Tips and hints travelling to Australasia to watch Rugby League

[THE RED ROOSTER]

Graham you might want to make this a sticky given that England will be touring next year and in 2026 when the next world cup will be held.

Others especially all those that live down there feel free to add to the thread.

Opal cards (NSW) v Translink Cards (Queensland)

An Opal card once registered will allow you to retain your balance for your next trip so say you left Sydney with a balance of 34 Aud in 2025 on arrival at Sydney in 2026 this would still be on your card.

The card in Queensland by contrast marks itself as defunct after 12 months non use. But there is a catch if you present your old card at the airport on arrival then it will be loaded onto and it will work, on the first day.

The second day it will not. Now you can get a refund but that is only to an Australian Bank account in Australian Dollars 

So the moral is get a new card each time you visit Queensland.

Getting away from Townsville

Withiut being too disrespectful, theres not a lot to do in Townsville, so if your up for the rugby then you would probably stay the two days.

The problem is leaving and Taxi services even pre-booked at a flate rate of 26 aud are notoriously unreliable as I cam attest from a previous visit on 2004 when my cab failed to turn up and I made my flight by the skin of my teeth.

There is a more reliable Airport Shuttle run by a South African Couple for only 10 and one way which is not only cheap but also reliable.

Ticketek

These days you have to book your tickets in advance for some of the more "boutique" Australian grouns but when it comes to downloading to your Goohle Wallet your ticket.may have the right details but it will not scan.

One example, being Canterbury Bulldogs v Gold Coast Titans where my ticket details were correct but the date given was 31st December 2024.

I ligned up at tre back of the queue and duly prsented my ticket for scanning to the woman at the entrance. It did not scan 

So I was despatched to the ticket office presented my mobile. They saw it was a legitimate purchase, photographed the  ticket on my mobile and issued me a new ticket.

So I went back to the entrance with my new paper ticket and it did not scan, so zi had four of them round me the chief saying "it's already scanned" I explained to them what had happened without descending into Latrell post match interview mode, and they eventually relented and let me in.

Going to West Tigrrs later, I made a beeline for the ticket office and had a stress free entry to leichardt oval.

The advice here is go to the ticket office FIRST on the day. Unlike the old days there are no ticketek offices in town you cannot sort this pre game day.

Specialist Shops selling Rugby League items

The best of these is still Peter Wynn's score situated over by Landmark Corner on Paramatta having moved from Church Street. Though it would appear that this shop is to move judging by the sign outside.

Then you have Mick Simmonds Sports which is located opposite the Queen Victoria Building (QVB). This is a general sports store which has a lot of NRL items such as the histotical Club badges sets.

You also have What's Your Team on the redcliffe peninsular boulevard not fir from the Bee Gees monument which id an NRL only store.

Post pandemic none of these stores,. and there used to be more, are what they were due to a combination of online ordering and larger retail chains such as rebel sport.

 

[Anita Bath]

plenty to do in and around townsville. get the sealink ferry over to magnetic island…a short ferry ride with bus connection on the island. Plenty of accommodation on the island.

Some good museums as well as a terrific coastal walk.

Cowboys leagues club is in the centre of the city ( short walk from stadium)…especially recommend sunday…cheap steak night.

Bali it is not so if you are looking for beach parties i suggest you go to Bondi.

Ive never had a problem booking a ride to the airport, but I dont leave it until the last minute.

 

As for redcliffe…around the corner from bee gees monument is the award winning Yabby Road fish and chip shop themed on the beatles.  Best F and C in the city. Also the memorial to Cooks landing by the pier. Captain Cook didnt bother with Victoria, stopped off at Botany Bay NSW and soon realised it wasnt worth stopping then headed straight for Queensland!!! Take the coastal path north from the pier for a 30 minute easy walk to find out how the city got its name. That will lead you to Scarborough beach.

A good leagues club at Dolphin oval which is a twenty minute walk from Redcliffe pier.

For most tickets I buy from ticketek i receive them by text and click on link to get them in my phone. However any time I have had a problem i just go to ticketek window with my details and they print a hard copy ticket off for me.

For Go card in Queensland buy using any credit card and your refund at end of time in queensland is credited to the same credit card. My son from Canada did this recently.

Another tip for public transport in SE QLD. Once you have done eight trips in a week (week starts on Monday) rest of your trips for that week are half price. For most sporting events public transport is free on game day by showing  your ticket. NSW has similar offers. And off peak travel is dirt cheap. Using the opal card you can travel all the way from central sydney to the blue mountains (2 hour train ride) for about $3. So save your long distance touring for the weekend.

The Airtrain from Bris airport (BNE) to the city and beyond is expensive $25 each way. However if you book a return train fare on the Airtrain web site you get a return trip for the price of a single.  A taxi from BNE to city is about $60 by comparison so unless you are travelling alone a taxi is cheaper.

Dont expect to be treated nicely by the airlines….there is an astounding lack of regulation on the airline industry and much soft corruption with the politicians so passengers are treated like doggy doo. Given what you might be used to from EU days you will be shocked. All airlines treat passengers poorly. Jetstar is an absolute must to avoid. Its Ryanair x 4. I always fly qantas or virgin australia simply because they are more likely to fly you the same day if your flight is cancelled. But dont expect them to offer you the best alternative…they look first to put you on their difficult to fill flights that might be flying via Kungiboo or itchyscratchy.

