Questions about Perth Australia and Sydney Australia and New Zealand.?

Question

We are planning our first trip to Australia most likely it will be in August and we WANT TO SEE EVERYTHING LOL or at least most of everything lol

We will be staying at least one week (if not longer) in Perth and Sydney and we also want to go to New Zealand for at least one week.

*What is there to do and see in Perth Australia? What places should we go?

*What is there to do and see in Sydney Australia? What places should we go?

*Is it better just to fly from Perth to Sydney or is there a different way? Driving or Bus or Whatever?

After Sydney we want to fly to New Zealand. We don’t know too much about New Zealand so I think we should just go to the capital (Wellington)

*But what other city suggestion do you make on where to go in New Zealand? (Rather than going to Wellington)?

*What things are there to do and see in Wellington OR the city you picked?

If I remember anything else to say I have add more details but for now thanks for helping.

City or countryside I don’t care I just wanted you option on where to go in New Zealand and what to do there?

I liked mostly all of your answers so it was really had to choose so I put the question in voting

Thanks to all of your for you help and input it really helped me make decsions on where to go :)

Answer 1

I can't help you with the Australia questions, as I haven't been there.

Most people don't really go to New Zealand for the cities. If that's definitely what you want to do, Wellington is my favourite, but it would be a shame to miss out on the stunning countryside in both islands. A week isn't long enough to do much, though, so you'd be best off doing some research and deciding where to focus your trip.

Answer 2

From Perth the Margaret River area and the Pinnacles, which is a day trip from Perth. Perth to Sydney is like Los Angeles to Washington, it is a LONG way and half the trip is over desert. Use a plane. Sydney - obvious things -Opera House, Harbour Bridge - you can walk over it and even climb to the top on a guided tour. Hyde Park and the Domain are worth a casual stroll. Try Luna Park, also the Darling Harbour museums -there is a 200 year old working steam engine and another over 150 years old, just for a start. Take the Manly Ferry. Get a tour out to Blackheath and Katoomba for some mountain scenery, check out the (false but romantic) story of Govett's Leap. Go to Jenolan Caves.

New Zealand -North Island, I'd recommend the Bay of Islands and Rotorua, take a look at Lake Taupo and the central volcanoes down the "Desert Road". Napier on the east coast for the art deco buildings. Whakatane on the bay of Plenty is supposed to have been one of the original landing places of the Maori people. Waitomo Caves are worth looking at. South Island - Skiing will be on near Queenstown and the place will be jumping in August.

Answer 3

Can't help you with Oz but it would be Such a waste to go to NZ and only do the boring commonplace city of Wellington. The South Island is better than the North, more to do and see. I would recommend flying into Christchurch instead and renting a car to travel along the South for the week. If you really want, you can take the ferry across to the North for a day or two as well.

One of my favorite places is Kaikoura at the North end of the South island, nice little town with gorgeous mountains and sunsets. Lots to do including shark diving, seasonal whale watching, large seal colonies you can walk out to, horse back riding, and even fly a small plane yourself with the local flight club. The tourist centres in all NZ cities are top notch and should be your first stop for info.

I also highly recommend the Southern Scenic Drive between Dunedin & Queenstown, allow two days but can be done in one if you really want. Dunedin is a great town as well but not too much to do, some gorgeous old architecture and a great penguin sighting tour offered by Twilight Tours. Queenstown is a must see if you are into the adventure sports otherwise a beautiful pass through. The glaciers are just outside of that. If you are the outdoorsy type, you might want to devote some time to driving up the West Coast of the South Island and doing some hiking and kayaking.

Christchurch can be a nice day trip but not too much to do there. There used to be the bone carving studio where you could make your own necklace as a souvenir but I think it closed. The aquarium in the square is worth a look for the Kiwi bird exhibit and the Animal Preserve outside of town is also enjoyable.

If you do the North Island, I would recommend Rotorua for the hot pools, the geyser park, and the Maori Village and Shows. If you are not afraid of heights, the Waitomo Caves are amazing but you have to stretch out onto a trapeze type thing with no restraints looking straight down hundreds of feet BEFORE they can strap you in to repel into the cave. My legs nearly gave out and our guide said he had a pilot that couldn't even make it.

It depends a lot on what you like and want to do. There is Soooo much to do and see in NZ you will probably end up wanting to come back for another 2-weeks! I recommend going to your local library, getting a guidebook, and picking your favorites. But don't waste your trip on boring Wellington.

Answer 4

Perth to Sydney is about 4000km, it will take you a while to drive it. If you don't want to fly - which is obviously the quickest - take the Indian Pacific, the train that crosses the continent. Go either first or second class with a sleeper, you really don't want to sit up for three days. First Class is very comfortable. There is much to see in Perth and much more in Sydney. I suggest you read Bill Bryson's book "Down Under" before you decide, it will give you lots of good ideas.

