Australia Thread 4

[Antigone]

^Officially March ang start ng autumn. What I meant was, mainit pa sa umpisa. Mararamdaman mo lang pag mga mid-April to May na. Hopefully, malamig na by that time na pumunta kayo.

[angeljolie]

Has anybody been on an Australia/New Zealand cruise? We are joining a 10-night New Zealand cruise from Sydney on 30 March. We would be docking on Port Chalmers, Wellington, Napier, and Picton in New Zealand then back to Sydney. The cruise starts and ends in Sydney.

My kids have been granted single-entry visas to Australia. I did mention in our application that we plan to go on a cruise. My questions are:

1. Do we get marked as having departed Australia when we set sail?
2. And are we considered re-entering Australia when we arrive in Sydney after the cruise?

Thanks!

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Edited to add:

Ok so I found the answer to my question na din sa Dept of Home Affairs site.

?Cruise
You will need a visa if you enter Australia during a cruise.

If your cruise is a round trip cruise, the time you spend on the cruise counts as time spent in Australia - that is, we do not consider you have left Australia. A round trip cruise will not reset your stay period on your visa.

Ask your cruise operator or travel agent if we consider your cruise to be a round trip cruise.?

Source:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/visitor-600/tourist-stream-onshore#About

?Round trip cruise

A round trip cruise is one that:
- starts and ends in Australia
- lasts up to 30 days?

Source:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/glossary

[travelling_daisy]

Hello!

My husband and I were recently granted 1-year ME visas while my two kids were granted single-entry visas valid for six months. Just now, we thought of going back to Australia in October (our first trip will be in Sydney this April) as we also wanted to explore Melbourne. Would just like to ask if we are to apply again for our children after the expiry of their visas, do we use the same ImmiAccount? And will the requirements be the same as our initial application?

Appreciate your thoughts regarding my queries.

Thanks!

[rocky]

^yes same immi account pa rin sis & mavi-view mo yong dating appln nandon pa rin naka-save, pwedeng kopyahin mo lang kung same pa rin naman details kala-lodge ko lang last week & ilang days lang granted na. napansin ko lang ngayon pagka-submit mo ng form, attached kagad ng required documents saka lang magproceed sa payment unlike before bayad muna

may mga sis na ba na nag-sunshine coast? anong ok pasyalan sa mooloolaba? TIA excited na ako sa roadtrip namin sa NSW, first-time ko sa shoalhaven heads & attend ng wedding ng pamangkin ni hubby

[travelling_daisy]

^Thanks, sis Rocky!

One year lang ba talaga ang pinakamahabang validity ng ME visa?  Or we can request for a longer one? Balak kasi namin na mag Sydney-NZ  next year, after namin magMelbourne sa October.

[rocky]

^may iba akong kakilala nakakakuha ng 3-yr pero ako laging 1 yr lang hindi ko alam kung sinasadya nila para mag-file na ako ng spouse visa haha depende pa rin talaga sa consul

[travelling_daisy]

^ang ikli kasi ng 1 year validity kahit multiple entries... yun lang din nakuha namin na validity. Well, maybe because di ko din naman inindicate na we plan to return. We do have plans to return kasi but not that soon naman, like within the year... haha...  Thanks, sis Rocky!

BTW, how many days do we need to spend in Melbourne if we plan to do the Great Ocean Road tour? Will 5 days be more than enough including Brighton Beach and the rest of the must-see spots?

[rocky]

^yes enough na yang 5 days sis. 1 day tour para sa GOR

[travelling_daisy]

^ Thanks, sis rocky!

BTW, enough na kaya ang AUD 1800 for 7 days in Sydney? We are 4 (2 adults and 2 kids). the amount will cover our transpo, food and fees sa attractions we will be visiting (Featherdale, Blue Mountains, Luna Park).  Hotel is fully paid na.

[rocky]

^baka need mong extra sis for pasalubong, madaming mabibili sa paddy's market na souvenir

[travelling_daisy]

^Ayyy, di ko inaccount yung pasalubong sis... di ko kasi sinama Paddy's market sa mga pupuntahan namin. Balak ko mga chocolates lang/food items dadalhin kong pasalubong... the usual Tim Tams, etc. How much usually ang cost ng mga pasalubong items and saan kayo usually bumibili? Can I bring home steak? Dapat ba itong i-check in or handcarry lang?

