A great road trip through Australia visiting Melbourne, the great ocean road, Cairns, the opportunity for visiting the barrier reef and the coastal drive from Brisbane to Sydney, all in a little over 3 weeks. I've tried to make this trip busy but with time to see the attractions. There are many alterations you can make to this itinerary to double your time, but this is a great trip for those that don't want to use up too much annual leave either! Flights are from Manchester. The dates are 24/04-17/05 and I've been to Australia at this time and much prefer it than December or January when it is very busy.
I've included car hire in Melbourne and Brisbane-sydney but I would also suggest seeing if you can find more local providers too in Australia as you may get better deals. Hostels and Airbnb will likely reduce cost further and I've used both extensively in Australia with no issues.
25th April
You'll arrive into Melbourne today. You will spend 2 nights in the city of Melbourne, based at the Larwill which has fantastic reviews and is a studio so you have far more space than a hotel room. It is near to the zoo, but just on the outskirts of Melbourne near the free bus to the city so you are ideally located for a fantastic priced place to stay.
27th April
Collect your hire car from Melbourne and drive the great ocean road from Melbourne to Apollo Bay taking in sights such as Bells Beach and Kennet River. Stop en route at Lorne for some nice fish and chips. Overnight at Apollo Bay at the Beachcomber Motel. Again this has consistently good reviews and is a great price.
28th April
Drive Apollo Bay to Port Campbell via the 12 Apostles and more gorgeous coastal views on the GOR. Overnight at Port Campbell at the Parkview Motel. Make sure you view the Ottawa Lighthouse for nearby koalas.
29th April
Drive from Port Campbell to Port Fairy. Overnight at Port Fairy. This is a gorgeous place to visit too and I'd suggest allowing time to wander around Port Fairy too. You will stay at the Comfort Inn at Port Fairy. This has great reviews and rooms have a private bathroom.
30th April
Drive around 2 hours back to Melbourne today where you will spend a final night in the city. You will stay at the Pensione Hotel in Melbourne.
1st May
You will fly Melbourne to Cairns today. Upon arrival in Cairns you will head to the city staying at Heritage in Cairns. Cairns is worth a short visit and has a general backpacking vibe with cheap eats such as the nightmarkets You will only stay for one night before heading to Port Douglas.
2nd - 4th May
You'll head to Port Douglas today. There are a variety of options such as bus, taxi or self drive or even tours. I haven't included prices here as there are so many choices so you will need to price this up in addition to the cost. In Port Douglas you can head out to the barrier reef and there are many tours available or even to the 'jungle' of Cape Tribulation. You will stay at the Port Douglas Motel which has a Certificate of Excellence on Tripadvisor and great reviews.
4th May
You'll head back to Cairns airport for your afternoon flight to Brisbane. Again, depending on how you got to PD you could drive, taxi or bus back to the airport. In Brisbane you'll collect your hire car and drive to the Ibis Windsor. There is free parking and although it's a budget option it's ideal as you'll be heading out to the Gold Coast/Byron Bay the following day.
5th-7th May
You'll do the short drive to the Gold Coast today and then on to Byron Bay. There are a few different options you could make to this trip to visit Noosa and Fraser (which I highly recommend), but for the straightforwardness (if that's a word), you'll head to Byron Bay. You could also overnight at Gold Coast but I didn't like it, a bit Blackpool like. Instead overnight at Byrons Bay at Glenn Villa where you will stay for 2 nights.
7th-9th May
Continue the drive of the Pacific Highway Drive to Coffs Harbour, which will take you around 2 hours. You'll stay for 2 nights at the Royal Palms.
9th - 12th May
You'll drive from Coffs Harbour to Port Stephens today. It's a long drive but you will be able to make plenty of stops en-route to break up your journey and you will have 3 nights in Port Stephens to use as a base so no need to hurry! You'll stay in Hawks Nest in the Northern Shores of Port Stephens for 3 nights.
12th May
You'll do the drive to the Blue Mountains - Katoomba today. You are not far from Sydney once in Katoomba but it is well worth overnighting at the Blue Mountains as there are so many nice hikes/walks nearby. You'll stay at a highly rated B&B Lurline House whixh is a great base D'Or the Blue Mountains. Jenolan caves are also nearby and worth a short visit.
13th-17th May
You'll head to Sydney today. After returning the hire car you will be based at the Larmont, a great centrally located place for 4 nights.
