Australia & New Zealand: Just do it! The beauty is astounding — and worth the long trip
Story & photos by Liz Biggs
When we arrived at the airport to check in for our flight to Sydney, we were turned away due to the fact that we didn’t have an Australian travel visa. We had to apply and wait five hours for our visa to be granted, cancel and rebook our flights, and stress out for hours not knowing when exactly it would be granted. (It was 2 am in Australia; do visa granters work all night?)
I packed my European travel converter only to realize upon arrival, with a dead phone, that Australian power outlets are not like anything I’d ever seen before. Lucky for us, our boys had the correct converter and we all took turns charging our phones for two weeks. I wore a hat every day so never needed to plug in any hair appliances.
Springtime is usually reasonably warm, so I packed cute things to wear. Turns out it’s pretty close to the South Pole down there, so all I wore was a brown down jacket all day every day — sad I lugged those cute clothes halfway around the world for nothing; all they got was wrinkled.
I forgot to pack skin care products, so I just used hotel shampoo and lotion for my face. Who knew your face could break out at my age? I felt like a teenager with all those pimples.
So, maybe you shouldn’t take travel advice from me. Or maybe you should? Here’s my advice — just do it … just go. What’s the worst that can happen? In countries like Australia and New Zealand, there is so much astounding beauty and fascinating nature, what does it matter if there are a few setbacks? The good outweighs the bad by at least 1000%. (Don’t trust me with math either. And maybe hire a travel agent for your trip down under.)
SYDNEY
We spent a week in Sydney — four nights in The Rocks neighborhood, located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour in the historic city centre, and three nights in Bondi Beach. The Rocks is near the Circular Quay (grand central station for the ferries), so we were able to ferry to Double Bay to meet friends, the Toronga Zoo (highly recommend), Manly Beach (we liked Bondi better, but worth the trip), as well as walk to all the main attractions. The Opera House is amazing; the walk along the water to Darling Harbour was lovely; and we walked across the magnificent Harbour Bridge (well, halfway and then walked up the steps to the Pylon Lookout). We did not sign up for the bridge climb — it was too expensive and time-consuming for us. But it was fun to see the crazy people climbing it in the extreme wind! One afternoon we walked to the Royal Botanic Gardens, and happened upon a concert — Rufus Du Sol. We sat in the park watching the sun set behind the Opera House with hundreds of locals, acting like we knew what we were doing, loving every minute of it.
Being from a beach town, I didn’t think I’d be that impressed with Bondi Beach, so we didn’t even book a hotel there until we took a bus from downtown and experienced it. The beauty is hard to put into words, but I’d say it’s kind of a combination of Big Sur and Waikiki. The waves are huge, and they crash violently into the cliffs. And there are no guard rails — you can walk down on the rocks into the crashing waves along the miles of coastline if you are brave enough. We watched the surfers and swimmers from the Bondi Icebergs, Sydney’s most famous ocean pool. I could have stayed there for hours watching the surfers, especially when the kite surfers jumped 20 feet up into the air and did eight flips. We even saw whales out in the distance.
The day we planned to do the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk (allow an entire day for this, folks) just happened to be the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. There were over 100 sculptures installed along the Coastal Walk, each more fantastic than the other. It is only in late October, so plan your trip to Bondi then — so worth it!
NEW ZEALAND
People ask me which I liked better, Australia or New Zealand. That’s like choosing a favorite child; I can’t answer that question. But I can provide some tips.
One week is not enough to see New Zealand. It looks tiny on the map compared to Australia. But Australia is about the size of the United States and the South Island of New Zealand is about the size of Florida. Silly me for thinking we could see the entire island in a week. Well, we could have if it were flat. If only I would have used a relief map, I would have planned more time to drive up, down and around the Southern Alps and Fiordland National Park. If you try to see all the mind-blowing beauty New Zealand has to offer in one week, take some advice from the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song, “Love the One You’re With,” because you will do a lot of driving. Don’t get me wrong; the scenery is otherworldly, more beautiful and fascinating than anywhere I’ve been. But we had to cover a lot of ground to fill our bucket list.
Bring your adult children with you! They will drive on the left side of the road way better than you, navigate all the unmarked landmarks and trails when there is no cell service, have plenty of downloaded music on their phones, and their hilarious banter will keep you entertained (Lord of the Rings debates, speaking in thick Aussie accents, facts about fern trees and wonderful stories about their five weeks camper-vanning down the East Coast of Australia — the people they met, the sharks they swam with on the Great Barrier Reef, and their encounter with a wild cassowary). But mostly, seeing their excitement and the world through their curious eyes made an eight-hour commute to the magical Milford Sound worth the trip. Majestic waterfalls, seals, penguins (one cute little penguin swam from shore to our boat) — booking a boat tour of the Milford Sound is a must-do. According to Wikipedia, Rudyard Kipling called it the eighth Wonder of the World.
We stayed in Queenstown, located in the Southern Alps, for the first four nights, and it was picturesque. (Fun fact: The NZ Alps get more snow than the Swiss Alps.) Ski season had just ended, so we got a great deal on panoramic-view lodging and had pot roast in the crock pot waiting for us after our 12-hour Milford Sound day. Hiking to the top of Queenstown Hill (more a mountain than a hill!), up past the ski lift, provided the best view. We brought plenty of snacks and sandwiches on the 14-hour day we drove the entire Southern Scenic Route to Dunedin through the Catlins — such a diverse range of scenery from interesting rock formations, small rain forests, waterfalls, seals asleep on long sandy beaches, rugged coastlines, very few people and lots of sheep.
Our stay in Dunedin was less picturesque; it has more of a big city/goth vibe. But the short drive to the beautiful Otago Peninsula to see penguins clumsily walking on the beach and the giant wingspan of the albatross flying in the sky above us made it well worth it. Our boys continued on to Christchurch, Mount Cook and Abel Tasman National Park and were filled with even more awe and wonder.
Several times during our week in New Zealand, locals seemed perplexed that we came all the way from America to their little island. Even the garbage man at our Airbnb in Queenstown asked why we were there; ski season was over. Our waitress in Dunedin said, “We don’t get many Americans here. Why’d you come all this way?” They seemed astounded when we answered, “Nature.” They see it every day and take it for granted. I suppose it’s like Pensacola Beach – one of the most beautiful beaches in the world -- and sometimes we locals get busy and hardly notice it’s there.
So, trust me. Or don’t, and hire a travel agent. But put Australia and New Zealand on your bucket list. The beauty is astounding — worth the long, long, long trip.
Residents of Sydney’s fantastic Toronga Zoo.
