ZfromWinnipeg

Our last trip to New Zealand and Australia was two years ago. We had such a great time that we are making a return trip in January - February 2005. We are planning to include a few new areas and revisit others. I would welcome suggestions for improvements to our planned itinerary.

Day 1. Fly from Sydney to Perth.
Day 2-7. Perth and area with a car rental.

Day 8. Fly to Christchurch
Day 9. Christchurch
Day 10. Pick up car rental and drive to Oamaru.
Day 11-12. Dunedin 2 nights.
Day 13. Invercargill
Day 14-16. Te Anau, do Doubtful Sound cruise and drive to Milford Sound (we did the cruise last time).
Day 17-18. Queenstown, return visit.
Day 19-20. Fox Glacier, return visit
Day 21. Arthurs Pass.
Day 22. Return to Christchurch, return the rental car.
Day 23. Fly to Sydney
Day 24-29 Sydney, 5 day return visit.
Day 30. fly home.
This is still preliminary and I will be filling in detailed activites for each area after more research. The NZ sites selected to some degree are dictated by the need to have a sensible travel circuit and to stay within the available time. Never the less I would welcome general comments on the selected new areas. (By the way, we did Mount Cook last time and had great weather and a great time)

Many thanks for your comments.

Z from Winnipeg, Canada

lizF

My feelings about this would be that you are taking quite a chance on Perth at that time of year. I lived in Perth for 7 years and if they have a hot summer it will be dreadful!!!! It got up to 45.6 deg when I was there and it would about that time of year too. Further I went from Edmonton, Alta to Perth so felt it much more. If it is hot the only thing you will want to do is sit in a pool somewhere and that you can do anywhere else in Australia without the cost of getting there. The best time of year for Perth is the about Sept/October when the wild flowers are out and it is not hot yet.
I would be looking at somewhere where you can rely on the weather which is pretty difficult but Tasmania would be OK and so would the coastal areas south of Sydney.

ZfromWinnipeg

Good advice, my alternate location is Adelaide. Hope the weather will be more moderate there.

tropo

ZfromWinnipeg, I travel to Perth frequently, as I have relatives there, and yes January/February will be hot, but then it gets just as hot in Adelaide at that time of the year also. Its unfortunate to change from Perth to Perth it's an exciting city, with much to offer.
Also the south-western corner of Western Australia is very scenic, and generally this area, can be a little bit cooler than Perth, especially around Albany or Esperence.
Its a pity to miss the Margaret River region (with their beautiful wines and beaches, and forests), also giant trees in the forests down near Denmark.
I should be in Perth within the next 3 weeks, and I will ask my sister in law, about temps in those 2 months you mentioned....nothing like "local" knowledge, as they say. Just don't wipe Perth & Western Australia off your list just yet.

lizF

AS Tropo says, Adelaide will be just as hot - both Perth and Adelaide are subject to extreme heat when a high gets into the middle of Australia and therefore the middle of the desert and the desert air blows west to Perth and south to Adelaide. Local knowledge??? What is 7 years of living in a place called then Tropo? A brief visit? It is true that the southern parts of W.A are nice but not in the heat of summer when it is too hot to go looking at large trees and forests - I know because I have done it. All this is not to say that you would not have a great time if the weather was mild - and there are years when it is mild but then there are those years when the temps are over 40 deg for days/weeks on end. Just wanting to let you know what the worst could be. It's a toss up like it is when people want to go to the GBR in those months and hope that it won't rain - sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't - but it does more often than not.

ZfromWinnipeg

Thank you for your comments. I will need to rethink both Perth and Adelaide but will delay any change in plans for another 3 weeks.

Many thanks,

ZfromWinnipeg

Here is my final trip plan as booked:

