glover

Starting to plan 21 day trip for selves and friends (active 50/60 ish). First time to Aus/NZ for any of us, though we're well travelled in other areas. Definitely must see Sydney and then spend rest of time (probably) in NZ. We're interested in nature, esp birds. Will want to do some moderate hikes - probably stay in B&Bs. We'll do some driving. . Have been reading boards over last couple days and want to take advice not to cover ridiculous amount of territory. We're open as to where to fly in and out of and how much interior flights to do. . So whaddya think, should we skip north island and concentrate on south - or come up with an itin that includes a little north and lot south? Would like suggestions from you experts. . .

ElendilPickle

What time of year are you planning to visit, and how long do you plan to spend in Sydney?

You can see how we spent 10 days on the North Island at http://community.webshots.com/user/ElendilPickle

Lee Ann

LizzyF

With all due respect, if you want to see birds, NZ is not the place to do it as they have very few varieties of birds or animals for that matter. Between Australia and Brazil the two countries have 2/3rds of the Worlds bird species and only in Australia are the birds living in close contact to people and easy to see. For instance there is a small area in South East Queensland which is about the size of NYC and has 368 variety of birds species.

Melnq8

For birdwatching in NZ, suggest you check out Stewart Island, which is a ferry ride from Bluff. Most of the island is a national park and there are lots of hiking opportunities as well.

http://www.stewartisland.co.nz/

twoaussies

LizzyF - where is the place in the S.E. corner of Qld. Thanks

LizzyF

2 Aussies - I will try and find the web site with that on it.

LizzyF

Whist looking for the exact web site that I mentioned I came across this about Fraser Island which may be of interest to those who want to see Fraser Island, particularly for birding:
Kingfisher Bay Resort on QueenslandÃs Fraser Island conducts daily bird watching walks in a World Heritage wilderness, which has an incredible 354 - recorded bird species.

A number of the island's birds are considered rare or vulnerable like the ground parrot. Many that are subject to international bird migratory treaties visit Fraser Island.

The diversity of habitats, ranging from coastal through rainforest to Ramsar wetlands, and the fact that the island is in the transition zone between sub-tropical and tropical climates, accounts for the broad range of birds found.

Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island and supports beautiful fresh water lakes, massive sand blows, towering rainforest, clear fast-flowing streams, spectacular cliff faces of coloured sands and 120km of continuous ocean beach.

You can explore the wonders of Fraser Island from the comfort of award- winning Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village. Activities are designed to allow guests to enjoy and, at the same time, learn about this very special island without impacting on the environment.

The resort has expert guides to take you on walking and 4WD tours or you can hire a vehicle and explore on your own. Resort ranger conduct bird watching walks every morning and it is not unusual to twitch more than 20 birds on the hour-long walk.

Easily seen around the resort are 11 species of honeyeaters, the black-breasted button quail and eastern whip birds. The brilliant azure, forest and sacred kingfishers and rainbow bee-eaters all nest around the resort.

Discover amazing pockets of rainforest where you can see rare giant ferns and catch glimpses of beautiful rainforest birds.

Find your own private spot on the white sandy shores of a clear, blue-water lake perched in the top of a sand dune and observe musk ducks.

You'll also see shipwrecks, some of AustraliaÃs purest bred dingoes, wild flower strewn sand dunes and drive along a spectacular beach highway to spot kites and magnificent sea eagles and osprey nesting on headlands. Eighteen species of birds of prey have been observed on Fraser Island including the rarely seen powerful owl.

On Fraser you are spoilt by nature but after a day spent exploring you are spoilt by the creature comforts available at Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village.

Enjoy Australian bush foods, relax with a cocktail by one of the four swimming pools, play tennis, simply bubble in a spa or indulge at the natural therapy and beauty clinic.

You can also do your bird watching from the private deck of your hotel room or self-contained villa.

Kingfisher Bay Resort
Fraser Island,
PMB1, Urangan, Qld 4655
Email: [email protected]
Toll free on: 1800 072 555
Fax: 07 4120 3326
Website: http://www.kingfisherbay.com

wlzmatilida

Hi Glover!

Agree that Sydney, one of my favorite cities in the world, IS a must see, but notice you don't mention the Great Barrier Reef, which would also be considered a "must see".

I don't want to eat up your time suggesting another area to visit, as you are quite right not to cover "a ridiculous amount of territory" which is a common mistake that I find my clients make. I'm always the "bearer of bad news" when I tell them that, unfortunately no....doing both countries in TWO weeks isn't really feasible!

As LizzyF mentions in 2 separate posts, Queensland is teeming with birds, as is Fraser Island, which I've just returned from a week ago.

ah...so many choices, huh?

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie & Kiwi Specialist

LizzyF

2Aussies I could not find the actual link - well I did but could not get into it due to a 404 error whatever that is. I know of it because I had it as a link from my B&B site on Tamborine Mountain and it would either be Springbook area/ O'Reily's, Binna Burra or the Border Ranges near Kyogle which had some fantastic areas of Bellbirds. I am sure if someone has the time they can check on those areas for birding for the best experiences. Also of course the areas in North Queensland have got some fantastic birding areas as well as unique fauna so when suggesting S.E Queensland I did not mean that that was the be all and end all of the areas in Australia for wonderful opportunities for birdwatching.

glover

Thanks for all this info! Looks like we'll probably go the last 2 weeks in April and the first week in May (more or less). No more than a couple days for Sydney and (if we decide to) couple for GBR. Realize that Australia is also wonderful and there's much much more we'd like to see of it - but will just need to go back for that!

