socalgirl1

hi everyone,
new to fodors, planning my feb/mar 2012 trip to australia and newzealdn. after much research, i have narrowed down our itinerary and would appreciate some feedback from anyone willing to help! please let me know if this is reasonable or are we moving around too much? are we missing anything that are must sees/do? any feedback would be much appreciated!
thanks,
gayle


DAY 1, FEB 11TTH, SATURDAY - FLY LAX TO SYDNEY
DAY 2 - FLY TIME, TIME CHANGE
DAY 3, FEB 13TH, MONDAY - ARRIVE BRISBANE, DRIVE DOWN COAST TO
COFFS HARBOR
DAY 4, FEB 14TH, TUESDAY - DRIVE COFFS HARBOR TO SYDNEY
DAY 5, FEB 15TH, WEDNESDAY - SYDNEY sights, 5 PM bridge walk
DAY 6, FEB 16TH, THURSDAY - SYDNEY ZOO, MANLY BEACH , bike ride at sunset
DAY 7, FEB 17TH, FRIDAY - BLUE MOUNTAINS, train/bus 2-3 hour hike
DAY 8, FEB 18TH, SAT - FLY SYDNEY TO CAIRNS
DAY 9, FEB 19TH, SUN - GREAT BARRIER REEF, snorkel cruise
DAY 10, FEB 20TH, MON - GREEN ISLAND RESORT daytrip
DAY 11, FEB 21ST, Tuesday - DAINTREE RAINFOREST, CAPE TRIBULATION,
PORT DOUGLAS
DAY 12, FEB 22ND, WEDNESDAY - FLY CAIRNS TO AUCKLAND, OVERNIGHT
DAY 13, FEB 23RD, THURSDAY - FLY AUCKLAND TO NELSON, arrive 9:30 am,
DRIVE TO ABEL TASMAN
DAY 14, FEB 24TH, FRIDAY - ABEL TASMAN, kayak hike tour
DAY 15, FEB 25TH, SATURDAY - ABEL TASMAN, DRIVE TO NELSON, explore
DAY 16, FEB 26TH, SUNDAY - FLY FROM NELSON 8 am TO QUEENSTOWN, arrive
noon, DRIVE TO WANAKA
DAY 17, FEB 27TH, MONDAY - WANAKA, kayak/hike/bike ride
DAY 18, FEB 28TH, TUESDAY - DRIVE WANAKA TO TE ANAU via scenic road
DAY 19, FEB 29TH, WED - MILFORD SOUND cruise
DAY 20, MARCH 1ST, Thursday - DRIVE TE ANAU TO QUEENSTOWN, gondola,
zip line
DAY 21 MARCH 2ND, FRIDAY - QUEENSTOWN, jet boat, river rafting
DAY 22 MARCH 3RD, SAT - FLY QUEENSTOWN TO AUCKLAND, arrive noon, ½
day in auckland
DAY 23 MARCH 4TH, SUN - 8 AM FLIGHT AUCKLAND, HOME 9:45 AM

Diamantina

I am sorry, but it does not look like you researched this enough. Yes, to answer your question, I believe you are moving around too much.

So you arrive in Brisbane from southern California and then you drive (on the opposite side of the road than we do in California)almost 200 miles to Coffs Harbor? Then on your second day, you drive 333 miles from Coffs Harbor to Sydney?

Why don't you just fly into Sydney instead of Brisbane, and just enjoy your first jet-lagged day enjoying one of the world's most beautiful cities, without having to get in a car and drive? You can walk or take public transit everywhere. That first night, enjoy a good meal and then catch up on on your sleep and adjust to the new time zone.

Brisbane is a nice city, but there is more to see and do in Sydney. Maybe you can return to Brisbane in the future when you have more time to see it and its surrounds. Leave Brisbane and southern/central Queensland for another time.

On Day 11 you would like to visit the Daintree and Cape Tribulation and then return to Port Douglas. This also involves a fair amount of driving. Cape Tribulation from Cairns is about 100 miles. This is a road, not a several-laned highway, so the journey will take more than 2 hours. Then you want to drive back to Port Douglas, which is only 42 miles north of Cairns.

We spent days in the Daintree and Cape Tribulation. It is the kind of place where you relax, taking in some of Australia's last great tropical rainforests. You will want to walk in the rainforest, maybe spend some time on the beach.

