We did our honeymoon from the UK to NZ in March 2008 and I did the Ironman as part of that.

As you would imagine the fact that the race is scheduled to happen in June means the weather in Cairns is conducive to a good event. However, to be fair then it's not the best time to be in NZ. Northern Aus would be OK, including gold coast, but would be cold and wet down south or over here (I enjoyed the trip, moved over to NZ 11 years ago).

Think about the logistics of your tri kit and an longer tour. We did a camper van for 5 weeks and the bike and other stuff just lived in the spare bed above the cab. But if doing motels and hire car it would get tiring real quick.

Not sure if the June date is fixed or if you may be better considering a feb / march trip that hits the best of the weather and you've loads of options for races, at least you would in normal life. Early next year it's dubious you'd get to NZ and so a high risk situation to plan a big trip around that.

Cairns will be over 30c every day, it never gets cold up there, so if you stay in QLD it is still nice tropical vacation. If you head to NZ take some more clothes as the cold weather will be starting in June.

Sydney is mixed in June, it can still be sunny and nice with warm ocean temperature like this year basically spring weather but it can also get cold so it is an uncertain time with the weather.

IRONMAN cairns is awesome, one of the best courses in the world and accommodation there is cheap and there is heaps of it, sounds like a good plan.

I lived in the Cairns/Port Douglas area for many years working in the hotel/resort industry and one of the things that always amazed me was how tourists from the USA and Canada underestimated the size of Australia and the distances required to travel to "fit it all in on one holiday". If you have a couple of months to tour them great,go to Cairns and NZ but if you only have a couple of weeks just go to Cairns and stay in Nth Queensland.There is more than enough for you to do and more than enough to see in the region to make for an amazing holiday.

How much time do you have available?

Climatically and geographically you're combining two separate holidays. If you consider the same latitudes in the northern hemisphere, it's a bit like doing an ironman in Belize or Guatamala, then hitting Chicago or New York for the start of winter.

If you're a skier, NZ's ski season will have started before you cross the finish line in Cairns.

Cairns is beautiful. Close by is the Daintree Rainforest. We stayed at the Daintree Eco Lodge.
We were there in late June and the temperature was comfortable.

Cairns in June will be prime weather. Summertime there is stinking hot and unpleasant. Just remember that everyone else in Australia knows that and it's peak holiday season, everything will be packed.

As said, Australia is huge. Further south (I'm in Melbourne) is cold and wet. Not North America cold, no snow unless you head to the hills, but unpleasant cold, and short days (currently ~sunrise 7:30, sunset 5:10).' But there's still plenty to see and do if you have the time.

You'll need a corona vaccination before they let you in the country methinks (2022?)

Thank you all!

We can't even travel within Australia at the moment and we only have 100 deaths. Domestic flights will probably start up October? International travel will open up (probably) mid next year. I don't know how easy it will be to travel from the USA to Australia though, I would expect you'd have to quarantine for 14 days?

You do have to quarantine in a hotel for 14d before you're allowed to travel about the country if you're coming from the US. That is if you can get a visa to get into the country currently. Even with my sister, bro in law, niece & nephew living there, last time I checked a week - 10d ago I could not get a visa to visit, even with the 14d. Might have changed since I last checked

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

When Australia does open to international travel it will initially be to NZ, and maybe Fiji and New Caledonia.

After that, I would expect Aust would have a longer list of admissible countries based on relatively low risk, similar to what the EU has instituted recently:

• Algeria
• Australia
• Canada
• Georgia
• Japan
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• New Zealand
• Rwanda
• Serbia
• South Korea
• Thailand
• Tunisia
• Uruguay

Maybe if you and your family could claim refugee status in Rwanda or Tunisia in the next few months, you may just possibly have a chance of racing Cairns in 2021.

I'm not sure that the rest of the world will be allowing the US out to play for a little while yet.

One of our states has just had quite a surge in cases. There is a real risk that other states will follow if the current outbreak isn't effectively managed. I would not be booking anything unless it is completely refundable.

..
..
If Ironman Cairns follows Ironman Oz which was cancelled today then,with entry rollovers, the 2021 races on the east coast in Oz might already be full.

I don't think either will even be full in early 2021.

Both races weren't near full when they were postponed in late March/April. With those entries rolling over to next year and a few of the early season 70.3's likely to be cancelled shortly, I don't think there will be that many additional entries coming in for Port and Cairns 2021 for a while yet.

When people are back racing, feeling the race day vibe, and there's a tangible certainty in the race calendar, only then will those who don't have rolled over entries start entering Port and Cairns in significant numbers.

IM 70.3 Sunshine Coast will be interesting to keep an eye on in the coming days. It is the same weekend as IM Aus was to be raced. If it is also cancelled I don't have a lot of hope for Cairns which I am registered for.

