Australia and Oceania Travel Forum

Hi All
I am headed for Brisbane, and am booked into the Oaks Aurora Towers.
I will be working Monday,Tuesday and I have Wednesday and Thursday off.

I would definately like to Head to the Goldcost, can anyone recommend where to board a train or bus? I assume it will take an hour, how much would i need to pay. I would like to maybe spend half a day there.
If anyone could please suggest and itenary. I like photography.

Dont mind meeting up woth someone either...thanks for your help.

Hello!
I am looking some contacts people who living in Nauru.
I want open buisness in Nauru and want to speak about this.
I have big investment for this island.
My e-mail alexthai@bk.ru
Alexey

Hi everyone,

Hubby and I are planning a trip for the last week in Feb & into March next year and would appreciate any advice and tips on the following itinerary we have planned.
We don't want to rush from place to place and can include a few extra days if you think we are missing anything.
We are planning on hiring a car at Auckland airport & doing a self-drive tour, dropping it off at Wellington airport.

Day 1 - Arrive Auckland from Sydney
Day 2/3 - Auckland: whale/Dolphin Safari, Museum, Aquarium & Skytower
Day 4 - Rangitoo Island then free time wandering the city
Day 5 - Travel to Hobbiton for tour, continue on to Waitamo caves stopping at Kiwi house at Otorohanga before booking in to accommodation.
Day 6 - Cave Tours and travel to Rotorua
Day 7 - Rotorua: Whakarewarewa village & Hells Gate
Day 8 - Drive to Whakatane for White Island Volcano Tour, back to Rotorua Accomodation.
Day 9 - Rotorua:buried village Te Wairoa & rainbow springs kiwi village. Maybe Te Puia (not sure if it will be too much thermal stuff considering we are doing thermal stuff on day 11 as well)
Day 10 - Kuirau Park, perhaps the Redwood Memorial Grove Walking Track, paradise valley wildlife park and end day with Tamaki Maori Village hungai dinner.
Day 11 - Drive to Lake Taupo stopping at two places along the way:Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland and Orakei Korako Cave and Thermal Park
Day 12 - Taupo: Huka Falls, Wairakei Tourist Park, Mine Bay rock carving
Day 13 - Drive to Wellington down through Turangi, Waiouru - I believe it is Motorway 1. Looks to be the most direct route but not sure where to stop along the way for rests.
Day 14 - Wellington:Te Papa museum. From my research it appears a full day is needed to see everything.
Day 15 - Wellington: Karori Sanctuary, Cable Car
Day 16 - sealcoast safari, rest of day free to wander
Day 17 - Zoo
Day 18 - Fly back to Sydney

My main question is have I left enough time to see each place before moving on to the next?
Will stay at motels, but thought an apartment with laundry would be better at Rotorua so we can wash our clothes & leave to dry while out (better than wasting time at Laundrymats).

Thanks so much for any advice you have to offer.

Hi all, I am wondering which time of the day would it be ideal for the milford sound cruise. I am targetting 9am cruise due to being cheapest and no traffic or parking worries. But I am not sure if the sun's altitude might affect photography and view. Can you please advise? Thanks!

Hi has anyone used 1cover travel insurance?(I live in Australia) Any good or bad reports. What about the fact that they depreciate items? Is this a major problem?
thanks in advance for your help everyone
Lynee

We have decided not to rent a camper van for our NZ tour, but to combine car+motel (or hotel, guesthouse, B&B, ...).
I am now looking around for easy accomodation throughout NZ, which we can book 1-2 days ahead, depending where we are heading. All we need is a simple, clean place for the night, nothing fancy.

I found a few motel chains covering all major sites in NZ such as
http://www.bellavistamotels.co.nz/
http://www.goldenchain.co.nz/

Anybody has other option to share? places we cover include Rotorua, Tongariro, Wellington, Kaikoura, Greymouth/Hokitika, Glacier, Wanaka, Queenstown, Te Anau, Mt Cook.

Is it about right that accomodation cost around NZ$100 per night for a couple, or would it be easy to find something cheaper if we search for individual accomodation?

We want to avoid the backpacker places (had this enough when we used to be slightly younger), but looking for a simple and clean roof over our head, with ensuite bathroom.

As always, thanks for your help

Thanks to everyone for replies re ATMs and exchanging money - really helpful.

Also can I ask: my debit card is Maestro - is that ok in Australia? - my bank seemed to think it was but at the same time telling me that they are shortly upgrading cards to Visa...

We're planning to do an overnight cruise on Milford Sound. What do we do with our luggage and car? Is there secure parking at Milford Sound? Would appreciate suggestions as we would not normally leave car and luggage just parked in a public car park.

I am travelling to Australia from UK. Please can anyone tell me whether I will get a better rate exchanging money before I leave the UK or whether I will get a good rate from ATMs?

