Where to go? Sydney Australia or Queenstown New Zealand.?

Question

We are planning our trip to moms in Perth Australia. We can't decide were else to go on our way home to LA. Any insight on things to do for kids ages 11 ,7 and 4? We are open to suggestions. Or other places.

Let me back up...1.
We've been to queenstown...we loved it. But there were things we didn't get to do because the youngest was only 8 months old.
2. It'll be during the Christmas break.

We just need Ideas other than what MY MOM wants to do. Where is a really neat place to go?

To: Justin Cue....
What does that have to do with my question? Do you have a vacation suggestion for me? Why do you hate people from New Zealand so much? If you are trying to say don't go there...say it...and suggest something else. JEEEEZZZE!

Answer 1

Queenstown is very small and expensive - think of Aspen in USA - it has been classed as similar to that. It's very nice though. Queenstown would be a huge detour also. You are better seeing other parts of Aussie, then back to LA.

Sydney more to do with the kids and obviously huge compared to Queenstown..... but

I would suggest either the Gold Coast or Cairns.

Sufers pardise on the Gold Coast is stunning....has all the theme parks and endless activities ! Everything for all ages - you won't be bored.
Wet 'n Wild
Seaworld
Dreamworld
Movie World.
They are all listed here - http://www.theme-parks.com.au
Also Steve Irwins Australia Zoo is not to far away … http://www.australiazoo.com.au
Cairns - North Queensland is awesome. World’s largest coral reef system, and on the World Heritage Site listed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au
http://www.barrier-reef-holidays.com
You can do 1/2 day trips to full day trips or longer if you wish to stay at a resort.
Look there is just so much to do it ain't funny.

A great site listing all attractions state by state:
http://www.australianexplorer.com/tourist_attractions

Enjoy yourself on whatever you decide.

Answer 2

I would say Queenstown. Sydney is just another big city like any other big city that you can go to around the world AND, theme parks are theme parks, you've been to one and you've been to them all.

Queenstown is a beautiful spot and is at the heart of 'adventure capital' -- and of all the places in the world where you'd want to experience adventure sport, Queenstown would be the best as that is what they do, all year round. The views are obviously spectacular any time of the year but know also you'll be travelling in a town geared specifically for tourists so it will be expensive.

The wonderful thing about NZ however is that it's not a large place so if you decided you wanted to go elsewhere that would not be such an imposition upon you.

The previous posters comments about Maori history is mostly correct, but not as adverse as he paints it. The maori culture was not 'almost entirely' wiped out as claimed, though urbanisation did play a significant role, the Maori culture, much to the envy of aboriginals in other countries, is alive and strong. The New Zealand Maori and the White Man signed a treaty following civil war and unlike other aboriginals the entire Maori population was represented at the signing of the treaty, not just one or two tribes - but all chiefs of the tribes. Yes there are grievances but the Maori at the time were not as ignorant as the European would have thought. They proved themselves as fierce warriors, savvy businessmen (already trading internationally), seafarers, farmers, worshippers, negotiators and worthy opponents on many fronts.

To conclude, I think a better choice would be to travel to Queenstown than to Sydney.

Answer 3

I t depends on what you're interests are and when you are going. The southern hemisphere's weather is the opposite of ours. Roughly, May through October are the colder months and November through April are the warmer months. Queenstown is the adventure sports capital of the world and you can do almost anything in the vicinity: bungy jumping, sky diving, mountain biking, white water rafting, boogie boarding down white water rivers, skiing, snowboarding...pretty much anything. And it's not that you can just do these things there, it's that Queenstown is probably the best place to do these things, because that's what they do there. Safety is a main concern and it is very organized, as far as booking activities and getting you there. I was 27 when I was there and I was by myself, so I can't specifically say what kind of activities are geared toward kids of those ages. I was only there for a month and I traveled around both islands on the "Kiwi Experience" bus tour. I didn't know a thing about the country before I got there and just took everything in as it happened. Every day was great and that was probably the best single month of my life to date. That's including 7-8 months in Melbourne (partying and working), 2 months traveling up the east coast of Australia, 1 month in Bali (most locals don't like Americans and you can't walk 2 feet without getting hassled to buy something, not to mention the humidity and constant sweating) and about a month split between Fiji and greater Los Angeles (and a day trip to TJ), all on that same trip. I'd even have to say it was better than the 6 weeks I traveled around Europe. Check out this link, copy and paste it to your browser; http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/regions/queenstown/queenstown-home.cfm

