going to OZ/NEW ZEALAND in 2 weeks. help! - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**LaurieL622** · 03-01-2007, 10:08 AM

so ive finally gotten everything together. i gave my 2 week notice at work and im going to australia and new zealand for the next month-month and a half. now i need advice from anyones that lives/traveled there!

heres my flight details
i leave march 11 los angeles-melb
april 9 syd-christchurch
april 16 auckland-los angeles

im looking at 4 weeks in oz and 1 week in n.z. my main concern seeing the most w the amt of time and money im working with. it seems i'm in a bit of a time crunch!

for oz im looking to go from melb up the way up the e.coast to cairns then go to alice springs. prob will skip everything else. i will prob get a greyhound bus pass good for the e.coast then fly from carins to alice springs. honestly if i see a few beaches i am good. what im really looking forward to doing is camping, seeing some cool animals, being in the outback. i really dont have to hang out in every beachy city (is this what the e.coast is like?) with that in mind does anyone have an itinery change for me?

for n.z. i really dont know what im doing....based on general opinion of the board i would like to skip the north island. but notice my ticket is into christchurch and leaving out of auckland-i can get this changed. i have no idea how im going to get around.

i really need advice on what to do in both countries. i can take more time but bugeting with 80$ per day i cant afford to stay in either country for longer than 5ish weeks. pls help!!!!! i can use any budget/itinerary advice. this will be my first time in either countries...and my first time NOT backpacking through third world/developing countries.

time is really not really an issue except that the longer i stay the less $ i will have.

thanks you guys rock!!

**kiwichick** · 03-01-2007, 10:15 AM

What are you interested in seeing or doing in nz? if your wanting to skip the north island then i would definatly change your exit from auckland as 7days btwn auckland and chch could be quite a push! perhaps leave wellington? i think theres a scenic overland train that travels up the south island and possibly even on the ferry that could get you from picton to wellington?

foofiter · 03-01-2007, 04:28 PM

jetstar.com.au is your friend.

I am not sure about the math on a bus pass. I fly jet star all over east oz for the same price or maybe $+10 of a bus ticket. It saves heaps of time. Camping is good and should not be a problem. Just remember distances are huge especially for the places you listed.

Also recommend you get the Australia and New Zealand on a shoestring. Both in one book.

Foo

**LaurieL622** · 03-02-2007, 10:23 AM

the pass im looking at is good for melb-carins and is about 350usd. then im thinking about flying from carins to alice springs then from alice springs to syd.
what do you think? are u there right now??

**kiwichick** · 03-02-2007, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurieL622

what do you think? are u there right now??

sorry was that aimed at foo or me?

**aliz** · 03-02-2007, 03:22 PM

i think travelling up the east coast of australia by bus would be an absolute bitch. just driving to melbourne annoys me, and at least i can do it in my own car so it's quicker than a bus would be. I think everything else about your trip sounds good, but if you're really keen on the bus idea you're gonna need to prepare yourself for crazy long trips. you can cross 3 or 4 european countries in the time it takes to get from city to city here. you'll love the beaches in queensland but based on what you said you'd like to do, I think you'd also enjoy the south coast of new south wales.. the towns are all pretty laid back, the beaches aren't crowded and the caravan parks always have kangaroos hopping around everywhere.. to the point that they get really annoying. but i dunno overseas people probably think they're cute. check out places like bateman's bay, tuross, ulladulla... there's a lot of different beach towns along the coast. don't expect a lot of nightlife but about 3-4 days of just chilling, hanging on the beach, eating fish & chips and drinking with friends you find in hostels or caravan parks would be a nice break between melbourne & sydney.

**LaurieL622** · 03-17-2007, 03:43 AM

hey thanks for all your help everyone!

i just made it to sydney. i spent the last 4ish days in melb then hopped a greyhound into town. well all i have is my lonely planet so wish me luck!!!
i will be staying at wakeup! right next to central station for the next two nights. will prob stay in town 2-3 days then i will prob be off to surfers paradise/brisbane area. i purch'd a bus pass that is good from melb to carins but i need to figure out where they stop in between. i think i will be heading up the carins from here then flying to alice springs to camp and check out uluru. then off to n.z. april 11th.
i dont have a mobile phone the only way to contact me is through here to my email at tortiechris@yahoo.com

thanks !!!

safcsteve · 03-17-2007, 04:37 AM

i love wake up! stayed for 3 weeks and im planning on staying for a little longer when i get back from thailand next week.

