Itinerary 2024 New Zealand & Australia

 

St. John’s - Montreal - Vancouver - Auckland - Mount Maunganui - Rotorua - Wellington - Blenheim/Renwick - Nelson - Greymouth - Christchurch - Fairlie - Twizel/Mt. Cook - Queenstown (+Milford Sound) - Dunedin - Christchurch - Melbourne - Port Campbell - Port Fairy - Adelaide - Sydney - Gold Coast (Burleigh Heads) - Brisbane - Vancouver - Montreal - St. John’s:

59 nights in hotels, motels, Airbnb, VRBO, B & Bs

-21 different accommodations

-11 flights; 4 different airlines (~24,023 miles flown - 38,684km).  

-2 long distance bus rides

-1 long distance train ride

-4 different car rentals

-over 4,000km driven; over 400km on bus; ~200km by train.

- 1,091,426 steps taken from day of departure, including day of return (avg 17,054 steps per day).

Summary Details:

Arrive Auckland stay 4 nights and explore the city.

-rent car and drive to Tauranga area; stay 2 nights Mt Maunganui/Papamoa Beach.  Hike to top of “the Mount” (not really high, but great views).

-drive to Rotorua and stay 4 nights; explore Rotorua and area and day trip to Lake Taupo.

-Guided day hike to Mount Tarawera (dormant volcano). 

-drive to Wellington (capital of New Zealand) and stay 3 nights.  

-fly Air New Zealand from Wellington to Blenheim and stay in nearby Renwick 2 nights; explore wine area (by bicycle).

-Intercity bus from Blenheim to Nelson, stay 2 nights, day trip to Abel Tasman National Park on Wilson’s Great Day Out boat and walk tour.  

-Intercity bus to Greymouth, stay 1 night.  Rent car for 24 hours, drive part of “Great Coast Road”, see Punakaiki pancake rocks and Hokitika Gorge. 

-Take the famous Tranzalpine train from Greymouth through the southern alps mountains to Christchurch.

-stay 3 nights in Christchurch.  

-Pick up rental car for drive (approx 2.5hrs) Christchurch to Fairlie, explore Lake Tekapo, stay 1 night.  

-drive to Twizel, visit Mt Cook area (highest mountain in New Zealand), hike Hooker Valley and Tasman Glacier lake trails, stay 2 nights (2 different places; including Apollo 11 space capsule to take in the spectacular night sky) in Twizel (about 3 hrs driving total to Mt Cook, Tasman and Twizel).  

-drive Twizel to Queenstown, stay 4 nights in Shotover country (nearby) Queenstown area.   About 3.5hrs drive.

-Day tour (RealNZ) from Queenstown to spectacular Fiordland National Park and boat tour of Milford Sound (fiord).   

-drive (about 4 hrs drive) to Dunedin, stay 2 nights.   Golf at Chisholm Links.

-drive (about 4.5 hrs) to Christchurch, stay 2 nights.   

—13 nights North Island; 19 nights South Island of New Zealand.

-Fly Air New Zealand from Christchurch to Melbourne, Australia, via (stop) Auckland.    

-stay in Melbourne 6 nights.

-Day tour to Philip Island to see famous penguin parade.   

-Pick up rental car in Melbourne and drive along the famous “Great Ocean Road”.   Stop to see a number of sites along the drive and stay overnight at Port Campbell.   

-Drive to Port Fairy, play golf at Port Fairy Golf Links.  Stay overnight at Port Fairy.

-Drive to Adelaide.   Stay 5 nights in Adelaide.  Wine tour day in the Barossa Valley on day 2.   Visit beautiful nearby beach town of Glenelg.  Attend Aussie rules football game during “Gather Round” at the Adelaide Oval on final night in Adelaide.

-fly to Sydney on Jetstar, an Australia discount airline, owned by Qantas.  The flight was easy, only just over 2 hours.

-Stay 7 nights in the CBD of Sydney.  Visit the famous beaches of Sydney, Bondi Beach, Bronte, Coogee and Manly Beach (by ferry).  Attend an event at the Sydney Opera House and explore the sites of the city.

- Fly to the Gold Coast and stay at Burleigh Heads.  Enjoy the beaches of the Gold Coast, with a side trip to Byron Bay and the coastal drive back to Burleigh, a bike ride to famous Surfer’s Paradise with a view of the sky towers by the beach.

-Drive to Brisbane and stay three nights to explore the city.  

-Fly home via Vancouver and Montreal.

More day reports to come!!   Stay tuned!!

-59 nights in hotels, motels, Airbnb, VRBO, B & Bs

-21 different accommodations

-11 flights; 4 different airlines (~24,023 miles flown - 38,684km).  

-2 long distance bus rides

-1 long distance train ride

-4 different car rentals

-over 4,000km driven; over 400km on bus; ~200km by train.

- 1,091,426 steps taken from day of departure, including day of return (avg 17,054 steps per day).

St. John’s - Montreal - Vancouver - Auckland - Mount Maunganui - Rotorua - Wellington - Blenheim/Renwick - Nelson - Greymouth - Chrishchurch - Fairlie - Twizel/Mt. Cook - Queenstown (+Milford Sound) - Dunedin - Christchurch - Melbourne - Port Campbell - Port Fairy - Adelaide - Sydney - Gold Coast (Burleigh Heads) - Brisbane - Vancouver - Montreal - St. John’s: