Australia or New Zealand

[trackrunner]

Where would you go? Obviously this deal is for late fall, winter, and early spring both places. Which would you pick? What would be nice to do during this time frame?

Denali any advice

http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/am/specials/us/visit-australia?gclid=CM_PiKnWxJkCFRBbagodnz62tQ

[JP]

Out of all the places outside the U.S., the only place I want to visit is Australia. They seem to have the deadliest everything :haha: Good luck with your choice :2thumbs:

[RedMan]

That is a tough choice.

NZ has some of the coolest backpacking trails in the world.
The Fjords and the Glaciers are incredible.
The church square in Christchurch can entertain you for days.

If you are a scuba diver the Great Barrier Reef is a must do.
I highly recommend taking a 3-5 day live aboard trimaran from
Cairnes.

I have been on September and October and the weather was perfect.

[ststephen]

How long? What do you want to do?

Things I really enjoyed in AU:

Rain Forests with fantastic birds and other wildlife. We did areas around Cairns like Daintree and also more temperate forests around Brisbane like Lamington. Giant tree ferns. Platypus in the wild. Huge snakes. Parrots galore. Bowerbirds (build structures to attract a mate).

Beaches everywhere. My son was only 2 and it was great to drive and stop in out-of-the-way beaches and just play and lounge with few crowds.

Deserts, canyons and Aborigine culture in the center

Sydney is a beautiful cosmopolitan city but this is bogley so I'm assuming that's not your big impetus for going.

Didn't do Northern Territories/Darwin. I hear Kakadu NP is outstanding. But don't underestimate the distances and time needed to cover different parts of the continent. Darwin is closer to Bali than Sydney.

Things I really liked in NZ:

More hikes than you can do in a lifetime. Mountain scenery to rival anywhere in the world. Stunning Glaciers. Mt. Cook and Mt. Aspiring NPs are wonderful. Fox Glacier on the west coast.

Fjords and lush trails around Milford Sound. Whale watching and kayaking.

Beautiful blue water and tree fern forests at Abel Tasman NP. You could do kayaking there or get a water taxi or backpack it.

Every kind of adventure sport you can imagine at Queenstown.

Watching penguins come ashore to roost outside of Dunedin.

Uncrowded roads and hiking trails. Great B&Bs and Farmstays.

We spent almost no time on the North Island but I hear there's good things there too like the volcanic area in Rotorua.

If you ask me to choose I'd probably rather return to NZ and bag more trails. I can't wait to hear what gems Les will recommend
:nod:

[RedMan]

BTW I met more women backpacking in NZ than ever in my life.
They travel in pairs.

[ststephen]

BTW I met more women backpacking in NZ than ever in my life.
They travel in pairs.

I hadn't thought of that criteria! While there are lots of beach honeys in AU I think you're more likely to find a compatible adventuring partner in NZ.

Guess that clinches it, eh :naughty:

[RedMan]

BTW I met more women backpacking in NZ than ever in my life.
They travel in pairs.

I hadn't thought of that criteria! While there are lots of beach honeys in AU I think you're more likely to find a compatible adventuring partner in NZ.

Guess that clinches it, eh :naughty:

They all told me that NZ had a reputation as being a safe place for women to backpack. They were right. None I met had any problems while there.

I only met great people there. The backpack trails on the south island are astounding. Story book forest type stuff. Kept expecting elves or gnomes to appear on the trial.

[denaliguide]

don't know how much more i can add to the discussion. everyone has already hit the high points.

i have split my time for the last 5 years between the u.s. and n.z.. doing a summer and summer migration. i live on the south island in wanaka which is a town of less than 5,000 at the edge of mt. aspiring nat. park. i have been working this past season as a pilot out of queenstown (which has already been described as the adventure capital of the country (i concur). in years past i was a guide in mt.cook nat. park doing the ball pass trek (the highest guided alpine trek in n.z.)

the time of year you are planning on traveling i'm not as familiar with. obviously it will be on the colder side. the skiing season on the areas near here runs from june to sept. coronet peak and remarkables are out of queenstown, treble cone and cardrona are near wanaka. there is also the snow farm across the valley from cardrona (its a x-c area). the most striking difference is the complete lack or trees on the slopes. makes it hard to tell which run you are on.

