Travelling to Australia - running suggestions, flies, and cell phones

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did

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1 year ago 01/28/2019 8:32pm CST

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I'll be in Australia 2/10-2/24. 5 days in Sydney (no car), 4 days in Cairns (no car), 5 days driving around the Red Centre.

I imagine running in the Red Centre will be challenging particularly if the recent heat wave persists but does anyone have suggestions for good running in Sydney (no car), Cairns (no car), or the Red Centre (yes car)? Any thoughts on a track I can access while in Cairns or Sydney?

Any other general thoughts or recommendations?

Cell phones - I'm reading that I should just buy a sim card with some data once I land. I've never done this but it seems pretty straightforward. Presumably when I buy the sim card it comes with a random Australian phone number?

Camping in the red centre - the standard rental kit of supplies from the car rental company includes all the usual basics except no tent. I asked if I could have a tent and they said they don't have any. I don't have a problem sleeping under the stars... but I've heard how bad the flies can be. Am I sleeping with the fly net on? Are the flies not bad at night?

Thanks in advance.
Magpie Attack

1 year ago 01/28/2019 11:44pm CST
re: did

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I was in Sydney for the first time in October. Stayed in Parramatta, worked at the Olympic Park everyday. The training track was always open when I was there and lots of room on the roads. Parramatta River has a paved greenway/ path along both sides. Decent light rail to get where you want to be.

My cell provider has an international plan and I just went online and activated that. Received calls and texts no problem. You will need a power convertor and not just an adapter.

Its not the flies- beware of the magpies!
Sydney is a big place.

1 year ago 01/29/2019 12:32am CST
re: did

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Depends where you are in Sydney.
The locals stay at home in summer.

1 year ago 01/29/2019 12:45am CST
re: did

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Stick to driving around the red centre. If you must run, just do a simple out and back on the same piece of road/track. Don't run off the track cos lots of people die each year out bush going off track, sometimes within spitting distance of help, but they're just too buggered to realise it. You'll need to run real early cos it's friggin hot out there in February. Gotta a mate in the tourism industry who does outback tours but doesn't do them in Jan/Feb, he say's only idiots would voluntary go out there then, you're looking at in excess of 40 centigrade in the sun and enough flies on you to carry you away. Good luck.

https://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian-outback-survival.html
Radical CJ

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1 year ago 01/29/2019 6:11am CST
re: did

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Could easily be too hot to run on those dates, especially up North and in the Centre.

+1 on not leaving the track/road in remote areas if you don't know the area (which you won't). Tourists die doing that here every year. In many places there are no discernable land marks, no water for hundreds of kilometers, no phone or internet reception, and it's 45 degrees Celsius in the shade. Experienced trekkers have died within hours not days.

On sleeping without a tent... You can, but there are a lot of things that could bite you. So at least a tent even without the fly is best. Sometimes thou can get away with just a tarpaulin in a good spot.

Be safe,
noticer of things

1 year ago 01/29/2019 6:54am CST
re: did

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did said: Travelling to Australia - running suggestions...

I admire your ambition, but I would fly if I were you.

Frommer of Sydney

1 year ago 01/29/2019 7:01am CST
re: did

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Centennial Park is a 3.7km loop close to the city. It’s terrific. If you are in the inner west do the Bay Run. Go early to either, you’ll have lots of company.
Citizen Runner

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1 year ago 01/29/2019 7:05am CST
re: Magpie Attack

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Magpie Attack wrote:

You will need a power convertor and not just an adapter.

Most cell phone chargers do not require a power converter (voltage converter) and will be fine with a simple plug adapter. The input range should be printed on the charger and if it is typical will say something like "Input: AC 100-240V / 50-60 Hz / . . .". Australia is nominally 230 V and 50 Hz which is within the charger's input range.
running dirty

1 year ago 01/29/2019 7:08am CST
re: noticer of things

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Not sure if sleeping without a tent is a good idea. Australia has a nice collection of the poisonous snakes in the world. But it probably will be the ants and flies who will eat you alive before the snakes will find you. Besides that I can't imagine it is a good idea to camp in the middle of the summer there.

As others said I would be careful with running in the outback. Getting lost and die of dehydration has happened before there.
LetsRun.com

your benevolent dictator

1 year ago 01/29/2019 8:32am CST
re: Radical CJ

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Let this serve as an official unveiling of a previous unpublished LetsRun.com policy. From now on, all posts that tell people to google something when they ask a question will be deleted. The point of having a messageboard is to have a community. People ask each other for advice as they want to get help from human experts - not a computer. They also want to save time by having others who know the answer share it instead of trying to figure out which online source is legitimate, correct, etc.
did

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1 year ago 01/29/2019 9:04am CST
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Thanks very much for all the info.

running.
Sydney - thanks for the ideas.
Cairns - still looking for anyone's thoughts
Red Centre - I was not inclined to run, and after the comments above will not be running

camping
Sounds like I need to get a tent.
joedirt

1 year ago 01/29/2019 9:15am CST
re: did

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If I were to go fly fishing in Australia, I would bring some large clouser minnows (as I would for any saltwater fly fishing). Giant Trevally are brutal, so you will want a 9-10WT rod, and maybe a 8 wt for going after Barramundi in the fresh water. Be careful of crocs and pretty much everything else, as Australia is full of all sorts of critters that can kill you.

jesseriley

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1 year ago 01/29/2019 9:53am CST
re: joedirt

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“Swags” are one-person bedroll/coverings that are sold at camping suppliers. It’s perfectly normal in the Outback to sleep on the ground near the road.
sadfdfsfs

1 year ago 01/29/2019 10:15am CST
re: did

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Who in their right mind would go to Australia?
Sprinter Strider Jogger Spy

1 year ago 01/29/2019 10:30am CST
re: jesseriley

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I visited Sydney and Cairns (as well as Melbourne) on a 2017 vacation.

