Fall trip to Australia and New Zealand

[Kathleen]

Hello All,

I'm asking this question here instead of the International site because I thought that it might have more visibility.

Visiting Australia/New Zealand--Which month is better? September or October?

Our time line will be three weeks in Australia and one week in New Zealand. Are we better to do Quantas Airpass and then book tours from chosen cities or just book a package from here that includes a variety of things to see with or without airfare?

We would book the New Zealand week separate from the Airpass.

We are all middle aged. Sam and I are not into hiking /camping stuff. Our travel companions could live off the land with a tent,knapsack and three toothpicks,but we're sissies. I would love to see a ranch/farm though. It's the landscape and the people/culture that we're looking for. I'm not sure yet about the driving but I'd probably prefer not to.

Thanks for your help.
Kathleen

 

[Fisch]

October would be best.

Reminber they are in a different hemisphere, so the seasons are reversed.

October and November is their spring.

Al

 

[ausman]

Australia is moving from winter in July to December summer so I would prefer October.

If in Northern Queensland and doing the the reef for instance early would be better.

Not familiar with the current Quantas offerings so no help there.

Don't be intimidated by the driving, it is relatively easy to adjust. It would limit your options greatly if you do not rent a car.

The landscape and people are better met in the smaller towns outside of Melbourne and Sydney urban areas and not having a car would be difficult. Doing the standard prepared tours may be something to give up for a week or so to experience other things.

See, you have already met the people, good luck with your plans and trip.

 

[shagnut]

I'm jealous!! shaggy

 

[Judy]

Qantas business class

If you have the frequent flier miles or can afford the airfare, go Qantas business class (or first class for even more). It's a long, long, trip from Virginia and Qantas business class is very comfortable plus their food is good. If you book a business class award on Qantas through one of its US partners, you will also qualify for first class seats on the US carrier from Virginia to the US West Coast. Our award tickets on Qantas included one enroute stop-over and an open-jaws option. So we were able to fly from Orlando to LAX on USAirways, from LAX to Sydney on Qantas, then a week later from Sydney to Cairns on Qantas and return several weeks later from Melbourne.
We went in October. It was a good choice. I think if I were going to New Zealand, I'd go in November or December.

 

[Coocoojay]

Not enough time....but

An idea: Fly to Sydney look around get a rental car and drive along the coast to Melbourne. Make it take a 2-3 days or so. See the Penguin Parade in Port Phillip before going on to Melbourne. Visit Melbourne, maybe go see the 12 Apostles, then drive back to Sydney via the Snowy Mountains and Canberra. Fly over to Ayers Rock and Alice Springs on an escorted tour--Quantas. If you have the time go north of Sydney and see some of the wine country. Driving and finding places to stay is easy, only suggestion is that you get a reservation in a hotel for your time in Sydney (maybe Melbourne too) more as a target. Don't really want to drive in Sydney, you can more easily get around by trolly, bus, subway and feet. Australia has wonderful tourist information kiosks in every town that really help--mostly staffed by volunteers. You can check my web page at http://webpages.charter.net/AustraliaAdventure/
for more details.

Motels and Hotels have friges, stoves and utensils...can take a food box.

Not enough time for New Zealand either but go. Try to get to South Island and see Christchurch and the fiords.

Can I come too...

 

[Kathleen]

Hi Folks,
Thanks for your help.
Shaggy, You've had a zillion trips for your memory book.
Coocoojay,
Great photos and suggestions. Pack up and come along.

Our friends were here this morning. We know that we have a lot more research and planning to do before we even try to book flights. We'll probably end up in a timeshare or two. Maybe some "one size fits all tours "thrown in for ease of travel. We have also concluded that we'll probably need a bit more than a month so to allow more time for New Zealand.

Kathleen

 

[cotraveller]

We were in Australia and New Zealand for most of last October. In Australia we went from Brisbane to Sydney, stopping at 2 WorldMark resorts along the way. In New Zealand we were on the South Island, Christchurch, Queenstown, and Dunedin staying in B&B's and motels.

The temperatures ranged from unseasonably hot (over 100 degrees F) in Brisbane to cool but mostly pleasant in New Zealand. It was springtime and the flowers and trees were in full bloom everywhere. It turned out to be a very nice time to visit. We did have a rental car except for the time we spent in the large cities.

I'll echo what coocoojay said in his post - the tourist information centers are great plus the people everywhere are friendly and helpful. The itinerary he listed would make a good trip. We did a lot of it in our first trip to Australia, including driving the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide which takes you past the 12 Apostles. We never had a problem on either trip finding a place to stay although we did have reservations in the big cities. I was going to add something about us older folks, but decided no, we're all young at heart .

 

[Kathleen]

Thanks Fred.

We are hoping to preplan some stays and wing it with others. It's reassuring to hear from folks who have done it already.

Kathleen