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Australia & New Zealand
DH and I are thinking about doing a long (4-5 week) trip to Australia and New Zealand. I know there's no way we'll see everything, so I thought I'd ask people who have been what you think are the can't-miss experiences? Right now we're thinking 4-5 days in Sydney (one day in Blue Mountains); a day or two in Melbourne and then driving the Great Ocean Road; then up to Ayer's Rock for a few nights at Longitude 131; and then over to Cairns for a few days, possibly jetting up to Lizard Island. All in all, I think we're at around 15-18 days in Australia; that would leave us about 15-18 days in New Zealand as well (if we do five weeks).
Thinking about going late September into October - hoping that shoulder season would mean fewer tourists and decent weather still.
Anyone have advice on can't miss sights in either Australia or NZ?
Re: Australia & New Zealand
i spent two summers in australia and absolutely adored the place. there really is so much to do. just off the top of my head i'll jot down some of my favorites. but it's been about 10 years so i am sure i am missing things:
climb the sydney bridge!! make sure you do this. i am always surprised when people go all the way to sydney and then do no do this. when else will you ever get the chance to climb the bridge? and it's so cool every new years eve to see the bridge and for me to say hey i climbed that! lol. it's now "my bridge" b/c of that, lol.
see something at the famous sydney opera house. we saw madam butterfly and i loved it.
the rocks for drinks. the people are really the friendliest that i ever met and i just loved going to the bars and meeting and talking with the people.
dinner for prawns on the harbor.
Go surfing and watch a surfing competition at Bondi beach.
we spent a weekend in the blue mountains and i loved that as well. we hiked and saw wild kangeroos. it was amazing.
also in cairnes went skydiving over the great barrier reef and snorkeled. went to a wildlife park and held a koala bear too, which i thought was really neat.
i never made it to New Zealand although i wanted to. it's a regret of mine that i wish i made time for. i went to hawaii instead, which i've been to several times so now looking back i should have went to NZ instead. If i would have went there i definitely would have done some of the extreme adventures like either zipling or ice climbing.
Have a ball!! It's going to be an amazing trip!!!
We're heading to Lizard Island as part of our HM! We can't wait. We are only going to Australia for 2.5 weeks (It's for our wedding and only had 3 weeks in between semesters since I was in graduate school at the time we booked. Long story.) Anyway, since we thought we only had 2.5 weeks, we're sticking to the Reef. We're doing Heron Island, Wilson Island, and Lizard. If we had more time, we were looking at Longitude, Daintree, and Adelaide. At the time, we knew someone who lived in Adelaide, hence why we chose it. It turns out the moved about 20 minutes from me! We're really not city people either, so we thought Adelaide was a good compromise. I'm not terribly interested in Sydney (I know- gasp! LOL). If you do go in late September, you'll at least get to hear my review before you leave!
Our wedding on Wilson Island!
I would suggest planning for at least four or five days in Cairns or Port Douglas. There is so much to do in that area. We had 3 1/2 and it wasn't nearly enough. We could have easily have spent a week there or more.
Also, I also recommend the Bridge Climb. If you met me, I'm not the type of person that anyone would think would do this, but I did and I'm proud of myself. It was a little less exhilarating than I thought as I felt safe the entire time. In fact, I had more trouble with the descent than going up because I was looking down while I walked down. There is a lot to do in Sydney, but if we go back to Australia, we'll probably skip Sydney.
Uluru was nice, but I would avoid any time when the flies are prevalent. After the horror stories from our tour guides, I couldn't imagine being there in summer. Two days here was more than enough, but it was definitely worth the visit.
It sounds like your doing things in the right order (Aust first then NZ).
You can check out my blog posts for Australia, and NZ.
I have heard mixed reviews about Lizard island, maybe the Daintree/Port Douglas would be better? It depends what you're looking for.
In the South I recommend Kaikiora, Doubutful sound, the west coast and Wanaka/Queenstown.
For the North island I recomend Bay of Islands, Bay of Plenty, the Coromandal and Taupo. I would however love to go to Wellington.
If your flying from (or through) LA you can always consider flying back with AirNZ through Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands
We just got back from NZ and it was the best trip we have ever taken. We did strictly the South Island and raved about it all. I recommend swimming with the dolphins in Kaikoura, wine tasting in marlborough, a heli hike on Fox or Franz Josef Glacier - SO glad we splurged for that! Wanaka is also lovely and I absolutely adored Queenstown. I would move there in a heartbeat if I could.
Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound was awesome, I loved Doubtful more. The boat cruise on Doubtful was AMAZING. and we saw wild penguins!!!!
I also enjoyed the Glowworm caves in Te Anau. My suggestion is rent a car, not a campervan. Budget accomodation is easily found if on a budget and the car will be much more comfortable than a campervan.
Just wanted to thank you all for the wonderful advice! I just got off the phone with my airline and cashed in miles so DH and I are going to Australia / New Zealand for 34 days in Sept / Oct! Very excited.
As I start sketching things out, I'll probably circle back and ask more questions, but for now I plan to read your blogs and file these tips away. Thanks, ladies!