Aus / NZ

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

The Bay of Islands in North Island NZ has so many beautiful places. Seeing the Southern Cross in the night sky gives a whole other view of Creation (or whatever you want to call it.) Milford Sound in South Island is spectacular, a wonder of the world for me. Nelson's a pretty little town.
Do they still have the jetboats on the Shotover River?

I was in Oz and NZ in 91 / 92 - 6 months in Oz and 3 months NZ
Highlight of NZ was the ferry from Wellington to Nelson. The fjord was amazing. Trip ruined by half the traveller's inside watching Emerdale Farm on the TV I kid you not. Spectacular views.

Highlight of Oz was the day out on the barrier reef scuba diving and snorkeling - just amazing array of fish of all sizes and colours set to the backdrop of the reefs themselves.

Sydney to Auckland was I think just a 2 hour flight so it's ridiculous to go all that way and not stop there. The wild life was brilliant, as where i was working in Oz was halfway between Sydney and Canberra so quite rural with 'roos bouncing around at dawn / dusk and wombats at night, the sound of the birds all day was joy to hear, cuckabarras (I know that is spelt wrong) and parrots up in the trees (again can't spell cocatue)

And yes the Southern Cross and other southern hemisphere constellations were a joy to look at every night.

Had a fantastic 9 months including a wonderful night with a lovely woman in Cairns. No idea what her name was and there's no pics ;)

 

[NZBlue]

I was in Oz and NZ in 91 / 92 - 6 months in Oz and 3 months NZ
Highlight of NZ was the ferry from Wellington to Nelson. The fjord was amazing. Trip ruined by half the traveller's inside watching Emerdale Farm on the TV I kid you not. Spectacular views.

Highlight of Oz was the day out on the barrier reef scuba diving and snorkeling - just amazing array of fish of all sizes and colours set to the backdrop of the reefs themselves.

Sydney to Auckland was I think just a 2 hour flight so it's ridiculous to go all that way and not stop there. The wild life was brilliant, as where i was working in Oz was halfway between Sydney and Canberra so quite rural with 'roos bouncing around at dawn / dusk and wombats at night, the sound of the birds all day was joy to hear, cuckabarras (I know that is spelt wrong) and parrots up in the trees (again can't spell cocatue)

And yes the Southern Cross and other southern hemisphere constellations were a joy to look at every night.

Had a fantastic 9 months including a wonderful night with a lovely woman in Cairns. No idea what her name was and there's no pics ;)

I can answer the last bit- her name was Sheila. They all are

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

I can answer the last bit- her name was Sheila. They all are

Well, Sheila take a bow.....

 

[NZBlue]

Well, Sheila take a bow.....

I bet she did that night

 

[AliBobbyJ]

A random memory of my time in NZ, 1982-3 or thereabouts, when it still resembled England in the '50s. Saturday night in Wellington, capital city no less, and went to see a movie in the city centre. "Chariots of Fire" it was. Half way through the film stopped and the screen went black. Had no idea what was wrong and then the penny dropped, the projectionist was CHANGING THE BLOODY REELS!
Loved NZ, how did I end up in NY, one letter different and a whole other world?

 

[Wayneclarkemunchescarrots]

Personally I’d spend most of your time in NZ . As per other posters have said , the South Island is absolutely stunning and the country as a whole is like numerous countries rolled into one . Beaches in the north , volcanic regions , mountains and fjords it has the lot . The people in general are welcoming and friendly .
Sydney is a great city to visit too .
As for stopovers if you want a beach / city mix then Indonesia or Thailand . Singapore can hit you’re pocket hard but impressive .
Can also do America and Dubai etc to break the journey up .enjoy you’re trip

 

[Fred_Quimby]

We go to NZ for 3 months every year. Where to start? Such a lovely country. South Island is probably the most spectacular. Land in Christchurch and go north along the coast to Picton and then down the west coast, Franz Josef glacier and across to Queenstown on to Milford Sound, Dunedin. If you like wine then the Otego valley near Queenstown and, if you time it right, the Marlborough Wine Festival. North Island - Bay of Islands (Russell), the Caromandel Peninsula (Hot Water Beach), Cathedral Cove is now closed to land on due to unsafe cliffs but can still be visited by sea, Mount Maunganui down to Papamoa has probably the best beach in the world. Rotorua for the volcanic hot pools and lake. Napier still has most of its Art Deco buildings to see, Wellington because it is the capital and not to forget Auckland because...

