Looks like I'm headed to Australia and New Zealand

[mapes]

Hey anyone whose been to Australia or New Zealand looks like the wife and I are going to Australia for two weeks and a week in New Zealand. Our tenative schedule is a couple of days in Sydney then head up to Cairns to dive the Great Barrier Reef. Then back down to Sydney and over to NZ. Any suggestions?

[Queen B]

Sorry I have never been there. I hope you have an amazing trip though

Visit the aquarium for me

[Minerva]

I am sure Big Twinky or Bacon can assist you !!

[{CLR} ObiTroy]

Sweeeeeeet! Wish I could advise but have never been south of the equator.

[BigTwinky]

What do you need to know?

I was there with my wife and another couple this past March.
Spent 4 days in Adelaide, 7 days in North Queensland (GBR area - we stayed in Palm Cove instead of Cairns), 4 days in the Red Centre and 7 days in Sydney.

My two fave places where Cairns area and Sydney. We stayed in non serviced apartments, so we have full kitchen, living room and all that. We prefer to go shopping for food, be with the locals and eat breakfast at home in the morning. Good way to save some coin to. We had a 2 king bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment on the 26th floor in downtown Sydney, block away from the subway and train, 20 min walk to the Opera House... all for $240 a night. You can probably get a 1 bedroom cheaper.

My wife kept a travel blog while we were there. I'll try and dig up the address.

Hotel recommendations? Trips, tours, what to see, what not to...? Budget, cost... post it up (for everyone to partake) or PM me

[baconoclock]

I spent 6 weeks in Sydney for work. I'll write you up some info once i have a break in work today.

[Duke{CLR}]

Enjoy your trip Mapes I could have gone there for my senior year in HS because I have an uncle who used to live there. He left the US and became he CEO for some hair supply company called Matrix and now lives somewhere in Spain. I didn't go because I had just started getting on the honor roll and was worried that it would jeopardize my plans to go to the college of my choice. I hope to get there and will be looking forward to hearing about you trip.

[Rand{CLR}]

Sounds like a good trip. I'd like to get down there some day, but I don't fly so it would take a pretty significant cruise to hit the place.

-Rand

[mapes]

Looks like we fly out on 11/20. Like I said we'll be in Sydney area for a couple of days and then fly up to Cairns for a week of diving on the GBR then back to Sydney and then over to NZ. We're kinda playing it fast and loose so far. So if you think of any thing thats great to do any info would be great. Thanks folks

[baconoclock]

Here is what i can think of off the top of my head while at work.


General / misc info
Trains are very good in Sydney, you can take them anywhere in the city
Buy a weekly pass, but check out which line you buy it for. You might have to buy one for multiple lines.
There is an extra fee to take it to the airport (who knows why). Its 15 AUD.

Taxi?s are fairly expensive compared to other cities. They all take credit cards (make sure to let your bank know in advance).

Tipping : it?s not the same as the states, not really common at all. If you go to a pub they might have a cup or bowl if you feel like throwing change in. Otherwise dont bother.

If you want to drive there you?ll need an international drivers license.

Everything is expensive in Sydney.
Any restaurant you?ll spend atleast 10-20 per person at a minimum. More towards the 20 dollar side.
A 6 pack of beer will run you 25 ? 30 dollars for local stuff.
Wine is cheap OTOH though
Sushi is good there, not that expensive either

Plenty of good breakfast and coffee places.

For the most part people are really friendly.

Australian money is made from plastic.

Stay in the central part of the city(so just south of the bridge/ opera house within a mile or 2 would be fine), you can pretty much get everywhere from there.

If you want to eat kangaroo steak, not every place offers it. I know of a micro brew place that has it at darling harbour if you want. But you can find ?roo in the stores right next to the hamburger.

Wear sunscreen and bring it with you if you?re outside. You can and WILL burn in 15 minutes. I?m not even joking. I figured more like an hour it would take, and I learned my lesson.

Attractions
Get a pie (these are for lunch, not dissert pies) from Harry?s http://www.harryscafedewheels.com.au...t=1&category=1
The original place is in the Woolloomooloo area of Sydney.
If you go to the original one you can go see Russell crowe?s house. It?s the last one on the pier (you?ll know it by the multi-million dollar yachts)

I would do the bridge climb, takes about 4 hours.
Opera house / botanical gardens (these can be done at the same time / area).Try to go towards evening for the gardens. There are bats that sleep in the trees during the day and fly around towards evening. Its cool to watch them all wake up.

Walk the bridge overlooking the opera house, its a great view (FYI there are paths on each side of the bridge, one is walking the other for bikers only. The past on the east side of the bridge is for walking)

Harbour tour (these leave from the circular quay or darling harbour)

The aquarium and wildlife park (a dual ticket for both is 50 or
80, can?t remember).

The kiribilli area (just north of the bridge) has some decent shopping/pubs/places to eat.

If you want to hit the beaches (which you should), take the ferry(s) from circular quay. They leave every 30 minutes and cost around 15 bucks round trip. They drop you off right near the beach. This is the easiest and best way to get there. The big/famous ones are bondi, manly beaches.

