Hong Kong, Aus and NZ - suggestions on itinerary please
Discussion
Looking to book 3 weeks away at end of May and beginning of June and wife and we have settled on the below.
I was wondering if colleagues on here could put forward suggestions of possible amendments to our trip to get the best out of it as neither of us have been to any of these countries.
Heathrow to Hong Kong flight(2 days spent there),
HK to Brisbane flight (2 days spent there with family and drive down Gold Coast),
Brisbane to Sydney flight, (6 days spent seeing Sydney and driving to Melbourne down Great Ocean Road),
Melbourne to Christchurch flight (9 days driving around New Zealand's South Island),
Home.
We realise we have spread ourselves evenly here but we are looking for a fairly active holiday, lots of driving (we have not underestimated how much there will be) and taking in the wonderful natural scenery. Neither of us are into watersports nor relaxing on beaches.
Thoughts about the weather that time of year appreciated too (am informed that New Zealand may be 'cold' - around 14-15 degrees)
Many thanks,
Tizer.
I was wondering if colleagues on here could put forward suggestions of possible amendments to our trip to get the best out of it as neither of us have been to any of these countries.
Heathrow to Hong Kong flight(2 days spent there),
HK to Brisbane flight (2 days spent there with family and drive down Gold Coast),
Brisbane to Sydney flight, (6 days spent seeing Sydney and driving to Melbourne down Great Ocean Road),
Melbourne to Christchurch flight (9 days driving around New Zealand's South Island),
Home.
We realise we have spread ourselves evenly here but we are looking for a fairly active holiday, lots of driving (we have not underestimated how much there will be) and taking in the wonderful natural scenery. Neither of us are into watersports nor relaxing on beaches.
Thoughts about the weather that time of year appreciated too (am informed that New Zealand may be 'cold' - around 14-15 degrees)
Many thanks,
Tizer.
Can only really comment on NZ. South Island will definately be nippy at that time of year, especially in the mountainous bits.
With 9 days to play with, head to Queenstown. Do the jetboating and stuff - the Shotover one is the most famous and touristy, or up in Glenorchy there's a company that do them up the Dart River ( http://www.dartriver.co.nz/dartriver/ ) - you say you're not into watersports but they do a great trip where you jetboat up the river, then kayak back down. It's in the most stunning scenery with pure clear water and a fantastic way to see it. If you fancy a bungee jump, it's one of the best places to do it with three sites to choose from. Go up the Skyline cablecar to a restaurant with stunning views and a luge track to play on!
You also need to do either Milford or Doubtful Sound - we did the latter with realjourneys.co.nz. The former has a road to it, the latter needs a trip across a lake first, then a bus over a dirt access road to the Sound. The overnight trip was great - toured around, stopped in one of the bays for either kayaking or a smaller motor tender to see wildlife on the edges, went further up to watch the sun go down, a great dinner then bed. Up before dawn to watch the sun come up in complete silence - absolutely incredible.
We went on down to Invercargill (famed for The World's Fastest Indian - there's a hardware shop where the owner bought a load of the bikes and memorabilia from the film), around to Dunedin where there's really good albatross and penguin conservation reserves, and along the coast back towards Christchurch.
As you've got a few more days than we did, you could extend by going from Queenstown up to Fox or Franz Josef glaciers. You can get really good walking tours up and onto the ice which are fascinating. Stay locally, get up before dawn and go to Lake Matheson - walk around from the carpark and you get a wonderful view of Mount Cook and Tasman as the sun comes up, all beautifully reflected in the perfectly still, mirror-smooth lake.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=lake+matheson
Unfortunately you'd have to double-back on yourself to get back to Queenstown again but well worth a trip.
