mountains By Car

Head west from downtown Sydney along Parramatta Road, then the M4 toll-road motorway and finally the Great Western Highway.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the whitest sand in the world is found just 2.5 hours south of Sydney at Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay.

But the really staggering thing about Jervis Bay is that you can easily find yourself without another soul in sight in the middle of some of the most beautiful scenery on earth. You’d think a place this beautiful would be absolutely jam packed with holiday makers and tourists.

Dolphin Watching At Jervis Bay, NSW. Photo: Blue Riot River.

Things To Do In Jervis Bay

There are plenty of things to do at Jervis Bay. In fact, it’s the ideal spot to just do nothing – play cards, read a book or a trashy magazine or hang out at your tent or bed and breakfast. But if you’re feeling active, you can hire bicycles, surfboards, fishing rods, visit the boat-building museums, or just go for long walks along the shore.

Whale Watching Tours

If you really want to make your friends back home jealous, you can take either a whale or a dolphin watching tour at Jervis Bay.

Tour prices are very reasonable, ranging from around $20 – $50 AUD for a 2 – 3 hour cruise. The best part is when the captain turns the engines off to encourage the whales or dolphins to swim right up to the side of the boat. You can go on a dolphin-watching tour all year around, whereas the the whale watching season runs from June to November.

Jervis Bay Accomodation

Jervis Bay has accomodation to suit a wide range of budgets – from campgrounds and budget motels right through to upscale bed and breakfasts.

A place I like the look of (although I haven’t stayed there myself) is the Huskisson Bed & Breakfast. It’s a restored family home that is over 100 years old. There’s an old-fashioned (but resurfaced) claw foot bathtub in the bathroom and lovely white French doors. You also get a wood fire and views of Jervis Bay from some of the rooms.