******Breakdown
Long haul flights Man-Mel-Syd-Man £553.39 x 2 @ Expedia
2 nights at the Larwill, Melbourne £98.94 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
Car hire in Melbourne £58.61 @ holidayautos.com
1 night at the Beachcomber Motel in Apollo Bay £43.07 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
1 night at Port Campbell at the Parkview Motel £55.58 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
1 night at the Comfort Inn Port Fairy £59 @ booking.com
1 night in Melbourne after GOR £55.55 at hotels.com use code EML2016
Flights for 2 Melbourne to Cairns $350 AUD/£170.61 @ Virgin Australia
1 night in Cairns £53.29 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
2 nights at the Port Douglas Motel £101.82 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
Flights for 2 Cairns to Brisbane $278 AUD/£135.51 @ Virgin Australia
Hire car Brisbane to Sydney £105.50 @ Argus Car Hire
1 night in Brisbane at the Ibis Windsor £36.15 @ hotels.com
2 nights in Byron Bay £98.66 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
2 nights at the Royal Palms in Coffs Harbour £81.85 @ hotels.com use code
EML2016
3 nights at Hawks Near nr Port Stephens £123.09 at hotels.com use code EML2016
1 night at Lurking House, Blue Mountains £47 @ booking.com
4 nights at the Larmont by Lancelot £266.24 @ Expedia use code AFFJANDIA
Total pp £1328.62
Top comments
mjb1975
5 Jan 1627#3
kent84
5 Jan 164#5
Thanks for the effort but it seems very unnecessary. That route is incredibly specific and not likely to be ideal for many people, and even if you have no desire to plan anything yourself I wouldn't say it's the best route to take anyway.
The Manchester flights are pretty good value though, it's rare to find them that cheap.
Latest comments (54)
core_pl
17 Jan 16#53
Thank you OP ! Booked trip from Dublin made some modifications to the itinerary
rachelandgromit to core_pl
17 Jan 16#54
Have a lovely time :smile:
bobo53
13 Jan 16#52
I left that on purpose but well done for not attacking me, even so it took you sometime to realize about where and were. In my life I experienced that it is not all about languages but obviously it must be all about you being a homosapians and I might possibly be a sapiens instead but surely the sense of humour is not a friend of yours at all.
ollie87
7 Jan 16#51
That much is obvious.
By this sentence.
You left yourself open to attack by posting a comment trolling the thread.
Not sure what you mean here, language is the main reason why homosapians are the dominant species on this planet. Until very recently it was key to survival. Also, it's "where" not "were".
bobo53
7 Jan 16#50
For a genuine misspelling which I did not bother to correct in a moment of a hurry!! Left unattented to attract the attention of someone like you that cares, wondering how perfect you are on doing other things more creative in order to survive and were language is not that important. English is not even my mother language but in reality I can understand you. Even the good one, mother language specialists, are actually very pathetic the way they speak and write, schools and certificates do not help at all sometime. If a foreigner cannot understand them, it should be treated as a sad case as English is one of the most beautiful and easiest languages grammatically. What can I say; unfortunately it happens in all languages, lol. All written by my hand here without the help of a spell checker etc.. and sorry for my possibly wrong funny structural way to express myself and for some possible misspellings.
rachelandgromit
6 Jan 16#49
Mobilez - thank you! How did you do it!
mobilez
6 Jan 16#48
mobilez
6 Jan 16#47
mobilez
6 Jan 16#46
mobilez
6 Jan 16#45
PKtheDJ
6 Jan 16#44
Like many above, reading the comments brings back happy memories of my travels around Oz. The relocations are definitely the way to go if you have the time and in need of saving money. Took one from Cairns to Alice Springs (took 5 days) and always brings a smile to my face as I remember lying back listening to the music steering with my feet as we cruised down roads which were straight for as far as the horizon. And then of course there was the big wave as you met another camper coming in the opposite direction.
East coast gets all the limelight but if your looking for a quieter Oz experience I'd highly recommend the west coast which has so much to offer and less year out students! Heading north from Perth upwards to Darwin you have the pinnacles, ningaloo reef (which you can snorkel out to from the beach, less touristy than the Great Barrier Reef, but absolutely beautiful), diving with whale sharks at Exmouth, Broome (one of my all time favourite towns) and cable beach, the Gibb River Road, etc, etc, etc
All you need is the time and money to enjoy it all......
bojangles
6 Jan 16#43
Id love to go, but no chance of getting 3 weeks off work & its not worth the hassle for 2 weeks.
bobo53
5 Jan 16#18
do they still find turists in pieces??
