Planning a trip to Australia and maybe New Zealand. Advice?

[Lisa0825]

Hello, all! My niece just moved to a town near Sydney, and I would like to visit her in 2018. But since the flight is so long, and I have some other "wishes" in that part of the world, I thought I would plan for a few weeks, and try to knock them all off my bucket list. I thought I would pop in here and see if anyone has experience traveling around Australia.

In addition to seeing my niece, I also would like to:
1) See the Great Barrier Reef before it is gone.
2) Meet up with an internet friend from Brisbane.
3) Visit New Zealand

So here is something I have been mulling over... 1 week in New Zealand either on the front or back end of the trip. 2 weeks in Australia. Fly into Sydney, visit my niece at her home. Drive up the coast to Brisbane, overnighting somewhere - are there any cool towns in between Sydney and Brisbane where I could spend a couple days? Fly from Brisbane to Cairns for reef and rainforest. Drive back to Sydney, stopping at another town for a visit along the way.

If there isn't much to see between Sydney and Brisbane, I could just fly straight to Cairns from Sydney instead. I was just thinking that I loved my drive up the Pacific Coast Highway in CA, stopping overnight in a couple towns, so I thought the same kind of plan might work, but I know next to nothing about the area, and my niece has only been there a few weeks.

[Doreen]

1. Don't come back.

It's safer there.

[Lisa0825]

3. My niece said I should buy a 1-way ticket because i won't want to leave! LOL

[Doreen]

5. I agree with her.

[Kleveland]

8. I second that motion.

My country is dying... and I am having a sad.

[KeepItReal]

2. Byron Bay is a great place south of Brisbane

I flew from Sydney from Brisbane once I realized it's a little too long for a train ride.

From Brisbane we drove down to Byron Bay and spent a night. Amazing beach and a cool town.

Have a great trip!

[Lisa0825]

4. Thanks! I will check it out! :-)

[dhill926]

12. agreed....

[samnsara]

6. fun!!!! we planned the same trip about 10 years ago then we saw....

...an article about some storm chasing tours..so we did that instead...for the next 10 years!

[Lisa0825]

7. WOW! That sounds exciting! I didn't know that kind of tour existed! nt

[Laffy Kat]

9. Watch out for the creepy crawlies in Australia.

Sidney red backs, funnel webs, brown snakes, tiger snakes, box jellies. Eeeeeek!

[Lisa0825]

16. Yes! My niece has told me about those too.

It is really funny that she fell in love with Australia and moved there, because she is terrified of spiders!!!

[SharonClark]

10. Good plan but a lot of driving if you only have a few weeks

Suggestion: Fly into Sydney, visit niece. Fly to Gold Coast (1.5 hours flying vs 9 hours driving), rent a car and tour around the Gold Coast and a little south to the Tweed Valley. Drive or take train to Brisbane and spend a few days there. Fly from Brisbane to Cairns (> 19 hours driving vs 2.5 hours flying) for reef and rainforest. Fly back to Sydney (27 hours driving vs 3 hours flying) and then fly (3 hours) to Auckland (North Island), Wellington (North Island), Christchurch (South Island) or Queensland (South Island) depending on your interests.

I've spent quite a bit of time in both countries and have never been to Cairns (too hot for me).

Hope this helps.

[Lisa0825]

13. Thanks a bunch!

I have looked at some airfares between those cities, and they are pretty reasonable! My only reason for thinking about doing part of the trip (Sydney to Brisbane) by driving would be if it would be a beautiful drive with a couple of nice stops for overnight. If those don't seem to work out or seem to be worth the extra time, I will definitely consider flying instead. Thanks for the input! I appreciate it!

[rickford66]

11. Keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in your carry-on.

About 2 hours before landing, get thee to the lavatory and brush. You'll feel refreshed and will beat the long lines that form close to landing. The round trip from Christchurch to the West Coast by rail is well worth it. Plan on at least a month's vacation. Two or maybe three days complete recovery from jet lag. Last time we went, we added a few days in Hawaii to help combat the jet lag. If you don't have a frequent flier program, now would be the time to accumulate around 18,000+ miles.

[Lisa0825]

14. I have plenty of vacation time saved, but I don't think I can realistically

take more than 3 weeks at once. I have deliberated splitting it into 2 trips, but you never know what will happen in life, and I may not have the chance to go back for quite a while. So I'd rather try to fit it all in and then if I can go back, i can pick a destination and spend more time.

I don't have an international frequent flier program. I will definitely look into that! Thanks!

[rickford66]

15. Keep this in mind.

Recovering from jet lag takes the same time no matter the length of your vacation. Maybe look into modifying your sleep pattern to be closer to the South Pacific time zones. Also, I assume you will check the need for an entry visa for Australia. NZ hasn't required one, but check anyway. My late wife was British, but brought up in NZ. On a trip back in 1980, she was refused boarding a flight from NZ to Ausie because the visa requirement had just taken effect. Two week delay to get visa plus change tickets. She never needed one before. Her siblings are NZ citizens and don't need one. Enjoy your vacation. My son and I promised my late wife we'd return to NZ sometime soon.

[Lisa0825]

17. Great tips! Thanks!

I will definitely make sure all my travel requirements are in order when the time comes that the trip is more definite. Right now, I am just tossing around ideas and dates. I started thinking it may be better to push it off to 2019 because I should be in a new house by then, and I don't want to have a trip while in the midst of preparing to move. So I have plenty of time to plan ahead for it. I don't want to be there at the peak of summer, so I am thinking now maybe April 2019.

Thanks for the advice!