Hi,

As we will be in Christchurch for 2 weeks,
we are thinking of getting a prepaid card from Vodafone
to call back home (Singapore), since my husband will need
to communicate to his clients frequently.

Can we get this prepaid card easily from the Christchurch Intl Airport?
Can the locations of the topping-up of value be easily found?

Thanks,
Melissa.

The good thing is: work will take us to Hawaii next fall for about 2 weeks. Since we are from the east coast of the U,S., we wanted to jump off from there to visit the western part of Aus., New Zealand or the South Pacific islands. We figured it would save travel time and expense to depart from Hawaii. (and we spent almost a month in the east and central parts of Aus. previously)

The bad thing is: all the airline options I can find make it cheaper to fly back to L.A. and then fly westward once again. This seems pointless and time wasting.

If I can't find a more convenient and less expensive airline from Hawaii, then we will probably just fly back to the states and explore some more of the west coast for a couple of weeks, before taking advantage of the free trip back to the east.

Can anyone suggest transportation options from Hawaii that will make it worthwhile to continue west for a couple of weeks?

Thanks- if we don't make it to Aus/NZ this year it will probably be a few years more before we can book the time needed.

hi guys,

we are spending 7 days in tassie, flying into launceston and flying out of hobart. we are going to hire a car and we were thinking of travelling along the north coast stopping off for a night in devenport and burnie. perhaps head down west to queenstown or strahan then across to hobart for a nght or two.

my question is does this sound like a reasonable route to take and what are the things to do/see in these places. would you suggest perhaps another route so as to not miss out on any "must see/do" attractions in the southern region. we are going to be there between the 14th and 21st december.

if you have any suggestions of any top notch places to stay or eat out at aswell as some good drinking spots that would be very much appreciated.

thanks guys,
mike

Hello,
We are moving from NZ to Qld in Feb and we are looking at Buderim as a place to live. Here we live in a smallish community and our house is situated next to a bush reserve and I like that Buderim seems to have that same lush bushy feel to it. I was wondering if someone could help me with distances - how long to drive to Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, Caloundra and Brisbane? I have read a bit about Buderim Mounstain State School, does the school have a good reputation and how big is it? Thanks in advance.

hi everyone,

my girlfriend and i are hoping to head to australia next novenber for a year on a working holiday visa. Our plan is to stay a few months in one place then move around. whats the best idea for accomodation? Looking for something clean in a upbeat area. we havnt worked out a budget yet.

how would we go about renting a campervan?....... Prices?

Would like to get to know local people around our age.(23 and 21)

Any info will be appreciated.

Shawn and Nikki

I would be travelling to perth for 12days for the first time. would love if anyone could recommend any good place for food and sigh-seeing. I have included rottnest island.fremantle,swan valley on my list just to name a few. As I have a budget of AUD1000. WHat can I do with AUD1000(includes food,sightseeing,transportation) for 12days in perth. Accommodation need not to worry.

Hi all,
I have to get from Auckland Airport to Parnell, Auckland. What is the best (& cheapest)way to do so - shuttle maybe?

Hi,

Would like to have some advices/recommendations:

Due to our work commitment
we can only have our honeymoon either in Summer Jan or Winter July.

Besides the rates difference (accommodation/vehicle rental etc) in both season, are there any other issues we should keep a lookout for?

Cheers!

We have 15 days between Auckland and Christchurch. Any comment regarding our itinerary is very welcome!

Day 1: Arriving in Auckland, city sightseeing
Day 2: drive to Rotorua via Comorandel Peninsula, stay in Rotorua
Day 3: ½ day Rotorua, afternoon drive to Tongariro National Park
Day 4: ½ day in Whakapapa, afternoon drive to Wellington
Day 5: ferry to Picton, drive to Kaikoura via Belheim
Day 6: Kaikoura
Day 7: Drive to Greymouth or Hokitika via Arthur's Pass
Day 8: Glacier, evening in Haast or Wanaka
Day 9: ????
Day 10: Drive to Te Anau
Day 11: early morning to Milford Sound, afternoon back to Queenstown
Day 12: Queenstown
Day 13: Mt Cook to Christchurch
Day 14: Christchurch
Day 15: flight out of Christchurch

It may be quite a bit of driving on certain days, but it should still be manageable. As you can see, there is a still day buffer, and I am considering a few options
- one additional day on the north island, either Waitomo Caves, or more time in Rotorua/Lake Taupo/Whakapapa
- one additional day in Wanaka or Te Anau, activity/hike
- or one additional day near Mt Cook between Quenstown and Christchurch

Other questions:
- Any opinion on Greymouth, Hokitika, or should we drive all the way to the Glacier and sleep there?
- Comorandel -> worth the detour or would it be too much driving?
- Rotorua/Taupo -> how much is there really to see?