And remember…its a long bus ride between international and domestic terminals in Sydney. Unless you are transferring qantas to qantas, where you can use the qantas free shuttle, you have to get a terminal to terminal bus which is not free.

 

Happy to try to respond to any questions.

 

[R L Winger]

Does anyone know if there are any planed games in Gosford NSW on this tour?

[Copa]

On 29/03/2024 at 09:28, THE RED ROOSTER said:

Graham you might want to make this a sticky given that England will be touring next year and in 2026 when the next world cup will be held.

Others especially all those that live down there feel free to add to the thread.

Opal cards (NSW) v Translink Cards (Queensland)

An Opal card once registered will allow you to retain your balance for your next trip so say you left Sydney with a balance of 34 Aud in 2025 on arrival at Sydney in 2026 this would still be on your card.

The card in Queensland by contrast marks itself as defunct after 12 months non use. But there is a catch if you present your old card at the airport on arrival then it will be loaded onto and it will work, on the first day.

The second day it will not. Now you can get a refund but that is only to an Australian Bank account in Australian Dollars 

So the moral is get a new card each time you visit Queensland.

Getting away from Townsville

Withiut being too disrespectful, theres not a lot to do in Townsville, so if your up for the rugby then you would probably stay the two days.

The problem is leaving and Taxi services even pre-booked at a flate rate of 26 aud are notoriously unreliable as I cam attest from a previous visit on 2004 when my cab failed to turn up and I made my flight by the skin of my teeth.

There is a more reliable Airport Shuttle run by a South African Couple for only 10 and one way which is not only cheap but also reliable.

Ticketek

These days you have to book your tickets in advance for some of the more "boutique" Australian grouns but when it comes to downloading to your Goohle Wallet your ticket.may have the right details but it will not scan.

One example, being Canterbury Bulldogs v Gold Coast Titans where my ticket details were correct but the date given was 31st December 2024.

I ligned up at tre back of the queue and duly prsented my ticket for scanning to the woman at the entrance. It did not scan 

So I was despatched to the ticket office presented my mobile. They saw it was a legitimate purchase, photographed the  ticket on my mobile and issued me a new ticket.

So I went back to the entrance with my new paper ticket and it did not scan, so zi had four of them round me the chief saying "it's already scanned" I explained to them what had happened without descending into Latrell post match interview mode, and they eventually relented and let me in.

Going to West Tigrrs later, I made a beeline for the ticket office and had a stress free entry to leichardt oval.

The advice here is go to the ticket office FIRST on the day. Unlike the old days there are no ticketek offices in town you cannot sort this pre game day.

Specialist Shops selling Rugby League items

The best of these is still Peter Wynn's score situated over by Landmark Corner on Paramatta having moved from Church Street. Though it would appear that this shop is to move judging by the sign outside.

Then you have Mick Simmonds Sports which is located opposite the Queen Victoria Building (QVB). This is a general sports store which has a lot of NRL items such as the histotical Club badges sets.

You also have What's Your Team on the redcliffe peninsular boulevard not fir from the Bee Gees monument which id an NRL only store.

Post pandemic none of these stores,. and there used to be more, are what they were due to a combination of online ordering and larger retail chains such as rebel sport.

 

I’ve never used an Opal Card on Sydney public transport. I simply tap on and tap off with my credit card. It works really well.

[THE RED ROOSTER]

14 minutes ago, Copa said:

I’ve never used an Opal Card on Sydney public transport. I simply tap on and tap off with my credit card. It works really well.

This thread is for tourists rather than locals. Using a debit card would depend on two things:

1. The Exchange rate which can fluctuate even during a short stay.

2. If your debit card provider charges a foreign tranasaction fee. Mine does not (HSBC) but many other bank and credit cards do charge up to 3% per transaction which if your using your card a lot mounts up over time.

[Anita Bath]

I think the Opal Card offers additional discounts to using credit card, but not 100% sure. You might need to check the transport NSW web site.

 

You can get an opal card sent to you in the mail before arriving in NSW. Its the same for Queensland and Victoria. Also there are seniors travel cards (65 or over) in each state.

[Copa]

11 hours ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:

This thread is for tourists rather than locals. Using a debit card would depend on two things:

1. The Exchange rate which can fluctuate even during a short stay.

2. If your debit card provider charges a foreign tranasaction fee. Mine does not (HSBC) but many other bank and credit cards do charge up to 3% per transaction which if your using your card a lot mounts up over time.

I use credit cards although it does accept some debit cards.

Credit cards and debit cards get the exact same benefits that opal card users get. The Transport NSW website has additional information. https://transportnsw.info/

This includes caps on daily fares: 

Monday to Thursday (excluding public holidays)

Travel all day and pay no more than:

Adult: $17.80

Child/Youth and Concession: $8.90

Gold Senior/Pensioner: $2.50

Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays

Travel all day and pay no more than:

Adult: $8.90

Child/Youth and Concession: $4.45

Gold Senior/Pensioner: $2.50

Edited April 15 by Copa

[Anita Bath]

Thats true for non concessionary fares but for the generous discounts for kids and seniors you need the opal card. Using credit card will mean paying full fare.