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[Honeymoon On!] Calling all Aussies/Kiwis/Fijans?
saint2e
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey all,
My wedding/Honeymoon are fast approaching, and the wife-to-be and I will be going on this guided/excorted tour of Eastern/Central Australia, New Zealand, with a stopover in Fiji afterwards:
http://www.goaheadtours.ca/tours/AUN/australia-new-zealand-tour.aspx
First question is we'll be going in July/August, which I understand is their winter. What temperatures should we expect?
Second, since most of the tour is already decided for us, we have a few days where we have kind of a day to explore the city we're staying in:
Australia
Cairns
Alice Springs
Melbourne
Sydney
New Zealand
Christchurch
Queenstown
Auckland
Fiji, in general.
I guess I'm just looking for recommendations in the above cities for things that the tour obviously isn't including. For example, in Sydney we're looking at doing the tour of the Bridge on our "off day".
I know literally next to nothing about Fiji, and it seems that we'll be staying at a resort there. I've heard things about "unrest" in Fiji, but nothing concrete.
Recommendations would be much appreciated.
My wedding/Honeymoon are fast approaching, and the wife-to-be and I will be going on this guided/excorted tour of Eastern/Central Australia, New Zealand, with a stopover in Fiji afterwards:
http://www.goaheadtours.ca/tours/AUN/australia-new-zealand-tour.aspx
First question is we'll be going in July/August, which I understand is their winter. What temperatures should we expect?
Second, since most of the tour is already decided for us, we have a few days where we have kind of a day to explore the city we're staying in:
Australia
Cairns
Alice Springs
Melbourne
Sydney
New Zealand
Christchurch
Queenstown
Auckland
Fiji, in general.
I guess I'm just looking for recommendations in the above cities for things that the tour obviously isn't including. For example, in Sydney we're looking at doing the tour of the Bridge on our "off day".
I know literally next to nothing about Fiji, and it seems that we'll be staying at a resort there. I've heard things about "unrest" in Fiji, but nothing concrete.
Recommendations would be much appreciated.
saint2e on
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Auckland you can expect to be about the 10 degree mark (real units, not Imperial) - Winters in NZ, can be quite changeable with quite a bit of wind rain. Christchurch will be colder, Queenstown moreso - you will probably get frosts and maybe snow.
As for what to do: Queenstown is a destination in itself... Skiing, bars/clubs etc all geared towards tourists. You'll have no problems. Auckland is definitely better in summer, but if you're feeling vigorous, you can still go round some of the islands, or check out things like Museums etc - Auckland has great restaurants too. Christchurch I don't know so well... I haven't enjoyed my times there so much - but I think rather than slag it off, I'll leave it for someone more enthusiastic to recommend places ;-)
Fiji WIll be more tropical however. I don't know when the rainy season is...
In Sydney, the bridge climb is a pretty great touristy thing to do - it's fairly expensive though, and I'm pretty sure they don't run it in bad weather, so if you're only there a day or two, you may not be able to get that in.
Can't think of much touristy in Melbourne (happens when you live there... pretty much every 'touristy' area seems horrible to me). Melbourne is a pretty great place for reasonably priced fine dining (sydney has some great fine dining, but you'll usually pay through the nose). July/August we have the Melbourne International Film Festival, but that's not very honeymoon-y.
UK Friends have enjoyed penguins ( http://stkildapenguins.com.au/ ), also a day trip out to the Yarra Valley wineries (do it on a weekday, weekends are crazy out there).
Edit: Just saw both of those are part of your tour anyway (well, they take you to philip island rather than st kilda). Going with the penguins and winery recommendations should treat you fairly well. Otherwise, venturing out through the inner north and grabbing brunch at a little cafe and just generally wandering about would be a decent way to spend a fair-weather day.
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Sounds like NZ is a little colder for the time frame we're going, so we'll be sure to pack a couple hoodies, and we were counting on packing a jacket for rainy weather. If the temperatures do dip down below freezing, I'm sure a couple Canadians can handle that.
NZ is not tropical.
It's sub-tropical, which basically means that we get great summers, but cold winters, it's just that unless we're up high or down south, we wont see snow. So yeah, it's a shame that you wont be here in the summer - but if you want to do some snowboarding/skiing etc, then you'll adore queenstown.
But assuming Aussie/Fiji are nice and warm, don't forget to bring a few warm Jackets ;-)
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Christchurch is a nice enough place - but it is very flat and sprawling. There is a clearly defined tourist trail which your tour seems to have covered.
Other things - you could consider taking a bus to Akaroa on Bank's Peninsula - it is a cute little sea side village, originally settled by the French. Go up to the Port Hills (hill range above Christchurch to the south) - it has a cable car and an amazing view.
Generally in Christchurch I'd advise you try and find some good cafes and bars - there is a "Strip" alongside the Avon which is the focus of the town but I would not recommend it as it can get a little rough on Thursday-Saturday nights. The new Lichfield Street area is probably better for you guys. If you really want to go somewhere nice for dinner, I can ask some friends for specific restaurant recommendations. Say the word
In Queenstown - well I'd say just take as much opportunity to explore the lake/natural side of things. Perhaps also do a winery tour?
You can probably expect at least one or two days of sunshine minimum if you're in each place for a week or so.
Days upon days of rain is very rare in Australian winters.
Also, if you get a nice warm day (which happen every now and again in winter) i'd suggest visiting one of the beaches.
Just maybe not the touristy ones like Bondi, unless you like giant crowds. Dee Why's nice. Its been like a decade since I was last there, but I hear it got trendy after I left :P
If you're adventurous enough to try driving, hiring a car and heading further from there up towards Barrenjoey Head is good times. Nice views, fancy houses.