to-do list
-reef
-rock
-cities (sydney, melbourne, auckland, christchurch)
-hobbiton
-waitomo glow worm cave
-m*lford sound

anything i should add to the list or delete from it? first time there for me and just starting to get into specifics,, any general tips are also welcome.

food/drink i need to try? favorite restaurants i need to go to?

I can only speak to the NZ part, but it sounds like you're hitting up some of the highlights. ****ord Sound and the Waitomo caves are musts. I'd check out Dunedin and Otago Peninsula for a day or two if you have time.

itinerary isn't too packed yet,, needed a few more ideas, thanks!

If you are interested in military stuff at all, I recommend the museum in Canberra.
For live music, Brisbane is the go.
For expensive coffee, Melbourne.
There's so much to see/do, what are you interested in?

Christchurch is still mostly destroyed in the CBD, I didn't like it.

I'd spend more time on the South Island than the North Island, Queenstown and the surrounding area was absolutely beautiful.

My sister just spent several months trekking around AUS/NZ, I'll ask for her recommendations.

what am i interested in? great food/beer, beautiful/tranquil scenery, historical/cultural locations, what is the popular local sport,,,, first time there for me, so touristy mainstays are ok, but i figure i have enough time to hit some less touristy spots also

skip christchurch, go to queenstown instead, got it

OK, NVM, link wouldn't work, but it's the most direct driving path from Queenstown over to Te Anau and then cutting across to Dunedin.

That's the drive my wife and I did after landing in Queenstown. The drive itself is freaking amazing. The drive from Te Anau to M i l ford Sound is the prettiest drive I've ever been on. Stop and hike up to Key Summit if you get the chance. Dunedin was settled by Scots and it has a very Scottish feel. It reminded me quite a bit of some of the Scottish cities I've been to. The wildlife out on Otago Peninsula is awesome, you can just walk along some beaches and see seals and sea lions hanging out.

I've heard cool stuff about Arthur's Pass, but I'm not sure beyond that if there's a reason to continue further north. We drove all the way up the east coast of the South Island and caught the ferry at Picton, but nothing rivaled the Fjordland area. Doubtful Sound and M i l ford Sound are beyond comparison.

I have some great friends in Auckland who could take you to a Warrior's rugby match if there happens to be one going on when you're there.

[This message has been edited by Teacher_Ag (edited 12/17/2013 7:30p).]

I've heard Zorbing in New Zealand is pretty awesome. It's basically rolling down a hill in a plastic ball, check it out, would be good if high

Zorbing, had to look up what it was. Doesn't seem like my kind of thing, but I have an open mind and am willing to try new activities

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Warrior's rugby match

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looks like i'll have my chance april 13

Spend the entire time in only one country. 23 days is too short for both.

I thought climbing the bridge in Sydney was fun.

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I thought climbing the bridge in Sydney was fun.

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actually was just looking at that yesterday, it does look like fun. what time of day did you climb it? would you recommend a different time of day?

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Spend the entire time in only one country. 23 days is too short for both.

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perhaps. what would you recommend in place of my 8-10 days in new zealand? a multi-day bushwalk? see some more cities?

23 days is way more than enough time for both.

I did the sunset one that ended up with me coming down in the dark. It was fine, but I'd probably do a day one just to see more. The zoo is also cool there...can take a boat from by the opera house over to it. Other thing I did that was different was hiking from bondi past the cemetery on the coast. Not something you see in Texas. Lol

I did the zoo. Thought it was going to be like any other zoo, but this is up there. Plus the boat ride over gives great views.

Had a good time in Cains out in the water and hiking in the rain forest. Some crazy fauna and flora

A side trip to Mt. Cook on the south island is worthwhile. We hiked on a glacier and spent the night there. A really neat couple, Charlie and Mary Hall, own a little pub/restaurant and a small hotel there. If you go there be sure and meet them and ask about their book to New York after 9/11. Loved all of the south island!

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perhaps. what would you recommend in place of my 8-10 days in new zealand? a multi-day bushwalk? see some more cities?

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Wellington is the only interesting major city in NZ. Don't spend more time in Auckland/Christchurch than you have to. The rest of the country is too beautiful. If you really want the Oceanic urban experience, spare a few days for Sydney.

23 day NZ itinerary: fly into Auckland, Bay of Islands, Coromandel peninsula, Matamata (hobbits), Waitomo, Taupo, Tongariro NP, Mt. Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough wine country, Abel Tasman NP, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, Queenstown, ****ord/Doubtful Sounds

day bridge climb,, got it

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NZ itinerary: fly into Auckland, Bay of Islands, Coromandel peninsula, Matamata (hobbits), Waitomo, Taupo, Tongariro NP, Mt. Taranaki, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough wine country, Abel Tasman NP, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, Queenstown, ****ord/Doubtful Sounds

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something like this?
http://goo.gl/maps/bGER5



btw, i should perhaps note that my flight arrives in sydney, and departs from melbourne

what are the new zealand entry requirements for a us citizen? what i see online, i only need to prove i have a flight out of the country and funds to support myself while there, no visa required,, should i printout a copy of my ticket home? what did they ask you when you entered the country?

Skip Christchurch. Queenstown is a cool little city. South Island > North. Abel Tasman is cool if you like that sort of stuff. Mt Doom is skippable.

Good time to go as the Aussie dollar is way down.

For NZ, as an American, you just show up and they give you a 90 day visa on arrival.

For Australia, you have to get your electronic visa before you can board your flight in the US.

And the Aussie Dollar is NOT "way down" it's just about right. Now for much of the past 5 years, the Aussie Dollar has been incredibly strong mostly due to the USD being incredibly weak. So, Australia will still be expensive but not as bad as it has been in recent years.

Thanks BQ,, applied for the Aus ETA earlier this week and was approved instantly. couldn't seem to find a clear definitive answer from NZ

and good to hear about the relatively weak currency!

Kangaroo Island was my favorite place. Very non-touristy, quiet, lots of wildlife, beautiful scenery. Pretty much everything closes at dark. Be careful for kangaroos, wallabies, and koala when driving around at night on the dirt roads.

doesn't look i'll be making it near adelaide/kangaroo island this trip, but, being on the lookout for kangaroos on kangaroo island seems logical. thanks for the tip!

i've never driven in a left-hand drive country before. is it difficult to adjust?

When I moved to Australia, it took me about a month before I felt comfortable enough driving to listen to the radio.

The hardest thing was route planning to make lefthand turns instead of righthand turns. In the first month, I only turned into oncoming traffic about twice.

1 arrive in sydney, sydney bike tour
2 canberra day trip
3 sydney bridge climb
4 blue mountains day trip
5 flight alice springs
6-7 3 day trip, uluru, kata tjuta
8 flight cairns
9 great barrier reef
10 cairns park/forest
11 flight auckland
12 see auckland (need to find a highlight here yet)
13 hobbiton/waitomo caves tour
14 taupo/mt ruapeho
15 wellington
16 flight queenstown
17 queenstown (bungee jumping?)
18 ****ord sound
19 te anau
20 dunedin
21 flight melbourne
22 melbourne something or other (may just chill)
23 penguin tour
24 fly home

of course will be finding the finest restaurants along the way.

renting cars for a few days each in nz north island, and nz south island

anything that you think i'd be wasting my time on? and why?

if this were my only time in my life i go to aus/nz, is there something i'm missing that i 'have to see'?

There's a free bus in Sydney called the 555 I believe. It was helpful getting from where we were staying to the Quay.

There was a bike rental over in the Manly beach area and the ride was quite nice with good elevation.

I would recommend going to a Rugby/Australian Rules Football game while you are in Sydney.

Definitely do the Kata Tjuta hike. I thought it was more scenic than Uluru. Take a tour with an Aborigines guide and a translator if you want to get a feel for how they view Uluru and how they survive in the desert.

Definitely dive if you can on the Great Barrier. It can be a bit rough snorkeling vs diving depending on which area you are located. Night diving was incredible and I would recommend it if you have the time. The link below is who we used back in August of 2010.
http://www.divethereef.com/DiveTrips/-248819560.asp

If you want to do the forest area by tour bus definitely look at Uncle Brian's. This was by far the best tour during the three weeks I was there. Judging by your tag, you're the perfect age for the tour as it tends to cater towards the hostel aged crowd.
http://www.unclebrian.com.au/

Can't help you in New Zealand (but it's on my list of places to go).

