Title pretty much says it all.
What in Sydney and Auckland is not to be missed? I probably won’t have any transportation other than busses and the like. I’m 19, with a group of 18-19 year old guys, so museum type stuff probably won’t be high on our list of stuff to do, but if they’re way cool, then its a possibility.
I visited Sydney and Auckland back in 93’ and there are plenty of things less advertised that you should see… Like the Blue mountains outside of Sydney… You’ll see Parrots flying around freely and a beautiful landscape… When your there don’t forget to ask about the “three witches”. And of course there’s the outback. “King’s Cross” is where you don’t want to be in Sydney… it’s the area’s Red light district. You should visit the Sydney Opera House of course, but bare in mid that they will not let you take pictures inside due to the secretive nature of it’s architecture. Sydney is a wonderful town and you should go site seeing all throughout it… there are some really nice houses on the bay that you might want to tour around as well. You might also want to visit the beach too. Beautiful blue water.
I don’t remember much of Auckland… I spent most of my time in Rotorua which is a geothermal hot spot…fun to visit but a bit Stinky in some parts. If you’re in to skiing, some of the best skiing can be done in Southern NZ.
Can’t help you on Sydney, as my first trip to Australia will be in 2004 (fate willing). I’m counting the days already.
From Auckland, one thing you absolutely have to do is take the InterCity bus to Rotorua to check out the geysers, boiling mud pits, and other cool geothermal stuff. It’ll be about a four-hour bus ride, so staying the night is probably the best idea, but it’s (just) doable as a day trip, and well worth the time it takes to get there.
Ah well, I see Thaidog beat me to it. Wish I could offer some further suggestions about Auckland, but all that comes to mind is that the Sky Tower isn’t really worth the money, but they do have some nice parks and a pretty decent zoo. However, the best stuff in New Zealand is outside of the cities (it’s a shame you aren’t staying longer, because I would have more suggestions about the South Island).
Lunch at Doyle’s, Watson’s Bay is a must. It’s pricey, but worth it.
Also, pack a lunch and catch the ferry to Taronga Zoo for a picnic.
Theme Parks:
Wonderland Sydney
Luna Park
Sega World
Shopping:
Paddy’s Market (near Chinatown)
Queen Victoria Building
Town Hall Arcade
Beaches/ Restaurants/ Shops:
Bondi
Manly
Sight Seeing:
The Rocks
Double Bay
Public Transportation’s pretty good. You should get day-passes, or the SydneyPass. Bring ID. Students get discounts.
I second the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. Also, you should see if you can get reservations for a climb of the Sydney Harbor Bridge…I have never done it but I hear it is quite an adventure. It is very popular though, so sign up as soon as possible. Here is a link: http://www.bridgeclimb.com/default.htm
That’s not how it was explained to me when I was there. You are only not allowed to take pictures in the performance spaces, and then only because some of the groups that use the space have the rights to their set designs and costumes and such.
There is nothing secret about the building’s architecture AFAIK. It has been open to the public for 30 years…how secret could it be?
All of herwono’s suggestions are great, BTW. You might also want to check out the Darling Harbor area…a little touristy, though.
Even if you aren’t normally into this kind of thing the Royal Botanic Gardens are worth at least one visit. Great views of the harbor there.
When pldennison toured Sydney some moons ago, options were discussed this thread .
For Auckland, especially if you like water there’s plenty to do around the harbour…
Tourist-type information for Auckland.
I’d second that bit about the Skytower – not worth a special trip. Rotorua, of course, is awesome, and actually has a lot of stuff there for your age group.
for auckland theres all the cafes and resturants along ponsonby road , K rd for all the night clubs and “adult” entertainments, both in the center of the city.
if you can figure out our appalling bus system and get yourself into south auckland theres the otara markets.
for accessible beachs theres the north shore, a 15min bus trip from the city center.
I spent four days in Sydney a few years ago. I was passing through on my way to Perth, but I thought I’d stop in Sydney for a few days. There were a couple of places that I quite enjoyed:
– The Marine Museum. (Or is it Maritime Museum?) Anyway, I know you said you didn’t go for museums and such, but you might like this one–it has a destroyer and a submarine on display. Both have been decommissioned, and both are left as they were before decommissioning, so you get to see exactly how the sailors lived on them. You use a little self-guided tour with commentary of everything on a CD in a player they give you as you wander through the ship and the sub. Never having been on a modern destroyer nor a submarine before, I found it really quite interesting.
– Manly. You and your friends might like this a little more. Take the ferry across the harbour to Manly, where you’ll find the Corso, which is a pedestrian mall lines with shops and pubs and whatnot. At the end of the Corso is Manly Beach–a nice wide big sand beach on the Pacific where you and your friends might want to have a few beers while watching the surfers and the girls on the beach.
Have fun–Sydney is a great city, and one I’d like to return to someday.
Spoons: Maritime Museum.
herweno’s given a basic rundown of Sydney’s major attractions, except I find the Rocks a bit touristy. Still, you’ll want to see it if it’s your first time in the city. And you’ve got Centrepoint tower aka AMP Tower for your obligatory have a look-at-the-city-from-very-high-up bit.
As has been mentioned, you don’t want to spend too much time around Kings’ Cross, and I’ll also mention Redfern in this warning as well - I don’t hear good things.
As far as transportation goes, you should be able to get anywhere using Public transportation: most popular places are easily and cheaply accessable, either by bus (eastern suburbs including Bondi beach) or train (nearly everywhere else). The main station is Central, which is at the southern end of the CBD, and from there you can catch trains out to the suburbs or the Blue Mountains, or, around the city you can catch the city circle which takes you, as its name implies, in a circular ring around the CBD. I wouldn’t take the monorail, because it’s far too expensive to be worth it, but I guess it’s alright if you just want to sit back and have a look around the city.