Plenty more that I'm sure I've forgotten - have a look around the AA's site for plenty more ideas for en-route http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/
With 9 days to play with, head to Queenstown. Do the jetboating and stuff - the Shotover one is the most famous and touristy, or up in Glenorchy there's a company that do them up the Dart River ( http://www.dartriver.co.nz/dartriver/ ) - you say you're not into watersports but they do a great trip where you jetboat up the river, then kayak back down. It's in the most stunning scenery with pure clear water and a fantastic way to see it. If you fancy a bungee jump, it's one of the best places to do it with three sites to choose from. Go up the Skyline cablecar to a restaurant with stunning views and a luge track to play on!
You also need to do either Milford or Doubtful Sound - we did the latter with realjourneys.co.nz. The former has a road to it, the latter needs a trip across a lake first, then a bus over a dirt access road to the Sound. The overnight trip was great - toured around, stopped in one of the bays for either kayaking or a smaller motor tender to see wildlife on the edges, went further up to watch the sun go down, a great dinner then bed. Up before dawn to watch the sun come up in complete silence - absolutely incredible.
We went on down to Invercargill (famed for The World's Fastest Indian - there's a hardware shop where the owner bought a load of the bikes and memorabilia from the film), around to Dunedin where there's really good albatross and penguin conservation reserves, and along the coast back towards Christchurch.
As you've got a few more days than we did, you could extend by going from Queenstown up to Fox or Franz Josef glaciers. You can get really good walking tours up and onto the ice which are fascinating. Stay locally, get up before dawn and go to Lake Matheson - walk around from the carpark and you get a wonderful view of Mount Cook and Tasman as the sun comes up, all beautifully reflected in the perfectly still, mirror-smooth lake.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=lake+matheson
Unfortunately you'd have to double-back on yourself to get back to Queenstown again but well worth a trip.
Plenty more that I'm sure I've forgotten - have a look around the AA's site for plenty more ideas for en-route http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/
sjg said:
Can only really comment on NZ. South Island will definately be nippy at that time of year, especially in the mountainous bits.
With 9 days to play with, head to Queenstown. Do the jetboating and stuff - the Shotover one is the most famous and touristy, or up in Glenorchy there's a company that do them up the Dart River ( http://www.dartriver.co.nz/dartriver/ ) - you say you're not into watersports but they do a great trip where you jetboat up the river, then kayak back down. It's in the most stunning scenery with pure clear water and a fantastic way to see it. If you fancy a bungee jump, it's one of the best places to do it with three sites to choose from. Go up the Skyline cablecar to a restaurant with stunning views and a luge track to play on!
You also need to do either Milford or Doubtful Sound - we did the latter with realjourneys.co.nz. The former has a road to it, the latter needs a trip across a lake first, then a bus over a dirt access road to the Sound. The overnight trip was great - toured around, stopped in one of the bays for either kayaking or a smaller motor tender to see wildlife on the edges, went further up to watch the sun go down, a great dinner then bed. Up before dawn to watch the sun come up in complete silence - absolutely incredible.
We went on down to Invercargill (famed for The World's Fastest Indian - there's a hardware shop where the owner bought a load of the bikes and memorabilia from the film), around to Dunedin where there's really good albatross and penguin conservation reserves, and along the coast back towards Christchurch.
As you've got a few more days than we did, you could extend by going from Queenstown up to Fox or Franz Josef glaciers. You can get really good walking tours up and onto the ice which are fascinating. Stay locally, get up before dawn and go to Lake Matheson - walk around from the carpark and you get a wonderful view of Mount Cook and Tasman as the sun comes up, all beautifully reflected in the perfectly still, mirror-smooth lake.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=lake+matheson
Unfortunately you'd have to double-back on yourself to get back to Queenstown again but well worth a trip.
