Grand Australia/New Zealand tour - November 8

GAPeach

We are going on the Grand Australia/New Zealand, departing on November 8. Is anyone else on who is going on this tour?
Am also wondering what to do on the free days.

British

You can find some ideas by looking at the archives here the forum or going thru your green book and googling things to see and do in the various places. Are you arriving several days early, what are your interests? You have lots of decisions and research to do and not much time.

MCD

I returned from this trip last night. I had added some days before and after, and that's when I visited Tasmania for 3 days and did full day tours out of Melbourne (to the Great Ocean Rd.) and Auckland (to the Bay of Islands one day and to Rotorua and Waiotapu). If you don't have extra days, you won't have a lot of free time. We had one full free day in Sydney. I took a day trip to the Blue Mountains that I booked in advance on Viator. I spent our free afternoon in Melbourne at the Shrine of Remembrance and a free afternoon in Wellington at the Te Papa Museum. Tauck did include a one-hour tour of Te Papa, but that was just a brief overview. I wish that I could have spent more time there, because there was more to see, but after 3 hours, I was "museumed out." In Queenstown, I walked around the lake, including the Botanical Gardens. You can also book a zip-line trip in Queenstown, but do it either before you arrive or as soon as you get there. By the time that I had worked up the courage to do it, there were no times available that worked. The people who did it really enjoyed it. Most of the people on the tour booked a trip to the glow worm cave in Te Anau. We booked it when we arrived at the hotel. I'm glad that I used a free morning in Queenstown to get a massage and a pedicure at the hotel spa. I booked it on line earlier in the trip. If you wait till you get there, there might not be any appointments available. One of the women in the group booked a horseback ride in Queenstown with the hotel concierge when we arrived there. She said that it was great.


You will enjoy this trip. It seems like it will be a long time to be away from home, but I did not feel that I was ready to come home when the tour ended. If you have Miles (who was great) as your tour director, tell him that Maureen said that it was a wonderful trip.

GAPeach

Thank you all for your comments. I have been stewing about this for quite awhile. We only have one extra day at the beginning, but I will study all of your tips.