my whirlwind trip to aus/nz
 

hi, i spent a 22 day trip to australia and new zealand back in january and finally finished my travelog. <BR>here was the itinerary: <BR>3 days - sydney, incl. blue mountains <BR>4.5 days - ayers rock, kings canyon camping safari; alice springs <BR>3.5 days - port douglas, daintree, reef <BR>11 days - south island of new zealand <BR>1 day - auckland <BR> <BR>if anyone wants to read the travelog, e-mail me or post here with any questions. <BR>tina

Tina, <BR> <BR>I would love to hear about your experiences in Sydney & the Reef - how you spent your time? etc. <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR> <BR>Paul

hi paul, <BR>we stayed at the harbour rocks hotel in the rock district. i liked the hotel and its location, which was a five minute walk to the circular quay (harbourside). <BR>the first day, we went to the oceanarium, the chinese gardens and walking around in darling harbour. <BR>the second day we took a tour of the blue mountains, where we were able to do some light hiking. the area is beautiful and worth going to. <BR>the last day was spent at toronga zoo, then we hopped on a red explorer bus going around the city. we also took in a night harbour cruise, which was really nice. sydney's a beautiful city. <BR>after landing in cairns, we rented a car and spent a night in daintree at kenadon cabins. the next morning, we checked water conditions with the tour info clerk in port douglas (located at the pier) to see when the best day to go out to the reef would be. i would recommend this before booking any boat trips. we were told that the next day would be best, at a calm15 knots and booked a trip there with aristocat. so we went on a daintree river cruise and spent the day driving up cape tribulation road where we went on some nice walks. we also had booked a night jungle tour with mason's tours but didn't see any crocs, but some snakes, lizards and mice (!). <BR>in port douglas, we stayed at a great place called the boathouse on macrossan. it's a beautifully decorated (zen/balinese) fully accomodated apartment. <BR>it was a perfect day on our trip to the reef. our boat, the aristocat, was really nice. it holds 40 but only had 20 people that day. we went to 2 reefs. we snorkeled but you can do resort dives as well (no previous scuba training needed). i loved it. the sights were amazing. be sure to reapply your sunscreen after each dive... :-) <BR>our last day, we headed to mossman gorge, took in a little hike and went for a dip in a swimming hole. we also went to the rainforest and wildlife habitat in port douglas, where you can see all the animals that you didn't see in the wild upclose. <BR>i wish we had more time overall! this trip was just a tease... must go back soon. <BR>here's the url to my site if you want to read more: <BR>http://www.geocities.com/quimbymoy7/australiap.1.html <BR> <BR>tina

Hi Tina: <BR> <BR>Please give me the name of the hotel you spent the one night in Auckland, New Zealand. We are making a trip in February next year and will spend only a night in Auckland. Thank you.

Thanks Tina. Great report. We are heading to NZ (North), Sydney and GBR in August.

Hi Tina, <BR>My 3 daughters are traveling to Australia the end of August and will be in the Port Douglas/Cairns area for about 10 days. I've been looking at all the travel books and checking the web for some day trips to the GBR and also maybe a 2 or 3 night trip. It's hard to compare trips and prices. Is there one main marina in the Port Douglas area from which most boats depart and would they be able to go check out the diffent trips and book at that time? Thanks for any info.

Virginia, <BR> <BR>I might be able to help with your questions. Have you tried www.pddt.com.au or www.great-barrier-reef.com/ for your info browsing. <BR>All the boats leave from a relatively small Marina at Port Douglas. There are also a few booking agents in the town centre - easy walking distance from the Marina. <BR>For day trips to the Reef, I would recommend one of the medium to large size boats that get out to the Reef in good time and are fairly stable and limited to about 40 people. I would avoid Quiksilver (the biggest operator) as they're will be hundreds of people and you only get to go to one site. We used Poseidon and very happy with them. Haba Dive also came recommended.

hi, <BR>paul, have a great trip yourself! although i only spent a day in auckland, i wish i could've gone to rangitoto island (across auckland's harbour) and the bay of islands, north of auckland. also waitomo & rotorua. heard these were some great places to go to. <BR>marisa, i stayed at the sebel suites right on the harbour. it was a great roomin a really nice hotel (i think it's fairly new). there were 3 of us and we ended up in an executive suite, with 2 bedrooms, fully accomodated with kitchen and laundry. booked the room at the airport and a great rate (nz$160). couldn't beat the location or the amenities there! <BR>matt is also correct. port douglas is pretty small. the pier is hard to miss. i also agree with going on a smaller boat. i always felt looked after by the crew and i just don't like being in big tour groups anywhere, esp. on a boat! <BR>have fun, tina