Grand Australia and NZ--days 9 and 15
For Grand Australia and NZ, I have 2 questions:
1) Day 9 Sydney, the morning activity is a tour of "The Rocks" neighborhood, followed by free time all day. How much would we be missing if we skipped this walking tour? We are considering a day tour of the Blue Mountains instead, and if you have any recommendations for a small group tour please let me know.
2) For Day 15 in Te Anau NZ, was there time to go to the Glow Worm Caves after arriving from the Milford Sound cruise? If so, did you purchase these tickets in advance?
Many thanks.
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Comments
Wan - Other than the historical significance of The Rocks neighborhood, I did not find it that interesting. However, my visit was a very long time ago on independent travel. Just my opinion, but I would use the free time to do my own sightseeing as you have planned to do. Besides, it is always nice to have a break from planned activities to explore on your own.
Can't help you with either the Blue Mountains or New Zealand. Hopefully, someone with more recent experience will offer their opinion.
Things might have changed since I was there in 2018, but at that time, 24 of us went to the glow worm caves on our own in Te Anau in the late afternoon. I don't remember whether we bought the tickets before or after we boarded the boat to the caves, but in any event, it wasn't "in advance." The tour of "The Rocks" was not included...but our hotel, the Shangri-La, was near that neighborhood. I took a day trip out of Sydney (booked on Trip Advisor or Viator) to the Blue Mountains, but I don't remember which trip it was. We did go to Featherdale Wildlife Park, which I thought was a waste of time, on the way to the mountains. The trip to the Blue Mountains was okay, but I wouldn't say it was spectacular.
We took a (?)free walking tour of the Rocks neighborhood one evening on our own after dinner. I think 2 or 3 other Tauck guests accompanied. us. It was moderately interesting but I wouldn't go out of my way to do it if something else interests you. On our post tour day in Sydney we walked to the old British fort/prison which we did find very interesting. Do go to see the glow worms when you are in NZ. I think we booked the tour by walking to the ticket office from our hotel. Of course, if you are there in high season and wait til you arrive you may miss out. Sometimes, if you speak to your TD at the beginning of your trip they may be able to arrange for a group tour (and price) for those who are interested.
If you have time for a tour of the Blue Mountains then you might consider a seaplane tour of the greater Sydney area as an alternative. We did it. In addition to flying over Sydney proper (opera house, bridge, etc.) it takes you up north along the eastern shore into the national park where we landed, had lunch at the Cottage Point Inn, and then did the return trip. The seaplane port was near Bondi Beach. It was our first seaplane trip and we loved it.
Blue Mountains of course, you can always walk through the Rocks neighborhood on you own.
Thank you for the very helpful feedback and suggestions. Much appreciated!
The Rocks has an interesting historical museum, plus a number of shops, bars, restaurants, etc. Perhaps worth a couple of hours.
For the Australia and New Zealand tour, is January just too hot? Also, any comments on best airlines for this trip from Boston business class or first class?
I would not go to Australia in January, but I would go to New Zealand at that time. When we went years ago, my husband was still working and we could not do three weeks. So we went to Australia in their wintertime and tagged on days beginning and end and then went to New Zealand another time but during their summer and also tagged days on beginning and end. We were glad to do it that way for the best weather and of course particularly in comfortable temperatures in Alice Springs and Uluru and no flies. the combined tour , you have to pay for the flight from Australia to New Zealand anyway, so that helps in assessing the amount of money it costs to go all that way twice. Back then, we flew premium economy and didn’t actually find the flights too bad. Air New Zealand was particularly good.
I would also avoid Australia in the cyclone season for a better Great Barrier Reef area experience.
Debi - We went in March and the weather was just great. Nice sunny days. Unable to help or make suggestions regarding airlines as we live in Tucson but we were able to fly on United using miles for first class. This would be impossible today!
I went on the Aus/NZ tour in Jan & Feb 2024 and did not find it too hot. We did, however, have to miss the Cairns region trip portion due to a Cat 3 cyclone that poured rain on the area and made it impossible to get to. The Rocks portion of the tour in Sydney was interesting. The Blue Mountain area excursion (added to the tour due to the extra time in Sydney due to diversion from Carnes) was nice, but not a critical portion of the trip IMHO. We took a bus trip, parked and looked at nice scenery and then went back to an area where to see more, we needed to walk up and down 100s of stairs. Given the choice ( or that I’ve done both), I would stay in Sydney and find cool things do there.
Debi - we took this tour during September and the weather was very good ( a little rain one day). I can't comment on flights from Boston. We flew United from Chicago, connected in L.A. on the way there and in San Francisco on the way home. No problems.
Debi -- I flew from Boston to Melbourne via San Francisco and Auckland to Boston via Denver on United first class for continental flights and Polaris business class for trans-Pacific flights. The Polaris flights were great; the first class, very good. I wouldn't hesitate to do them again. (I just checked the United website. It looks like the one-stop return flights are all either through LAX or SFO now.)
Polly6022: that is really disappointing about Cairns. I was wondering if a similar weather pattern could be affecting our late October trip, with La Nina having arrived. I had considered booking a small group day tour to the Blue Mountains but they all seem so cramped and rushed, unless you get a private guide. We finally decided to see how we feel when we get to Sydney, then just take the train which goes directly to several towns in the Blue Mountains from Sydney Central (about 2 hours). Once in the mountains, it appears that the local bus circles around to many spots, including Scenic World with its cable gondolas. It also appears that for less than $20USD per day you can get a Sydney public transportation pass for trains, metro and ferries that also works in the Blue Mountains. You definitely cannot beat that price. I could see myself being "underwhelmed" by the Blue Mountains. It depends on what spectacular natural wonders you may have already visited in your life. But another chance to enjoy nature out of the city would be nice.
MCD I am taking United Polaris out of LAX so I am very glad to hear the positive comments, especially for what it cost!
Jan Feb is high risk time for cyclones in the Cairns area.
Wan, you won’t one disappointed by the Blue Mountains. We have friends who live there and we visited after the Tauck tour; they took us to places the large tour buses can’t get into. I thought that scenery was more beautiful than anywhere else we’d been in Australia. I’d suggest a private tour that uses a car or van so you can really explore the area.
I went to Australia / New Zealand towards the end of February, the weather was great in both places.
Any suggestions for nice dinners on the days we have free time to choose our own restaurants. Thanks, Carol
Wan, I took this trip in March. On the way to Te Anau our cruise director asked who was interested in going to the glow worm caves. She made the reservations for us and we paid for it at the dock for the tour. We paid a discounted price.
Thank you everyone for the valuable info. Looking forward to this trip, coming up soon!