Um… hmmm… what do you want to know? Anything in particular that you want to see/do?
We’re going to see the Blue Mountains and seeing the Opera House is a must (it’s one of the most well known buildings in the world. How could we possibly pass it up?). Other than that, we have no idea about what to see or do. We’ll probably go to some clubs at night, but that still leaves at least 18 hours a day free.
Let me turn this around on you guys: If you were in my situation, what would you go see? Money is not too big of a concern, so don’t rule something out because it’s a tad pricey. Also, we’re going to be in Sydney on July 4, and being good Americans, we’d like to see something blow up to commemorate our independence. Any chance of that? Either buying shit to blow up, or any American-themed places that might have something?
You might like to see a football game - there are Rugby League matches all over town, and I think there’s an Aussie Rules match at the Sydney Cricket Ground that weekend (against the West Coast Eagles? Anybody keep tabs on the wussball?)
[/QUOTE]
Also, we’re going to be in Sydney on July 4, and being good Americans, we’d like to see something blow up to commemorate our independence. Any chance of that? Either buying shit to blow up, or any American-themed places that might have something? **
[/QUOTE]
You might be able to find a group of Americans who are having a party (try around the universities, for a start), or American bars, but I don’t think you’ll find much.
Fireworks are - for all practical purposes - illegal. You might be able to get some under-the-counter in either Chinatown or if you were to drive to Canberra, but I wouldn’t recommend it and I certainly wouldn’t recommend setting them off. You might get out of it with a warning, you might get a few hundred dollars’ fine, you might get to spend a night or two in Villawood awaiting deportation. Basically, it depends how the cops who catch you feel about it.
And, depending on where you go in town, you might like to pretend you’re Canadian for the duration. Open hostility to Americans is rare, but I saw two incidents on the weekend (one in Newtown, the other on a train) that make me pass this on, and hassling American tourists is kind of a national hobby. I once sent two of them on a day trip to Broken Hill.
Don’t count on the Bridgeclimb - unless you get really lucky, there’s a six-to-nine-month waiting list.
If the weather’s really bad, catch a ferry to Manly - it’s a great ride.
Two of the theme parks herwono mentioned are closed and the other’s not worth bothering with.
Remember that it’s mid-winter. Pack accordingly and don’t expect to be hitting the beaches.
Apologies - I’ll never try to code in the “Your Reply:” box again.
Long-term Sydneysider here (until three years ago):
I see you’re from Southern California, so you may have had your fill of excellent zoos and stuff, but if you’re not morally opposed to such attractions then you should definitely check out Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Aquarium. The former has a good collection, and is located spectacularly by Sydney Harbour. The latter is fantastic if you’re a lover of sealife; the large tanks where you walk underneath the sharks and rays are amazing.
It’s good that you’re getting out to see the Blue Mountains. The attraction that Thaidog was referrring to is the Three Sisters, not the Three Witches :). It’s located right near the town of Katoomba, and is really worth a look. Another great view not far from Katoomba is Govett’s Leap. Try to go on a day without fog, however, because if the weather is bad you can barely see the rock formations. If you’re already up in the mountains and have a few more hours, you might want to check out Jenolan Caves also.
I’m not sure of your exact itinerary, but if you’re in Sydney on July 6 and you’re a sports fan, you might like to take in a game of Australian Rules football. The Sydney Swans are taking on the West Coast Eagles at 1:10pm that day, at the Sydney Cricket Ground. You could also catch any one of a half-dozen or so National Rugby League games.
If you like good seafood, i second Big Nik’s suggestion of lunch at Doyle’s. A good way to get over there is to take a water taxi across from Circular Quay. It’s not a really long ride, but it’s fun and gives you a good look at the harbour and the foreshores from the water. For more leisurely water transportation, take a Sydney ferry over to Manly. It’s nice to sit outside on the deck of the boat, but it might be a bit cool in July for this.
The Queen Victoria Building is lovely and definitely worth seeing, although the shops inside are generally horrendously overpriced. I would also suggest a visit to the Sydney Town Hall, which is next door to the QVB, but their website says that the building will be closed from July 1 for renovations. I’d probably avoid Kings Cross, mainly because it’s just rather seedy and boring. Neither it nor Redfern are as dangerous as some people seem to believe. Most of the hype surrounding these areas is generated by people who:
a) have barely (if ever) been there
b) are more comfortable in the suburbs than in the city
Anyone with experience in a big American city will find Australians’ notions of a “dangerous part of town” pretty laughable. That’s not to say that nothing bad ever happens; only that the hype usually far exceeds the reality (and this is the case in many US cities too).
I find The Rocks a bit touristy, but there are some good pubs in the area, including a few that make their own excellent brews. Some of these are worth checking out, especially on a quiet afternoon. If you don’t like waiting ages to get served, avoid the area on Friday and Saturday nights, as it gets very busy.
One thing i never got around to doing before i left Sydney is climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This costs $A145-175, depending on what time of day you go. It’s not really cheap, but if you get a nice day the view from the top should be well worth it.
By the way, for those with high speed internet access, the Sydney Opera House has a fantastic virtual tour, in which you can “walk” all around the building, inside and out.
And, on posting, i see that Bik Nik has pre-empted many of my suggestions. 
True, but at 18-19 he’s legal for ‘seedy’ out here and he’s not at home, so who knows? Hell - it’s a holiday.
Good point. Look for the Australian Hotel (at which you should try the Burragorang Bock, and they make a pretty decent pizza) and the Lord Nelson Hotel which makes a range of good beers, especially the Old Admiral.
Hmmm… I remember them saying that to us as we walked through… maybe it was hype to get us to sneak a few pictures… who knows.
Also, we stayed at the Southern Cross Hotel. I recommend it to anybody.