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| *Travel Tips>>>General - Australia & New Zealand Travel Tips |
I am planning a vacation to New Zeland and Australia? |
Travel Info i am in the process of booking a 14 day cruise to New Zeland and Australia these are the locations i might be going to these are the locations Auckland, New Zealand Tauranga, New Zealand Christchurch (Lyttelton), New Zealand Dunedin (Port Chalmers), New Zealand Fjordland National Park, New Zealand (Scenic Crusing) ,Hobart (Tasmania), Australia Melbourne, Australia Sydney, Australia what should i do in these locations? is February a good time to go? also i want to snorkel in the great barrior reef in which of those locations can i do it in Travel Tips Well this is a huge question, but I'll try and give you the quick run down about Australia (I don't know a great deal about New Zealand). Hobart is a pretty small city, but it is full of history. It is not really an action packed adventure place, but more of a place where you sip wine and look at pretty things in galleries and museums. Nice place but keep your adventurous side at home. Melbourne is a really nice place. It is probably the most cosmopolitan place in Australia. It is really big on sport, theatre, art, nightlife and a solid base for day trips out into Victoria. It has a very different feel than Sydney does, and in many ways compliments it. Sydney has beaches, big building and some really beautiful areas. It has a reputation of being somewhat shallow and "in your face" with not much to back it up. I would tend to agree with this, but it depends what you want to do. It's a big city with lots of things to see and do. The weather in February is coming to the end of summer, so expect some pretty hot days - roughly 20-35C. The great barrier reef is going to be out of your way if your stopping in Sydney, because it starts in northern NSW up through Queensland. If your not going there, than I would give it a miss. Lonely Planet is a great site to check out, because it has information about ALL the good places to see and do in the world, including Australia/New Zealand Source(s): www.lonelyplanet.com/ Other Travel Tips First, do not expect time to do much at any of the ports, if you are doing all this is 14 days. The distances are huge. Second, the Great Barrier Reef is located north of Brisbane and extends to north of Cairnes. None of the locations you have indicated is near enough to the reef to go on a dive. February is a great weather month anywhere in Australia and New Zealand. Remember that distances are deceiving in Australia, especially. Allow plenty of time. I would allow at least a week in either Sydney or Melbourne, at least five days in Tasmania, and at least two weeks in New Zealand, if you expect to do anything more than pay for a room. My personal favourite places in this part of the world are a bit further afield. The New England Tablelands north of Tamworth up to Armidale have some beautiful drives. There is an off the beaten trail park at Tinga that is as fun as it gets for a family. Don't miss ghost gulch west of Urella. The wine country around Melbourne is spectacular, especially over by Hanging Rock. Cairnes is a great holiday destination, with the sea, the rain forests, and even horse riding in the hills. Personally, I have not spent much time in New Zealand, but the kiwis I have met are great people, and they are proud of their country. The little of it I have seen is lush and spectacular. Again, allow a bit of time. The real benefit of travel comes from meeting the people, and you just don't do that on a 14 day tour. Enjoy! I can speak for Dunedin that there are several organised tours for our cruise ship visitors. The Royal Albatross Colony at Tairoa Heads. Larnach Castle. The Taieri Gorge Railway. I feel this is a must. Years ago I was able to make the trip in the loco cab itself when NZR carried freight on that line. Now the Otago Excursion Train Trust picks you up at the wharf next to the ship itself. February is our summer so if the sun god is smiling you will see plenty of him. Auckland will have a bit happening as its the biggest city in NZ....you don't say how long you have in place, but you can go to wineries, beaches around Auckland if you can get out and about...otherwise there are the touristy things there I guess. Tauranga is supposed to be lovely, but I've never been so can't comment further. Christhchurch is over the hill from Lyttleton (or thru the tunnel as you would go)....I have lived on and off in Christhchurch for years and love it....its close to the sea and the hills (which you go under) give great views of the whole area (360o views) and are pretty great...you can go up the gondola to see this and the Antarctic centre (out by the airport) is pretty neat to see. If you could go to some places nearby, Akaroa is a sweet little place by the sea (is a former French Colony)...I am pretty certain you can go dolphin watching around there too and the Hectors dolphins are there, the smallest and rarest in the world. Just walking around Chch would be fine and you can go to the "Arts centre" not far from the centre of Chch and has the Canterbury museum, some little shops (and markets in the weekends), an art gallery etc. There are the botanic gardens (right next to the museum) as well. Dunedin has those things said before by someone else, and I would give anything to go to Fiordland!!!! Its supposed to be stunning (I just have never made it there yet!!!) Take a look at these websites to give you some more info on these places if you like. http://www.newzealand.com/travel... http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101-must-dos-f... http://www.nz.com/ G-day I've spent half my life in NZ and half in Aussie - although I have not seen all of aussie I have of NZ. To be honest the cruise does not show all of NZ and Aussies best 'quality' places. My top picks are:::: Queenstown http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz is the adventure capital of NZ 鈥?especially for EXTREME adventure 鈥?must do鈥檚 Bungy jumping, AJ Hackett - http://www.ajhackett.co.nz The world famous Shotover Jet doing full 360潞 spins! http://shotoverjet.co.nz and Fiordland National Park & The Milford Sounds, http://www.fiordland.org.nz is amazing! Nelson, the sunniest place in NZ! 鈥?http://www.nelsonnz.com and has the Abel Tasman National Park http://www.abeltasman.co.nz right on the doorstep 鈥?amazing beaches and treks. 鈥?you can swim with the seals, http://www.sealswim.com You can hike down one way and take an aqua taxi back or even kayak around just for a few hours. Whale watching in Kaikoura. http://www.kaikoura.co.nz http://www.whalewatch.co.nz for a unique experience. Christchurch, the garden city, Lyttelton doesn鈥檛 offer much at all- http://www.christchurchnz.net/visitchch... The Gondola is great - http://www.gondola.co.nz and the International Antarctic Centre - http://www.iceberg.co.nz (near the airport) Franz Joseph Glacier - http://www.franzjosefglacier.com... - How often do you see a Glacier? Cool experience. Auckland is very nice 鈥?big place, Sky city and the marinas are worth a visit. Take a jump of the sky tower ! http://www.skyjump.co.nz or bungy jump of the Auckland bridge. Aussie:::: I live in Cairns 鈥?gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. More info - http://www.welcometocairns.com... There is SO much to see and do in Cairns you easily spend a couple weeks here. http://www.greatadventures.com.au... for reef experiences. You can snorkel out on the reef, take a glass bottom boat, do the scoobdo - http://www.scubadoocairns.com or seawalker http://www.seawalker.com.au - all great experiences there is half day trips or full day. Port Douglas is about a 50 min drive from Cairns city 鈥?worth it for the scenery. http://www.portdouglaseguide.c... or http://www.vcentres.com.au/port-douglas... Daintree Discovery Centre for a walk in the rainforest - http://www.daintree-rec.com.au Other Aussie attractions a must see - Uluru (or known as Ayres rock) - A large sandstone rock formation located in the Northern Territory of central Australia. It is listed as a World Heritage Site for its natural and man-made attributes. The Gold Coast beaches and theme Parks - So much to do, beaches are breathtaking, there's also Sea world, Dreamworld, Movie world and Wet 'n Wild. This is also a great site - http://www.australianexplorer.com/touris... I鈥檇 beter stop as I could go on and on Have a great trip what ever you decide to do. |
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