First Timer Planning AUS/NZ and would Appreciate your Insight

[BRANDEE]

On 6/21/2023 at 6:28 AM, crewsgirl said:

Thank you Aussieflyer, and I'm sure we would love Silversea, but the budget would probably not agree, lol. Most likely, we would fly to Hawaii for 2 days to get somewhat acclimated to the time change, then fly to Sydney for 2 days before a 10-12 day cruise. That is probably not as much time as we would like, but ~ 2 weeks will have to do. 

 

And, as you richly point out, Australia is massive, and we would never be able to see everything from just a cruise. I am going to have to console myself that we will be happy doing the cruise thing and getting just a small taste of the area.

 

In your opinion, is Hobart a must do? I see that HAL makes that stop, but I am interested in exploring Princess as well. We are not die hards on a certain cruise line, but would like to choose the itiernary that offers the best ports. Interested in your opinions of each cruise line that is popular in the area for the most reasonable price. 

 

We are happy to do excursions on our own, and if there are others that join together to form small groups, that is the best option for small group tours. We have been successful in other cities with our CC roll call and found better opportunities for small tours. But, if groups don't happen, and the ship offers tours, we have done that as well, but tbh, we prefer a group of 20 or less. 

 

And I agree with you, I need to get busy, 2024 will be here in a hurry! I just now have the hubby on board to consider this trip. 

 

[Sparky74]

37 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

Some people are hard to be polite to, I think I won't bother.

I'm yet to meet a Canadian I dint like. Happy Canada Day for tomorrow. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

If you’re planning a road trip in Australia there’s a few things to be aware of. We drive on the left. We measure distance in kilometres. It’s a big country and the majority of the population lives along the coastal fringe. 
 

Although our population is relatively small, Australia has a large land mass. Driving between Sydney and Brisbane (for example) CAN be done in one day but I wouldn’t recommend it. Cairns is a long way from Sydney, so is Perth. I wouldn’t think of driving either of those routes unless I had plenty of time and wanted to see things (or visit people) along the way. 
 

JMHO

YMMV

🙂

Lyle got a lot of good advice and feedback when he was planning one of his original trips that got cancelled by Covid. I think we'd pretty well planned his whole road trip for him! 

[BRANDEE]

29 minutes ago, BRANDEE said:

On 6/21/2023 at 6:28 AM, crewsgirl said:

Thank you Aussieflyer, and I'm sure we would love Silversea, but the budget would probably not agree, lol. Most likely, we would fly to Hawaii for 2 days to get somewhat acclimated to the time change, then fly to Sydney for 2 days before a 10-12 day cruise. That is probably not as much time as we would like, but ~ 2 weeks will have to do. 

 

And, as you richly point out, Australia is massive, and we would never be able to see everything from just a cruise. I am going to have to console myself that we will be happy doing the cruise thing and getting just a small taste of the area.

 

In your opinion, is Hobart a must do? I see that HAL makes that stop, but I am interested in exploring Princess as well. We are not die hards on a certain cruise line, but would like to choose the itiernary that offers the best ports. Interested in your opinions of each cruise line that is popular in the area for the most reasonable price. 

 

We are happy to do excursions on our own, and if there are others that join together to form small groups, that is the best option for small group tours. We have been successful in other cities with our CC roll call and found better opportunities for small tours. But, if groups don't happen, and the ship offers tours, we have done that as well, but tbh, we prefer a group of 20 or less. 

 

And I agree with you, I need to get busy, 2024 will be here in a hurry! I just now have the hubby on board to consider this trip. 

 

Expand  

 

Regarding your plan to stop in Hawaii to get use to time change:

We flew from NYC to LAX had a 4 hr layover and than on to Sydney.  We were not as tired as you might think.  We checked into the hotel, had a shower, lunch and spent the rest of the day touring.  A stop in Hawaii for two days really isn't necessary and would give you more time in Sydney.  ( You will be confused what day since somewhere over the ocean we lost a full day.  the time difference between NY and SDY was 16 nrs.)  Sydney area had a lot to do.  The Blue Mountains is a must and it is a full day tour. All my info regarding touring came from so many of the great Aussies here on CC. We toured for 6 days then a two week cruise to NZ.  You will need to pack layers especially for the cruise.  South NZ was chilly.  And at night on the cruise the Aussies were dressed , some even in formal attire.  BTW we were in our late 60's and early 70's at time of cruise

[Blackduck59]

Just now, OzKiwiJJ said:

Lyle got a lot of good advice and feedback when he was planning one of his original trips that got cancelled by Covid. I think we'd pretty well planned his whole road trip for him! 

 

Thanks Julie, I certainly got loads of good advice from so many helpful people. We were just sorry we only had 11 days for the road trip. We felt we had packed too much in too little time. We did however have meetings worked out with several friends that we have never met in person. Like I said longer on the ground in Oz when we finally get there, hopefully we catch people in Oz and not travelling. I sometimes think we have a better chance of meeting Mic & Rosie somewhere other than Oz 🤔. As it turns out we met our first CC friend in person when Lyndon got close enough to our island that we could meet up for a pint, a bit of lunch and some good conversation. Looking forward to welcoming @MMDown Under to our island in August.

[cruiser3775]

I think a stopover in Honolulu would be a good way to break up two very long flights. The first leg is going to be about 11 hours non stop, to Hawaii, then the second leg to Australia is going to be just a little quicker, about 10.5 hours.  But it won't make much difference to the time change. Sydney is 20 hours ahead of Honolulu.  You also cross the international date line, so you will lose a whole day getting there.  Of course, you'll gain it back coming home. 

[lyndarra]

When I flew back to Sydney from Vancouver a couple of weeks ago, I was not looking forward to the 14 hour flight. When checking in I could not buy a BC upgrade so it was cattle class for me. It turned out to be not so bad after all. Instead of the rubbish old, cramped Qantas plane from Singapore to Sydney back in January, I was on a fairly new Qantas 787 with 3-3-3 seating. I scored a port aisle seat about eight rows from the back with an empty seat between me and the starboard aisle seat. Plenty of leg room in  this one for me which means I had no need to stretch my legs into the aisle (I'm a tad over 6'). I could stretch my legs straight out under the seat in front.

Getting back to the flight. It left YVR at about 21.00, just getting dark. It was a night flight all the way to SYD arriving 06.30 which worked out really good as it turned I had very little jet lag to overcome (flying east to west is always better). Probably the most comfortable long haul, cattle class, flight I have done. 

So, if anyone is considering that route I can recomend a late departure and choosing a plane like the 787 with plenty of leg room.

[sciencewonk]

You mentioned sampling the wine in New Zealand.  If you are staying in Sydney for a few days, you might consider a tour of the Hunter Valley wine region, just a couple hours from Sydney.  In my opinion, the boutique wineries in the region produce some of the best wines in Australia.  The white Semillon and the red Shiraz are particularly good.  Semillons are difficult to find, so that's fairly unique to the area.

 

I hope you enjoy your trip.  My wife and I moved to Australia a little over a year ago and it's been great living here.  In November we are taking a Holland America cruise to NZ for our first trip to that country.

[lyndarra]

12 minutes ago, sciencewonk said:

You mentioned sampling the wine in New Zealand.  If you are staying in Sydney for a few days, you might consider a tour of the Hunter Valley wine region, just a couple hours from Sydney.  In my opinion, the boutique wineries in the region produce some of the best wines in Australia.  The white Semillon and the red Shiraz are particularly good.  Semillons are difficult to find, so that's fairly unique to the area.

 

I hope you enjoy your trip.  My wife and I moved to Australia a little over a year ago and it's been great living here.  In November we are taking a Holland America cruise to NZ for our first trip to that country.

If you want to try a shiraz in NZ ask for syrah.

[sciencewonk]

4 hours ago, lyndarra said:

If you want to try a shiraz in NZ ask for syrah.

Yes.  I am originally from California where it is also called syrah, but it's the same grape.  I'm not positive, but I think Australia may be the only place that calls it shiraz.  By either name, I love the wine.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, sciencewonk said:

Yes.  I am originally from California where it is also called syrah, but it's the same grape.  I'm not positive, but I think Australia may be the only place that calls it shiraz.  By either name, I love the wine.

I think it's also called shiraz in South Africa.

[arxcards]

8 hours ago, sciencewonk said:

You mentioned sampling the wine in New Zealand.  If you are staying in Sydney for a few days, you might consider a tour of the Hunter Valley wine region, just a couple hours from Sydney.  In my opinion, the boutique wineries in the region produce some of the best wines in Australia.  The white Semillon and the red Shiraz are particularly good.  Semillons are difficult to find, so that's fairly unique to the area.

 

I hope you enjoy your trip.  My wife and I moved to Australia a little over a year ago and it's been great living here.  In November we are taking a Holland America cruise to NZ for our first trip to that country.

From Maitland, have you drifted out to Wollombi yet to try out Dr Jurd's Jungle Juice? It is almost as rough as it sounds. Yes, lots of great wines in the area. For me, Tyrrell's Shiraz, or some of the "younger" efforts of Tempus Two, like their Shiraz Gin.

[yarramar]

4 hours ago, sciencewonk said:

Yes.  I am originally from California where it is also called syrah, but it's the same grape.  I'm not positive, but I think Australia may be the only place that calls it shiraz.  By either name, I love the wine.

The Australian shiraz may use the same grape but it is nothing like syrah which originated in France. The Australian shiraz has a higher alcohol content and is more robust while syrah is more delicate. Basically it is the climate where grown which makes all the difference and in some of our cooler regions it is closer to syrah with many winemakers now labelling their product as such.

[sciencewonk]

25 minutes ago, arxcards said:

From Maitland, have you drifted out to Wollombi yet to try out Dr Jurd's Jungle Juice? It is almost as rough as it sounds. Yes, lots of great wines in the area. For me, Tyrrell's Shiraz, or some of the "younger" efforts of Tempus Two, like their Shiraz Gin.

Haven’t tried the jungle juice. Love the Tyrrell’s Shiraz. 

[sciencewonk]

3 minutes ago, yarramar said:

The Australian shiraz may use the same grape but it is nothing like syrah which originated in France. The Australian shiraz has a higher alcohol content and is more robust while syrah is more delicate. Basically it is the climate where grown which makes all the difference and in some of our cooler regions it is closer to syrah with many winemakers now labelling their product as such.

I haven’t had a French Syrah. I look forward to trying one some day. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, yarramar said:

The Australian shiraz may use the same grape but it is nothing like syrah which originated in France. The Australian shiraz has a higher alcohol content and is more robust while syrah is more delicate. Basically it is the climate where grown which makes all the difference and in some of our cooler regions it is closer to syrah with many winemakers now labelling their product as such.

I've had a Barossa shiraz that is almost as elegant as a French one so it's not just climate related, it also depends on the winemaker. 

 

I often wonder what Australian reds would be like if that annoying wine critic, Robert Parker, hadn't sent most Australian winemakers down the big, jammy path. It was an easy option for them as producing the more refined French style wines would have taken more effort and expertise.

[GUT2407]

10 hours ago, arxcards said:

From Maitland, have you drifted out to Wollombi yet to try out Dr Jurd's Jungle Juice? It is almost as rough as it sounds. Yes, lots of great wines in the area. For me, Tyrrell's Shiraz, or some of the "younger" efforts of Tempus Two, like their Shiraz Gin.

OMG if you haven’t tried Dr Jurd’s you haven’t lived.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

OMG if you haven’t tried Dr Jurd’s you haven’t lived.

lol - I have certainly lived through a lot of Saturday nights.

[JJK2008]

I confess I've never heard of Dr. Jurd's Jungle Juice but certainly am intrigued to give it a try. Is it available anywhere in Australia or only at Wollombi Tavern???

[arxcards]

3 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

I confess I've never heard of Dr. Jurd's Jungle Juice but certainly am intrigued to give it a try. Is it available anywhere in Australia or only at Wollombi Tavern???

I have bought it in other places other than Wollombi Tavern, but I have rarely seen it outside the Hunter Valley. It is made and bottled at Drayton's wines at Pokolbin, so readily available for any Hunter Valley vineyard tour.

 

For Sydney, it might be a test of your hotel concierge to see if they have a way of obtaining a bottle for you.

[Blackduck59]

it feels like we have scared away @crewsgirl they haven't had much to say for some time. I hope they have had a chance to look at options that may fit in their limited time frame.

[crewsgirl]

29 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

it feels like we have scared away @crewsgirl they haven't had much to say for some time. I hope they have had a chance to look at options that may fit in their limited time frame.

oh, Blackduck.....I am still looking at the options. Seems I read another thread that discussed Qantos airfare, and prices weren't as bad as I had imagined. What are your thoughts on Qantos? And you're right, we may be looking at 2025, to be honest. 

 

 

Please, continue the Jungle Juice information, I am enjoying the convo!  

[Blackduck59]

21 minutes ago, crewsgirl said:

oh, Blackduck.....I am still looking at the options. Seems I read another thread that discussed Qantos airfare, and prices weren't as bad as I had imagined. What are your thoughts on Qantos? And you're right, we may be looking at 2025, to be honest. 

 

 

Please, continue the Jungle Juice information, I am enjoying the convo!  

 

We live on the west coast of Canada so our flight times would be shorter. Lyndon had good word about Quantas and he flew just a couple of weeks ago. Our original plan for 2021 was with Air New Zealand, that ended up being cancelled by the airline and we somehow were charged a "cancellation fee" of $600.00, I'm still not sure if that was from Air New Zealand or the travel agent we used. That left us with a sour taste for both outfits. The second try (which was also cancelled) was with Air Canada. Both were in Premium Economy. for us it is worth the upcharge. I suspect that when we finally do make the trip we will go for the business class, it's a 14 hour flight to Auckland from Vancouver.

[Sparky74]

QANTAS (NB the spelling - it stands for Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Service) is Australia's national airline. It has a good reputation. 

[lyndarra]

6 hours ago, crewsgirl said:

oh, Blackduck.....I am still looking at the options. Seems I read another thread that discussed Qantos airfare, and prices weren't as bad as I had imagined. What are your thoughts on Qantos? And you're right, we may be looking at 2025, to be honest. 

 

 

Please, continue the Jungle Juice information, I am enjoying the convo!  

https://www.wollombitavern.com.au/order-dr-jurds-online/