I see later, in NZ, you are going to arrive in Queenstown and then drive north to Lake Wanaka and then go back south to Te Anau. I would reverse this order. After Queenstown, go to Te Anau. There are a lot of scenic roads on the South Island of New Zealand.

Maybe you should do only one overnight in Auckland.

AlanJG

I'm with Diamantina but a bit more so. I suggest you pick tow areas in Australia and see them a little bit. You'll not see anywhere really well but it will give you a taste of the place.

February is right in the wet season for north Queensland so you'll want a little leeway with you reef trip. Rain is fine for the reef but you wont want too much wind. Do not book it until you know what the weather will be like. There is plenty to keep you occupied in the Cairns region. Go to the Atherton Tablelands for wildlife and further west for a feel of the outback if you wish as well as the "Daintree".

I put that in quotation marks as for many people the Wet Tropics and Daintree are synonymous. Most of the Daintree National Park is south of Daintree and there is much more of the Wet Tropics south of that. There are some wonderful places north of the Daintree River but if you are into more than sitting on the beach but are less than a botanist you need some interpretation. For most of the endemic wildlife you must gain a bit of altitude.

nclgal

You have set a massive task and some for little gain. For example the trip down from Brisbane to Sydney will show you little of the actual coast, unless you turn off the highway all the way down, which you will not have time to do. Think about flying into Sydney - this will also give you more time to see the city. And the others are correct - you are planning this during a period of extreme heat and wet season up north, which may interfere with the very tight deadlines you have set yourself on the trip.

KathrynJH

Agree with the other comments. Unsure why you would fly into Sydney, then fly to Brisbane and drive back to Sydney. It's a long, boring trip unless you have a particular purpose. Stay that time in Sydney, allow for jetlag and give yourselves some time to actually enjoy the city. Maybe go on a harbour cruise or something a bit more relaxing.

Also factor time for service and traffic when you're driving. If you're collecting and returning hire cars it's not always a smooth process!

mlgb

Your NZ leg isn't quite so rushed.

You might try to arrange things so you can fly to Wellington and then take the ferry across to the South Island.

Be aware that the Chilean volcano is disrupting flights in that part of the world. No telling what the situation will be next year, though.

mlgb

Also, it sounds like you guys are active. February would be a good month to do the Tongariro Crossing on the North Island. You could add this by driving between Auckland and Wellington. I think it would be more rewarding than hiking around Wanaka.

RalphR

Driving Brisbane-Sydney would be fun if you had time to detour. There are lots of nice places to see. But in two days, having just arrived from overseas? No way.

Little_Miss_Flighty

Completely agree with every one else. Sydney is a much nicer place to visit then Brisbane and there isn't much to see along the drive from any of those places unless you detour for but you haven't left enough time.

Also you have allocated one day for the zoo, manly and a bike ride...the zoo itself is a full day activity and shouldn't be missed as it has the best views over Sydney. Manly is a bit of hike from the city but best to get to via the manly ferry...

Goodluck with the trip!

AlanJG

SG1,
Have you revised your plans?

EllaViv

Brisbane to Coffs will take about 6 - 7 hours to drive and same again for Coffs to Sydney. There are always road works on the coast road (which doesnt run directly on the coast) which slows things down a bit. I agree with previous comments & would cut out Brisbane and fly directly to Sydney.

If you've already booked your flights into Brisbane - why not head to the Gold Coast (about an hours drive or train ride from Brisbane) and spend a few hours there and perhaps take a flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney. Some of the budget airlines like Tiger offer cheaper flights out of the Gold Coast. Flying from the Gold Coast to Sydney would only take about an hour.

We spent a whole day at Taronga Zoo last year and with the entry fee not being overly cheap . . . it would be good to get your monies worth. The trip from Sydney to Manly by ferry would take about half an hour. Manly is a pretty beachside suburb which would be nice to spend a couple of hours - sunset bike ride and perhaps dinner would do it. There is an Aquarium . . . if your interested.

The train from Sydney to Blue Mountains will take a good 2 hours each way & there are a multitude of walks to do.

Good luck & happy travels

Diamantina

I wouldn't depend on Tiger Airways:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin