Planning a trip to Australia in October for 2 weeks, help in planning

[Drumguy]

The wife and I have big birthdays this Fall and are thinking of 2 weeks in Eastern Australia. Family member suggested Sydney, Tazmania and the Great Barrier Reef. Other options are a shorter visit, maybe the south island of NZ with a stop in Fiji or Tahiti on the way back. Appriciate any ideas!

 

[Waquoit]

The great barrier reef is a must. Must. We went to an opera at the Sydney Opera House. That was pretty cool, maybe the intermission was the best part where you just looked out over Sydney Harbor at night. Just an incredible sight. One pass takes you on all the transit available, buses, light rail, and ferries in Sydney.

Melbourne is a pretty awesome city. Check out the great ocean Drive. From here until the trip read the books and see what looks good. Just make sure you look right before you cross the street. The one time you don’t is when the car is coming. Trust me. And just a reminder, the south Island of New Zealand can get pretty cold weather in winter.

 

[Drumguy]

The great barrier reef is a must. Must. We went to an opera at the Sydney Opera House. That was pretty cool, maybe the intermission was the best part where you just looked out over Sydney Harbor at night. Just an incredible sight. One pass takes you on all the transit available, buses, light rail, and ferries in Sydney.

Melbourne is a pretty awesome city. Check out the great ocean Drive. From here until the trip read the books and see what looks good. Just make sure you look right before you cross the street. The one time you don’t is when the car is coming. Trust me. And just a reminder, the south Island of New Zealand can get pretty cold weather in winter.

Thsnks, good tips. I've been to South Africa and the UK, so I know there will be some omg moments with trafffic which will be very dangerous! I heard Tazmania is amazing so we were not necessarily going to Melbourne, should we reconsider? Is there a place on the Great Barrier Reef to go? Doesn't it run the whole northern coast?

 

[storrsroars]

Went back in 2003, stayed on the east coast - Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, GBR.

Definitely Great Barrier Reef, although my wife needed a barf bag on the trip out and back. It's a longer trip than you might think.

We saw La Boheme at the Opera House. I'd recommend going whatever is playing there. Sydney was nice, but other than Bondi beach, if seemed like a warmer Toronto. Good Asian fusion food, wine was ridiculously cheap when we went - should still be a bargain.

If you like wine, find a broker. It's worth stocking up. We shipped back about AU$700 of wine, and even with cost of shipping, saved a ton over buying same in US. They'll even set you up with a tasting to map your palate for a few bucks.

Good zoo in Brisbane, wife got to hold a koala, didn't catch Chlamydia. Gold Coast has nice beaches and surfing/belly boards, but mostly touristy, however, if you're driving from Sydney to Cairns, it's a good place to stop. Probably better to fly though - intracountry flights were cheap when we went.

We also stopped in Auckland on way there. It cut flight time from 17+ hrs to 14. Auckland is a nice clean city, great harbor, great food and a world-class aquarium worth visiting.

I would've loved to go to Tasmania, but time didn't allow. If I ever went back, I'd definitely spend time there.

Keep in mind that tf you're driving around, they use speed cameras, so a month or so after you get back home, you might find the rental car company is sending you a bill for tickets

 

[Waquoit]

Thsnks, good tips. I've been to South Africa and the UK, so I know there will be some omg moments with trafffic which will be very dangerous! I heard Tazmania is amazing so we were not necessarily going to Melbourne, should we reconsider? Is there a place on the Great Barrier Reef to go? Doesn't it run the whole northern coast?

For the GBR, we flew to Cairns and took a boat out to a section of the reef (abt.1.5 hrs.). You had the option to scuba or snorkel. I went with snorkel because it got you in the water right away. I thought it was amazing, it's like swimming in a tropical fish tank. Never found Nemo but plenty of Dory's and angel fish.

If it's an either/or I would choose Tasmania. Never been but as nice as Melbourne is, it's just another big city. We went to a play blind at the Arts center. I figured it didn't matter if it was from Oz. The play was fine but turns out it was set in Pittsburgh.

 

[Jasper Husky]

We spent a Christmas and New Year there visiting my GF's daughter who was teaching there for a year, including seeing the fireworks over the Sydney Bridge on NY's from above the Opera House and had a great time.

Some additional suggestions:
1.Climb the Sydney Bridge - good story to come home with and much less scary than I expected as you are all harnessed up and some pretty spectacular views.
2. Side trip to "The Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation located in the southern part of the Northern Territory in Australia. It is a sacred site for the Aboriginal people."
3. The seas were too rough to go to the Reef so we tooled around Port Douglas area.
4. Boat ride around Sydney Harbor.
5. Bondi beach

My GF's daughter has spent time in NZ on several occasions and loved it.

However, prepare yourself for the long plane ride. The second leg from LA to Sydney took something like 15 hours.

Enjoy.

 

[Waquoit]

However, prepare yourself for the long plane ride. The second leg from LA to Sydney took something like 15 hours.

If you can swing it DG, go business class. It was so worth it.

 

[Drumguy]

If you can swing it DG, go business class. It was so worth it.

We’re going to try. I hope to use miles, I’ve been saving them and paying cash for tickets to go back and forth to SFO to see my kids!

 

[Lafayette]

If in Tasmania, say high to Jacob Furphy's family with "greetings from Storrs"!