Melbourne is a fantastic city. Travel down to the fish market and the Queen Victoria Market. If you like traveling to random bars there is a deck of cards called the Deck of Secrets that have maps on one side and a description of the bar on the other.
http://deckofsecrets.com/
Using the Deck of Secrets is how I found a great tapas restaurant in the city
http://portellorosso.com.au/home.html

The penguin tour was pretty awesome. It was fun to get to the area early to check out some of the cliffs, birds, and seals (at the Nobbies?). I ended up taking the Ultimate Tour in which you go to the other side of the island with night vision goggles on a secluded beach. It was another highlight of the trip. If you generally don't like being in large crowds (like me) then I would recommend the Ultimate Tour.

One more event on Phillip Island that takes place is the Australian V8 Supercar race. I missed it by 1 day but I would have loved to attend.

Feel free to msg me if you would like any other information or have any questions. Otherwise I'll respond to this post.

Taupo wasn't that impressive, I'd almost say after Waitomo to grab a flight from Auckland to Wellington, take the ferry across to Nelson, and spend a day or two there among the wineries, then drive down the west coast before going to Queenstown.

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There was a bike rental over in the Manly beach area and the ride was quite nice with good elevation.

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I do like biking, will have to check this out

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I would recommend going to a Rugby/Australian Rules Football game while you are in Sydney.

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want to, but so far in my research, doing so would involve adding a day to a location

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Definitely do the Kata Tjuta hike.

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its on the list!

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Definitely dive if you can on the Great Barrier.

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I've never dived before,, are the intro dives worth it?

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If you want to do the forest area by tour bus definitely look at Uncle Brian's.

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that looks pretty awesome! i was about to book something off of viator, but i'll use your link instead. and, i'm 28, but i've never stayed in a hostel

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Taupo wasn't that impressive, I'd almost say after Waitomo to grab a flight from Auckland to Wellington, take the ferry across to Nelson, and spend a day or two there among the wineries, then drive down the west coast before going to Queenstown.

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not really a wine guy, so i'd probably skip that (is there a brewery option?).

but options would be to drive north island, fly wellington to queenstown. or, fly auckland to wellington/nelson and drive south island. is the south island a more scenic drive?

I drove Taupo to Wellington and it drives through the Desert Road, which is pretty much through a desert and a military installation the military uses for artillery practice. It's not that it wasn't scenic in places, I just think the South Island would be a lot better.

so, something like this? http://goo.gl/maps/ZVfuv

done over 7-8 days?

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I've never dived before, are the intro dives worth it?

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Completely worth it. I'm not a very good swimmer, and snorkeling beats me up a lot more than scuba diving. Scuba is completely serene and I feel like you actually get to take it all in a little more than snorkeling. The dive class we took was through ScubaToys in the Dallas area and the final day was in Athens, Texas. If you do it through a Houston shop you'll likely head out to the Blue Lagoon. I felt that it was a big plus to getting certified over in the states first as you get more time to dive while you are in Australia.

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not really a wine guy, so i'd probably skip that (is there a brewery option?).

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There are plenty of beer options to try while you are there. Each area has their own set of main beers. Some of the brands I liked while I was there:
Little Creatures
James Squire
Pure Blonde (part of Carlton/Foster's group)
Tooheys (I think I preferred one of their dark beers)

You can also get Coopers over there as well as here if you want to pre-drink before the trip. I would also try at least one bitter if you haven't had much experience with English style pubs/beer. It's fun to converse with the locals, you might even get into a shout if they like you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_of_drinks

I almost forgot to mention another restaurant in Sydney (near Circular Quay) called Lownbrau.
http://www.lowenbrau.com.au/
They had the best spaetzle I've ever had, but I'll admit, I'm not a connoisseur of German food.

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I almost forgot to mention another restaurant in Sydney (near Circular Quay) called Lownbrau.
http://www.lowenbrau.com.au/
They had the best spaetzle I've ever had, but I'll admit, I'm not a connoisseur of German food.

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Ha! I was just in Munich for Oktoberfest this past fall,, will have to see how it compares! Any other restaurant suggestions?

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It's fun to converse with the locals, you might even get into a shout if they like you.

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'shout' instead of 'round', got it, thanks

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I'm not a very good swimmer,

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neither am i,, would it be prudent for me to get some lessons before trying to open ocean scuba?