Hi all!

Me & my wife do have a stop-over at Sydney from 30.12.09 - 02.01.10 and we are currently planning our stay:

a) we are looking for central accommondation in the centre of Sydney: nothing luxury --> clean, friendly atmosphere, central and reasonable prices. Maybe somebody has a good recommendation for us? What´s average price at this time of the year in Sydney (I fear, it´s expensive)?

b) Has somebody a good idea for New Years Eve? I assume, the fireworks at the opera will be fantastic. What´s a good place to the those? Do you have to be there quite early to find a good "free" place to watch them (e.g.already in the early afternoon?).

c) any other hints / recommendations for us, e.g. good restaurants, bars, clubs in Sydney which we should visit while being 3 nights in Sydney?

Thx in advance for your answers...!!!

Carsten

i would be on a holiday in australia in dec 09. can i get a prepaid SIm card valid for 10 days use in australia at sydney airport??

will this card be useable in new zealand also ??/

what would be the apprx cost of this card and how much talk time will i get ?

Can you please advise the best way to travel from Wellington airport to Westpac stadium. Is it best to go by road or water? Is there a motel near the stadium?

Thanks

Is there an Equitorial Guinea embassy or consulate in Canberra, Australia?

Hello! I hear that surfing is one of the must do things in Australia. Some friends and I are going to Bondi Beach Sydney and would like to take a lesson on surfing. I've been looking up places online and Let's Go Surfing seems to be a great place to start because they've got a website where we can sign up. I'm wondering if you know of any other good surfing shops that do lessons in Bondi that may not have a website and if its possible to just figure it out when we get there and still be able to get lessons without reservations.

Thanks!

I am planning a trip to Santo this month ( end of november ). I went already several times to Luganville, Hog Harbour and Port Olry. Would like to go this time to Matantas ( Big Bay ). What about the conditions of the roads? Manageable with a 4WD ? Possibility of accomodation in Matantas ? I heard the "Vatthe Lodge" is closed. True or not ?

Thanks


PhG

I am planning atrip to Santo this month ( end of november ). I went already several times to Luganville, Hog Harbour aned Port Olry. Would like to go this time to Matantas ( Big Bay ). What about the conditions of the roads? Manageable with a 4WD ? Possibility of aéccomodation in M

Hi all, just another short question, anyone have any comments on the above Motel in Christchurch.
I have read some great reviews, as well as a few dogs.
Anyone been there recently? How was it?
Thanks.
Kevin

Are children allowed to come into the pubs. Everyone tells us that a pub lunch is something not to miss.

Hiya All

My hubby and I will be travelling around NZ and Australia between February to June 2010.

For NZ we will be arriving early February and staying for around 9 to 10 weeks then moving onto Australia. We want to see as much as possible of NZ.

Can you please give me tips on the the following (many many thanks in advance :-):
time split - any tips of how long to spend in each island?

transport - I have been looking at various backpacker bus companies, any recommendations: Magic Travellers Network bus, Stray Travel Bus or Kiwi Experience Bus (seems bit more expensive) all have passes with different routes all around both Islands. The companies offer guides and various trips included and you can 'hop on and off' wherever you want along their routes. the companies say they save you money on hostels etc, is this true?

I think it would be too expensive to hire a car for the whole 10 weeks? Any thoughts. Alternatively from my internet research there is a bus company called NakedBus which looks cheaper - anyone got any experience - is this the local bus company?

accomodation - we are happy to stay in hostels (we'll want double rooms most of the time though being a couple, these look like being about NZ$ 60-70 per room per night) but can you fill me in about camping and costs? i was told it may be cheaper to buy a tent and basic equipment to use in NZ and camp around. Any idea of costs of sites? Any good or bad recommendations :-)

costs? just wondering how expensive it will be for self catering, the odd meal out etc. I've heard that NZ is cheaper than Oz for food, transport, eating out et al. What do you reckon would be a realistic budget daily?

casual work - is it possible to pick up casual work / cash in hand work for fruit picking etc? We are both over 30 so can't get the working visa's for NZ or Oz.

visa's - do you need to sort out a tourist visa if you are staying less than 3 months?

We are British - i'm planning on buying Lonely Planet guide books as they seem to be the best.

Anything other tips let me know. I know the weather will be end of summer, start of Autumn so a good time to be going.

So exciting but also scary too as we are well travelled but never backpacked before.

Cheers
Claire (near Lincoln, UK)

I am travelling alone to Asutralia and New Zealand and will need a cell phone to make local calls and to call and receive calls from Canada regularly. Any advice? I do not own a cell phone and know very little about them

Any tips on particularly good rucksacks for backpacking for 3 months? I've heard about rucksacks which you can pack like suitcases but they sit on your back like a backpack... are they any good?