Rd. Trip NZ · 03-25-2007, 01:19 PM

Hey, you have probably already decided what you are going to do in NZ but have a look at my myspace page, its got links to heaps of pics from around NZ so you can check out the scenary in both islands and help you decide

www.myspace.com/rdtripnz

**LaurieL622** · 03-26-2007, 12:55 AM

hey kiwi that would be great!!! i havent decided what im doing in n.z. at the moment i havent even decided what im doing tomorrow. i will be in christchurch april 11. PM me and we'll work something out!

just got back from fraser island ...camped out for 3 days. now im not sure where to next. prob up to airlie beach..not sure if thats how its spelled...i can take a cruise boat around there and do some snorkeling at the gbr.... after that i really dont know where im going.

darwin, alice, perth, ? suggestions from anyone whose been to either of the three? i gotta decide in the next week for sure so i can book by plane tics. going to any of three will prob be really expensive so someone help me decide!

thanks guys!

**omisan** · 03-26-2007, 02:17 PM

I'm late to the party, but here's my travelogue from a month in Oz/NZ:

http://tavallai.com/gallery/album/anz05/

You'll have a good time no matter where you go, Laurie

**kiwichick** · 03-26-2007, 02:55 PM

Hey man i luvvv the format of ur blog!

thats freaking awsum!glad u enjoyed nz!:D

**LaurieL622** · 04-09-2007, 12:34 AM

hello all. well oz was a great experience......
but im now in new zealand!
i landed in christchuch this morn. i havent dont any research and dont know how im getting around. by the sounds of fellow travelers in oz the best way to go in nz is to rent a car. im not sure if i can match up my schedule to do that with other ppl. so what do you guys think about the bus companies? magic bus seems to be the cheapest so i'll prob book with them if i dont get the car thing going. i have three weeks and i was planning on spending most/all of it on the south island. what does everyone think?

what are MUST SEES? which route should i go???? any advice is appreciated!

THANKS!!!

**omisan** · 04-09-2007, 12:56 AM

Dunno about routes and all that since I just flew to Queenstown and based from there, but as far as musts go, I say you go see Milford Sound. And bungee jump. And eat some lamb (if that's your thing).

**mooloo** · 04-09-2007, 12:59 AM

Welcome to NZ! yea even though i havn't seen a lot of the south island most people would say to spend your time there, however the north island is quite pretty as well in some parts, but i would definately give the majority of your time to the south island, say two weeks to one in the north or something like that.

The south island i have only been to christchurch, nelson, blenheim and the marlborough sounds, definately spend some time in marlborough as it is absolutely gorgeous down there, and in christchurch definately go see the old university in the cultural precinct if you havn't already, the gondola & the trip to lyttleton i thought was good but takes a while to get there and could be skipped if you didnt have a lot of time.

I'm sure someone else can help you on the south island side of things...

In the north island, it depends what you want to see but auckland/wellington are both nice but can take a lot of time so if you want to do the city thing i would choose one to spend a few days in and then do a couple of days out to somewhere, say from auckland you could go to the bay of island (gorgeous!) or down to waitomo caves or even down to national park (you could go from wellington or auckland to national park) and walk some of the tracks (my b/f and i stopped at some rapids on the way home from taupo the other day and i can't find my camera cord, but when i do i was planning on posting some pics here). from wellington i was also say go national park way then on to taupo or rotorua if you want to get a 'cultural experience', im personally not a big fan of either place but a lot of travellers love them so it all depends on what you want to see and do while your here.

**LaurieL622** · 03-17-2007, 03:48 AM

anyone whos done it............what do you think of the bridge climb at syd harbor bridge? im thinking about doing it in a few days. worth it?

**raoulduke** · 03-17-2007, 06:28 AM

I did the bridge climb. Once you've seen one view of the harbour you've seen 'em all. The climb wasn't challenging enough to be fun, so personally I'd give it a miss.

But if it's a Sydney thing you gotta do, then do it. It's a day out at the least.

Then come to Melbourne and visit me!

safcsteve · 03-17-2007, 10:45 AM

i was too much of a tight ass to pay for it. do you know how many boxes of goon you can get for that price?!?!

**kiwichick** · 03-18-2007, 11:12 PM

lol when u say "boxes of goon" are u refering to wine??we have goon and crate day parties for rowing initiation- perfect for student budgets lol cheap messy drunk and debaucharus (sp) just how i like it lol!!oh and i hear it was the bridges bday yesterday!!lol im actually not kidding...it was added to the historical sites list as a present...

**raoulduke** · 03-18-2007, 11:17 PM

Also known as a goon bag when the box is removed. It'll cost you about 18-20 of them to climb the bridge. I think they only accept cash and credit though.