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 The Shrimps on the Barby Guide to the Oz Tour |
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*latest Guide update - 29th March 2006* Since setting up Shrimps on the Barby, I've had loads of useful information e-mailed in and posted to the discussion forum. I wanted to put all of this together into a guide for everyone... so read on! This is by no means complete at the moment (I've still got hundreds of posts to plough through!) - so feel free to send in any other advice/information that people could benefit from. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far - I've tried to give credit below where I've blatantly stolen someone's else's words!  MATCH ITINERARY  MATCH ITINERARY Has been confirmed as follows: November 10 v Prime Minister's XI, Canberra 12-14 v New South Wales, Sydney 17-19 v South Australia, Adelaide 23-27 1st Test, Brisbane December 1-5 2nd Test, Adelaide 9-10 v Western Australia, Perth 14-18 3rd Test, Perth 26-30 4th Test, Melbourne January 2-6 5th Test, Sydney 9 Twenty20 International, Sydney 12 VB Series ODI v Australia, Melbourne 16 VB Series ODI v New Zealand, Hobart 19 VB Series ODI v Australia, Brisbane 23 VB Series ODI v New Zealand, Adelaide 26 VB Series ODI v Australia, Adelaide 30 VB Series ODI v New Zealand, Perth February 2 VB Series ODI v Australia, Sydney 6 VB Series ODI v New Zealand, Brisbane 9 1st VB Series final, Melbourne 11 2nd VB Series final, Sydney 13 3rd VB Series final (if needed), Brisbane  FLIGHTS
If you haven’t booked your flights yet – get a move on! Flights around the time of The Ashes are selling out very fast, and it’s already difficult to get back from Sydney the week of 7th-13th January. Get as many quotes for flights as you can – my quotes ranged from £1,400 (!) to what I eventually paid (£820, including 3 nights in Hong Kong). As for choice of Airline, Malaysian Airlines come highly recommended (thanks Bats) if you want a bit of comfort on your flight – loads of room and good entertainment. You definitely pay quite a premium though, over cheaper options like Eastern China and Gulf Air. Allow £100 for a return internal flight (e.g. Melbourne to Sydney) and up to £200 if you’re going to the Perth Test. If you’re considering going by road to Perth, the coach trip takes 3 days across the south of Oz - endless desert and literally a straight road virtually all the way, GET THE PLANE!! (thanks BaggieGary… we can all learn from your experience!) Demand for flights between Melbourne and Sydney is very high because you only have 2 days in which to make the trip, so book this as early as possible. Virgin Blue are very cheap for internal flights. MATCH TICKETS  The number one thing to say about match tickets – DON’T PANIC! The press has been full of stories of how England fans won’t be able to get tickets, but this is the usual media scaremongering. The FACTS! Tickets go on sale from 1st June to Australian fans only. They will check both residential address and registered credit card address, so unless you have Australian contacts it’s unlikely you’ll be able to blag this. However, tickets go on general sale just over two weeks later, from June 19th. Keep your eyes on this page for details on how you can book tickets, as I’ll publish them here as soon as we here anything. The main thing to bear in mind is that Australian grounds are simply massive. The MCG in Melbourne holds 100,000 and Sydney holds over 43,000. In the recent series against South Africa none of the Australian grounds sold out on any day. It’s true that tickets for The Ashes will be in greater demand, but as long as you get in early there will be plenty of tickets left. Ticket prices haven’t been released yet, but they are amazingly cheap compared to watching Test Cricket in England. In the past you have been able to get a 5-day pass for each test for around £50! That wouldn’t get you a day’s play at Lord’s over here! Some touts from Australia have already been offering tickets to English fans at massively inflated prices – DO NOT BUY FROM THEM at this stage. A couple of months peace of mind is not worth the huge premium they are charging.  PACKAGED TOURS
Various packages are available from http://www.barmyarmy.com/cricket/aus0607.asp, however these can be a little on the expensive side (c. £2k for the Melbourne and Sydney tests). Stay away from packaged tours from the likes of Gullivers and Sport Abroad, as these are very expensive (c. £2800 for 2 tests!) The little extras they include are nice, such as breakfast each day, and transfers to and from hotels. However, for the money you can save it’s much better to do it all under your own steam. Food and travel should not be a worry for anyone – it’s relatively cheap to get around Australia and eating out is dead cheap (thanks dazza76). ACCOMODATION  Many England fans will be staying in hostels and dorms to save money – these are easy to find in the big cities and are usually quite good quality for the little money they charge. It’s also a great way of meeting people! Definitely do this if you are travelling on your own – you will meet loads of other people doing exactly the same! (thanks Gregs)  BRISBANE
One place comes very highly recommended (thanks Gregs) – Palace Backpackers is very central, not far from the Gabba, clean, and by all accounts a very good bar!!! http://www.palacebackpackers.com.au/ For somewhere to drink, there can only be one option going by these reviews: Down Under Bar - Brisbane This place goes off!! The bar is for backpackers and students only. Best nights are Wednesday (Beach party), Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "Cheap beer, poor lighting, pool tables & decent music (most of the time). As for the previous post, this is not only open to backpackers!. " "It's a must, actually it was my place for over 3 month! Just the best place as student or backpacker... cheap, easy... great! " "Crazy, naked women, blow jobs on dance floor"!!! | Tour Dates | Who's Going? | Tour Guide | | Return Home | Tour Diaries | The Ashes Tour 2006 | Action Footage | Cricket Banter! | Competitions | Discussion Forum | Tour Gear | Spotted | |
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