Need a list of 'must sees' and 'dont bother with's' for Oz and NZ
Need a list of 'must sees' and 'dont bother with's' for Oz and NZ
I know many of you have been so Im sure you're full of useful info. My bf and I have been talking about going but need to decide exactly where before we commit to a length of time - we are currently thinking of 3 weeks ish in NZ and maybe 4-5 in Oz. Ideally we'd like to see both islands in NZ in this time and some of the East and West Coast of Oz, plus Ayres Rock (rather ambitious I know!). So we want to know where we should deffy make sure we see and where we could perhaps cross off?
Answers:
Have only stopped really briefly in Oz, so can't really comment on that, but would say that 3 weeks is way too short to do both islands in NZ for anything other than whistlestop.... We spent about 5.5 weeks in NZ alone and felt it was just enough time to do justice to both islands, although there were quite a lot of places we would like to have gone that we had to skip.
But to answer the question... my highlights of NZ were:
Tongariro Crossing (1 day (long!) walk in the middle of the North Island). Really out of this world volcanic scenery
Kayaking on Abel Tasman (we did 2 days on our own)
Wine tasting in Marlborough by bike (interesting wobble by the end!)
Walking the Routeburn Track (3 day trek if you like hiking)
Glacier trek (we went up on Fox Glacier I think...)
The small lake somewhere near the glaciers where you get the most fab view of them reflected in the lake early in the morning...
Wanaka and Bay of Islands - both lovely places to chill
And lots of others....but they were probably top! Do try and go for longer if you can though. We started out thinking of 3-4 weeks, but were convinced by our Kiwi flight salesperson that it was just way too short.
Answers:
It depends on what you like, really (e.g watersports, beaches, scenery, adventure sports) but here are some pointers. As a rule, I'd say try and spend a bit of time in places, rather than dashing around trying to fit everything in, as the countries are just too huge to do that!
Oz must sees:
- Sydney - fab city
- Byron Bay - very chilled out surfing destination, beautiful beaches, good nightlife
- Great Barrier Reef - for diving/snorkelling
- Whitsunday islands - for sailing/snorkelling/swimming/gorgeous beaches
- Magnetic Island, Queensland - loads of wild koalas and lovely beaches
- Great Ocean Road
- Ayers Rock
Don't bother with:
- Adelaide - nice city but nothing out of the ordinary to see/do
- Brisbane - boring (IMO)
- Perth & the west coast - too remote for such a short trip
NZ Must Sees:
- Franz Josef Glacier - do a heli-hike if you can
- Milford Sound - absolutely stunning scenery
- Kaikoura - for swimming with dolphins and whale-watching
Don't bother with:
- North Island. We spent 3 weeks in NZ and regretted spending any time up there as the South Island is so spectacular in comparison. There are supposed to be some nice places in the far north of the NI, but you probably won't have enough time to get up there and then back down south.
Answers:
Great Barrier Reef - fabulous...do loads here
Surfers Paradise - tacky but fun
Gold Coast - great drive
Brisbane - handy to get about in
Fraser Island - loved it..all clear water and big tropical trees and dingos
Sydney - the harbour is good, and there's a nice wee outdoor market nearby, rest of Sydney stinks in my opinion, get a nice hotel in a nice area. Manly Island worth visiting
Adelaide - nothing special...in fact nothing special in south austrailia at all
Stick to East Coast imo
Answers:
I agree that it really depends on what you like doing and is a very personal decision. For instance, in Queensland I would say avoid Surfers Paradise (because it is so tacky) and go further north to somewhere like Port Douglas, where you can take some trips into rainforest territory. Sydney is obvious, but Melbourne is also fantastic especially if you take some trips along the coast (for example, along the Great Ocean Road or to Wilson's Promentary).
To be fair, South Australia is not a complete loss especially if you are a wine lover and visit the Barossa Valley (although you could do the Hunter Valley from Sydney instead).
In New Zealand, the South Island is absolutely beautiful (Queenstown is a great base for visiting Milford Sound and doing some adventure activities) but the North Island definitely has some great points. The Bay of Islands and Coromandel Peninsula are both amazing, and Rotorua is really interesting (albeit a bit smelly). I would be inclined to hire a car when in NZ so you can go to more remote areas and not have to rely on (probably erratic) public transport.
