2 Mths in New Zealand & Australia

Wow, envious here! We spent three weeks in NZ and another week in Australia a few years ago. Love NZ, very laid back atmosphere and not a lot of people outside of the cities.

They drive on the left there, but there is very little traffic outside the cities. We did B&B, no RVing. Lots of outdoor recreation.

We flew from Aukland to Queenstown, well worth a visit, be sure to take the steamer tour on Lake Wakatipu. We stayed at The Stable, very nice.
Milford Sound is worth a visit, we missed out because it was early spring and we could not get in due to snow.

The drive from Queenstown to Haast, then south to Lake Moeraki, was spectacular. Stayed at the Wilderness Lodge, an eco-lodge. Nature hikes to see nesting penguins, etc. Gormat meals as well.

To give you an idea of the remoteness, I was in the lobby late one afternoon and a Highway Patrol officer came in looking for the victims of an auto accident in the area that was reported four hours ago!

From there we drove up the west coast to Greymouth. A number of one lane bridges on the main highway up the west coast, some of them shared with the railroad! Montieth Brewery worth a visit in Greymouth.

From there we took the train across the Alps to Christchurch. Christchurch is a typical large city, but check out Annie's Wine Bar.

Flew back to Rotorura on the North Island. Lots of hot springs and spas. Check out a Zorb while you are there and Kiwi World is worth a visit. We also took a boat ride to White Island where there is an active volcano. You can walk right up to the rim of the volcano!

In Australia do not miss a visit to the Great Barrier Reef! We stayed at Reef Retreat in Palm Cove, nice with great ocean views in some rooms. Boats out to reef leave from Cairns. Check out Reef Teach before going out. We went out one day on a very large Quicksilver catamaran to their floating island on the reef. Very nice, but a large group. Two days later we went out to the reef on the Osprey V, a smaller (and faster) dive boat. That was a more personalized experience.

SO, as I said, we are envious. Have a great time!

Have not been to New Zealand but have traveled in Australia from Sydney to beyond where the paved roads end north of Cairns and past Cape Despair. Hiked the rain forests, went north in a snorkled Land Rover, dove on the Great Barrier Reef. My advice if you are adventurous would be to join the Backpackers Assoc. Very inexpensive hostels where you will meet interesting folks from all over the world. The rooms are simple but clean. And sharing food in the communal kitchens was a blast. Americans are few, except for some college kids, but Asian and European couples are warm and friendly to Americans. You can google it up for both countries. I only wish I had included NZ. Its too far not to do both on the same trip! Have fun!

My husband and I are full time rvers. Two years ago we stored our RV and flew to Christchurch. We elected not to rent a camper van but rented a car and spent two months in NZ. We took the ferry from the south to the north island. Then we flew from Auckland to Melbourne, Australia and rented another car and spent two months in Australia. We spent many nights in campgrounds in the cabins they have. These have a bathroom and a small kitchen. Also, every campground has a communal kitchen and of course bathroom facilities. The reasons we did not rent a camper van were the cost of the van was about twice that of a car and still had to pay for the campsites. Also, we love to hike and did not want to leave all our belongings at a trailhead in a van. Also, did not want to always have to unhook to tour the area. We met many people who did rent vans. Some never used the cooking facilities or bathrooms in the van due to the high humidity. Also the campervans in NZ and Australia do not have holding tanks but cassettes that you must dump by hand much like a portable toilet. We carried our belongings in the trunk and backseat of the car and bought a small cooler after we arrived. We could then leave our personal things in the cabin while touring. If you want more info on great places not to miss, just send me a private message.