home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

We need ideas as to what to see and which country might be a better choice. It is nearly a day travel to get there from north east Indiana and will spend four weeks. I need to get back to file my taxes or we would stay longer.

Thanks

secular

We went to New Zealand for 3 weeks last April. We could have spent several more weeks and still miss a lot of great sights. You are smart not going during the peak season. During the busy season it is, as a bus driver there said, "Just stupid." There were a lot of tourists in April. Can't imagine what it is like in their summer season. Their infrastructure is getting overwhelmed during the peak seasons.

New Zealand is full of a great variety of terrain, climate and cultures. Where else can you park next to "palm" trees and walk a kilometer to a glacier and a few days later see a geyser and other geothermal sights. We meet a local who had just spent 3 weeks camping at beaches on the Pacific side of the north part of the North Island.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

I spent 20 days in New Zealand in 2004 and then in March of last year I spent 3 weeks, about half in Australia and half in New Zealand. Although I did enjoy the 2017 trip to both countries, I think if one just has 3-4 weeks it might be better to concentrate on one country.

The 2004 tour (arranged by RCI of Australia) spent 13 days in the South Island of NZ and then 7 days in the North Island. This seemed to be a pretty good allocation of time. The South Island touring was done with coaches and a train ride, staying in hotels (and a farm) scattered along the way. The North Island setup was a trade of a week of my Timeshare for a week at a resort on Lake Taupo, with day trips from that central location.

The 2017 tour was arranged by John Hall's Alaska and involved a lot of flying from one place to another. I didn't enjoy that mode as well as the more land-oriented travel I had experienced in 2004.

My photos of the two tours can be viewed on Flickr:
2004 -- https://www.flickr.com/photos/8712554@N02/collections/72157632155088501/
2017 -- https://www.flickr.com/photos/8712554@N02/collections/72157679341758304/

Algernon Loc: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I have been to both New Zealand and Australia. (Multiple trips to Australia because my daughter lives there.)

I would recommend New Zealand. You can see virtually all of it in 3-4 weeks, and it has much greater diversity of terrain and climate than Australia. Don't get me wrong, Australia is wonderful but it is too big to see what should be seen in that short of time. Plus, even my Australian relatives will reluctantly admit that New Zealand is a better place to visit for a vacation.

Ted H. Funk

I've also made multiple trips to both NZ & Australia (10-times to Australia) and MUCH prefer Australia with its enormous variety of scenery and far better climate (NZ has too much rain!).
I've photographed places in Australia where even the citizens there haven't been or aren't even
familiar with, such as the old Opal mining town of White Cliffs (only accessible by 4-wheel drive
Land Rover or by Bush Mail Plane which I took and then stayed for an entire day before it came
back on its circular route to pick me up). The "Outback" locations of Longreach & Mt. Isa are
also photogenic. Admittedly, 4-weeks isn't enough time to cover that large country, but it would
probably interest you enough to go back again to visit some of the rest later.

Georgews Loc: Wellington, New Zealand

I am a Kiwi so maybe a little one eyed. Don't get me wrong - Aussie has some great sights too, but in NZ you could go to Rotorua for geothermal sights, Taupo and on down to Wellington. In the South Island I love Milford Sound, the Catlins area ( which is rarely on any tours). Queenstown, which is very touristy but go about 15 miles to Arrowtown for a very pretty town - was a goldmining town in the early days. Take a light plane flight from Queenstown over the Southern Alps and Mt Cook or could helicopter onto them.
While in that area little Lake Hayes with the most photographed tree in the world.
Christchurch and Kaikoura have been hit by large earthquakes in recent years and the rebuild is in progress. In fact SH1 from Kaikoua to Christchurch hs only recently reopened. In that area some of the coastal seabed has rising 2 or more meters and so has the road.
West Coast of S.I. is good but can be wet (very sometimes) and at certain times has huge sandflys making the "Aussie wave" popular.
Many other parts a also great. For a city Wellington is probably one of the best..
Have a great trip when you come over. Cheers

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

I live in NZ but have been to Australia and the US so will make some general comments. Australia is like the US in size. Consequently you have to drive for a day to get a photo whereas in NZ you can get 3 photos in a day. So good planning is essential in both countries. Australia is hot everywhere but especially inland and there's not much respite from the heat unless inside something (building or vehicle with A/C). Or you like the heat. NZ can be wet although this summer season it is an exception with little rain and hot temperatures. And we are at a saturation point with tourists which makes casual touring a bit tricky re accommodation. Going to Aus or NZ do your best to avoid school holiday periods or be prepared for competition for most things. No comment on what to photograph since we all like different things. However NZ has no large animals (excluding farm) only birds which can be a bit challenging if these are your thing. Also NZ has (almost) no poisonous reptiles or wildlife but Australia has an overabundance so be careful in the bush (100 out of 140 species of snakes are venomous although the death rate from snakes is only a fraction of the US). So a little care is needed.
And don't try and pat the crocodiles. And probably the biggest thing to remember is that in Aus and NZ we drive on the OTHER side of the road. And a lot of the roads are shingle not asphalt.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

And both countries use 230volts not 110v so chargers (phones, cameras and laptops) etc need to be universal type (100-240v). And you will need adapters for the US 2 pin to 3 pin Aus/Kiwi pins although you can get these here.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

And one nice thing is that they speak English in both places. Not the same "English" as in the US (well, we have several versions, too), but close enough. And the folk are friendly. My usual recommendation to prospective tourists is to go for at least 3 weeks. When one is going to experience 15 hours on an airplane each way, one should make the most of the trip. I think 3 weeks is about the minimum.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Yes I would pick 3 weeks as a minimum per trip. For Aus probably pick a region for the 3/4 weeks otherwise you will end up seeing more road than anything else. We did 4 weeks driving through the Kimberley and it was nowhere near enough. And 3 weeks through Queensland and it also wasn't enough.

COLANN Loc: Pahiatua Tararua New Zealand

Hi, I think I can reply to you with some good info as I have just returned to live in NZ from Aus after 28yrs there, my Wife and I have traveled around Aus a lot, doing 3 -5 mth trips each winter, and to be quite honest , 4 weeks is nowhere long enough to look at Aus, never mind seeing even a good amount of it, unless you just want to spend your time driving, the likes of Queensland alone could use up all of your time,, However if you do deiced on Aus just select an area to rely explore

on the other hand, New Zealand in 4 weeks isnt to bad, but again not as easy as people think , as even though it isnt as big a country, there are so many things to see, Dont take any notice of the person who said you could see New Zealand in the time you have got, thats absolute rubbish;

If you require any detailed info. please PM me and I will help as much as I can, Colin

Hudsonwi Loc: Wisconsin

I have been to both countries and 2 times to New Zealand- New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand!
I drove both times and did both the North and South islands on both trips. One trip spring and one fall. I liked their spring better but both are good.
I was there over Easter and there in November. I never saw an excessive number of tourists.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Historically Oct,Nov,early Dec is spring with everything blossoming etc but the weather can be a bit variable. Normally March,April is best with the most settled weather. The months in-between, being our summer, also has the most tourists and their numbers are rising 10-15% a year. Constant reports about how the infrastructure is creaking at the seams. So Hudsonwi came here at the best times with less tourists. Note that last 2 weeks of Dec and all of Jan are really bad because it also coincides with the 4-6 week school holiday period. I haven't taken time off during that period for 30 years because of this. And unfortunately global warming may screw with the traditional weather patterns since this last 2 months we have had some of the hottest days on record and the most rain. Daylight saving affects some of timings. It finish 1st April this year. Hence best months are late Feb, March and into April with an extra hour extending into the evenings.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

For those of you watching this space note that since my last post a state of emergency has been declared in 3 parts of NZ due to flooding caused by storms and high tides and a few large fires by the strong winds. This is definitely not our normal summer. You may well find unusual weather patterns for the rest of the summer. I would come prepared for opposites in temperature and rain. One of the main tourist destinations, and a very photogenic place, is currently cutoff on the West Coast by slips. I think, if you don't have one, that a camera raincoat (or whatever they are called) could be useful.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Those are still on my list too! I hope they changed their rules for entering by now. You had to be well heeled to visit Australia in the past. I was denied access many years ago, because I did not have sufficient money in my bank. I did not know why they checked bank accounts (maybe so you have money, if you get in trouble)? I just don't know, anyhow, I was denied because of that, I had $ 20,000 on my account at that time!