Best trip we did was stopover in Singapore, on to Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and the road trip down the West Coast to Sydney via Whitsundays and Brisbane and Gold Coast. On to Auckland.

 

[Stephen Ireland's pants]

We go to NZ for 3 months every year. Where to start? Such a lovely country. South Island is probably the most spectacular. Land in Christchurch and go north along the coast to Picton and then down the west coast, Franz Josef glacier and across to Queenstown on to Milford Sound, Dunedin. If you like wine then the Otego valley near Queenstown and, if you time it right, the Marlborough Wine Festival. North Island - Bay of Islands (Russell), the Caromandel Peninsula (Hot Water Beach), Cathedral Cove is now closed to land on due to unsafe cliffs but can still be visited by sea, Mount Maunganui down to Papamoa has probably the best beach in the world. Rotorua for the volcanic hot pools and lake. Napier still has most of its Art Deco buildings to see, Wellington because it is the capital and not to forget Auckland because...

Best trip we did was stopover in Singapore, on to Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and the road trip down the West Coast to Sydney via Whitsundays and Brisbane and Gold Coast. On to Auckland.

Sounds like you have hit the jackpot. Everything you have said there is awesome and sound advice.

 

[NZBlue]

We go to NZ for 3 months every year. Where to start? Such a lovely country. South Island is probably the most spectacular. Land in Christchurch and go north along the coast to Picton and then down the west coast, Franz Josef glacier and across to Queenstown on to Milford Sound, Dunedin. If you like wine then the Otego valley near Queenstown and, if you time it right, the Marlborough Wine Festival. North Island - Bay of Islands (Russell), the Caromandel Peninsula (Hot Water Beach), Cathedral Cove is now closed to land on due to unsafe cliffs but can still be visited by sea, Mount Maunganui down to Papamoa has probably the best beach in the world. Rotorua for the volcanic hot pools and lake. Napier still has most of its Art Deco buildings to see, Wellington because it is the capital and not to forget Auckland because...

Best trip we did was stopover in Singapore, on to Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and the road trip down the West Coast to Sydney via Whitsundays and Brisbane and Gold Coast. On to Auckland.

Pretty good summary- you can add in Arthur's Pass through the Southern Alps, Oamaru is the Steampunk capital if you like that sort of thing and there are a million other things. If you're driving the roads are pretty quiet except the main cities but don't underestimate the distances between the various places- it's very easy to get sucked into trying to see everything in too short a time and you end up just driving with lightning stops in-between.

 

[Brightwell’s left peg]

Planning trip to see friends in Dairy Flats in NZ.
Will be a one off as age and finance take their toll. I think we will need stop off on way so any suggestions as to who has done trip would be most welcome. HK and Singapore seem ok for stop but also want some time in Sydney either on way out or way back. Could also do some internals in Aus depending on finance, any suggestions?

From fairly recent experience (and depending on time of year)

Singapore is worth a couple of days. It’s expensive, so brace yourself, but it’s worth it for a one off stop.

Sydney and Melbourne are probably the best ‘touristy’ cities, but they’re just big cities so would do one of the other.

If you want to do some ‘Authentic’ Aussie stuff, get to Cairns/barrier reef…and then maybe head to Darwin (if in the dry season) and do some of the NT…see crocs etc, head to Lichfield/Kakadu/Katherine Gorge and carefully pick the right swimming spots.