Day 1. Fly from Sydney to Christchurch.
Day 2. Christchurch
Day 3. Pick up car rental and drive to Timaru then to Oamaru. See towns and Harbour Tyne Area and Blue Penguins. 257 Km.
Day 4. Drive to Dunedin. Possible stops at Totara Estate Centennial Park, Clark Mill, Beach at Hampden, Moeraki Boulders. 135 Km.
Day 5. Otago Peninsula, Tunel Beach walk. 40 Km.
Day 6. Catlin drive to Invercargill. Time permitting, possible stops at Milton and Balclutha, Nugget Point walk 20min, Owaka, Purakaunui Falls 20 min, Matai Falls 30 min, and Curio Bay. 225 Km.
Day 7. Drive to Te Anau. Possible stops at Tuatapere Bushman Museum and Cliften Dean Forest walk. 210 Km.
Day 8. Doubtful Sound cruise. 30Km.
Day 9. Te Anau, Boat across lake to Brod Bay and hike to Limestone Bluff 4 Hr return on the Kepler Track.
Day 10 Drive to Wanaka via Crown Ridge Road. 293Km.
Day 11. Drive to Fox Glacier, hike to the glacier and continue to Franz Josef for the night. 290Km.
Day 12. hike to Franz Josef glacier
Day 13. Optional return to Fox Glacier and continue drive to Hokitika. 160Km.
Day 14. Drive to Cape Foul Wind, Murchison Museum stop at Nelson. 290Km.
Day 15. Day Tour hike in Abel Tasman Park from Kaiteritei by boat 2.5 hour walk. 120Km.
Day 16. Half a day tour trip of the Farewell Spit. If time permits stop at Wharariki Beach. 250Km.
Day 17. Drive to Kaikoura with stops at Havelock, Renwick and Blenheim. 285Km.
Day 18. Drive to Christchurch, stops at Gore Bay, Amberley Beach, return the rental car. Stay in Christchurch. 303 Km.
Day 19. Fly to Hobart Tasmania, Arrive at 12 noon and pick up rental car at airport and drive to Bicheno on A3. 135Km.
Day 20: Hike in Freicinet Park, at night do the penguin tour. 70 Km.
Day 21: Drive A3 highway from Bicheno to Launceston with stops at St. Helens Point and Binalong Bay. 220 Km.
Day 22: Drive to Strahan via Mole Creek with stops at Cradle Mountain and Henty Sand Dunes. 230Km.
Day 23: Strahan, Gordon River tour
Day 24: Drive A10 and stop at Lake St. Clair for a hike and continue to Richmond for the night. 240Km.
Day 25, Morning: Drive to Hobart Airport, 20 Km., and depart for Sydney.
Day 26-28 Sydney, 5 day return visit.
Day 29. fly back to Canada.

We decided to leave Perth and Adelaide for the next trip to Australia.

Interesting experience with hotel reservations.
Top marks for great on line reservation Web site to:
Rydges, Radisson in Sydney, Choice Hotels International, Flag Hotels and Best Western.

Good marks to:
Bella Vista Chain, Federal Hotels and Resorts. Had to request prices from Bella Vista and then booked on line. Federal Hotels after price request had to phone my credit card information.

Services that suck:
Golden Chain in NZ. Requested prices for 15 nights at various locations via their Web site and did not get a response.

www.aatravel.co.nz made on line request for a hotel price. Received the rate for the hotel requested and supplied credit card information as instructed, but could not get confirmation number back from the hotel. Had to send an eMail to the Hotel requesting confirmation. The hotel advised that they did not receive my reservation and could not retrieve my credit card information or the reservation. The staff advised me that dealing with AA was like talking to a brick wall. I made private arrangements for the reservation with the hotel.

I requested prices via posted eMail addresses on the Web sites from two BB places in Tasmania and never received any replies. My eMails went into some black hole from where no eMail is ever replied to or returns as undeliverable.

Anyhow it's all done. Thank you to those that assited me with information.

Jane_47

Just a suggestion, if in Sydney on 26th December it is nice to go to the Lighthouse area near The Gap on South Head and watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. (actually it is stunning) You see the boats leave the harbour then have view of them in open ocean. Afterwards wander downhill to Watsons Bay for some fish and chips, either at the take away, Doyles restaurant or the pub also has seafood. (all owned by our most famous fish and chip people, the Doyle family)

lizF

Much better with your second choice but I am concerned with your accommodation ideas at least for Tasmania - do I understand that you are going to use Flag hotels there or a chain? I hope not because the really fun thing isn Tasmania to do is stay in the wonderful guest houses, B&B or cottages which were made by convicts and have some really 'flavour' to them - so unlike the chains which are about as boring as you can get. I did a Flag Motel chain in Tasmania on my first trip and really was so disappointed because the accommodation - other than one place in Hobart - was dreadful. Even Pub stays are better!

ZfromWinnipeg

The only Flag place I have is in Wanaka NZ. on Mount aspiring Road. Looks like a great place.