TDY Gouge - Australia

Brisbane, Australia - Holiday Inn 61-7-32382222 was a nice hotel with pubs and restaurants nearby. At Brisbane International our handling agent was Brisbane Jet Base, 61-73860 phone, www.adagold, or 129.9 Mhz. Glen was running the show - fuel, customs, food and drink was outstanding. Glen will broker the exportation of some XXXX Bitter or other hooch from Down Under. The Aussies' seem to like Americans more than we like ourselves, and their a-political outlook is a pleasant change.

Geelong, Australia - Sheraton 4 Points was great! (0011 61 3 5223 1377). We came down for the Avalon Airshow. Town of Geelong is 20 minutes away. Hotel is brand-new and very nice, across the street from the bay and park. Many restaurants and bars abound. Go to Irish Murphy's for great beers and food with an Irish flavor. If you have a car check out the "Great Ocean Road", for a neat drive down the coast all the way to the 12 apostles.

Perth, Australia - The Crown Plaza Perth will meet the US Per Diem rate if you ask the manager. The taxi ride from the base (RAAF Pearce) is expensive so make sure you get a receipt. The northbridge area has the best nightlife but was mostly dead on the Tuesday night we were there. The hotel can arrange for cheaper transportation back to the base. Expect a 45 minute ride.

RAAF Williamtown, Australia - Hotel IBIS, Newcastle (61-2-4925-2266 / Fax 61-2-4925-3373) was decent. Accommodations on base are slim pickings. There is virtually nothing hotel wise available just outside the base. There is an O'club on the base that serves a daily buffet that ran about $20AUS. We stayed at the Ibis hotel in Newcastle which was about a 20 min drive from the base. The drive each day was worth it, though as the hotel and staff were great and went out of their way to accommodate the "Yanks". The hotel is a few block from the train station that will get you into Sydney in a couple of hours for about $7.50AUS round trip. There is plenty to do right around the hotel (with a short walk). The waterfront offers a few more hotels (better positioned but a bit more expensive) such as the Crown Plaza, and Noah's as well as a few pubs including the "Brewery" which is an all nighter type pub with a great view of the harbor. Try Darby Street (a couple of blocks away) for all of the great restaurants, a great local pub - The Hotel Delany and a really good Irish Pub - M.J. Finnegans.

Sydney, Australia - Ibis Sydney is a short drive from the airport and about $15 taxi ride to the center of Sydney. The Ibis has food / bar in the hotel which is open almost 24 hours. Kings Cross area of Sydney has packed bars any night of the week. The FBO at Sydney IAP is great and with 30 mins notice can provide alomost any needed service. The are called Universal Aviation and the Operations Coordinator is James Nainggolan. Their VHF is 131.95, phone is 61 2 9693 0877 and email: sydeny.ops@uvglobalnetwork.com. Hotel Ibis Sydney, Australia (+61)2/95630888 was great. We stayed at the Ibis in Darling Harbour for a week (coordinates for you google earth types: 33°52'16.53'S 151°11'52.94'E ). The Novotel is right next door, but usually only has a few rooms to give out at the mitary rate. Its about a 20 min ride from the airport (YSSY) and fairly easy to get to (rental car desk at airport provided directions). The area is heavily populated by tourists, so the prices for food and beverage are a little higher than can be found a short walk away (or one stop on the monorail which stops at the Harbourside entrance to the Ibis). You can't be better plugged in to Sydney (at the military rate) than here. Darling Harbour is very picturesque anytime day or night with a great view of the Sydney skyline. The harbour is lined with more pubs, bars and restaurants than can mentioned. We started out at the 'Club 26' bar at the end of the Pyrmont bridge...about a 5 minute walk from the hotel and made for watching the crowds. If you want to venture down to the Opera House, take the monorail to the City Center station and walk straight down Pitt St to Circular Quay (about a 10 min walk). Just to the west of the opera house is the 'Rocks', where there are more pubs than you could ever hit in one TDY. The 'Fortunes of War' is a good place to start here (almost directly across from the opera house on George St) and a block further down is the 'Orient' pub. Try out the Three Wise Monkey's Pub (555 George St Sydney) for a more local crowd and three levels of pubs and dance floors. For a late night, be sure to head to the 'Slip Inn' pub (111 Sussex St, Sydney) for a great crowd and numerous fine beers. On the way back to the hotel, hit the 'Cargo' bar in Darling Harbour nearby the Aquarium. Upscale and trendy...its the place to see the Aussie celebs and 'beautiful people'...i.e. collared shirt and no shorts. Cabs are pretty easy to come by just about any time day or night and are reasonable. We had conferences at the naval facility just to the east of the opera house and cabbed in every day for about $5US.