10 weeks in OZ/NZ, what should I see?

[goodtimes245]

Ok, so my trip is finally looking like it's going to happen. The plan is about 10 weeks, maybe a little more, in New Zealand and OZ starting in mid March or so. With the time of year in mind, what should I have on my list of things to do and see? I don't really want to get into what I'm "looking for" since I don't really have a particular interest in any one area. So, if you would be so kind, start throwing out any and all ideas you have for me! Thanks

[travy]

There is so much to see. Can't really go wrong where ever you're at.

I liked Lake Taupo area in New Zealand.

Barrier Reef is a must see.

[TERI]

I'll be landing in Oz april 21st in Brisbane. I haven't decidied yet what to do first. I might take a couple day sailing trip near the WhitSundy Islands, or I might just hit up a few beaches and bars for a few days before i look for a job and an apartment. I want to surf, play a digerydoo (spelled wrong), pet all the animals, swim with sharks, etc.... believe me the list goes on and on. But there's a few ideas for ya. And if we're in the same area at the same time, we could always have a TPunk meetup!!!!

[freespiritz]

I'm just at the end of my trip - 3 months in OZ and 7 weeks in NZ, and there is TONS to do here.

personally, I enjoyed my time in new zealand more so I'm going to talk about it first, haha. this country packs a hell of a lot into a relatively small space, so don't think you can breeze through all of it too quickly and do it justice!

The north island was pleasant - rolling pastures, beaches, crazy geothermal formations, spouting geysers. I rented a car with 3 other solo female travelers so it was a chill experience and we had fun together, heading from auckland up to the northlands and then down to wellington. We stopped at Whangarei to check out some waterfalls, kayaked the bay of islands in scary choppy seas, hit up the top of the country at cape reinga and rolled down some giant sand dunes, visited ancient kauri forests and tried milking cows on a legit dairy farm (disgusting experience!). We headed south from auckland to hit rotorua and the geothermal parks, lake taupo where we soaked in free hot springs, tongariro, where we hiked the crossing and climbed mt. ngauruhoe, and ended up in windy wellington. I also explored waitomo caves to see a galaxy of glowworms and auckland, where i did the coast-to-coast walk, climbed mt rangitoto, and checked out waiheke island later on.

the south island, however, was epic. so much more rugged, dramatic and simply gorgeous. I hitchhiked EVERYWHERE with so much ease, met strangers who were awesome and generous, crashed on their couches, and basically tried to have as non-touristy an experience as possible.

I visited picton, christchurch, lake tekapo, queenstown, glenorchy, mt.cook, wanaka, dunedin, oamaru, arthur's pass, greymouth, the glaciers, karamea, golden bay and abel tasman, and everything in between. Each place was beautiful, the scenery stunning, and I definitely felt like I was in the lord of the rings, haha.

between couchsurfing, freedom camping and hitchhiking i spent a fraction of what most backpackers would've spent.

If you dig the outdoors, the tramping is superb - the longest hike i did was the routeburn track (3 days, 33-ish km) but it was easily the highlight of my trip.

Good luck with your trip!

[freespiritz]

Oh, and March will be coming into off season and into fall, which means major hikes and stuff will be less busy, which should be nice. As for weather, NZ isn't called the land of the long white cloud for nothing - I've had a lot of rain, but the weather also can change really quickly. It's just part of the adventure!

OZ OZ OZ...

I spent a month in West Australia, where most people don't spend much time. I also think that WA was my most legit oz experience, because I got into the outback for a lot of it, and drove across thousands of miles of burning red desert in a 4wd. Everything in OZ takes a good bit of distance to get between them, but nowhere as much as in WA.

I started in Perth, checked out the pretty SouthWest - all vineyards and dazzling ocean and friendly kookaburras, and then took off on the Central Desert Road through all manner of gold and ghost towns to get to Uluru and Alice before heading across the Tanami Desert to the rugged Kimberly area/Bungle Bungle, and down the coast via Broome and Derby and Kalbarri and Monkey Mia and Shark Bay and all that good gorgeous rugged coast.

2 months on the East Coast after that was a bit of a letdown because it just felt wayy too developed, too similar to the US, and too touristy. Not that I didn't have fun, but it felt almost too normal. Also, I'm not much of a partier or a super beach bum, but if you dig the city, the beach, and the nightlife, the east coast will float your boat.

Anyway, I started in Cairns, hiked and biked through the rainforest, jumped out of a plane, headed south through Townsville, checked out Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays on a day cruise, visited Eungella NP, Noosa, took a 4wd tour to Fraser Island (world's largest sand island), hung out in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, hiked through Springbrook NP, cruised through Byron Bay, and on down through the Blue Mts and eventually to Sydney. All fun, but nothing that shook my soul, haha.

Hope all that rant helped at least a little bit.

[Hassie]

Yeah out of everything you do I'd definitely recommend checking out the Barrier Reef in Queensland. Diving the reef has been one of the most spectacular experiences of my life - can't wait to go back!!

[theworldismyOYSTER]

Here's a basic list of stuff to see from an Aussie

In Queensland:

• Great Barruer Reef
• Daintree Rainforest (in Port Douglas)
• Australia Zoo (for loads of Native animals and reptiles)
• The Whitsundays (super expensive though)

In New South Wales:

• Blue Mountains
• Bondi

In Sydney:

• Harbour Bridge (you can climb it too)
• Opera House
• Manly

In Victoria:

• Torquay (world class surf beaches) home of the Rip Curl Pro
• Warrnambool (it has the Twelve Apsotles)
• The Graet Ocean Road (one of the worlds best scenic drives)
• The Bellarine Peninsula and Yarra Valley (wine country)
• Sovereign Hill (it's like a tourist Village about the Gold Rush where everyone dresses up)

In Melbourne:

• Federation Square
• Natioanl Gallery of Victoria
• Crown Casino
• Chaple St (famous for shopping, cafes and nightlife)
• the MCG
• Eureka Skydeck (it's on the 88th level)

Tasmania has lots of beautiful scenery as well, but thats about it...

I have some great links for tourism websites, but it won't let me post them...

Hope this helps