whensthenexttrip

My 25 year old sister and husband are moving to Brisbane. My husband and I want to visit her next year - possibly in the FEB/MARCH/APRIL time frame. This may be our one and only trip to Australia/New Zealand so we want to hit the highlights. We likely have 15-20 days max.
*We will have our 18 month old son with us - but we are fairly experienced international travelers.

Here's on my ideal must-see list. Any thoughts on the following?

-Visit my sister in Brisbane (4 days)?
-Great Barrier Reef (3 days)
-Ayers Rock area (2 days?)
-Sydney (3 days)?
-New Zealand highlights (5 days?)

Thanks in advance for any ideas and thoughts!

Melnq8

Impossible to hit the highlights of NZ in five days, but considering that's all you've got, I'd suggest this.

Fly into Queenstown - rent a car, spend all your time there. I'm not a huge fan of QT per se, but there's so much to see and do in the area that it makes a good base. From QT you can make the long day trip to Milford Sound (a highlight for most first time visitors). From QT you can be in Glenorchy in 40 minutes - a beautiful gem from which you can take in some of Mt Aspiring Nat'l Park, walk a track or two, and perhaps take the Dart River Safari. From QT you can be in Arrowtown in 25 minutes to visit the Chinese Settlement, poke through town, walk along the river, etc. From QT you can drive to Wanaka in about 90 minutes - in Wanaka you'll find lake activities, walks, access to Mt Aspiring Nat'l Park, etc.
From Queenstown you can easily get to the wine country of Cromwell, Pinot Noir nirvana - it's a fruit growing region, so you'll also find fresh produce, and fruit ice cream, etc. There are a few wineries in the area that serve nice lunches too.

And then there's QT itself, the adventure capital of NZ and such an incredibly beautiful spot - no shortage of things to do - jet boat rides, lake activities, walking trails, bungy jumping, wineries, restaurants, pubs and casinos.

You'll have no trouble filling your five days.

michelhuebeli

Queenstown is the access for the alpine part of NZ - if that's what you want, then it's a good way to do it.

But if it's the North Island that attracts you, the milder climate and the iconic places like Wellington (Te Papa museum) then Napier and Taupo and Rotorua and maybe a couple of other targets you might fit in, then fly from Sydney to Wellington, rent a car that you'll surrender in Auckland, and fly home from Auckland.

Definitely book an "open-jaw" ticket, home to Brisbane, and from Auckland to home.

Then book the domestic flights separately, Australia has budget airlines that your sister will soon scope out for you, and Air NZ and Qantas (and possibly Virgin) will get you to Wellington.

If you fly Qantas, you may want to look at their add-on air passes for domestic flights within Australia.

Susan7

Uluru (Ayers Rock) really only needs one day. There is Uluru (which you can walk around) and then there are some walks in Kata Tjuta (Olgas), and finally viewing the rock at sunset. If you have one full day that's really plenty.

http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/

Also, it's expensive as it is in the middle of nowhere and all the food has to be shipped in.

longhorn55

You probably don't want to hear this, but "Skip New Zealand!" With only 15- 20 days maximum, you barely have enough time to discover the "highlights" of Australia, much less the "highlights" of New Zealand as well.

For such a limited amount of time, I would recommend no more than 4 destinations, especially with a young child because it's so much more difficult to change locations (i.e. fly) with a toddler. (Been there, done that in both Australia and NZ). Just the paraphernalia that a toddler needs is overwhelming!

I would take those 5 days you have alloted to NZ and divide them between the GBR region and Sydney.

cathies

Or, if you skipped sydney then you would have 8 days to spend in New Zealand's South Island.