Jerbs to bobo53
6 Jan 161#31
What's a turist?
ollie87 to bobo53
6 Jan 161#42
Yeah they butcher them - just like you did with the English language.
whatyadoinsucka
6 Jan 16#39
no 4wd camping trip to fraser island included and for that I'm not voting..
rachelandgromit to whatyadoinsucka
6 Jan 161#41
Rejig itinerary in Brisbane and head to Fraser. We drove from Brisbane then took a camping trip from there.
adamck
6 Jan 162#40
Jumpernot
6 Jan 16#36
Incredible find! I'm in the process of booking flights to New Zealand, and may have to re-arrange and see what else is out there. Bargain on flights!!
rachelandgromit to Jumpernot
6 Jan 16#38
You may get some even cheaper prices in Oz flights as prices have dropped again today. If you have Avios you can probably get from Oz to NZ cheaply with them via Qantas or look at Jetstar etc.... That's what we did when we went NZ.
Just looked and via BA Executive Club 20,000 Avios + £89 gets you a return flight from Sydney to Auckland with LAN Chile.
trick23
6 Jan 16#37
i did melbourne to sydney and back tour over 9 months - was awesome!
highly recommend byron bay
bobo53
6 Jan 16#35
the T"O"URISTS without "O" are the one they find in pieces in the bushes sometime, eaten by dogs, crocodiles, etcc... and very often by mankind
Van_Dam
6 Jan 16#34
Been there in December 2012. Unbelievable scenery. We drove on the Great Ocean Rd from Melbourne and got as far as Lorne (had intended to go to Apollo Bay). Had to hurry back to the city it was getting dark. I need to go back and finish this amazing road trip.
rossjamesparker
6 Jan 16#33
The Great Ocean Road is certainly smoking hot at the moment.
kingg1st
6 Jan 16#32
Yuck!
Transformers
6 Jan 16#30
Okay, cool. :smile::smiley:
rachelandgromit
6 Jan 161#29
Probably because I post alot of travel deals, not that I class myself as an expert by any means!
Transformers
6 Jan 16#28
Why do you have 'hukd Travel Expert' next to your name? :neutral_face:
ultrak3wl
6 Jan 16#27
Recently had a go on a didgeridoo, was fantastic. If I ever go to Australia wouldn't mind meeting some of the native people.
Arkade
6 Jan 16#26
I basically did this exact trip, starting in Melb and doing the Great Ocean road then straight up the centre via Uluru and Alice Springs into Darwin, then back down and across to Townsville and up to Cairns, then down the coast to Sydney for flight home. I spent a good couple of months doing it and spent a similar amount of money. I utilised relocation rentals and found people to travel with to split costs. For example my first relocation rental was a 6-berth RV that needed taking from Melbourne to Adelaide. 5 of us (travellers mostly found on gumtree I think) got together and each spent about $25 for this 4 day journey. Then I called up a couple of companies and asked what relocations they had available and found a 4x4 that needed taking to Uluru...me and one of the guys form the RV drove it all the way via Uluru and it cost us very little despite our Uluru detour.
I did this a few more times to get around the place. I highly recommend calling the rental companies out there and seeing what they need moving to different depots. Our average rental was $5 a day for the vehicle and they gave a fuel and milage allowance to get to your destination, making it much much cheaper than a typical rental. You can detour and pay a little extra if you go over their milage quota as long as they receive the vehicle at the required depot by the right time/day.
bobdylan
6 Jan 16#25
Thanks OP, if nothing else it brought back memories of my year out travelling of which I spent 9 months in Oz in 1992! I went to most of these stops on your iternary, you've got to dive the Barrier Reef, it's a must!
rachelandgromit
6 Jan 16#24
Manley has an Aldi, we stocked up on food there to cook at the hostel.
Don't think food in Oz is expensive when eating out, often similar to UK, but supermarkets are expensive. Doesn't seem to make sense but its true...
rachelandgromit to winchman
5 Jan 16#14
We ate in alot of RSL clubs (I forget what they stand for), cheap food, normally canteen style but home made and good value, as I recall in Huskisson and Lakes Entrance but I believe they are all over. This was a good tip from a local we stayed with in Airbnb. My favourite part of Australia is Tasmania as well the North which is far more than just Uluru. I was less interested in the barrier reef and surrounding areas as I can't snorkel or dive, but that's just my own personal choice. NZ will always win for me though (South). That's a deal for another day lol!