The original inhabitants of New Zealand are the Maori. The people and their culture were almost wiped out because of the arrival of the white man. The country has recognized the wrongs that have been done to them and there has been, in recent times, a revival to try to restore as much of their culture as possible. You should definitely do a little research before you go, I wish I had. I think my experience could have been even better. Wow, I had no idea I was going to say that much... I guess I'm telling you to go to Queenstown. Sydney was great and I had a lot of fun there, but from a kid's perspective, I think they would just see it as another big city, with city-type things to do. I think Queenstown, or anywhere in New Zealand will leave a more lasting impression.

Answer 4

When are you travelling?

Queenstown is a small tourist town with a range of mainly adventure based activities. They have some stuff like a lake cruise on a steamboat and a cable car ride, but your kids are likely to be either too young or bored by a lot of the stuff there. Sydney is a big, cosmopolitan city.

Answer 5

If it was in the summer months I'd recommend Australia but as it's during the Winter it's a golden opportunity to see the one and only unlike anything else you can imagine New Zealand.

Answer 6

NZ has a kind of social complexity that you do not encounter in any other country.
It is a small isolated country. So what you think the major source of income is. Of course it is agriculture and tourism.The problem is because salaries are low most educated people leave for better income overseas. This creates a big problem.. As I said it is a small country.So what do think people might feel when most young generation emigrate. Well they feel they are invaded by foreigner migrants especially Asians, Indians and others. For many years white people dominated the country and Maories were lower class citizens. When the white young generation is emigrating the country, fear of losing the power and fear of losing the working class (age 16-45) can cause a hostile environment towards new comers….If you spend some time with them you will see how much they adore and admire themselves and their younger ones compared to other nationalities no matter where they are from…..This is a dominant culture…even if a kiwi commits a crime if the victim is not a main stream New Zealander the chances that lawyers and justice protect their own people is quiet high. Because they want to keep their people and stop them from leaving. This culture exits in all of them .Almost all of them…politicians, doctors, lawyers, taxi drivers, farmers…..almost all of them maybe because they want to teach them to value their country and stay….however because tourism is their biggest source of income over many many years of dealing with migrants and foreigners they know they need migrants for their money….I have never seen any other nationality in the world being able to rip off so skilfully as kiwis. They make a slave out of you. They make you work for free. Most skilled migrants are young, motivated, energetic and have some saving. They come to NZ to make a better life. They spend some of their best years of life, the first five years after leaving their country to work hard to achieve nothing instead. I have seen many families break up, I have seen many of them get depressed. A lot of them leave NZ after a few years of putting up with abuse, some leave for Australia, some go back to their home country. Some of the migrants who have some kind of support network and can stand the abuse or work as selfemployed may stay and instead the way they cope with this culture is they turn to be like their kiwi abusive mates. I have seen some of them start cheating, stealing and exploiting others to be able to mentally integrate into the society around them and of course some of them do none of these and stay the way they were but in a less motivated, depressed slavery mood. Ironically when foreigners get ripped off by kiwis they get blamed for not being careful. I have seen young rich Japenese students who get bashed and their money get stolen but instead they will get criticized of being careless. Kiwis have this mentality that foreigners are rich, are pain free and they have their money because their mummy and daddy gives them their money and they do not work hard for it so they deserve their money to be taken away from them because this is the kiwi land and if these foreigners want to stay here they should help us with our economy. We are the best people in this world, our country is the most beautiful country in the world, our government is the least corrupted government of the world(of course that is the other way round), our graduates are the brightest in world, our poo and wee is from gold and because of all these all non-kiwis should adore us and pay us lots and lots of money because we deserve it.

Answer 7

Go to Sydney, because you certainly DO NOT want to go during summer, unless you plan to head to the beaches.

Answer 8

You should definitely go to Sydney Australia! ;)

Answer 9

you should go to Miami Florida there is a shopping place called Miracle Mile in Coral Gables