Go to Chinatown.

Go to St james park, have a picnic and just enjoy the area.
The Sydney tower is the tallest building in Sydney, supposedly has some great views, but it costs money to go to the top so I didn?t do it, its right near st james park.

[baconoclock]

Oh also, bring an umbrella with you even if it doesn't call for rain. Random showers happen.

[baconoclock]

Also, you'll need an ETA visa to travel there. Costs like 25 bucks and its almost instant approval online.

Internet Visa Services Australia

Also, dont even try to bring any type of food/drink/snack/animal/veggie to Australia. You have to go through customs / quarantine and they are VERY strict about it.

[mapes]

Bacon thank you your the man!

[BigTwinky]

Cairns:

My wife and I didnt stay in Cairns as we wanted a more quiet place. We chose Palm Cove, which is about a 10 min drive, with a bus that brought us there. Its more of a quiet small town. Alot of resorts line the main road.

We stayed at the Melaleuca resort. There are some expensive ones in the area, this one was cheap, clean and nice. The owners run the place, you meet them when you check in. You are 40 steps to the ocean. For a 1 bedroom apartment (laundry, living room, dining area, full kitchen) it was about $140 per night.

While there, we toured the area. Took 1 organized tour called Uncle Brians. It was the funnest thing we did in our whole month long trip. The average age was 24 (so we were one of the oldest), but if you are young and heart and like to act weird and do funny things, this tour was great. We toured the Tablelands mainly.

In the Tablelands, you have Milla Milla fall... awesome waterfall, the most photographed in Australia. You can swim behind the waterfall if you want. We swam in an ancient volcanic crater and other places.

Milla Milla


Tablelands scenary




We took another day and visited the north forrests, which are more rain forrest. Saw a Cassowary (6 foot dangerous and aggressive birn, nearly extinct). Checked out Mossman Gorge. Saw some huge spiders in the changing room (one's body is bigger than my fist).

There was a cat 3 tornado not far out so the waters were really choppy and harsh. We went snorkling in Cairns, but it wasn't that great. some shopping to be had in Cairns, and all diving tours leave from the same area.


In Sydney, we stayed at the Meriton Apartments on Pitt. Pitt is a nice street that leads straight down to the Opera House. Nice restaurants around, pedestrian mall on your way there. There is a food buying place around the corner. Very nicely located. It was about $240 for the apartment, but it had 2 king bedrooms, so it cost $120 each couple.

From our apartment balcony on the 26th floor


Sushi is cheap and good in Sydney, I totally agree.

Prices listed include taxes and as bacon mentionned, no tipping. Things are expensive there, which is why we stayed in an apartment and made our own breakfast and lunch.

A nice walk is through Hyde Park and into the Botanical Gardens. Keep going to the Opera House and Circular Quay.

I wouldnt pay for a boat tour though. The ferry is a common mode of transportation. If you go to the Taronga Zoo (oldest zoo in Australia me thinks), you have to take a ferry from Circular Quay and you go right by the Opera House, making for some nice pictures.

We spent half a day at the zoo and had enough, its just not our scene.

Here is a shot taken from the ferry heading to the Taronga Zoo


We took another ferry ride to Watson's Bay. Old fisherman's village that has been renovated and is somewhat high end now. Great walking area, national park with a lighthouse



Bondi beach was awesome. I loved it and should of spent more time there. Take the train from downtown Sydney to Bondi Junction, then a bus to the beach. Its huge. You can go 60 feet into the water (all sand) and only be mid chest deep. But the waves will be 4-5 feet over your head. Really fun play time. Little shops to check out. Nice walks along the cliffs as well, or just relaxing on the beach. Changing rooms right nearby as well. You can take a surf lesson if ya want.

Early morning Bondi


Day trips from Sydney:

Many recommend Blue Mountains. Its a few hour drive. Its ok, but we have mountains here in Canada, so no biggy. there is a place called Scenic World that allows you to see different parts of the Blue Mountains, it is tacky, touristy, expensive and soooo not worth it. Three Sisters Rock formation is nice to see, but you wont spend a day looking at it. If you insist on going, make it only for a day IMO

We took a trip to the Jenolan Caves. Its 3 hours out of Sydney (went on a bus tour to get there) and we explored caves for a few hours. That was really interesting and fun. Would do it again. 8 or so caves you can explore with a guide, we only did 2.

In Sydney, there is a flea market called Paddy's Market. Its near Chinatown. You can take the monorail or train there. Best place to buy souvenirs. Same things you see in the stores for $10 you get for $3. We bought little things for friends and family there, and some extra luggage to bring it all back... tshirts, wooden boomerangs, key chains,....

Thats what I can think of...I have more photos up on my flickr
Australia - a set on Flickr
Photos of the zoo, three sisters rocks, more of downtown sydney, some of the reef, some of the other parts of our trip too.

If you have questions or what not, let me know!!

[Duke{CLR}]

Those are some nice pics BT.