Roy Dennis

My wife & I, both over 60, in good shape, love to walk & bike, seek out scenic sights,and enjoy interesting things with a historic value are finally taking our dream trip to a place we always wanted to see. Does anyone see any problems with the following itinerary for next March & April or the selected lodgings? We attempted to obtain hotels in a fairly central location in every city. Depart Los Angeles via Qantas to Auckland. Qantas Boomerang fare to Christchurch for 3 days. Staying at the Copthorne Durham Street. Will visit city and Akaroa. Qantas Boomerang fare back to Auckland for 3 days. Staying at Quality Hotel Rose Park in Parnell. Vehicle rental for 3 days. Will visit city sights & go north to Bay of Islands. Continue Qantas flight to Sydney for 6 days. Staying at the Wentworth on Phillips Street which appears to be within easy walking distance to Circular Quay, etc. Will be in Sydney during St Patrick's Day. Will do a lot of shoreline and city walks and a few ferry rides. The day of departure will rent a vehicle driving to Melbourne via the Princes Hwy, a 3 day drive w/2 overnights visiting towns, villages, and sights along the way. Staying at the Rydges Melbourne on Exhibition Street for 4 days to visit Kings Domain, St Kilda, etc. Continue drive to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Rd taking 2 days w/1 overnight. In Adelaide for 5 days staying at Hotel Adelaide Int'l, North Adelaide within easy walking distace to city center, to visit city, Hahndorf, Barossa Valley, Kangeroo Island, etc. Leave rental vehicle at airport taking a Qantas Boomerang fare to Perth for 4 days. Staying at the Holiday Inn City Centre to visit city, Rottnest Island, & Fremantle.Take a Qantas Boomerang fare to Ayers Rock for 2 days staying at outback Pioneer Hotel. Will do the Sounds of Silence and walk around the base of Ayers Rock. Take a Qantas Boomerang fare back to Adelaide, picking up rental vehicle and staying overnight. The return flight is through Alice Springs with a 7 hour layover. Depart next a.m. for Broken Hill for an overnight stay and to visit Silverton. Next day continue drive to Surfer's Paradise via Dubbo & Port Macquarie. Driving time 5 days & 4 nights. Visit Surfer's Paradise for 5 days staying at Courtyard By Marriott. Will visit up & down the immediate coast, Dreamworld, beaches, etc. Drive to Brisbane Int"l Airport to take Qantas Boomerang fare flight to Cairns. Rent a vehicle in Cairns for drive to Port Douglas to stay at the Rydges Reef Resort for 8 days to visit Cape Tribulation Nat'l Pk, Kuranda, and the Great Barrier Reef at least a couple of times. Will then drag ourselves back down to Cairns to turn the vehicle and catch our flight back to the U.S.A. We hope it's not our only vist to Down Under, but just in case, we are trying to see as much as we can, allowing enough time to do justice to everything. <BR>Any comments to the foregoing would be welcome from folks who have experience with the mentioned lodgings, driven over similar routing, or visited these locations.

Hans

Sounds like a fantasic trip! I have only a few suggestions based on a similar trip my wife and I took for our honeymoon five years ago...while the Bay of Islands are very nice (especially if you are interested in sailing), the South Island of New Zealand is truly spectacular and give your interests in walking, biking and scenery I think a couple of more days in the region are well worth it. I would suggest visiting Queenstown and Milford Sound are a must--the southern alps are fantastic and the sound and the hiking trails around it are spectacular! We spent three days in Queenstown and loved every minute of it. We stayed at the Lakeland Resort right on the lake and had a great view of the Remarkable Mountains. We spent one day on Fjiordland Travel''s bus/boat/plane trip in which you drive to Milford Sound, take a cruise out on the sound to the Tasman Sea and then fly back to Queenstown over the alps--amazing! We spent another day jetboating on the shotover river and visiting Arrowtown--an old gold mining village around town. The third day we spent in and around town and the lake. Mt. Cook is also spectacular as is the Abel Tasman National Park at the north of the island where you can kyack, swim, bike, etc. So much to see. The other recommendation I have is Tasmania. What an incredible place! We spent a day and a half in and around Hobart (visiting the city and Port Arthur--the penal colony at the southern tip of the island) and then we spent a day driving across the island to the west coast and up to Cradle Mountain. Cradle Mountain is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we spent three days in a cabin at the Cradle Mountain Lodge hiking in the area--it was great! I realize you may not have the extra time to fit these stops in but they are well worth it--in fact, I think you can cut a day off Christchurch, two days off Melbourne (a nice city but we loved Sydney!) and maybe a day or two off of Adelaide (but make sure you do go to Kangaroo Island as it is wonderful!). I hope this helps and does not confuse the issue any more. If you have any questions about these idea, please don't hesitate to let me know. Have a wonderful trip!

