The time has come at long last for me to take a real vacation, and the destination is Australia and New Zealand. Our itinerary is now set in terms of flights and most accommodations, but as for how we spend our time, we have a lot of freedom. We’ll be traveling in a group of 3 people who are hardy travelers and enjoy a mix of hitting the big attractions and trying off-the-beaten-track stuff. This will be from around the last week in October through mid November, if it matters. We are planning to rent a car in Melbourne and Auckland, but not Sydney.
We’ll be in each place for about 4 or 5 days so we have plenty of time to fill. So far, we have the following sketchy plans:
Sydney: doing the BridgeClimb, Taronga Zoo, maybe the aquarium, ???
Melbourne: a day trip to Ballarat (my sister studied abroad there and wants to revisit an animal sanctuary), find a winery on the way to or from, no actual plans in Melbourne itself yet.
Auckland: because I am a huge nerd, I’ve gotten the agreement of the group to go to Matamata to visit the Hobbiton set from Lord of the Rings - my idea was to stay overnight in or near Matamata, maybe hit Tauranga on the way back. No definite plans in Auckland itself yet.
I’d also love any general trips about traveling to Australia and/or New Zealand as well! Anything that we can do to not be obnoxious tourists is always appreciated.
Yes, the Powerhouse Museum should definitely be on your list. The BridgeClimb is pricey, but well worth it. The views from the top of the Bridge are spectacular.
The Zoo is impressive, as is the Aquarium. You might also consider the Australian National Maritime Museum, which is close by the Aquarium in Darling Harbour.
Other suggestions:
the Circular Quay/Rocks area: touristy, but quite fun
do a harbour cruise/ferry trip to Manly, where there’s a great beach
organised day trip(s) to the Blue Mountains (scenery)/Hunter Valley (wineries)/Southern Highlands (twee antique shops, scenery)
If you’re not renting a car in Sydney, consider getting “all in one” public transport tickets which cover trains, buses and ferries: MyMulti Day Pass
If you’re in Sydney on Friday 11 November, you could even come along to my choir’s performance, entitled American Journeys.
Jenolan Caves is about 3 hours from the CBD. Make a trip of it in two stages; to Katoomba, do the walk around The Three Sisters and the Giant Staircase in the Blue Mountains, then Jenolan the next day.
Oct/Nov you can catch a beach anywhere between Palm and Wanda.
Both the Aussie Rules and Rugby will be over.
Audley Royal National Park, though you’ll need a vehicle to get there.
Something easy on the budget, take the Rivercat from Circular Quay to Parramatta and back.
Don’t try it on the weekend, as it’s usually packed with sightseers then.
Vaucluse House and the trip along South Head Road
The Harbour islands including Cockatoo, Fort Denison, Shark, Garden, Rodd etc.
Auckland’s harbours are spectacular but it is itself not very interesting. If you are heading to Matamata then you are close to Rotorua volcanic area which is well worth seeing. I don’t know that Tauranga is of much interest. Personally I’d be heading for Lake Taupo or Mt Rangitoto rather than Tauranga, but then I don’t know the area very well.
Don’t be surprised if you can’t get to Hobbiton, as they will still be shooting The Hobbit at that time, and that’s going to be Spring, a picturesque time.
With the car in Melbourne … winery areas the biggest is Yarra Valley … but also Macedon Ranges / Heathcote areas have a fair number.
Daylesford is a great place to visit out of Melbourne … you could combine this with Ballarat - gorgeous restaurant there is The Lake House … there are also natural springs so lots of massage/day spa places.
Make sure you allow a day in Melbourne CBD to experience the lovely laneways and cute cafes.
I second the ferry to Manly Beach (it’s really not all THAT manly a beach, btw) and the three sisters, if you’re a fan of the American Southwest, which that topography resembles. I loved walking through the Botanic Gardens, which is in downtown Sydney and quite breathtaking, with bats hanging everywhere when I was there.
If you’re going to NZ, skip Auckland, Rotorua is a great suggestion, the Gisborne area would be good if you’re into Winery tours - although I suspect Hunter Valley does it better.
Hit all the adventure stuff in the south island - from para punting to white water rafting, jet boating, can do mountain biking in Queenstown (they deliver you and bike to top of mountain via cable car and you ride down), bungy jumping (of course) the Glaciers…Auckland is just a city.
But you end up going to Parramatta. The best ferry trip is Circular Quay to Watsons Bay. Fish and chips at Doyles taking the Wharf option and head off for a walk to The Gap.