the trails (called tracks here) are one of the big attractions. the milford track, and the hollyford are one way trips (that is from a to b), while the greenstone/caples, ane the dart/rees you can do as loops. the last 2 you can doo year round. all have huts on them that you have to stay at. no "free" camping on these tracks. the hut system in n.z. is extensive. the department of conservation has over 900 huts and there are farm station huts and deer stalker huts as well which you can get access too.

milford sound is truly one of the wonders of the world. i have posted a panorama of it in another thread. http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15780&start=30

the west coast is literally a rain forest. beautiful beech forests, tree ferns, and dense bush. it gets 24 feet of rain a year. milford sound received 3 feet of rain the first 2 weeks of january. it was an especially wet summer this year.

n.z. is definitely a worthy vacation destination. that being said i have never been to australia. i would love to go there and take my motorcycle for a trex across the desert.

i should also mention that i am moving back to the u.s. in another month. heading back to alaska. living abroad is a experience everyone should try. i have and now i'm ready to come back. i found a job at a remote fishing lodge in bristol bay and will be a pilot/guide flying on floats for the summer. my dream job actually. looking forward to it.

[DiscGo]

I have not been to either, but I would definitely say New Zealand. I have a lot of friends who do a lot of traveling and everyone has loved New Zealand. Plus there are no predators in New Zealand so you can pretty well sleep wherever you want.

[sparker1]

Have not been to Australia, but spent two weeks in NZ. I can highly recommend NZ. It has a great variety of adventure in a small area. Of course, it would take much longer than two weeks to enjoy it all, but you do what you can.

[ststephen]

When denaliguide posted about Wanaka that reminded me about something touristy but fun we did there. It's a giant wooden maze that covers something like a football field in area. You are challenged to make it to the towers in each of the four corners and then back out again. We did it with my son in a Kelty backpack. Silly but actually a fun diversion.

Do you have a shot of that from the air? It would probably look pretty cool!

[Scott P]

Which would you pick?

I've been to both. Mile per mile, New Zealand has the best scenery (Australia has some good scenery too, but it is scattered and there is lots of uninteresting country as well), but Australia has the wildlife. Other than sea life and birds (Keas can be "interesting"), New Zealand has little wildlife.

It depends on what you are after.

PS, I wouldn't go to either unless you have at least 3-4 weeks on hand. It's a long flight and there's so much to see that any trip less than 3-4 weeks will be extremely rushed.

Anyway, I don't have that many photos from Austrlia scanned (since they weren't mountain related I couldn't put them on a mountain site), but here are some from each country.

New Zealand:

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/40043.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/40050.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/43925.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/43927.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/102485.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/40044.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/40045.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/40039.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/original/40047.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/43920.jpg

Australia:

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/40051.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/40052.jpg

http://www.summitpost.org/images/medium/40053.jpg

I have a lot of people, animal, waterfall etc. photos too; I just don't have them scanned yet.

[Cirrus2000]

I got nothing to add except, "Mmmm, I'd love to spend some time in New Zealand." That being said, congrats Les on landing a pilot/guide job! I know that's what you were after. Way to go! :hail2thechief: I'm buyin' you a couple in Moab! :haha:

Trackrunner, have a great trip wherever you go! Good choice-making karma to you! :2thumbs:

[RedMan]

i found a job at a remote fishing lodge in bristol bay and will be a pilot/guide flying on floats for the summer.

Denaliguide,

Congrats on the new job.

I can see a Bogley trip on the horizon. When do you start and whats the Bogley group rate look like?

I'm out of Halibut and the Salmons running mighty low. Only a few full filets left.

My buddy lives in Kenai and works in Deadhorse but I've done my share of fishing on the Peninsula time to move out to the bush. If its a place he hasn't been he'll want to come along.

Just bought a compact bear swatter so I'm ready to rock.

So Start a new thread (so we don't hijack this one) I want to hear about the new gig.

[CarpeyBiggs]

hey denali, what outfit are you flying for in bristol bay? in a beaver?

[denaliguide]

new thread started. http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16452&highlight=

[Jaxx]

Have not been to Australia, but spent two weeks in NZ. I can highly recommend NZ. It has a great variety of adventure in a small area. Of course, it would take much longer than two weeks to enjoy it all, but you do what you can.

Hey! Whats up Sparker? Good to see you around again. How is living on a foundation. Have you gotten used to not being able to move your house wherever you want? :haha: