Australia & New Zealand

Links

Guide to Buying Beer in Australia
http://www.bugaustralia.com/
http://www.ozexperience.com/index.php
http://www.statravel.com/cps/rde/xchg/us_division_web_live/
http://www.nomadsworld.com/  
http://www.adventuretours.com.au/

Organised Tours

There are many backpacker bus tour companies, all are similar, and on all of them you will meet other travelers and have a good time. Oz Experience is the biggest one, I recommend the smaller ones but all are OK.

You don't need to book any before you get there, most hostels or nearby travel agents will offer you a choice.  I recommend Wayward Bus or Groovy Grape from Adelaide to Alice, and Autopia if you go Adelaide to Melbourne.

Another alternative is just buying a Greyhound pass if you're more independent. Not that expensive.

Reviews

I traveled around with Oz Experience for a few weeks in Jan 2001 and they're great, really fun if you're between 18-25 or so and enjoy the whole drinking/party bus thing. At that time, it was definitely what I was into, so I had a blast and met lots of people and thought the guides were really good.

Í have done my trip to OZ and it was really nice, one of my best experience¡¡¡¡. The most important is that I went on my own but I meet too many people since the first day. I was traveling around east coast from Cairns to sydney with OZexperience buses and it was a really OZ experience. I went also to Alice Spring to see the famous Uruluru and around and I travelled with adventure tours, they are areally good and the guide (Mark) it is excellent.

Transport

Emirates now flies from the east coast to NZ.
Pacific Blue
Qantas
Jetstar
Oz Jet
Shareyourride.net
Cairns Airport is international and hosts Cathay and Qantas which have Asian connections to Europe.

Budget

Those "affordable" bungies and jet boat rides cost nearly $100 US or so. Not a bargain.

Weather

The weather is fairly benign most of the year. Backpackers with heaps of time and only a desire to see the east coast start in Cairns in winter and head south with spring or start in Melbourne in summer and head north with autumn.

The Centre is hot all year round and damn cold at night.

Tax and Super Returns

tax and super returns in Australia for $50 each http://www.superreturn.com.au/

Skydiving

I went in northern Queensland in Jan 2001 - but it was a dry summer.  The place I went to was in Mission Beach, about an hour south of Cairns. You have to do your first dive tandem, but the instructors are very laid-back and funny, so it really isn't too stressful. Mission was a great place to dive because it's one of the only places in the world where you can have a BEACH LANDING (easier than normal landing I've heard). It was also phenomenal to dive into a cloud, have a 45 second free fall, and then glide peacefully over rippled green water dotted with islands and snaking coral.

Trip Reports - Hope

Well, I went to Australia in January 2001. It was hot, yes, but not unbearable. There's lots to do besides roast in the sun. I haven't been to Ayers Rock, though planning on going in August. I am shameful to admit that I myself haven't been to Sydney, though I plan on going there this time! Many people I have met rave about the city, however.

I did manage to get to Melbourne, which was very, very nice - lots of great restaurants, very beautiful, lots of art. From Melbourne you can take a day trip out to the Great Ocean Road, which was one of the most AMAZING things I did while I was in Australia. There are many tour companies that will sell one-day tours along this area which includes the most spectacular surfing beaches, limestone formations (gotta see the 12 Apostles), as well as gorgeous secluded cliff, beaches, etc.

I also backpacked from Cairns-Brisbane. Cairns is a big backpackers party, though it can be an excellent place to trade ideas about places to visit. You can also go on wonderful rainforest tours, do a bungee jump, and explore the Daintree/Cape Tribulation park (very tropical). The Barrier Reef begins here and there are many PADI courses in diving that last for about 4 days. Further down the coast, there is Mission Beach, where you can go skydiving over the reef and land on the BEACH!!! That was phenomenal and if you like that sort of thing, it was really cheap. A few other places are Magnetic Island (beachy times/reef) and Fraser Island. Fraser is a big sand island and you have to go! You rent four wheel drive vehicles (4WD) and get to camp out for a few days.

The highlight of my trip, however, which I often sing high praises of, was Airlie Beach. Airlie Beach itself isn't really what I'm talking about, but the town is the taking-off point for sailing trips to the WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS. The most precious beach (a protected area) in the world with the finest white sand ever is called Whitehaven Beach, and sailing in the Whitsundays is the only way you can see this. The best company to go with is Prosail, and I'd definitely recommend a 2-night/3-day jaunt, complete with meals, lots of fun people, scuba diving and snorkeling. The stars at night took my breath away. I can't really explain it. That sailing trip cost about $200 USD but was worth every penny!!

The Gold Coast is a big tourist area filled with blond, sun-drenched Japanese. It's kind of funny. I didn't like Surfers Paradise too much because it was too commercialized.

Brisbane is a lovely city, though there isn't too much there that's unique. My mom went to college there, so she's always raving about it, but it seems just like a real laid-back place to live.

Lonely Planet has great advice, but if you want to know more, let me know! In August I plan on doing an outback adventure, go to Ayers Rock, sailing in the Whitsundays again (have to!) plus go to Sydney for a bit.

Hope's Travel Blog

Trip Report - Cheval

Í have done my trip to OZ and it was really nice, one of my best experience¡¡¡¡. The most important is that I went on my own but I meet too many people since the first day. I was traveling around east coast from Cairns to Sydney with OZexperience buses and it was a really OZ experience. I went also to Alice Spring to see the famous Uruluru and around and I traveled with adventure tours, they are all really good and the guide (Mark) it is excellent.
Thanks to Esperanza because all she has written in this forum was very important for my trip.

I was doing scuba diving in Cairns at the great barrier, skydive in arlie beach, kitesurf in byron bay and cairns, hang gliding in byron bay, and too many walks around some of the many national park that Australia has.
Sydey is a interesting city where I would like back some day.

Articles

Longest N-S Rail Journey

New Zealand Backpacking

Nice first-hand account of a trip to New Zealand by a backpacker in Feb 2003 issue of STA Traveler Newsletter. You may find useful:

5...4...3...2...1...BUNGY!!!

Six weeks in New Zealand and we have turned into straight out adrenaline junkies! I admit I am the worst addict of the three of us but we have all gotten a good taste of the stuff and we sure do like it. New Zealand is a picture perfect land of dramatic spaces and enchanting vistas. But the reason to do it now - instead of in an RV when you're 70 is because when you get old you will be too scared to engage in half the mad activities they have dreamed up here (if you aren't too scared already, that is.) I'd have to say that the thing NZ does best is provide a very good buzz. But don't imagine we are so shallow that thrills and chills are the only things we seek in this spectacularly beautiful place. NZ also offers a ridiculous multitude of jaw dropping panoramic views; as you round just about every bend of the highway, another breath-taking scene is revealed.

The place is probably the most incredibly scenic country I have ever visited. There are dramatic fiords rising majestically from the sea, picturesque ski towns, jagged alps surrounding crystal clear lakes, waterfall after waterfall, several day long tracks through untouched wilderness, clear water flowing through alpine rivers that you can actually drink, treacherous glaciers to climb, and endless beaches, some with almost tropical vegetation on the crystal clear Tasman Sea. Oh yes, I almost forgot the cosmopolitan cities, with tiny populations, but such worldly feels that they rival many European and American cities. The scenery is as varied as that of a country the size of the US but in a much smaller land area. NZ is so small and all of the wonders are packed into this very compact space, which makes it seem even more impressive. You drive for a couple of hours and the landscape changes drastically. I think I have taken 14 rolls of film!