Plenty more that I'm sure I've forgotten - have a look around the AA's site for plenty more ideas for en-route http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/
I would add that I would start in the North of the Southern island, visit some vineyards e.g. Montana, go south west over the Southern Alps to the Fox and Franz glassier's (can do horse trekking here as well as hiking across the glacier with chopper ride on glacier), into Queenstown, jet boats, bungee jumps (Nevis jump 134m, that will sort the men from the boys), Milford Sound is simply a must thing to do, then to Invercargill and then finish in Christchurch.With 9 days to play with, head to Queenstown. Do the jetboating and stuff - the Shotover one is the most famous and touristy, or up in Glenorchy there's a company that do them up the Dart River ( http://www.dartriver.co.nz/dartriver/ ) - you say you're not into watersports but they do a great trip where you jetboat up the river, then kayak back down. It's in the most stunning scenery with pure clear water and a fantastic way to see it. If you fancy a bungee jump, it's one of the best places to do it with three sites to choose from. Go up the Skyline cablecar to a restaurant with stunning views and a luge track to play on!
You also need to do either Milford or Doubtful Sound - we did the latter with realjourneys.co.nz. The former has a road to it, the latter needs a trip across a lake first, then a bus over a dirt access road to the Sound. The overnight trip was great - toured around, stopped in one of the bays for either kayaking or a smaller motor tender to see wildlife on the edges, went further up to watch the sun go down, a great dinner then bed. Up before dawn to watch the sun come up in complete silence - absolutely incredible.
We went on down to Invercargill (famed for The World's Fastest Indian - there's a hardware shop where the owner bought a load of the bikes and memorabilia from the film), around to Dunedin where there's really good albatross and penguin conservation reserves, and along the coast back towards Christchurch.
As you've got a few more days than we did, you could extend by going from Queenstown up to Fox or Franz Josef glaciers. You can get really good walking tours up and onto the ice which are fascinating. Stay locally, get up before dawn and go to Lake Matheson - walk around from the carpark and you get a wonderful view of Mount Cook and Tasman as the sun comes up, all beautifully reflected in the perfectly still, mirror-smooth lake.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=lake+matheson
Unfortunately you'd have to double-back on yourself to get back to Queenstown again but well worth a trip.
Plenty more that I'm sure I've forgotten - have a look around the AA's site for plenty more ideas for en-route http://www.aatravel.co.nz/101/
Tizer said:
Brisbane to Sydney flight, (6 days spent seeing Sydney and driving to Melbourne down Great Ocean Road),
Takes 1 day to drive Sydney to Melbourne, via the Hume Highway. About 850km's, and dead boring - 110km/h and full of fuzz hiding behind bushes. You could go via the Snowy Mountains, or via the coast which is a lot more interesting, and budget 2 days.Great Ocean Road to the west of Melbourne, towards Adelaide (so can't be done on the Syd-Mel drive). Budget 2 days.
smack said:
Tizer said:
Brisbane to Sydney flight, (6 days spent seeing Sydney and driving to Melbourne down Great Ocean Road),
Takes 1 day to drive Sydney to Melbourne, via the Hume Highway. About 850km's, and dead boring - 110km/h and full of fuzz hiding behind bushes. You could go via the Snowy Mountains, or via the coast which is a lot more interesting, and budget 2 days.Great Ocean Road to the west of Melbourne, towards Adelaide (so can't be done on the Syd-Mel drive). Budget 2 days.
If we were to visit Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, which routes would you drive? How highly would you rate the coastal route between Melbourne and Sydney?
I can only comment on the Hong Kong part. Pity you only have two days but HK's transport infrastructure is excellent so you should be able to fit a lot in. In my humble view, HK is the most fantastic and diverse area on the planet, and I'd say the must dos are:
- Star Ferry from Hong Kong Island to Tsim Tsa Tsui (which is pronounced Shim Sha Shoey)
- Try to spend time in Tsim Tsa Tsui, some great cultural features and also good shopping and sights and I'd recommend Nathan Road and also the night markets (look for Temple Street and Ladies Market in particular)
- Cable car to the the bronze budha at Lantau Island is worthwhile, some great views of the parts of HK most people don't look for and lots to do around there too
- Victoria Peak is worth a visit up the steep train, but it's likely to be misty or cloudy then
- Repulse Bay and Stanley are worth a visit
- Be open minded about your food and try different styles, I'd recommend sea food restaurants!!