OrangeAgent to winchman
6 Jan 161#22
Yeh supermarkets were unreal prices, it made Waitrose look like Lidl
Jonsmyname
6 Jan 16#21
I did this in July and aside from a bit of rain in Sydney, it was a wonderful experience.
Instead of staying at Cairns I would advise to go further north after Port Douglas and go to Cape Tribulation for two days.
Cairns you can just visit to go on a GB reef boat. Another tip is paying extra for the diving - it's life changing!
mb1
6 Jan 16#20
We did this in 2008, but found the flights cheaper if you do it in reverse to this itinerary - i.e. fly into Brisbane, then down to Melbourne. Accidentally stumbled on this place during the road trip! http://www.tropicalfruitworld.com.au/
rachelandgromit
5 Jan 16#19
And Groupon for activities too, we hired bikes in Manley. traveling also have some occasional hotel deals as does wotif. It's great if you have the flexibility to just travel and have no specific plans but if you have limited time it's just not possible. For those hoping to use camper vans I've noticed over the years that they have clamped down in where you can stay, the first time we just literally pulled up on the side of the road! I've also found there are that many good hostels/camping in cabins and cheap Airbnb options the camper van options can seem expensive and less comfortable!
geoffreyt
5 Jan 16#17
RSL is The Returned and Services League with circa 1500 Branches Australia. My tip is to try groupon Australia for cheap meals. When registering Groupon used to require an Australian postcode - overcome this by registering with a Facebook account. Think you can pay by PayPal. Some great groupon restaurants in Sydney
Satan_Claws
5 Jan 16#16
When I went to Australia in 2002 I didn't really make any plans! Flew into Sydney and stayed with relatives, then bought a 4x4 7 seater. Ripped half the seats out and built a bed in the back.
Drove to Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, across the south. After leaving Perth my car blew up, luckily I had met some fellow travellers and went with them all the way to Darwin where we parted ways. I then flew from Darwin to Brisbane and drove a rental camper van back down to Sydney.
It was an amazing trip and I got to see so much more then some of the travellers I met who were doing it all by coach/train/plane as I had my own 4x4 and could visit wherever I wanted and stop whenever and wherever I felt like.
The car cost approx £1000 and I did the trip in 3 months. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of travelling around Australia.
I don't know if it is still the case but rental companies will often let you have a free camper van that someone has left in one city if you agree to take it back to another city in a certain amount of time. They will even pay for the fuel, insurance etc... A great way to travel if you can do it!
diamond321
5 Jan 16#15
Cape Tribulation is a must whilst in Port Douglas, nr Cairns :smiley: Great Barrier Reef is amazing too x
pintofwater
5 Jan 161#12
Awesome! I needed your help last year but fantastic effort
beanooo
5 Jan 161#11
Well done op for a good guide. I've done australia twice in 2001 and 2003 and visted the places mentioned. Before I left I made plans where to start from and where to finish and how long I would stay in each place along the route after reading lonely planet and other guide books. Problem was I didn't stick to it at all. Places like cairns I thought I would have 3 days there and didn't think much of it at all...it really is personal preference. I ended up traveling further North up the east coast to Cape tribulation for a couple of days. Then there was places further down the east coast I thought 1 day would do and ended up in the same place for 4 nights. Ideally I feel to travel from cairns all the way down and past Melbourne down the great ocean road you need a good 4 -5 weeks. Problem is obviously cost and time off from work. But if you are to do it for 3 weeks try getting your flights over to oz and then get a 3 week coach ticket, use Australia's low cost airlines and if you're willing to use hostels as it certainly keeps the cost down. I only booked my flights over there, first night in hotel and internal flights. Started in Sydney, flew to Uluru, flew to cairns, travelled down East Coast to Brisbane where I done surfers and surrounding area. I then flew to Melbourne and done great ocean road and home from melbourne. This was done in 3 1/2 weeks but missed so much I went back 2 years later. Next stop New Zealand as you're find the hostels are much better and great scenery.
rachelandgromit
5 Jan 161#10
Not at all. I totally agree though and I've been to Australia 4 times and would glady return as there is so much to discover and different parts will appeal to different people depending on your interests. The North is unique and I've previously posted a trip to Darwin too and the North.
fishmaster
5 Jan 162#9
I'm going to Uluru dressed as Captain Kirk, then I can hear them say "eh good, welcome to Ayre's Rock". Then I can say "rock, it rhymes with spock". I thank you.
kent84
5 Jan 161#8
Well yes, but Australia is expensive! And the only reason you should see so much in just 3 weeks is if you are never going back again, in which case you should really see the Outback.
