Going Down Undah

Howdy Gents and Gals,

Wife and I are going down undah for a little undah three weeks - Australia, New Zealand, and a couple nights on Oahu on our leg back. We figure this'll be our last big trip before we start thinking kids...

We're going to Sydney, Cairns, Port Douglas, Great Barrier Reef, and the North Island in New Zealand - anyone have any suggestions on what to bring or where to go? My wife is determined to hug a koala - and we know we can only do that in Queensland.

We're heading thereabouts in May, if y'all have any suggestions.

No friggin clue but have FUN!!!

Don't bother even looking for sticks in HI...but I Am sure you already knew that. OVERPRICED LIKE WOAH!!!


Either way if you get to hug a Koala I WANT PICS!!! Bonus if you get a cigar in the KOALA's mouth. :smiley20:

Nice...I want to go to Australia in the worst way. I have a friend from there. I'll try to get some pointers.

We need LeojVS to get in on this thread. He should know about the area.

Sounds like an awsome trip. Have a great time!

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Originally Posted by nhcigarfan

We need LeojVS to get in on this thread. He should know about the area.

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Also, rsanz could probably help out. It seems he's our only NZ member.

Sounds like fun Paul.

Are you going to be in Brisbane? If so I would stop by one of our friendly vendor's shop. PM me if you want more info.

Well being one of the few Aussies here on the forums at the moment, I think I feel qualified to answer some of your questions! :)

Cairns and Port Douglas, you can expect to be reasonably hot and humid. Weather should be fine and warm on most days, you might just start to get a bit of rain though as the wet season will be thinking about kicking in. Although with the weather so screwy all over the world these days its anyones guess.

Cairns is a nice little town, very tourist centric, so you should be able to get in on some great tours. If you like tropical rainforest type stuff, book a day or two on a guided tour of the hinterlands. You will really enjoy it. Track down one of the places that does harley tours and get in on some of that action as well. The guys are very experienced riders and you'll get real value for money. Do a search for the skyrail train in cairns as well, its a breathtaking experience.

For the most part you'll find aussies are very laid back and easy going. This should make your trip extremely easy and a lot of fun. Hitting up Sydney after your laid back tropical adventure will bring you back into reality though. Its a very fast moving town and its expensive, on the plus side, if your wife enjoys shopping you will have a blast there. If you do Sydney first and then head up North the difference will be immediately noticeable.. :)

If you are heading south past brisbane to the Gold Coast I know of a really great cigar shop that you can visit. PM me for the details on that.

As for the Koala's.. Well the good news is they look soft and cuddly. The bad news is they are quite grumpy, ill mannered and fairly vicious. They sleep a lot of the day away and just don't seem to like being woken up! I have heard though there are quite a few more timid and well behaved ones in some of the wildlife sanctuaries.

I've never been to Auckland in NZ, but I assume from North Island that's where you'll be heading. There is one place I've heard of though which sounds like a real must check out venue. Its called 'The Ice Bar' and yep you guessed it, it's made entirely of ice.

Well if you have any more questions, let me know and I'll do my best to help you out.

well I found this thread.
THere is a place in Sydney where you caan cudde a koala. Its Featherdale wildlife park.
http://www.featherdale.com.au/index.htm

I will post more in a while. Have to take kitty to the vet. She has a big hole in her head........

Thanks Jokerz and Leo - much appreciate the information.

Jokerz - is the skyrail you mentioned the one in Kuranda?

We're heading to Sydney first - staying downtown and plan on doing the touristy stuff before heading to Cairns where we'll be in and out for a week (driving out and staying in the rainforest and taking a cruise to snorkel).

Icebar looks very cool... :smiley20:

im back. The cat with the hole in her head is OK :smiley20: Now, Sydney. There is the Harbour bridge climb from $170-$300 pp, depending on day and time, Luna Park (fun park) right on the harbour , Sky walk, which has you outside, walking around on see thru mesh on top of Center Point tower, or Sydney tower as it is now called, you have Jet boating, and some killer food. To see roos in the wild, go up to Glenbrook, in the Blue Mountains (near where I live) and to to Glenbrook National Park. Will cost you $11 to get your car in (dont walk. Trust me) and there are roos just hopping around. THey can get a little agro, so watch out. Jenolan Caves is great, and its out past Lithgow, which is a fair bloody drive, but its worth it.

Sweeeeeeeet.... though we weren't planning on getting a car. Need it? (a lot of the places you're mentioning seem a bit out). We were thinking of staying in Sydney and doing the local sites, etc. Taking a guided wine tour of Hunter Valley on one of the days - which is our jaunt out of the city.

Any thoughts on unbeatened paths and food? Both fine dining as well as authentic/local food. Wife said y'all have great sushi.

Thanks again for your help!

Hi Mauied, where in the North Island are you going?

If you're just up in Auckland there's not too much I can suggest. Some great clubs and restaurants down the waterfront.

There's this shop I stumbled across the last time I was up in Auckland (I'm sure there are a couple of others too) http://sites.yellow.co.nz/site/havanahouse/

It's a B&M, but not a B&M as you know them (there's no onsite smoking - actually there's an almost total nationwide smoking ban):smiley40: . And be prepared for sticker shock - if not buying duty free.

Further south there's the touristy Rotorua where they'll set you up for tours of bubbling hot mud pools, hot springs and Maori culture shows.

