mbloggs

MTLUBIN - As a resident Aussie I'll say upfront I have biases!

First, I don't think you'll get to see enough of either place if you try to do Australia and New Zealand in one short trip.

What are you interested in? Sports? Wildlife? Scenery? Beaches? Convict history?

This upsets some people but I'm not a big fan of Cairns, though the surrounds are beautiful and you can do some good trips to rainforest etc from there. If you are dead set on that part of the world I'd go to Port Douglas. Having said that it is the wet season up there so very hot and humid with lots of rain usually. You cannot swim in the ocean at that time of the year because of the poisonous jellyfish.

If you want to see the reef, fly from Sydney to Heron Island, at the very southern end of the reef, where there is less of a problem with the jellyfish. It's a fantastic eco resort type island, right on the reef (no boat trips out to get to it) and with plenty for kids to do.

It's too hot to go inland so forget the centre.

There is lots to do in Sydney and along the coast. I recently organised a visit for US friends who did the following:

Day 1 Rocks, Opera House, Botanic Gardens, NSW Art Gallery (Aboriginal art)
Day 2 Darling Harbour and aquarium
Day 3 Taronga Zoo
Day 4 Manly ferry trip
Day 5 Bridgeclimb
Day 6 City museums - MCA and City of Sydney
Day 7 Day trip Blue Mountains
Day 8 fly to Melbourne
Day 9 explore Melbourne city
Day 10 - 12 hire car and drive the Great Ocean Road
Day 13 day trip to the Dandenong mountains

If you are beach people, there is a whole coastline north and south of Sydney with beautiful beaches and plenty of holiday accommodation.

If you are in Sydney on New Year's Eve, you must not miss the fireworks.

Tasmania is another fabulous place to visit and if you want to drive around there's plenty to see and do. It's a shortish flight from either Melbourne or Sydney. You'd need a week there to do it justice. A lot of international tourists never get there, possibly because it's not on the mainland, but it has fantastic wildlife, food and convict history, not to mention gorgeous wild scenery and walking.

It's good you are thinking about this now because as others have said, it will be school holidays and you'll need to book up accommodation soon.

mbloggs

I just realised I said there were no boat trips to get to the reef. I meant that from the mainland you always need to take a boat trip of sometimes several hours to get out to the reef for the day, which I think is an expensive waste of time since it limits the amount of time you actually are on the reef swimming etc. But of course getting to Heron Island itself requires a boat trip or a helicopter flight from Gladstone in Queensland. However if the reef is your thing, this is a wonderful way to do it - you get up in the morning and wade out into the lagoon or take one of the snorkel/dive boats out to the edge of the reek fro some deeper water experiences.

annhig

fb - thank you for the link. it's got some great ideas for routes to take and things to see even if we do it ourselves.

thanks!

janpeter3

hi, I am an Aussie living near Melbourne and at the time of the year you are coming to Australia, it will be very hot & humid in Cairns and very very hot and dry at Uluru. For me, the weather would just be too unpleasant to enjoy either place.

Decide what you are coming to Australia to see or experience, think about the type of weather you and your children like to travel in, and go from there.

Austalia has many beautiful beaches other than those in far North Queensland that you may prefer at that time of year.

colcowan

Just got back from a 30 day solo trip in Feb/Mar to both NZ and AU. If you land in Sydney would spend a few days there and then the bulk of your time in NZ. Au was very hot in Melbourne Sydney and Port Douglas about 90 degrees every day and I had waited till their summer was over. AU was also about 50% more expensive then NZ
Sydney:
Day 1 Manly ferry trip (kids can swim/ snorkel here too)
Day 2 Rocks, Opera House, Botanic Gardens,
Day 3 Taronga Zoo
Day 4 Darling Harbour and aquarium
Day 5 /6 Two Day trip Blue Mountains (like the Grand Canyon with rain forests)

Fly over to NZ with a focus on the South Island. Rent your car from Apex keep it the whole time and drive all the way around the island on your own to ensure flexibility and save on transalpine train cost for four people.

Everyone is right in telling you to limit your focus based on your interests.