That was kind of my point though - it's fine as a rough guide, but then that makes all the timings etc unnecessary, which was more my criticism than adding in Uluru (and is what people will vote it hot for). For example, if you're only spending 5 days in Queensland I wouldn't go to Port Douglas at all, let alone for over half of it!
Sorry as this is rather critical, I still appreciate the effort!
kent84
5 Jan 164#5
Thanks for the effort but it seems very unnecessary. That route is incredibly specific and not likely to be ideal for many people, and even if you have no desire to plan anything yourself I wouldn't say it's the best route to take anyway.
The Manchester flights are pretty good value though, it's rare to find them that cheap.
rachelandgromit to kent84
5 Jan 16#7
There are so many variations of this itinerary but this a good basis to seeing some of Australia. You could always add Uluru but it's likely to be expensive.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
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Opening post
I've included car hire in Melbourne and Brisbane-sydney but I would also suggest seeing if you can find more local providers too in Australia as you may get better deals. Hostels and Airbnb will likely reduce cost further and I've used both extensively in Australia with no issues.
25th April
You'll arrive into Melbourne today. You will spend 2 nights in the city of Melbourne, based at the Larwill which has fantastic reviews and is a studio so you have far more space than a hotel room. It is near to the zoo, but just on the outskirts of Melbourne near the free bus to the city so you are ideally located for a fantastic priced place to stay.
27th April
Collect your hire car from Melbourne and drive the great ocean road from Melbourne to Apollo Bay taking in sights such as Bells Beach and Kennet River. Stop en route at Lorne for some nice fish and chips. Overnight at Apollo Bay at the Beachcomber Motel. Again this has consistently good reviews and is a great price.
28th April
Drive Apollo Bay to Port Campbell via the 12 Apostles and more gorgeous coastal views on the GOR. Overnight at Port Campbell at the Parkview Motel. Make sure you view the Ottawa Lighthouse for nearby koalas.
29th April
Drive from Port Campbell to Port Fairy. Overnight at Port Fairy. This is a gorgeous place to visit too and I'd suggest allowing time to wander around Port Fairy too. You will stay at the Comfort Inn at Port Fairy. This has great reviews and rooms have a private bathroom.
30th April
Drive around 2 hours back to Melbourne today where you will spend a final night in the city. You will stay at the Pensione Hotel in Melbourne.
1st May
You will fly Melbourne to Cairns today. Upon arrival in Cairns you will head to the city staying at Heritage in Cairns. Cairns is worth a short visit and has a general backpacking vibe with cheap eats such as the nightmarkets You will only stay for one night before heading to Port Douglas.
2nd - 4th May
You'll head to Port Douglas today. There are a variety of options such as bus, taxi or self drive or even tours. I haven't included prices here as there are so many choices so you will need to price this up in addition to the cost. In Port Douglas you can head out to the barrier reef and there are many tours available or even to the 'jungle' of Cape Tribulation. You will stay at the Port Douglas Motel which has a Certificate of Excellence on Tripadvisor and great reviews.
4th May
You'll head back to Cairns airport for your afternoon flight to Brisbane. Again, depending on how you got to PD you could drive, taxi or bus back to the airport. In Brisbane you'll collect your hire car and drive to the Ibis Windsor. There is free parking and although it's a budget option it's ideal as you'll be heading out to the Gold Coast/Byron Bay the following day.
5th-7th May
You'll do the short drive to the Gold Coast today and then on to Byron Bay. There are a few different options you could make to this trip to visit Noosa and Fraser (which I highly recommend), but for the straightforwardness (if that's a word), you'll head to Byron Bay. You could also overnight at Gold Coast but I didn't like it, a bit Blackpool like. Instead overnight at Byrons Bay at Glenn Villa where you will stay for 2 nights.
7th-9th May
Continue the drive of the Pacific Highway Drive to Coffs Harbour, which will take you around 2 hours. You'll stay for 2 nights at the Royal Palms.
9th - 12th May
You'll drive from Coffs Harbour to Port Stephens today. It's a long drive but you will be able to make plenty of stops en-route to break up your journey and you will have 3 nights in Port Stephens to use as a base so no need to hurry! You'll stay in Hawks Nest in the Northern Shores of Port Stephens for 3 nights.
12th May
You'll do the drive to the Blue Mountains - Katoomba today. You are not far from Sydney once in Katoomba but it is well worth overnighting at the Blue Mountains as there are so many nice hikes/walks nearby. You'll stay at a highly rated B&B Lurline House whixh is a great base D'Or the Blue Mountains. Jenolan caves are also nearby and worth a short visit.
