5 weeks Australia/New Zealand

[BellBarbara]

This is all so helpful! I need to look at this great walks....very excited to plan this trip. We are super easy going travelers so not too worried about it all coming together.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bingybear ... So we will plan again for hiking NZ. There are nice hikes on both islands. We have only done them on the south island. We did not rent a car, but used public transport. There is transport to many of the hikes. ...

Our neighbors just returned from NZ. They did a lot of hiking and stayed at places near trail heads. They used public transport and said it was a good way to go.

No need to find parking and they enjoyed walking through some neighborhoods. They said there are mostly 2 lane roads and traffic is slow so a bus is fine. The drivers were easy to work with when they wanted to get off near their destination.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starsky We're big fans of AU and NZ. My wife and I particularly love this glorious piece of World Heritage real estate, Lord Howe Island. Our happy place. It's on your way from AU TO NZ....part of NSW.

Did you take that yourself from a plane?

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BellBarbara This is all so helpful! I need to look at this great walks....very excited to plan this trip. We are super easy going travelers so not too worried about it all coming together.

The Sydney area seems to have a lot of infrastructure for walks, especially around coastal areas with paved and wooden tracks.

There's one, just south of Bondi, going down to Coogee. They display some interesting sculptures too.

I also liked the paths north of Bondi, going towards the top of a peninsula with great views of the Sydney skyline. However, I went in early November and there are these things which look like houseflies but swarm all over you and crawl all over your bags, your back, etc. I had to cut my hike short, it was so unbearable. Will pack the Deet sprays next time.

Of course there are more serious hikes for people who want to climb, walk around unpaved tracks. From Christchurch, Lyttleton is a very close drive and there are tracks there overlooking the bay there. Akaroa is a longer drive but it's very well worth it as you see the bay formed from a giant volcanic crater, with surrounding hills. I think they filmed many of the Lord of the Rings films here, which I've never seen.

Wanaka has some serious hikes for people who want to get to the top and look down at the lake.

Queenstown is a must. And you can get the beautiful aerial views by taking the cable car up. There are walks along the lake but you really need a car to get to places like the road to Glenorchy, the road up towards Coronet and the Crown Range.

People go to Kaikoura for the dolphins but I only spent a night there and got great panoramic views at the lookout over the top and the mountains against the bay in the background. Now after the earthquake, the roads might be difficult to access.

[bingybear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BellBarbara This is all so helpful! I need to look at this great walks....very excited to plan this trip. We are super easy going travelers so not too worried about it all coming together.

a couple great walks... the first 2 we have done. Plenty of other day trips around these

kepler
milford

routeburn

tongariro northern circuit

many other choices you can do.

[BellBarbara]

OK thanks.

We decided to add a week, so 3 and 3. I found a pretty good itinerary on line for 3 weeks in Australia. We will adapt it to our interests.

We are on an 2 month road trip, but will start nailing all of this down when we get back.

[Starsky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade Did you take that yourself from a plane?

That one was a web photo. Here are some I took...




Only the locals use cars. All the tourists [and a lot of locals] use bicycles. We're going back in December for 14 days.

[nwsteve]

For those considering New Zealand as a destination, you may find this current article from Bloomberg of interest. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...lm-new-zealand
The basic message is that NZ is enjoying way too much success with its tourist trade and many of its attractions are swamped with crowds. Apparently, many of the more rural areas are struggling with such basic services as their sewage systems failing due to the increase load from tourists.
Article also implies travelers pay close attention to their reservations as there is very little slack in the system for hick-ups in arrivals. One group got to spend a night in Maori conference room on floor mats when there was a problem when their flight back to the states was delayed.

[Totoro]

Hotels in popular places are an issue (queenstown! => avoid)

Take a tent with you, or go even a bit adventurous: you've got the whole beach for yourself.

[Cap_Scarlet]

We love New Zealand.

We did our dream trip back in 2014 and combined with Western Australia (we had lived in Sydney for a year so already saw a lot of the East Coast).

You can read our day by day travel blog here:

The BIG adventure – Adventures in Austria

Overall the trip was totally amazing, we loved both the North and the South Island and the only part we didn't like was Rotorua (too touristy).

[BellBarbara]

Thanks so much for the article, and the trip report. We would not stay long in tourist areas, just not shoppers, and dislike crowds. Also planning to go off season which we always do.

[bingybear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BellBarbara Thanks so much for the article, and the trip report. We would not stay long in tourist areas, just not shoppers, and dislike crowds. Also planning to go off season which we always do.

If you're considering hiking in the Alpine regions, be aware in off season these can become impassable due to weather.

[Totoro]

+1 on that. Basically the morning before you go in the park stop by the local ISites. They have the latest intel.

Several areas actually force you to do that .. unprepared tourists have died and gotten lost in the past.

[bingybear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Totoro +1 on that. Basically the morning before you go in the park stop by the local ISites. They have the latest intel. Several areas actually force you to do that .. unprepared tourists have died and gotten lost in the past.

They have much less support in their winter months so it is much more on your own. Many of the great walks go thru alpine regions. Look at kepler.

From what I'm reading of over tourism, I'm considering skipping another visit to NZ. I really enjoyed our first visit.

[ears20]

We spent 3 weeks in NZ at the end of 2015: drove from Auckland to Wellington via Rotorua and Napier; flight to Christchurch, drive to Queenstown, West Coast, and back to ChCh; flight back to Auckland ending with 3 days in the Coromandel. Stayed at baches and B&Bs with the exception of the last night. Rented our cars through Apex and had no issues whatsoever.

We never felt rushed or hurried, but were glad we took 3 weeks as opposed to 2. Were there places we didn't get to or wish we had more time at? Absolutely. Would we do it again/go back? In a heartbeat!

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll try to help -

[BellBarbara]

Thanks!