It’s many years since we crammed our belongings into backpacks and took our first long-haul flights from Heathrow. As part of our ‘gap year’ our itineraries included stays in Australia and New Zealand. We were actually in Australia at the same time but didn’t meet for another 3 years back in the UK.
These days without the luxury of months to play with the choice of where we use up our precious holiday is more considered. The sheer scale of both countries means realistically we’d need to focus on a particular area or perhaps a two-centre trip within the two weeks (three at a push) we’d be able to allocate.
Below is a list of our experiences to date.
Australia
Perth
Freemantle
Margaret River
Monkey Mia – swimming with dolphins
Kalbari National Park
Broome – Cable beach
Darwin
Kakadu National Park
Cairns
Mission Beach – Tandem skydive
Airlie Beach – Whitsunday Islands cruise
Coffs Harbour – Surfing lessons
Fraser Island – 4×4 adventure
Brisbane
Surfers Paradise
Byron Bay
Sydney
New Zealand
Bay of Islands
Auckland
Hamilton
Kaikoura – Whale watching
Waitomo – Black water rafting and cave abseiling
Lake Taupo
Taranaki
Ohakune – The Tongariro Crossing
Nelson
Wellington
Picton
Abel Tasman National Park
Mount Cook
Queenstown – Pipeline Bungy, Shotover Jet boating, White water rafting
Christchurch
So where would you suggest for our next antipodean adventure?
Tasmania! Diverse environments from sandy beaches to mountains and rainforest. Amazing food, dynamic art scene.
I agree, Tasmania was a highlight of my trip to Australia. It has incredible interior landscapes and amazing beaches which you’ll have to yourselves and Hobart is a great city. Alternatively, A combo of Ningaloo Reef and the Kimberley would be great fun. I’m not sure what the infrastructure is like these days but bush camping in the Kimberley was a great outback adventure when I visited about 15 years ago. I guess much of it depends on the time of year you’re planning to visit.