Enjoy yourself!
PS If you're a gambler, take the hovercraft to Macau where you'll see casions to match Las Vegas
- Star Ferry from Hong Kong Island to Tsim Tsa Tsui (which is pronounced Shim Sha Shoey)
- Try to spend time in Tsim Tsa Tsui, some great cultural features and also good shopping and sights and I'd recommend Nathan Road and also the night markets (look for Temple Street and Ladies Market in particular)
- Cable car to the the bronze budha at Lantau Island is worthwhile, some great views of the parts of HK most people don't look for and lots to do around there too
- Victoria Peak is worth a visit up the steep train, but it's likely to be misty or cloudy then
- Repulse Bay and Stanley are worth a visit
- Be open minded about your food and try different styles, I'd recommend sea food restaurants!!
Enjoy yourself!
PS If you're a gambler, take the hovercraft to Macau where you'll see casions to match Las Vegas
Tizer said:
Lake Matheson looks stunning, really looking forward to New Zealand.
What are the roads like around South Island? Presumably there is a route that can be followed?
Roads are good generally, but if you look at a map there's usually only one way you can go, convenient or not. It does make navigation pretty easy though. Crossing from east to west coast is tricky as there's only a couple of routes. For things like Milford Sound from Queenstown you have to travel around three sides of a square - hence Doubtful Sound is probably a better bet if you're heading south anyway (you leave from near Te Anau). Generally allow more time - there's virtually no dual-carriageway and you can get processions of campervans on the popular routes. There's usually space to overtake but just allow more time than a similar distance in the UK.What are the roads like around South Island? Presumably there is a route that can be followed?
If you go off the beaten track there are dirt/gravel roads (eg. we went to Nugget Point lighthouse and it was about 20k of them) but they're generally well maintained and easily driven in a normal car, just a bit slower. We rented a MX5 on our last trip and it was fine (actually fantastic fun on the gravel!).
Tizer said:
smack said:
Tizer said:
Brisbane to Sydney flight, (6 days spent seeing Sydney and driving to Melbourne down Great Ocean Road),
Takes 1 day to drive Sydney to Melbourne, via the Hume Highway. About 850km's, and dead boring - 110km/h and full of fuzz hiding behind bushes. You could go via the Snowy Mountains, or via the coast which is a lot more interesting, and budget 2 days.Great Ocean Road to the west of Melbourne, towards Adelaide (so can't be done on the Syd-Mel drive). Budget 2 days.
If we were to visit Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, which routes would you drive? How highly would you rate the coastal route between Melbourne and Sydney?
smack said:
Tizer said:
smack said:
Tizer said:
Brisbane to Sydney flight, (6 days spent seeing Sydney and driving to Melbourne down Great Ocean Road),
Takes 1 day to drive Sydney to Melbourne, via the Hume Highway. About 850km's, and dead boring - 110km/h and full of fuzz hiding behind bushes. You could go via the Snowy Mountains, or via the coast which is a lot more interesting, and budget 2 days.Great Ocean Road to the west of Melbourne, towards Adelaide (so can't be done on the Syd-Mel drive). Budget 2 days.
If we were to visit Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, which routes would you drive? How highly would you rate the coastal route between Melbourne and Sydney?
smack said:
You could go via the Snowy Mountains, or via the coast which is a lot more interesting, and budget 2 days.
Was going to be my suggestion too.The journey from Syd-Mel is meant to be pretty dull. It's the south coast that's more betterer.
We did Sydney-Canberra-Snowies-Eden-Jervis Bay-Sydney and there were some fantastic driving roads even in a hired Hyundai.
Edited by Landlord on Monday 26th January 14:42
SleeperCell said:
The coastal route between Sydney & Melbourne would be the Princes Highway.