Answer 5

I can't help you with the Australian questions but I can with the New Zealand ones.

*After Sydney we want to fly to New Zealand. We don’t know too much about New Zealand so I think we should just go to the capital (Wellington)?
Wellington is a good place to have a holiday but you can get lost with its big buildings, you can visit:The Wellington Museum (and its free), beehive(where NZ do their politicians), beaches and I think that's it, they don't have many places to visit.

*But what other city suggestion do you make on where to go in New Zealand? (Rather than going to Wellington)?
Auckland city it is very beautiful but when you go inside the city you can get lost, places to visit:casinos(in city) sky tower ( it is NZ's tallest building) malls (heaps and heaps) and other enjoyable things to visit check on guides that you can find in flight centres about NZ (New Zealand).

Answer 6

I haven't spent much time in Perth but try checking out Freemantle. There's lots of shops around there and a couple of pubs too.

Sydney - there's heaps for tourists. You can climb the Harbour Bridge, visit Bondi Beach (Sundays they have a market too), you could also go outside of town and visit the Blue Mountains on a day trip - it's pretty nice there. I'd recommend taking a ferry from Circular Quay (near the Harbour Bridge and visiting Taronga Zoo. Not only will you get to see lots of Australian animals but it has a spectacular view of the harbour and the ferries are a major part of that (as much as it pains me to say it sometimes!!) Around Circular Quay there is The Rocks Precinct. You'll find lots of little shops around there and lots of bars too. (The Lowenbrau, although German style, is excellent for meals and some oompa oompa music as entertainment too. It gets booked out pretty early though)

I wouldn't recommend travelling from Perth to Sydney by bus - te plane flight alone is really long. (You'd be looking at constant driving for over 24hrs by bus) but that's just me, it depends on your budget if you want to do that or not.

Have fun!

Answer 7

What in particular do you want to see in Perth? It is only a small place, and while being pretty, the city isn't very exciting. The flight alone will take you a good four hours so I would suggest that being your best route.

Btw, Bill Bryson's book, while being entertaining isn't exactly the best resource on the country. Go and check out lonelyplanet.com or frommers.com for some more information.

Answer 8

You've asked a huge and very subjective set of questions, which will be confusing to communicate and answer. So my best attempt is to make you aware of the very good National Tourism Site of Australia and the State and Territory websites.

These are well researched and understand the things that make the visits most special.

Australia:http://www.tourismrankings.com
NSW:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/New-South-Wales/
QLD:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/Queensland/
TAS:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/Tasmania/
Western Aus:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/Western-Australia/
Victoria:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/Victoria/
South Australia:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/South-Australia/
NT:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/Northern-Territory/
ACT:http://www.tourismrankings.com/Australia/States-Cities/Australian-Capital-Territory/

New Zealand:http://www.tourismrankings.com/New-Zealand/

Your most important vacation assets are time, so choose journey's between places if they offer you value in he experience, otherwise fly.

For accommodation in the big places use Cheaperthanhotels - Australia and New Zealand - there are others but these are very useful for booking places outside of the last minute period and also inside it:

Australia:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.com.au/Australia/
Sydney:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.com.au/Australia/Sydney/
Melbourne:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.com.au/Australia/Melbourne/
Perth:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.com.au/Australia/Perth/

NZ:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.com.au/New-Zealand/
Wellington:http://www.cheaperthanhotels.com.au/New-Zealand/Wellington/

You can sort the results by location, price, star rating and last minute or year round. Locating close to the attractions you want to see will save you a lot of time.

Answer 9

Take Ken E's advice about NZ. Don't go to the major cities you can do that in any country. You should really check out the beautiful smaller places. Ken E is bang on the nail with everything he said. I am originally from the North Island from Whakatane, and he has named some definite must sees. However I now live in the south island in Wanaka near Queenstown, and it will definitely be hopping in August. You really need to pick one island to visit, and they are both amazing. I think if you are coming in winter, you would find the South Island awesome, especially Central Otago with snow capped mountains and super clean lakes and rivers. check out this website to help you make up your mind www.tourism.net.nz

Answer 10

You and your brother could come on a 1-2 year WHV (whivh is most likely what your mother did) - this is just an EXTENDED HOLIDAY visa which you are permitted to take temporary jobs to fund your travel. It is not an immigration visa and the expectation is that you return to the UK after you have had your fun, and return to being an adult in the UK. Your mother being retired will only be able to qualify now for an investment visa (a new visa just started) which means she has to invest over 3.2 million pounds into the Australian economy (depending on the state she decides to live in up to 1.5 million pounds must be given to the state government as a no interest loan. This is a "buy yourself" a place in Australia - dont expect to se the money again.