[althea_ge]

^ I think 1800 is not enough for 7 days. For example sa food in one meal, a family could spend average $50-$80 (mura pa ito) then 3 meals a day except if you have free breakfast at the hotel.
Sa attractions maybe $100 one attraction for family na. Then train/transpo, I'm not sure about min single fare around Sydney, maybe $2.80-$3 ang min per head.
For chocolates pasalubong, try to look mga sale sa Woolies/Coles. Meron din sa Aldi supermarket na masarap na chocolates , it's a German company. Or if you can find reject shop, mas cheaper ang bilihin, you can also find cadbury, timtams, etc here.

[rocky]

^^check in steak sis & lagay mo sa cooler kasi baka masira sa tagal ng byahe. sa paddy's talaga pinakamura kung bibili ka ng shirt, keychain, ref magnet. may cute ding australian animals na stuffed toys, nagko-collect ako non agree with coles & woolies, don din ako namimili ng mga chocs, pag may nakita akong naka-sale binibili ko na kasi hindi lahat ng store pare-parehong naka-sale

[travelling_daisy]

^ Noted, sis @althea_ge and sis @rocky.
Magdagdag na lang siguro ako ng pocket money. Our hotel will provide free breakfast na. I miscalculated our food expense.  I thought sobra na ang AUD 1800 sa amin.

Thanks uli.

[rocky]

^hehe mahal pa naman food don kahit mcdo. naeenjoy ko lang talaga steak, sobrang tender & mura

[travelling_daisy]

^mukhang mas malaki pa sis yung budget ko dapat  for food kesa sa airfare namin... haha

By the way, eto na yung final itinerary namin. Pacheck naman po if doable sya. Relaxed pace lang gusto namin as we are the types who want to linger and take our time. Okay ba yung pagkaka-group ko ng mga places? Need your inputs, please.

Day 1 (April 14 - Sunday)
Morning arrival at Sydney Airport
Check in at hotel (near Central Station)
(Any suggestion on where to get lunch?)
Hyde Park
St. Mary's Cathedral for 6PM mass
(Any suggestion on where to have dinner?)

Day 2 (April 15 - Monday)
Explore Newtown
Lunch in Mary's Newtown
Circular Quay
The Rocks
Sydney Opera House
Dinner at Hurricane's Grill

Day 3 (April 16 -Tuesday)
Blue Mountain - Echo Point Lookout
(not doing Scenic World, any other activity within the area we could do?)
Royal Botanic Gardens
Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Day 4 (April 17-Wednesday)
Featherdale
Sydney Fish Market

Day 5 (April 18 - Thursday)
Grounds of Alexandria
Luna Park
Sydney Harbour Bridge

Day 6 (April 19-Friday)
Bondi Beach (doing the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk; mas okay ba from Bondi magstart or the reverse?)
Darling Harbour
(Any resto nearby that we can try?)

Day 7 (April 20-Saturday)
Morning flight back to Manila

Any comments on the above itinerary are welcome. Thanks so much!

[rocky]

^pwede mong lipat yong bondi beach sa ibang araw, since holy week yan sobrang daming tao don.

[travelling_daisy]

^ Oh, hala, di ko nacheck na public holiday pala sa Australia ang Good Friday... thanks, sis!

Will revise my itinerary.

[avitot]

^^ Medyo babalikan mo pa ulet yung route ng mga places na pupuntahan mo on day 1 and 2 mo.

I recommend you combined St Mary's , Hyde Park, Sydney Opera House, Harry's Cafe de Wheels in one day. These are all walking distance from point 1 to end.  Tipid ka pa

Start your journey in harrys de wheels cafe - walk straight towards  st marys then  hyde park (tapat lang tong st marys) - walk to opera house na. madaanan mo pa botanic garden and art gallery NSW and potts point before Opera house.

[travelling_daisy]

^ thanks for the inputs, sis.
Actually sinadya ko talagang paghiwalayin yung sites kahit mgkakalapit lang sila sa isa't isa... para din hindi kami rushed masyado... for us to have some time to settle muna bago magstart gumala .. but if we could squeeze them all in in one day, we will do that para we could free up the next day for some other activities. Thanks sis!