It is, which is the highway which is near to the coast (many points it is quite far from the coast), which links Sydney - Melbourne - Adeliade. Although I have done the Victorian section a few times, I think it must have been 25 years ago when I did the NSW section.I think the using the Princess Highway south of Sydney, then cut across west to the Snowy Mountain Highway, and then the Great Alpine Road in Victoria would be my pick. 2 days worth, and must be up near 1000 miles, but great roads. When Google Maps starts to co-operate with me I'll make a route.
I know this is car forum and as an avid petrolhead I have to say <gulps> I'd fly. I've just returned from driving the Bruce highway - Brisbane to Whitsundays. Speed limit 110 clicks/hr does your f'in box in - massive great wide open roads and you can't put your foot in and make progress. The Australian Fuzzy-wuzzies are Draconian.
Also did Sydney on our tour - Do the Opera House, and try and get inside it to see a show or do a tour. The place is more mental from the inside than from the outside. Have a daunder through the botanical gardens which are right next to the opera house. Try, "The Rocks" for some Cafe culture and a bite to eat. Get yourself up the AMP tower to get a full view of the Port Jackson and the whole harbour - then you begin to appreciate the scale of Sydney as a city. Bondi beach is worth a look, plenty of (.Y.) on display.
Also did Sydney on our tour - Do the Opera House, and try and get inside it to see a show or do a tour. The place is more mental from the inside than from the outside. Have a daunder through the botanical gardens which are right next to the opera house. Try, "The Rocks" for some Cafe culture and a bite to eat. Get yourself up the AMP tower to get a full view of the Port Jackson and the whole harbour - then you begin to appreciate the scale of Sydney as a city. Bondi beach is worth a look, plenty of (.Y.) on display.
I'm hoping to do a similar trip myself, perhaps in August/Sept. I'd like to take in Sydney though. If you get your agenda and costs sorted, I'd be interested to know more.
Incidentally, a friend of mine is just back from NZ. He travelled to NZ via LA (stayed for one night) then 2 weeks in North island, one in the South (camper van stuff), and home via 2 nights in HK - sounded fantastic.
Incidentally, a friend of mine is just back from NZ. He travelled to NZ via LA (stayed for one night) then 2 weeks in North island, one in the South (camper van stuff), and home via 2 nights in HK - sounded fantastic.
We are heading out to Sydney on 3rd July for 3 weeks - slap bang in the middle of winter 
(got to fit in with school holidays).
We are in Sydney for 5 nights, then flying down to Melbourne to catch up with my family for 4/5 days.
It's the remaining 10 days or so we are not sure what to do with ATM - we will be heading back up to Sydney but then are unsure between Ayers Rock/Blue Mountains/Hunter Valley/somewhere else.
Original plans were to hire a motorhome and drive from Sydney to Melbourne but the climate towards Melbourne will not be great according to family (although still a lot better than a Scottish winter!). So we may look at hiring after we return back up to Sydney and head up the way for a few days.
Any suggestions would be greatfully appreciated.
Are any of you guyus flying on the A380? We do the Dubai to Sydney part in one. I am looking forward to this!
(got to fit in with school holidays).We are in Sydney for 5 nights, then flying down to Melbourne to catch up with my family for 4/5 days.
It's the remaining 10 days or so we are not sure what to do with ATM - we will be heading back up to Sydney but then are unsure between Ayers Rock/Blue Mountains/Hunter Valley/somewhere else.
Original plans were to hire a motorhome and drive from Sydney to Melbourne but the climate towards Melbourne will not be great according to family (although still a lot better than a Scottish winter!). So we may look at hiring after we return back up to Sydney and head up the way for a few days.
Any suggestions would be greatfully appreciated.
Are any of you guyus flying on the A380? We do the Dubai to Sydney part in one. I am looking forward to this!
FWDRacer said:
Missed out on the A380. Gutted. Flew on a 777 Sydney->Dubai which had considerably more room than the Airbus offering from Dubai->Birmingham. I think the A380 is on the Heathrow route with Emirates out of Dubai.
We are going Glasgow - Dubai - Sydney with EmiratesCan't remember the plane for the Glasgow - Dubai bit!
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