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Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:04 am
by doratheexplorer
Oh ok thanks a lot

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:37 am
by floppy
doratheexplorer wrote:Hi people desperately seeking advice. This is not he right forum but I have no choice. I am flying off to Perth this Saturday and my Niece visa is rejected. We applied through agent rejected. Went to he Australian visa centre they said do manual application but takes 21 days omg. Now we applied again on eta immi.gov.au and waiting. What can I do. The application states as not enough information . What do I do it's this sat morning flight
I assume you are talking about the normal tourist visa.

If you have applied online at eta, it should be able to turn around in 3 days. Any agent with access to a GDS should be able to turn it around within a day. If rejection is due to “not enough information”, your first agent may have left out or made some mistakes in the original submission.

If you are talking about other types of visa, there probably isn’t enough time to get it done before Sat. In this case, probably wise to start talking to the airline whether you can postpone the trip or take an alternative flight.

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2017 1:59 pm
by tankee
My recent self service ETA application online were immediately approved.

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:37 pm
by floppy
tankee wrote:My recent self service ETA application online were immediately approved.
Just remember I may want to go on 24Dec but have yet to apply for ETA :lol:
Wish me luck. hope they don't reject me.

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:55 pm
by reddiechan
Singaporeans holding valid passports usually get an immediate approval. So far I've applied for ETA online 3 times over the past 5 or 6 years we've all been approved almost instantaneously. Still, you never know. Good luck!

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 1:42 pm
by floppy
reddiechan wrote:Singaporeans holding valid passports usually get an immediate approval. So far I've applied for ETA online 3 times over the past 5 or 6 years we've all been approved almost instantaneously. Still, you never know. Good luck!
I got it approved the next day - but that’s probably due to the agent’s processing time. Didn’t run into a hitch :wink:

Probably the most exciting trip planning I’ve done:
Visa application D-5.
Trip itinerary D-3.
Hotel booking, car rental and air tickets D-2.
Pack luggage D-1 till H-6.
Change money H-4.
:evil:

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 1:57 pm
by snower
My family of 4 is planning to visit Melbourne in mid May for 8 days. Please advise if this itinerary is good.

1. Arrive Melbourne in the morning. (What can we do on this day?Any nice place to recommend?)
2. Go for Puffing Billy train ride. (which stop should we stop? How should we spend the other half day?)
3. Probably self drive to GOR. Stop 1 night at Apollo Bay, 1 night at Warrnambool and back to Melbourne via Colac. Anyone carry on to Grampians?
5..Reach Melbourne city should be noon? Explore the city like visit the Queen Victoria Market.
6..Visit Werribee Zoo
7..Morrington Peninsula.
8. No plan yet.

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 11:04 am
by floppy
snower wrote:My family of 4 is planning to visit Melbourne in mid May for 8 days. Please advise if this itinerary is good.

1. Arrive Melbourne in the morning. (What can we do on this day?Any nice place to recommend?)
2. Go for Puffing Billy train ride. (which stop should we stop? How should we spend the other half day?)
3. Probably self drive to GOR. Stop 1 night at Apollo Bay, 1 night at Warrnambool and back to Melbourne via Colac. Anyone carry on to Grampians?
5..Reach Melbourne city should be noon? Explore the city like visit the Queen Victoria Market.
6..Visit Werribee Zoo
7..Morrington Peninsula.
8. No plan yet.
It looks good generally. My comments:
1. Suggestions for one day one should be rest and recovery (from the flight), orientation:
- Melbourne Central, Bourke Street, Brunswick Street, Chapel Street
- Melbourne lane culture (café, graffiti streets, etc)
- St Kilda, etc

2. To get to Puffing Billy, you alight at Belgrave on the Metro but I am assuming that you are asking for the stop on the Puffing Billy to terminate. In that case, I would suggest either Lakeside or Emerald. Both stations will cost you the same (from Belgrave) and if you want to save some money, you can choose a one way ticket and return via public bus.
- At Lakeside, you can spend the time waiting for the train while having a picnic in the park (if you have bought a return ticket). However, if you are holding a one way fare, you can take Bus 695 on Belgrave-Gembrook Road back to Belgrave. The bus ride will get you back to Belgrave before the train does (even if they depart at the same time).
- Alternatively, you can consider stopping at Emerald. You can have your lunch at (or just walk around) the town. Once done, you can take the same bus 695 back to Belgrave.
- Apart from Puffing Billy, you can spend the rest of the day in / around the Dandenong Ranges. There are a couple of nice towns to visit - Emerald, Olinda, Sassafras, etc and they are an easy bus ride (or drive) from Belgrave.

3. If you are intending to drive the GOR, Apollo Bay is a very nice pit stop.
- You can then spend the next morning exploring Cape Otway (and have spotting the wild Koalas).
- Stopping at Warrnambool is a good idea if you continue beyond Port Campbell. Previously, I drove all the way to Port Fairy from Apollo Bay and then return to Melbourne via Colac (Princes Highway) without staying a night - not recommended as you will reach MEL quite late.
- If you intend to drive to the Grampians, you will need to factor in another night at Halls Gap or Ballarat to make the journey worthwhile.

5. QVM:
- Please check their website as they are not opened every day. They have specific opening hours on the days that they are opened as well.
- If your timing coincide with their opening, that's fine. If not, you will have to plan other activities (e.g. things that you didn't do on day one above).

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 12:39 pm
by floppy
floppy wrote: ...
2. To get to Puffing Billy, you alight at Belgrave on the Metro but I am assuming that you are asking for the stop on the Puffing Billy to terminate. In that case, I would suggest either Lakeside or Emerald. Both stations will cost you the same (from Belgrave) and if you want to save some money, you can choose a one way ticket and return via public bus.
- At Lakeside, you can spend the time waiting for the train while having a picnic in the park (if you have bought a return ticket). However, if you are holding a one way fare, you can take Bus 695 on Belgrave-Gembrook Road back to Belgrave. The bus ride will get you back to Belgrave before the train does (even if they depart at the same time).
- Alternatively, you can consider stopping at Emerald. You can have your lunch at (or just walk around) the town. Once done, you can take the same bus 695 back to Belgrave.
- Apart from Puffing Billy, you can spend the rest of the day in / around the Dandenong Ranges. There are a couple of nice towns to visit - Emerald, Olinda, Sassafras, etc and they are an easy bus ride (or drive) from Belgrave.
...
One advantage of using public transport is the low price, especially if you intend to use the train to get from Melbourne to Belgrave. Belgrave is in Zone 2, which means to travel to and fro, you will have to incur 2 x Zone 1 + 2 fare. Given that the maximum daily limit is also 2 x Zone 1 + 2 fare, the additional public bus travel within the Dandenong Ranges (Zone 2) is effectively FOC.

Re: Travel: Australia - Melbourne

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:37 pm
by snower
Thanks Floppy for your detailed explanation. It really helps alot. As I read through the thread, it seems more people are stopping at Port Campbell instead of Warrnambool. We decided not to go further to Grampians as we are going to Sydney. My questions is:
1)If I were to visit 12 Apostles, should I stop at Port Campbell?
2) From Port Campbell, I should return via Colac which takes about 3 hrs?