What kind of things do you like to do? I'm sure I can come up with many more suggestions!
I know many of you have been so Im sure you're full of useful info. My bf and I have been talking about going but need to decide exactly where before we commit to a length of time - we are currently thinking of 3 weeks ish in NZ and maybe 4-5 in Oz. Ideally we'd like to see both islands in NZ in this time and some of the East and West Coast of Oz, plus Ayres Rock (rather ambitious I know!). So we want to know where we should deffy make sure we see and where we could perhaps cross off?
Answers:
Have only stopped really briefly in Oz, so can't really comment on that, but would say that 3 weeks is way too short to do both islands in NZ for anything other than whistlestop.... We spent about 5.5 weeks in NZ alone and felt it was just enough time to do justice to both islands, although there were quite a lot of places we would like to have gone that we had to skip.
But to answer the question... my highlights of NZ were:
Tongariro Crossing (1 day (long!) walk in the middle of the North Island). Really out of this world volcanic scenery
Kayaking on Abel Tasman (we did 2 days on our own)
Wine tasting in Marlborough by bike (interesting wobble by the end!)
Walking the Routeburn Track (3 day trek if you like hiking)
Glacier trek (we went up on Fox Glacier I think...)
The small lake somewhere near the glaciers where you get the most fab view of them reflected in the lake early in the morning...
Wanaka and Bay of Islands - both lovely places to chill
And lots of others....but they were probably top! Do try and go for longer if you can though. We started out thinking of 3-4 weeks, but were convinced by our Kiwi flight salesperson that it was just way too short.
Answers:
It depends on what you like, really (e.g watersports, beaches, scenery, adventure sports) but here are some pointers. As a rule, I'd say try and spend a bit of time in places, rather than dashing around trying to fit everything in, as the countries are just too huge to do that!
Oz must sees:
- Sydney - fab city
- Byron Bay - very chilled out surfing destination, beautiful beaches, good nightlife
- Great Barrier Reef - for diving/snorkelling
- Whitsunday islands - for sailing/snorkelling/swimming/gorgeous beaches
- Magnetic Island, Queensland - loads of wild koalas and lovely beaches
- Great Ocean Road
- Ayers Rock
Don't bother with:
- Adelaide - nice city but nothing out of the ordinary to see/do
- Brisbane - boring (IMO)
- Perth & the west coast - too remote for such a short trip
NZ Must Sees:
- Franz Josef Glacier - do a heli-hike if you can
- Milford Sound - absolutely stunning scenery
- Kaikoura - for swimming with dolphins and whale-watching
Don't bother with:
- North Island. We spent 3 weeks in NZ and regretted spending any time up there as the South Island is so spectacular in comparison. There are supposed to be some nice places in the far north of the NI, but you probably won't have enough time to get up there and then back down south.
Answers:
Great Barrier Reef - fabulous...do loads here
Surfers Paradise - tacky but fun
Gold Coast - great drive
Brisbane - handy to get about in
Fraser Island - loved it..all clear water and big tropical trees and dingos
Sydney - the harbour is good, and there's a nice wee outdoor market nearby, rest of Sydney stinks in my opinion, get a nice hotel in a nice area. Manly Island worth visiting
Adelaide - nothing special...in fact nothing special in south austrailia at all
Stick to East Coast imo
Answers:
I agree that it really depends on what you like doing and is a very personal decision. For instance, in Queensland I would say avoid Surfers Paradise (because it is so tacky) and go further north to somewhere like Port Douglas, where you can take some trips into rainforest territory. Sydney is obvious, but Melbourne is also fantastic especially if you take some trips along the coast (for example, along the Great Ocean Road or to Wilson's Promentary).
To be fair, South Australia is not a complete loss especially if you are a wine lover and visit the Barossa Valley (although you could do the Hunter Valley from Sydney instead).
In New Zealand, the South Island is absolutely beautiful (Queenstown is a great base for visiting Milford Sound and doing some adventure activities) but the North Island definitely has some great points. The Bay of Islands and Coromandel Peninsula are both amazing, and Rotorua is really interesting (albeit a bit smelly). I would be inclined to hire a car when in NZ so you can go to more remote areas and not have to rely on (probably erratic) public transport.
What kind of things do you like to do? I'm sure I can come up with many more suggestions!