Is there any word from IM Aus regarding options for registered athletes?

,,
Here is the official statement...
"
**IRONMAN Australia and IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie Event Update**
When we postponed IRONMAN Australia and 70.3 Port Macquarie from the original date of 3 May to 13 September 2020, we felt very confident we would still be able to deliver an exceptional event as planned.
Unfortunately, due to reasons related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic including the uncertainty over the duration and extent of international and domestic border restrictions and the potential impact on local community resources, we regret to advise that IRONMAN Australia cannot take place as planned on 13 September 2020.
We share in the disappointment of this news as we love producing IRONMAN Australia as much as you love racing in it.
All currently registered athletes have been sent an email from us today, and will receive a second email with more details on their options later this week.
While we are prevented from holding the event in 2020, we are already looking forward to coming back stronger in 2021.
The IRONMAN Australia team would like to thank you for your patience and support of the event in this challenging time."

and Stef Hanson from witsup.com after talking to the folks from ironman Oceania
https://www.facebook.com/...YfRhxSkmCfUOk4Mbmup7

In other words:

"Once we've worked out WTF what we're going to do with all the surfeit of race entries when we also cancel Sunny Coast 70.3, Penriff 70.3 and Ironman Cairns and 70.3, we'll let you know. Until then, we have NFI and will maintain our confused demeanours while idly scratching our crotches.


Ironman Oceania Race Management"

haha so true!

To the OP, probably a very small chance things will get back to normal by mid-June 2021. But in the unlikely event things are back to normal - June is a fantastic time to visit around Cairns as you don't have the humidity from summer. If you snorkel or scuba dive, this is the best time of the year as those pesky deadly jellyfish aren't as prevalent. If you want to travel around Australia... other places to visit include Uluru and all around the NT... the top end visiting the national parks around Darwin and swagging under the Milky Way at Uluru. The Kimberley in WA is stunning (wet season brings lots of rain and flooding resulting in impassible roads...) .. you can swim with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef in WA. So anything up north is perfecto. Southern areas are colder but there's still lots of things you can do depending on your interests. There are usually film festivals, Vivid, etc. in Sydney... always stuff happening any time of the year. Good time to go skiing in NZ, check out Franz Josef Glacier... etc. Just also remember that Australia is geographically almost the size of the US and it takes time to travel around.

I'm surprised about the cancellation considering it is still over 2 months away and there are limited cases in NSW right now. Especially because crowds are being allowed in sports stadiums now.

Thanks for the witsup link, I hadn't seen the page before.

I have a lot of respect for the organisers to pull the plug with plenty of notice. It will be interesting to see what is offered in terms of deferrals, transfers or refunds. I don't think it would be well received to offer a transfer to another race which is then cancelled.

Yes but in NSW that is rugby league which gets about 5000 fans on a good day before covid

My sister said NSW stopped interstate travel from Melbourne & the rest of VIC effective today.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

….

Here is todays email...They are not ready to roll over yet..I still reckon Ironman WA will go ahead but not too sure about the rest..

"Dear Nick,

Yesterday we confirmed that IRONMAN Australia and IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie, unfortunately, will not be taking place as planned this September due to reasons relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Not being able to hold a big, iconic IRONMAN event is hugely disappointing for everyone involved. However, we are determined to come back to Port Macquarie even stronger in 2021.

We understand many of you are wondering what this means for the rest of our IRONMAN events scheduled to take place in Oceania in 2020.

With Government restrictions easing in some states we remain very positive about the road ahead. Our team, with the support of our stakeholders, are fully focused on delivering amazing and safe events in the second half of 2020.

Every event is being assessed on a case-by-case basis. We consider local regulatory and health restrictions, domestic and international border controls, event design and community resources specific to every event. One thing for certain is that change is constant, but we work with the information that we have at hand at the time.

As at today (8th July), our team is full steam ahead with the planning and delivery of these events:

• IRONMAN 70.3 Sunshine Coast (13 September) in Queensland
• IRONMAN 70.3 Western Sydney (27 September) in New South Wales
• IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne (15 November) in Victoria
• IRONMAN Western Australia and IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia (6 December) in Western Australia

We are also working very closely with local stakeholders to finalise our plans for IRONMAN Cairns and hope to have an update regarding this event in the next couple of days.

For our New Zealand athletes, we would also like to confirm that IRONMAN 70.3 Taupō will not be taking place in November/December this year.

We understand it can be difficult to stay motivated when the goalposts keep shifting but to anyone entered in an event later this year, we encourage you to stay positive and keep your training up.

On behalf of the entire IRONMAN Oceania Group, we thank you again for your ongoing patience and support. Kia Kaha (Stay Strong). "

My bet is Cairns is cancelled by the end of the week.