13th-17th May
You'll head to Sydney today. After returning the hire car you will be based at the Larmont, a great centrally located place for 4 nights.
******Breakdown
Long haul flights Man-Mel-Syd-Man £553.39 x 2 @ Expedia
2 nights at the Larwill, Melbourne £98.94 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
Car hire in Melbourne £58.61 @ holidayautos.com
1 night at the Beachcomber Motel in Apollo Bay £43.07 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
1 night at Port Campbell at the Parkview Motel £55.58 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
1 night at the Comfort Inn Port Fairy £59 @ booking.com
1 night in Melbourne after GOR £55.55 at hotels.com use code EML2016
Flights for 2 Melbourne to Cairns $350 AUD/£170.61 @ Virgin Australia
1 night in Cairns £53.29 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
2 nights at the Port Douglas Motel £101.82 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
Flights for 2 Cairns to Brisbane $278 AUD/£135.51 @ Virgin Australia
Hire car Brisbane to Sydney £105.50 @ Argus Car Hire
1 night in Brisbane at the Ibis Windsor £36.15 @ hotels.com
2 nights in Byron Bay £98.66 @ hotels.com use code EML2016
2 nights at the Royal Palms in Coffs Harbour £81.85 @ hotels.com use code
EML2016
3 nights at Hawks Near nr Port Stephens £123.09 at hotels.com use code EML2016
1 night at Lurking House, Blue Mountains £47 @ booking.com
4 nights at the Larmont by Lancelot £266.24 @ Expedia use code AFFJANDIA
Total pp £1328.62
Top comments
The Manchester flights are pretty good value though, it's rare to find them that cheap.
Latest comments (54)
By this sentence.
You left yourself open to attack by posting a comment trolling the thread.
Not sure what you mean here, language is the main reason why homosapians are the dominant species on this planet. Until very recently it was key to survival. Also, it's "where" not "were".
East coast gets all the limelight but if your looking for a quieter Oz experience I'd highly recommend the west coast which has so much to offer and less year out students! Heading north from Perth upwards to Darwin you have the pinnacles, ningaloo reef (which you can snorkel out to from the beach, less touristy than the Great Barrier Reef, but absolutely beautiful), diving with whale sharks at Exmouth, Broome (one of my all time favourite towns) and cable beach, the Gibb River Road, etc, etc, etc
All you need is the time and money to enjoy it all......
Just looked and via BA Executive Club 20,000 Avios + £89 gets you a return flight from Sydney to Auckland with LAN Chile.
highly recommend byron bay
I did this a few more times to get around the place. I highly recommend calling the rental companies out there and seeing what they need moving to different depots. Our average rental was $5 a day for the vehicle and they gave a fuel and milage allowance to get to your destination, making it much much cheaper than a typical rental. You can detour and pay a little extra if you go over their milage quota as long as they receive the vehicle at the required depot by the right time/day.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-great-ocean-road-to-be-back-in-business-after-the-christmas-day-fires-20160105-glzwn9.html
Instead of staying at Cairns I would advise to go further north after Port Douglas and go to Cape Tribulation for two days.
Cairns you can just visit to go on a GB reef boat. Another tip is paying extra for the diving - it's life changing!
Drove to Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, across the south. After leaving Perth my car blew up, luckily I had met some fellow travellers and went with them all the way to Darwin where we parted ways. I then flew from Darwin to Brisbane and drove a rental camper van back down to Sydney.
It was an amazing trip and I got to see so much more then some of the travellers I met who were doing it all by coach/train/plane as I had my own 4x4 and could visit wherever I wanted and stop whenever and wherever I felt like.
The car cost approx £1000 and I did the trip in 3 months. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of travelling around Australia.
I don't know if it is still the case but rental companies will often let you have a free camper van that someone has left in one city if you agree to take it back to another city in a certain amount of time. They will even pay for the fuel, insurance etc... A great way to travel if you can do it!
That was kind of my point though - it's fine as a rough guide, but then that makes all the timings etc unnecessary, which was more my criticism than adding in Uluru (and is what people will vote it hot for). For example, if you're only spending 5 days in Queensland I wouldn't go to Port Douglas at all, let alone for over half of it!
Sorry as this is rather critical, I still appreciate the effort!
The Manchester flights are pretty good value though, it's rare to find them that cheap.
If anyone can get these pictures to appear rather than the link that would be helpful!
screen shots