bfcurson

We are looking for suggestions for best areas to visit for a 4 week trip to Australia/New Zealand in Feb., 2011. We are 66 year olds who love exploring new environs, partaking of varied sites/activities, learning and experiencing new cultures, customs, peoples. This will be our first visit to Australia/New Zealand and want to experience as much as possible. We prefer non-touristy/less crowded areas that offer a true picture of the country. Nature/outdoors appeal more, although we would like to get a feel for some city experiences.

Neil_Oz

bfc, unfortunately, touristy places tend to be touristy for good reasons, so while it's nice to get off the beaten track a bit I wouldn't focus too much on avoiding the popular spots. Travelling in both countries, even in such places, can be a relatively relaxed and uncrowded experience.

I'd be inclined to allocate 2.5 weeks for Australia and 1.5 weeks to NZ.

In general this forum is good for more specific questions about particular destinations, not so much for big wide-open questions like a 4-week itinerary. What I'd suggest is:

- invest in one or two guidebooks (Fodors/Frommers/Lonely Planet/Rough Guide as examples) and get a good idea of what the two countries offer;

- Supplement this with www.australia.com and its NZ counterpart (sorry, don't know the URL), the official tourism sites;

- Consider a specialist Aust/NZ travel agent who can put together a suitable itinerary for you. You'll find Aussie and Kiwi specialists listed on the above websites.

- Even if you don't use an agent, collect a stack of brochures from them and pick the eyes out of the destinations covered in their tours.

- And by all means ask any more detailed questions here.

Good luck!

DownUnder

To be specific, there are certain areas of Australia that should be considered must sees if you want to experience the "culture, customs and peoples".
Of course you must add scenic beauty and flora & fauna, as you don't come to Australia for the Castles & Cathedrals!
Australia is vast with plenty of space so don't worry about going to areas that are too crowded.
I would suggest Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef and environs. Sydney is always a must for the beauty of its harbour and day trips to the Blue Mountains and beaches. Melbourne is a great city and ideal for exploring the Great Ocean Road and nearby wineries. And Uluru must be included for the unique Outback experience.
Join those dots, take day trips from those bases and you will have had a good taste of Australia in 2 or 3 weeks.

Melnq8

If you like wide open spaces, sparsely populated areas, minimal tourists and plenty of outdoor activities, you can't go wrong with WA. It's a wee bit isolated and expensive to reach though. It's also godawful hot in February, so on second thought....

Tasmania is an absolute gem. So much to see and do with beaucoup outdoor activities.

bfcurson

So appreciative for the suggestions as a way to begin the plan. I will head to the book stores/internet and do the research, keeping all of your suggestions in mind.
Theanks again, Bev

ivenotbeeneverywhere

Here you are for Tasmania information. Little convict built villages, history, eco tourism, wilderness, great food, nice little cities and lots lots more
http://www.discovertasmania.com/brochures

travellingdad

You should give yourselves at least 2 weeks in New Zealand.It's an incredible country with so much to see and do, and best of all, you can hire a car and drive most of it. Australia is more challenging because of distance; having been to both countries, my inclination would be towards a leisurely self drive of New Zealand, plus Sydney and a couple of other Aussie stops.

travellingdad

You could look at my son's blog for our NZ trip highlights
http://travellingdad.wordpress.com/2...y-12-year-old/
but these would be some NZ highlights :
North Island - Coromandel, Rotorua, Tongariro, Taupo, bay of Islands
South Island - Nelson, Abel Tasman NP, Malborough Sounds, Glaciers, Queenstown, Christchurch, Milford Sound.
I'm envious already !

ivenotbeeneverywhere

travellingdad! suggests Sydney and a couple of other stops for Australia - he has to be kidding me! When you say you have been to Australia travellingdad where exactly did you go ( perhaps Sydney and a couple of other stops but little else)?
Australia is easy to get around and cheap if you pick the right flights. Driving is no worse than in NZ - I am thinking of Cairns and surrounds and Tasmania when I say that. You don't need a car in many other areas anyway because public transport is good i.e. Sydney and Melbourne.

jenmorg

I would not go to Far North Queensland in Summer. Its the wet season and very humid. You even run the risk of a cyclone.
I live in Sydney and there are many things to see and do. I would also recommend Tasmania in Summer.
A great place to visit in Queensland is O'Reilly's guesthouse in the Lamington National Park. It is in a rainforest, the rooms are great and the people are friendly. You can do guided walks or bus trips or you can go out on your own. We have been there many times and always enjoyed it. It is in the Gold Coast hinterland so it is easy to get to from Brisbane or Coolangatta Airports. It is off the beaten track.

tinydancer

February is late summer, so you could probably skip Cairns because it's going to be extremely hot and humid, and you can't go swimming because of the jelly fish at that time of year. But in 2.5 weeks you could easily visit Sydney, Melbourne, and either Uluru OR Tasmania. The suggestion of doing day trips out of Sydney and Melbourne is perfect. Both places have easy access to the outlying and natural areas. But both are beautifully located on the coast, so not like some other land locked cities. Very natural.

Tasmania would be very different from Uluru and the center of Australia, so you'll have to do a little bit of reading to help you choose between the two.

I don't have much experience with NZ, but my cousins went to the South island only for 8 days, and said it wasn't enough time for them, so maybe skip the North island?

I feel confident that skipping Queensland completely in the summer is a good idea unless you really crave hot weather.

February is also after school holidays are over, so easier to find places to stay.

jackact

In Sydney, consider staying at the formerly notorious Kings Cross. Handy to train and buses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QOSA_AUXxQ

AlanJG

Cairns will certainly be humid but each of the southern capitals is likely to have a hotter maximum for the month. Cairns does not get the winds from central Australia which pushed Adelaide's temp over 40*C for a week. Even Hobart in Tasmania gets hotter than Cairns nearly every year.