I hate cities too and Sydney is much like New York City but attractions are great, you will not need a car if you stay as close to the Rocks/Circular Quay as possible and will be in walking distance to everything or the trains/boats that take you directly to all the places listed above
They are also right in that Port Douglas (don’t go to Cairns) is too hot in Jan and you or your kids cannot go in/near the water because of jellyfish and crocodiles. Unless you are going to dive the GBR I totally agree with the earlier comments:
The northern GBR area (Cairns, Port Douglas, etc.) will also be hot and humid and since your children are too young for snorkel tours on the Reef, no point in going there. Uluru will be way, way too hot.
NZ and AU was a great experience for me, hope you have a great trip. No matter where you are from in the Sates, after this you will be glad to be home and want to see even more of the USA.
John

kesh

Hi MTLUBIN,

I'm an aussie, but have also lived in New Zealand.

For my money, I would do the following given your limited time:

- NZ is about the South Island. Rotorua in the north might be worth a peak and is pretty child friendly, but given your time frames, I'd focus on the south.

Perhaps something like the below would be a good bet:

- Fly into Christchurch and head to bed!

- In the morning, take the Tranzalpine scenic railway to Greymouth. (half a day)

- Drive from Greymouth to either Franz Josef/ Fox Glacier. You'll arrive later that same day

Spend 2 days here - doing some mini walks, including walks around(and even on them with a guide). Try speaking to a glacier tour operator to get their opinion about the kids.

- Drive to Wanaka/Queenstown and spend a day/night poking around there.

- Get to Milford Sound.
This could be done by taking a scenic flight to from wanaka/queenstown to milford sound for a half-day trip. This is expensive, yes - but the flight was absolutely stunning, and usually includes a cruise through the sounds (a couple of hundred on its own). You might be able to swing a deal given you've got two kids in tow. It will also save you a good 7-10 hours of driving, allowing you to do more with your limited time in this part of the world. Not to mention the petrol savings!
I think the company we used was http://www.flightseeing.co.nz/ but there are other operators too. This is doable in half a day with the flights, otherwise will cost you a long long day!

- Drive from Wanaka/Queenstown through to Christchurch. Make sure you stop around Lake Tekapo for a break to visit the church of the good shepard. Amazing glacial blue lakes, and mountain vistas.

Not the most relaxing trip, but gives you a good flavour of the South Island in a very quick time (the glaciers and milford sound arguably being the premiere tourist attractions in the country). We did something similar, but without the kids and absolutely loved it.

As for Aus, I agree that Port Douglas, Uluru, the Devil's Marbles and Sydney are probably your best bets...perhaps even Kakadu if that is your type of thing. It depends what you like to see!

Good luck.

annhig

H Kesh,

thanks for the link to the milford Sound trip - it might just be our birthday and Christmas presents to ourselves!

arge

Hi guys.I am a retired English male,lived in aussie for 15 years [all over the place],married & settled in nz to a kiwi.there is no way you will do any justice to the 2 countries in under 3 weeks.At the time you want to travel with young ones I would say aussie is out as it is usually to hot to enjoy.So if I was you I would save aussie for when the kids are a bit older & come straight to Auckland,spend a day or two to get over the travel [which can be quite tiring],visit Kelly tarltons [where you get up close to penguins from antartica],maybe visit the museum[its free] & check out the waterfront which is quite pleasant.Then in your rental,proceed to rotorua [because that's where all the tourists go & there is plenty of different things to do [the skyline for lunch is great,as well as rainbow springs & the agradome].From there you would make your way through some spectacular scenery down to wellington [where again a huge free entry museum worth visiting].Get the ferry across to the South Island,where the world is your oyster,there is just so much to do & see,that without knowing what you like to do,its pointless advising].You can drive around the Island ending up in Christchurch,where you can get an international flight out.Even your time frame would not do justice to the trip,but if the gods are with you & you get good weather,you will most probably plan a return trip to see what you missed.Having lived in England,Canada,Australia & New Zealand,I would have to say New Zealand would be the best [in my mind],purely because it has just about everything all the others have got,but in a more confined space.Sorry to be so one sided,I still like regular visits to Aussie,but only in small doses..I hope you have a wonderful trip wherever you decide to go..Happy travels

SusannahT

As someone who has previously lived in the Cairns area for many years, I would be very wary of going there in summer. Hot, of so hot, humid, heavy rain. The areas around are beautiful but the heat...

New Zealand sounds good at that time and is very beautiful and interesting.

Am now in Sydney which is not nearly as hot as Cairns.