In addition to running in both cities, I highly recommend you do some water excursions. In Sydney, this should be a ferry ride to, say, the zoo or, better, Manly (or both in one day, which is what we did). We did the zoo in the morning and Manly in the afternoon and timed our return ride from Manly back to Circular Quay to catch the setting sun. This was one of the best boat rides I've ever had the pleasure of taking. And in Cairns, you could do a scuba day-trip or even a multi-day live-aboard (we did the latter) if you're a diver. If you're not I'm sure there are snorkeling day-trip operators. Another thing to do from Cairns is a Daintree Rainforest tour, which included a riverboat ride. Cairns is like backpacker central and there is no shortage of tour agencies offering any type of excursion. (Sorry, you didn't ask about excursions but I couldn't help myself -- it's fun to reminisce.)

As for running, in Sydney you absolutely have to go run along the Harbour, specifically east from downtown toward Mrs. Macquarie's chair and beyond. Run around the Opera House and up its steps, through the Botanical Gardens (lots of paths, though you'll likely exhaust them), wherever your curiosity takes you. If you're up for it, run all the way to, say, Bondi along New South Head Rd, spend the day in and around Bondi, and catch a bus or Uber back to downtown. Or while in Bondi you could walk or run the coastal trail down to Coogee to take advantage of having gotten out there. We walked the trail -- scenic and highly recommended. End your run with a beer at either the Clovelly or Coogee Beach Hotels.

I didn't run in Cairns so can't offer advice. If you're going there soon, it will be quite warm and very humid. Cairns much more downtrodden than Sydney, especially so as soon as you leave its downtown, so I'd exercise caution if you run while there.
Macho macho man

1 year ago 01/29/2019 10:32am CST
re: did

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if going to land down under, bring what's down under
Markus

1 year ago 01/29/2019 10:36am CST
re: LetsRun.com

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LetsRun.com wrote:

Let this serve as an official unveiling of a previous unpublished LetsRun.com policy. From now on, all posts that tell people to google something when they ask a question will be deleted. The point of having a messageboard is to have a community. People ask each other for advice as they want to get help from human experts - not a computer. They also want to save time by having others who know the answer share it instead of trying to figure out which online source is legitimate, correct, etc.

But it would be nice if dumb questions would get the same treatment. And yes sometimes there are dumb questions. If I just want to know a answer I could google I actually should google it first and see what comes up.
Some posters are way too lazy ( and that is true not only for the LR forum).
KAV

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1 year ago 01/29/2019 10:54am CST
re: did

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did wrote:

Thanks very much for all the info.

running.
Sydney - thanks for the ideas.
Cairns - still looking for anyone's thoughts
Red Centre - I was not inclined to run, and after the comments above will not be running

camping
Sounds like I need to get a tent.

I ran in Cape Tribulation just north of Cairns a lifetime ago. Tropical forest environment. There was a single costal road with little traffic and you could run on it, with the caveat to stay well away from paths that led to beaches with little creaks from the interior, which happened to be infested with crocs (no kiddin). You shoud be able to run in Cairns, which is a decent size town but i wouldnt go off the beaten track that part of the world.
KAV

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1 year ago 01/29/2019 11:05am CST
re: KAV

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Also... we drove all the way from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs, sleeping in tents at night. There were like forts so to speak as it gets quite busy out there in the dark. I wouldn't sleep in the open for sure and most certainly i wouldnt run at all while you are on the outback. Just enjoy that bit of your trip
did

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1 year ago 01/29/2019 11:46am CST
re: KAV

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Jesseriley - thanks. I've got swags reserved with my car rental. To me it just seems a little foreign to not have a tent to crawl into when there is a risk of annoying flies, stinging bugs, or hungry critters that everyone talks about so frequently. But without exaggeration it seems like it's impossible to rent a tent - so that combined with your comments leads me to the conclusion that I'll be sleeping sans tent.

Sprinter Strider Jogger Spy - thanks. In cairns we're doing day trips to snorkel and scuba and a day trip to the kuranda rain forest. We are going in a couple weeks so it'll be warm no doubt - and it's one of our first destinations after landing so the combination of jetlag and weather might be enough to just scrap the running. If I do I imagine it'll just be short jaunts through the downtown. I'm looking forward to all the Sydney routes you mentioned.

KAV - thanks, In Cairns, as mentioned above, I'll stick to running on the beaten path in the city. I'm definitely over running in the red centre - as you said I'll just enjoy the scenery. We're driving from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock (and back, and to a couple other spots) over the course of 5 days. We have campsites with power reserved for a couple nights to be able to recharge batteries, and then found unpowered unreservable campsites for other nights. Nothing seems to be described as a complex / fort or anything though. Do you mean that there is a "fort" where people sleep inside, and inside it's normal to sleep without a tent? Do you remember where/how you got your tent by any chance?

my tent research has yielded the following:
Central Car Rental does not offer tents as part of their car+camping equipment rental. They appear to be the only place that rents camping equipment. Their camping equipment covers all the other basics though (swag, sleeping bag, esky, table, chair, plates and cutlery, gas stove and gas, light, waterjug)
Lone Dingo no longer rents equipment
I've inquired with Desert Dwellers but haven't heard back