LizF

I agree with everything that the previous writer says. All too often the best secrets are missed by travellers. I would spend the time in the South Island of NZ and I would add Tasmania on my list of "must sees" even to the extent of taking out 3 days off Adelaide 2 days off Melbourne 1 - 2 days off Perth. Tasmania is the smallest BIG island that I have ever seen. I have been there 5 times and still have not seen everything and would be quite happy to see those things that I have seen before. It is one of the treasures of Australia. Otherwise my other suggestion would be not to drive from Adelaide to Queensland ( Gold Coast) as the route you have picked would really be a bit of a waste of time and that time could be used so much better to your advantage. <BR>For South East Queensland I can give you a lot of information and help as I have travelled around it for most of my life. Either email me or visit my site ( which will give you another perspective perhaps) on www.tmbb.com.au. <BR>I have absolutely disagreement with the rest of your trip.

LizF

PS I meant to say that I don't disagree with the rest of your trip. Oh dear! I must need another coffee. <BR>

LizF

Just a further thought. Because you are both over 60 make sure that you have senior cards because Sydney at least gives fantastic deals on transport for seniors - even better if you have a pension card, they charge $1 per day for unlimited train travel. Most other areas in Australia recognise senior discounts too and you really might get some fun discounts on the Gold Coast. <BR>Have a great time <BR>Liz

Margi

Roy, It sounds like a full on, wonderful trip. I can't comment on the New Zealand section apart to say we've been to both Christchurch and Queenstown and enjoyed them both. Somebody suggested you cut short your Adelaide visit and include Tasmania. As I haven't been to Tasmania I can't comment on that. However, I lived in Adelaide for 50 years and 5 days would never be enough to see all Adelaide has to offer. In my view, and I may be biased, Adelaide is one of Australia's best kept secrets. I support your choices for Adelaide, the hotel in North Adelaide is within walking distance to the city, the Barossa Valley, Hahndorf and Kangaroo Island are all worth visiting. I'm not sure if it still exists, but there was once an all day steam train trip from Adelaide to Victor Harbor,which was wonderful. Ayers Rock is certainly worth a visit, it's awesome. I've also heard from friends that The Sounds of Silence dinner experience is wonderful. If you happen to make it to Darwin, although you don't mention that, please feel free to get in touch with us. My husband and I are SERVAS hosts, a volunteer organisation where we host interstate and overseas travellers. Have a wonderful trip.

Roy Dennis

Thank you Hans, Liz, & Margi for your info. It always helpful to get information from those who have visited and those who are living in the place you are planning to visit. I believe I will make some changes to my itinerary but not to the Adelaide visit. <BR>Thank you again. If anyone else has info concerning the drive from Adelaide to the Gold Coast via Broken Hill please advise. I understood Broken Hill was worth a quick visit but if I am going to drive over a route that has no other interests I believe I must change my routing and maybe save a couple of days for something else. Thanks again.

LizF

You don't have a lot of choice of routes if you are going from Adelaide to the Gold Coast. I have driven that route and it was interesting in places but then I have lived in most states of Australia and seen just about all of Australia. If I were here on a visit I would fly over that route to save time and do something that would be nice instead i.e. Tasmania. 5 days spent driving that route is just not worth the time. <BR>If you want 'outback' then take a trip from Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges or even better Cooper Pedy where they live underground and dig for opals.

Margi

Roy, I agree with Liz about flying to the Gold Coast from Adelaide. The distance is formidable in a short time frame. Another suggestion for your Adelaide trip is to visit Warrawong Sanctuary at Belair in the Adelaide hills. It's a sanctuary for endangered species of Australian wildlife. You can stay overnight in one of the cabins and go on either a dawn walk or a dusk walk and see the animals in their natural habitats. There's also a platypus breeding section and if you're lucky you might get to see these shy creatures. We stayed their several years ago and it was a wonderful experience. Since then I've heard that they now also have a great restaurant for meals.

marg

It's a long way to drive from Adelaide to the gold coast without a great deal to see along the way - we've driven through that country. From Broken Hill to Port Macquarie there is almost nothing to see. Dubbo has a great open range zoo but apart from that, it is just a very nice country town. <BR>Have you considered doing a trip from Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges - you could do it in two or three days and that would give you a taste of the outback, and then flying from Adelaide to either Port Macquarie or Coff's Harbour and driving along the coast from there. <BR>Another thing - in Australia we have lots of licensed clubs which usually provide very good meals at reasonable prices. (We have just had a three course 'Seniors' lunch at one of the local clubs for under Aud $9). You will need to sign their guest register to comply with licensing laws but that is just a legality. Usually motel staff will be able to recommend the best clubs for meals. Make sure you have your seniors card with you as you will get discount on lots of things - even motels will often give you 10% discount. <BR>

Roy Dennis

Thank you everyone for the information. One thing I noticed, folks are so nice in offering advice. It really helps those not in the know. I will make an alternate plan for the 5 days from Adelaide to the Gold Coast. Thanks again!

LizF

Roy: <BR> <BR>Onyamate! <BR> <BR>