But let's get real. It isn't all this beauty that brings hundreds of thousands of young people down here each year. It's the hardcore, nonstop, balls-out adrenaline pumping activities that have 'em arriving in droves. Yes, New Zealand is most well suited to the adrenaline junkie. As the Kiwis say of New Zealand, "It's where you'll discover the color of adrenaline is brown," "If you aren't living on the edge, you are taking up too much space," "Go hard or go home." New Zealand is no place for the faint hearted. For a very reasonable sum, you can jump from a perfectly good bridge, or cable car, or a ledge if you prefer. You can do it backwards, forwards, with flips, heck, you can even do it in the dark. The latest craze to hit NZ is the hot air balloon bungy. Essentially, it is exactly what it sounds like. You do a bungy jump out of a moving hot air balloon. Of course you can still do the old fashioned stuff like skydiving. But if jumping from a plane seems too passe, you can be dragged on a wire below a moving plane. You can also heli-bike, heli-hike, or heli-ski. What are those activities, you ask? You can take a helicopter up a mountain and bike down - actually fly is more like it... or they can drop you at the top of a glacier and you can hike up - ice axes and crampons provided...or if that seems too tame for you, they can drop you at the STEEPEST snow face of a mountain and you can ski down. And how is all of this madness possible, how is it legal?!?!? Well, actually the Kiwis have managed to avoid all of the expensive insurance that makes all of these activities so crazy expensive in places like the USA and Canada by making it impossible for you to sue the operators should they screw up and kill you. That's reassuring isn't it?!?! Rest assured, you will more than likely make it back from New Zealand in one piece though, and you'll have a lifetimes worth of stories to tell.

Heather Noonan, Manager, IPGS

No Worries

Good (though cheesy) travel essay on Australia in Feb 2003 issue of STA Traveler:

Australia

When the Australians say "No worries" to each other it is more than just an expression, it is a way of life. Whether you are in Cairns exploring the Great Barrier Reef, or down in Byron Bay trying to catch a wave after a quick trip to Nimbin, it is a way of life. A perfect place to truly see what this feeling and lifestyle is all about is in a small town along the coast of Queensland called Airlie Beach, the doorstep to the Whitsunday Islands and paradise. The islands are a string of uninhabited lush green havens in the waters of the Coral Sea. They have white sand beaches that you could nap on all day long, views that cannot be matched and absolutely no way to spend the night. The best and, some may say, only way to see these natural treasures is to make your way on to one of the many windjammer cruises that departs from Airlie beach for a three day cruise. All of these cruises are run by first rate crews and have dive equipment on board if you wish to see the world below and witness the wonder that is the Great Barrier Reef.

On my particular trip we set out early in the morning of the first day and made our way under sail to a place that I could not even begin to imagine. I had gotten my diving license a few days ago and couldn't wait to try it out first hand in the open water rather than in a pool. The sailboat that we were on was a gorgeous 100 ft. thing of beauty. She had two masts with an onboard motor as well. The deck was of good size, large enough for all 10 passengers to sleep on at night, a mess with some cooking facilities and sleeping berths for all of us in both private cabins and more open areas for up to four at once. We had all our food provided for us and if we wanted alcohol we needed to bring our own. After the first morning was spent making good time, we arrived at the first island in time for lunch. All I wanted to do was throw on my wetsuit and dive below finally putting my new skills to use. Lunch was worth my patience though, eating a wonderfully prepared meal on the beach in absolute tranquillity.

The highlight of the three-day cruise was the first time that my head disappeared under the cresting waves and I could see clearly the world unfold before me. The colors that existed seemed to jump at me from the coral and the fish that would dart away as I reached out to touch them. I was lucky enough to have thought of renting an underwater camera for the experience and it was a worthwhile investment. I captured what I saw before me and when I got the pictures back they only confirmed the reality what I thought had been imagined.

All in all, the trip was one where I saw things I never would have seen in my hometown, Boston. Relaxing on deck with a strong wind behind us, crashing through the swells and the splash of the salt water moistening my face; it was a paradise found. Once home, I reminisced about the nights sleeping on deck in my sleeping bag and the night dive where I was kicking myself for forgetting my camera. It was an experience that I would never forget and could never duplicate. It was only when we were disembarking and planning on meeting that night for drinks at the local bar that I wondered what time it was that I realized I hadn't worn my watch the entire time. It dawned on me what that expression I had been hearing so often was all about, to this day I don't wear a watch; when people ask me why I simply say "no worries."

John Perry, Travel Advisor, Boston