2 Mths in New Zealand & Australia
First time posting online. Preliminary plans for couple underway for Feb/14 in NZ & Mar/14 in Australia. Flying in to Auckland & considering renting camper van for 1 week to tour North Island. Then ...
Forum Discussion
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!
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!
