Anna

My husband and I are planning a trip to the South Pacific; however, we cannot decide on going to Australia or New Zeland. We both love nature and enjoying views. We do not like lots of crowds, and we would like a fly/drive vacation.

David

If you are going that far away my suggestion is do both. That is what we did: Sydney then Melbourne then Auckland and Rotorua. <BR> <BR>That was the North Island. The South Island is supposed to be even more memorable. <BR> <BR>But ask my kids which are their favorite trips they will both say Australia and New Zealand (and maybe more New Zealand) <BR> <BR>dps

Wilfred Crowcroft

If you are going that far away my suggestion is do both. That is what we did: Sydney then Melbourne then Auckland and Rotorua. <BR> <BR>That was the North Island. The South Island is supposed to be even more memorable. <BR> <BR>But ask my kids which are their favorite trips they will both say Australia and New Zealand (and maybe more New Zealand) <BR> <BR>dps

Mary Ellen

My husband and I spent a month in Australia/New Zealand a few years ago. We had the same delemia, and interests, as you do. We decided on 1 week in Sydney, a few days in Auckland and then the rest of the time on the South Island. <BR> <BR>Sydney was beyond our wildest expectations. We didn't particularly care for Auckland. The South Island was magnificent - scenery and wildlife, mainly birds. Sometimes we would drive for an hour or more without meeting another vehicle. We were there in October, the only time we had any crowds at all, was their Labour Day weekend when the campground we were in was packed - but not at all uncomfortable. <BR> <BR>We rented a campervan although we didn't have any RV experience and DH was VERY nervous about driving on the left - particularly in a larger vehicle, but he had a great time. We rented from Adventure Campervans ( http://www.nzmotorhomes.co.nz/frames.htm ) and were extremely pleased - automatic transmission for me and beds long enough for him (6'6"). The only thing DH never quite got used to doing was backing up - he found driving so easy that he never gave me a chance to drive. <BR> <BR>The campgrounds are wonderful and have very clean kitchen and bath facilities. So much so, that we never cooked or took showers in our campervan. We always used the campground facilities. <BR> <BR>We basically followed the itinerary from the book '2 to 22 days in New Zealand'. We did take a tour to Milford Sound from Te Anau as we had heard that, if you pay attention to the road and traffic, you miss the fantastic scenery and if you look at the scenery, you aren't paying the attention that the road requires. Highly recommend the tour there. Otherwise, we loved the flexibility having our own campervan afforded us. <BR> <BR>This was probably our best vacation ever.

Anna

Thanks for all of the info. Since our time will be limited, we will probably only have time for NZ. From what I've read, the South Island sounds terrific. Although, Sydney sounds awesome. I've taken lots of notes and have a few web sites to find more info. <BR>