There's bungy jumping all over the place, traditional and the 'vertical' type.:smiley26:

Not many tourists venture out of the Auckland area unless it's to go to Queenstown (in the South Island), but if you're heading down to the lower North Island I've got a few more things of note you may be interested in. Let me know.

I'm in Wellington (aka Wellywood) if you make it this far down.

Just in case you haven't checked it out hae a look here... http://www.newzealand.com/travel/International/

Enjoy your stay.

Cheers

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Originally Posted by mauied1101

Sweeeeeeeet.... though we weren't planning on getting a car. Need it? (a lot of the places you're mentioning seem a bit out). We were thinking of staying in Sydney and doing the local sites, etc. Taking a guided wine tour of Hunter Valley on one of the days - which is our jaunt out of the city.

Any thoughts on unbeatened paths and food? Both fine dining as well as authentic/local food. Wife said y'all have great sushi.

Thanks again for your help!

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mate, if you are doing the local scene, no car required. Outside the city, it depends where you go. You will have to let me know where you are going. Trains can get you most places, then there is busses, and Taxis. Taxis are white here too. Unbeaten paths, car is a great idea, unless its a tour with a company. Hunter Valley :smiley20: GOLD! I dont get to the city much, but yeah, the food is great in the city. Never had sushi in the city though. Will have to give it a go...

The skyrail is in Kuranda, so if its open and you have the time to get to it, its 100% worth checking out.

LeojVS mentioned the harbour bridge climb, its a bit pricey, but you really should do it if you can. Its not a particularily difficult climb so you should be ok with it. Do it just to say you've done it!

Sydney has an awesome mix of food from all over the world. To be honest I'd steer clear of eating roo and the like. Its ok but its never going to be as good as you'll get out in the bush for example at Ayers Rock (Uluru). The one restaurant a lot of people want to go to is Doyles. Supposed to be some great seafood there, so good to look at.

You can also take the ferry to Manly beach for the day from Sydney. Its a nice ride and there are plenty of 'touristy' type things to do. Plus you get a chance to get out on the harbour which is also really nice.

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Originally Posted by rsanz

Hi Mauied, where in the North Island are you going?

Further south there's the touristy Rotorua where they'll set you up for tours of bubbling hot mud pools, hot springs and Maori culture shows.

Not many tourists venture out of the Auckland area unless it's to go to Queenstown (in the South Island), but if you're heading down to the lower North Island I've got a few more things of note you may be interested in. Let me know.

I'm in Wellington (aka Wellywood) if you make it this far down.

Just in case you haven't checked it out hae a look here... http://www.newzealand.com/travel/International/

Enjoy your stay.

Cheers

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Thanks Rsanz - our plans for the North Island are going to the Matakana area and the surrounding wine valley - heard there is a Matakana in May festival. Will be going to Ransom, Acension, Hyperion, and a couple other wineries. Then we are actually driving down to Rotorua to see the Orakei Korako Geyserland, followed by a drive to Waitomo (worm caves). Looks like you're pretty south - I don't think we're gonna be able to make it that far down.

I have heard that the South Island is absolutely gorgeous.

Surf Bell's Beach!

Or if you are aquatically challenged, hang out on the beach and you might see a nude sunbather or two!

:smiley20:

Aussie girls are either fat or super hot. And the hot ones are an amazing breed... :smiley27: :smiley27: :smiley27:

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Originally Posted by mauied1101

Thanks Rsanz - our plans for the North Island are going to the Matakana area and the surrounding wine valley - heard there is a Matakana in May festival. Will be going to Ransom, Acension, Hyperion, and a couple other wineries. Then we are actually driving down to Rotorua to see the Orakei Korako Geyserland, followed by a drive to Waitomo (worm caves). Looks like you're pretty south - I don't think we're gonna be able to make it that far down.

I have heard that the South Island is absolutely gorgeous.

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It sounds like you've got it all sorted. I'm sure you're going to have a geat time. Remember you can bring in up to 50 cigars duty free, and you should be able to pick up some i s o ms at the border (though the selection at the airport duty free stores usually isn't very good).

Yea, most of the spectacular picture postcard stuff is way down south (the nice bits of Middle Earth). I don't get down there often enough.

Have agreat time, drive on the left side of the road and stay safe:smiley20:

So Mauied, how was your Australasian adventure?

I'm baaaaaaaack!

Trip was great - got to meet LeoVJS in a suburb of Sydney, enjoy a smoke and a meal. In a nut shell, held my koala, ate a 'roo steak, petted a kangaroo, snorkeled the great barrier reef, hopped on a bus-on-wheels-worse-than-southwest flight from Virgin Blue (they make you pay for water), went wine tasting in the Warkworth/Auckland area, down to Rotorua, and back to Hawaii for R&R before coming back to a bad reality check.

Wife calls it her favorite vacation ever. I'm not quite as fond of some of the more al-dente moments like staying in a cabin in a rainforest with an open bathroom/shower facing the rainforest, and watching a snake watch me back about 5 feet away.

All and all, great trip. And I'm back, and in need of another one. :smiley5:

And as a funny side bar, I got so used to driving on the right side of the car with my wiper and turn signal controls backwards, I made an idiot of myself trying to do the turn signals in hawaii.

Man, that sounds like a great trip, even from the truncated version. Did you go to NZ at all, or did i miss that? BTW, you have a PM. Oh, and when are you going to post pictures?