LizzyF

It is not worth going to Sydney for 2 days and nor is it worth going to the GBR for 2 days either so why no just stay in NZ?

heathy

I would back up Melnq8 - Stewart Island is a fantastic spot for bird viewing in NZ. Its the only place I have been able to see Kiwis in their natural habitat .
Sorry LizzyF we have stacks of very unique birds ! To appreciate some of them, you need to be in the bush to enjoy the dawn chorus - the beauty of the "music " will make you weep.
://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/nz/bird-watching-and-sanctuaries/ Hope this site helps

swagman

glover

Just as an idea, you can spread your 3-week trip as follows:-

14 days NZ North & South Islands;
4 days Sydney;
3 days Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef

Also both NZ and Oz are more famous for dolphin and whale watching than that of birds.

s

mlgb

Stewart Island is a bird watching haven in NZ, although it isn't the most convenient or easiest place to reach, especially if you try and take a ferry.

If you fly into Christchurch, Kaikoura is a good spot to see both whales and the pelagic birds (various types of albatross and mollymawks). And don't miss Arthur's Pass, great place for meeting those crazy kea parrots, world's only mountain parrot, as well as some of the other forest birds.

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Oc...photo87758.htm

pat_woolford

Pardon swagman? I must remember to tell the hordes of international birdwatchers who appear in tropical North Queensland every spring. Australia has about 800 bird species; half are endemic, and sorry, heathy, a lot more than NZ. Which is hardly surprising when you compare the enormous differences in country sizes and Australia's vastly varied climates, from tropical to alpine.

glover, its a 3 hour flight from Sydney to Cairns, gateway to Barrier Reef, Atherton Tableland and world heritage rainforests - you won't see a kiwi but could see a cassowary. A great B&B at Daintree which specialises in birdwatching is www.redmillhouse.com.au and a search of Atherton Tablelands will reveal more; some with other wildlife such as platypus and tree kangaroos on site.

glover

Thanks all, yes the Cairns/GBR area sounds wonderful too of course. Would it make sense to come up with an itinerary say US - Sydney - Cairns (fly) - Auckland - (then driving/flying around NZ) - U.S?

LizzyF

Glover - now that sounds a great idea for your trip which would make it really diverse and interesting. The following is an extract from the information on the website of the Wilderness Lodge in Atherton - which is on the tablelands just west of Cairns, it contains references which you can google for the full extent of information. Its the diversity and range within the species of birds in Australia that is somewhat spectacular for instance - Parrots in Australia

Australia was often referred to as `Parrot Land' by early colonists (Egerton 1997). Parrots in the Australian region are very diverse, and it is only here where all three major groups of parrots (the `lorikeets', the `cockatoos' and the `true parrots') are found. Parrots have evolved to fill many different niches in Australia. While in other parts of the world they are correctly thought of as rain forest inhabitants, in Australia they have expanded out of the wetter forests and into the savanna and the more and lands. In fact, they reach their highest diversity in the open woodlands (Simpson et al 1996). Whereas most parrots around the world are variations on the color green due to their rain forest habitat, in Australia the result of colonizing other habitats has been the evolution of a parrot of every color; including black, white, red, green, yellow, grey, or pink. There are over fifty species on the Australian continent (Simpson et a11996), with over 40 of these being found nowhere else on Earth (Egerton 1997).

Parrots in Australia have a mixed conservation status. Some of the open country birds such as the cockatoos have done well, with many having actually expanded their range since European settlement due to the clearing of forest to more open country. Other parrots have not fared so well, as these cleared forests contained the older trees and their hollows necessary for their breeding (Krebs 2001).

sandys

Glover.
Using Dunedin as a base on the South Island of New Zealand, you can drive to the Otago Peninsula. You can see the Royal Albatross Colony at Taiaroa Head. You can also see penguins in the same general area.

LoisL

Your desire of a trip sounds very much like one we took in 2002. We spent a week in Sydney first, and then headed to the North Island for one week, and then the South Island for 10 days. We did the driving around North Island ourselves, but did a tour for the South Island, and were glad we did, as the roads are narrow and very winding. We saw a car almost back off a cliff, when needing to back up to make way for our bus. Our tour director ended up directing them, and said she has had to jump in cars to help tourists who found the situation too much to handle. Besides that, the drives are often incredibly scenic and spectacular, and would be so much more enjoyable on a tour. We've traveled through much of Europe, as well as through the U.S., and that is the only time we've used a tour, and we were glad we made that decision.

On the North Island, we did two days in Aukland [we were fortunate to be there for the unveiling for the Americas Cup], and then headed to the Corommondal Peninsula, where we spent another two nights. From there we did Rotorua for one night, and then headed to Napier, which is a charming art deco town. We drove to Wellington where we just spent the night, before

LoisL

cont.from previous post.........

We took the CAT [I think that's what it was called] to the South Island. We spent two nights in Blenheim, exploring the wine country there [loved our B&B -- Peppertree I think it was] before driving Idown the coast to Christchurch to join a tour.