My husband and I are planning a 3 week trip to Australia and New Zealand in early 1998. We would like to start planning the trip but we have no idea of the best places to go or the best way to get around. A visit to the Great Barrier Reef is a definite but where do we go from there?
Any general suggestions on what not to miss? Is March a good time of year? Cheers.

Barrier Reef is somewhere along townville & Cairns.

Ayers rock is a must, fly to alice spring & join
a 4WD campout tour, great fun ...

Go down south to adelaide, visit kangeroo island.
beatufil island.

take one way package that bring to to visit,
grampiams, mount gambier, great ocean road
to Melbourne.

from Melboure, visit barossa valley, tasmania

March is late summer and the main heat is out of the sun - looking at temps of about 18 celsius approx. Must sees? North Island : Cape Reinga by coach from Bay of Islands (a full day trip, go up 90 mile beach in the coach to the tip of NZ). Rotorua - thermal activity - mud pools, geysers, Taupo for a gorgeous lake with three mountains - Ruapahu, Tongariro and Ngaruahoe just south of Taupo. In the South island, heaven abounds! lakes, mountains, valleys, and hills. Breathtaking. Go to Fox Glacier or Franz Josef Glacier. South island best done by car. You can drive almost to the face of the glaciers. Queenstown is beautful, Arrowtown nearby with authentic pioneer town. South island tends to be a little cooler and less humid than the North. Hope you have a great time.

Have to echo what Randy said about a 4WD tour from Alice Springs, as I just did one of those in April for 3 days (camping) and loved it. I'm going back in October for another 25 day trip.

On my last trip in April I started in Sydney, then to Melbourne, then to Alice Springs (Ansett), then to Cairns (Ansett again), and then 1,600 miles down the coast via bus to Sydney. On previous trips I've been down the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide, and north of Cairns into the Cape Tribulation area.

I have plenty of photos on my web page if you want to take a look:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tomgriffin

This trip, as I come down the coast, I'm going to focus on Noosa/Maroochydore (return trip), Mission Beach, Byron Bay, and Airlie Beach (Whitsunday Islands-want to do a 3 day schooner tour).

Tom

Florida couple in early retirement would like to casually tour the land of OZ and New Zealand over a 30 day period in October, 1998. We would like to find a Point of Contact to coordinate self-directed travel and tours. We prefer the "low-key" travel approach rather than the crowded pre-programed packaged tours. Any suggestions or contacts would be very nice.

Andy & Louise

Found your inquiry in the Departure Lounge about your forthcoming visit to NZ.
We can help you with accommodation in Queenstown on the South Island. We can also give you suggestions for activities in the Queenstown area that you might be interested in, or point you in the right direction for the best deals.
Check out our web page and let us know if we can be of any assistance.

Christie

Andy,
I read your message about your upcoming trip to Australia on Fodor's web page.
We are in the process of planning our trip to Australia in Feb 1998 and have been working with a wonderful agency that is helping us to put a great trip together. They have customized it for us with private tours, and great suggestions on places to go, (non-touristy).
The agency is Down Under Connections, in Atlanta, GA. Phone # 800-937-7878.
We're from Ohio and have been able to work with them via phone on everything.

If you give them a call, tell Louise and Bonnie I said HI!

Theresa Wise

Hi, I am a Victorian who has lived in beautiful Queensland (Brisbane) for the past 18 years.
Should you require any information regarding Brisbane/Gold Coast/to Cairns (general info)
please reply and I will attempt to give or obtain some information for you. I am sure you will enjoy Australia, but remember it is a huge place, the main areas being around the coastline. The centre (Ayes Rock etc) is a long way from nowhere and nothing in betweeen. It is certainly worth visiting if you can spare time.

Interested in Bed and Breakfasts on North Island of New Zealand -1st 2 weeks in March, 1998

I am in the process of planning a trip with my parents to New Zealand. As they ONLY have seven days to see the whole country on their jaunt, can someone suggest a limited itinerary which will allow them to get a good flavor of the country without running themselves ragged to get to one place to another. I was thinking of flying into Auckland and flying down to Queenstown and renting a car? Any thoughts?

Hi
Let me know the dates you will be in Queenstown
I can then help you out with any thing you need

Thanks
Noel

Having spent 8 years working in Papua New Guinea we have seen many different areas of Australia. The far north of Queenland is a must stay in Cairns or Port Douglas they can both be good doors to the Great Barrier Reef, great diving and snorkling. Camping trips can be taken from Dawin a lovely city to any area in Australia, hot and humid close to Kakadu and many other great spots to visit. Perth is a lovely place. You can do a lot of your bookings in Australia but be warned the airfares are high. Backpackers hostels are plenty, you can pick up more information when you land in any major city about travels in all of Australia and the travel agents are great. Make sure you use lots of sun screen +15, use hats and wear shirts.

Greetings from Invercargill at the bottom of New Zealand. We have everything you would ever want within a two hour drive of this city of 50,000. Have a look at our website at http://www.es.co.nz/~hyphen/2000/ while our celebration may be a bit later than your time frame you will be able to tour the region without leaving your desk top.
Cheers,

G'DAY MATES,
I am a Naval Officer stationed in Okinawa planning a trip to Aussie land in March 98. I want to concentrate my travels to the East Coast. Does any expereinced traveler have weather info during this time of year? I would love to visit Cairns and Port Douglas. Air fares are cheap, and so are the accommodations, but the weather sites I have read show this to be a monsoonal time of year for the region. Growing up in Florida, I don't mind the heat and humidity, but rain everyday would be a hassle. Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast are viable alternatives and the weather looks more ideal along with some fabulous beaches. I will be traveling alone and on the move looking for that ideal place with nice beaches, a comfortable place to stay, and hopefully, interesting people to meet. Will consider a trip to NZ if someone could provide an adventerous itenerary. As you can tell, I am open to suggestions. Thanks.

Planning a budget visit to Sydney & Melbourne Feb '98. Request travel time bus/train between two, also if more than 4 hours is there an overnight connection? I wish to contact B&B approved operators to make bookings.
Total visit two weeks. Is there any other place in the vicinity that is a must see?
Thanks.

Melbourne to Sydney by train takes 11 hours. Train leaves Melbourne 8pm, arrives Sydney 7am. You need to book in advance, but unless it is Australian school holidays (mid December to beginning of February) you should be able to do so only one or two days beforehand. If you want a sleeper, it will be harder to get a place. There are many bus companies, which take about the same time, are a little cheaper, but less comfortable. No need to book these in advance - do it once you arrive.

The Coromandel Peninsula, 2 hours from Auckland is an absolute must, many activities for all ages, fitness levels and interests, it is called NZ in miniature, treks and tours to magnificent beaches, majestic mountains, semi-tropical rain forests, Maori medicines and foods of the forest, gold and Kauri timber logging history. Claybird target shooting, 4 wheel drive safaris, flying fox, 230 metre scream merchant, glow-worm tours, scenic boat trips, fishing, diving and much, much more.Great range of bed & breakfast accomm. I can recommend many places and things to see with more than 19 years experience in guiding . Only to happy to help you plan a vacation through NZ.