The ferry ride from Paramatta into Sydney is excellent. The Olympic village was just “ok”. I visited in the fall season and the micro-climates North of Sydney in the wine country were amazing. (mostly white wines with some cellar doors selling reds). I hiked the Blue Mountains- definitely one of my most favorite hikes of a lifetime. Do not miss the rugby matches in either Auckland or Syndey- I had the pleasure of rooting for the Paramatta home team twice.
Tauranga was just “ok” for me. (I was there on business and stayed the week-end) The drive along the coast line to Auckland was spectacular! Reminded me of what the California coast line must have looked like in the 40’s and 50’s. Plan on spending some time on the beach- you can create a natural hot tub in the sand. The museum in Auckland was just 'ok". I toured an awesome “authentic” reproduction of Cooks ship in the harbor- and if you can, take the 4 hour sailing tour. These young sailors are so talented and fun- hang out at the pub’s afterwards and if possible- buy them a brew or two.
In Melbourne, a good (read: BIG) daytrip would be to go to Healesville Sanctuary where you will find the whole range of Australian native animals, some up close and personal. A slight detour on the way home will find you in the Yarra Valley to sample all sorts of alcoholic delights, and depending on your level of inebriation afterwards, a final stop at the top of Mt Dandenong after dark where you will look out over the lights of metropolitan Melbourne, awed by what a frakking HUGE city it is.
Another (biggish) day trip (leave very early in the morning) would be to visit the Mornington Peninsula, catch a ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff , take a drive a little way down the Great Ocean Rd (definitely a must-see for the breathtaking views) then back to Melbourne along pretty decent freeways.
In Melbourne itself, our Botanical Gardens are pretty sweet, Federation Square is an interesting hour or so’s wander. A ride on our trams to Melbourne University and the surrounding colleges (old sandstone and bluestone buildings and chapels) is fascinating, Old Melbourne Gaol where our ‘local hero’ Ned Kelly was hanged (still shows the gallows etc etc).
For eating in Melbourne, try Victoria Street Richmond for great Vietnamese food, Lygon St Carlton for all things Italian, Footscray and the western suburbs for (again) Viet and now African foods, but you can pretty much get all of these in any inner suburb nowadays too.
Forgot to mention that any of the Melbourne sights and ethnic food experiences are all within a 10 minute tram-ride of the CBD. If you want kosher, it’s 20 minutes.
Yes and there is this very odd looking construction you can see from there, sort of whitish and bendy. Perhaps you could poke around and get close. Maybe someone with a better understanding could post a link?
Botanic gardens, Elizabeth Bay house, Nielsen Park, Bondi to Bronte walk, Billy Kwong’s.
I didn’t specifically suggest the Opera House because I assumed that would be covered under the ‘Circular Quay’ heading. In any case, every overseas tourist that I have taken there has been singularly unimpressed. “It’s so much smaller than I imagined” is the standard response, and then they turn and start gazing at the bridge and harbour. Obviously **fluiddruid **can go to a performance there if he wants to, or do one of the tours if he’s particularly interested. Otherwise a five minute photo stop seems to satisfy most people.
Sorry to bump but I was hoping for any more ideas, especially for New Zealand, since we’re getting close. We will be overnighting once in the Matamata area so anything from Matamata northward is potentially possible. Anything in particular in Rotorua?
Here’s my picture of the broken egg shells close up. You can see hat they look more like square eggs all glued together. But I have no idea why they did all that.
From Matamata:
SouthEast to Rotorua. Go to the hot spas and geysers, etc. visit the blue lake which is a pretty good place for a picnic or something, visit Mt/Lake tarawera, the buried village.
East to tauranga: Dunno TBH
North to the coromandel peninsula. some pretty rugged mountain ranges. Some good wild New Zealand country.
South to Taupo: Similar to Rotorua. Various Geothermal attractions. Nice lake. A long trip from Matamata.
If you have some time in Auckland: A day trip to Piha Beach/ Waitakere ranges on the west coast. Or Muriwai beach 1hr NW of auckland. Or catch a ferry to one of the Islands in the hauraki gulf and chill out.
There are good walking/Hiking tracks all over NZ. Investigate at Department of Conservation website.
Sorry, at work so keeping it brief. investigat with google maps/streetview and www.wises.co.nz
We will be overnighting once in the Matamata area so anything from Matamata northward is potentially possible. Anything in particular in Rotorua?