clothing advice
we ( 2 women) are on Grand Aus/NZ in October 2024. Looking for advice on clothing to bring so as not to overpack! I am thinking there's no need for anything dressy? What do you recent travelers suggest, as the trip covers a huge geographic area and many weather situations. We should be able to do some laundry while at Silky Oaks and can do a bit of handwash nightly.
What are your recommendations?
0
Comments
We were there last October and November. Nothing dressy other than perhaps a nice top and black slacks for one or two nights. Layers for sure, a sweater than can go with everything, a rain jacket, and another light jacket (I took a fleece zip up). Comfortable shoes (and ones that can get dirty at Uluru), jeans are ok, mostly I wore capris. You’ll be able to do laundry at Silky Oaks but there are very few washers (there will be a line) and the dryers take forever. There is also a coin op laundry in Queenstown a few blocks away from the hotel but very few machines.
This trip is outstanding, our fave of 8 Tauck trips. Hope you get Gary Andrews as your TD.
did you take a hat with a net to wear for thwarting insects at Uluru?
Where did you use a swimsuit besides GBR and Silky Oaks?
thanks, can't wait!
On our tour, the TD gave us netting for our faces. The flies were not too bad, so most did not use them.
I am trying to remember how many times we went swimming. In addition to the Reef, I think three of the hotels, including Silky Oaks and Uluru.
Amyzng … only Great Barrier Reef and Silky Oaks for swimming. You really won’t have time anywhere else. We got nets for the flies but never had to use them last October.
I did this trip Oct 2016. We had great variations in weather, no surprise. In the Outback it was hot and dry. At Silky Oaks it was hot and humid (there's a reason they call it a rainforest). If you wash stuff in the sink there, don't expect it to dry without blowing it with the hairdryer. On the south island, it was pleasantly cool with morning lows in the 50s. People from SoCal and FL wore puff jackets and gloves
Most were fine with a windbreaker.
We did laundry in Sydney. When I was there, there was a Chinese laundry about a block from the hotel. The TD arranged a group walk to it, and stuff was ready the next morning. Much more reasonably priced than hotel laundry.
The only place it was buggy was S. NZ and bug spray did its job. It was not buggy at Uluru.
I'm also doing this trip in the fall, and appreciate all the feedback. I also just wrote to Silky Oaks to see what their valet laundry service costs and they reported $50 (Australian) per "bag" for same day service.
Seeing bugs depends on the time of year
Took this journey in 2023, if I recall correctly the hotel In Sydney also did laundry at $50 a bag., which is sort of trip midpoint if you arrived in Melbourne early
I took this trip in February 2023 and did laundry at Silky Oaks, they had washers and dryers.
By the way this is wonderful tour and Silky Oaks is a wonderful hotel, we actually missed a night there because the bridge was flooded so we stayed at a Sheraton, that was the day before we went to the Great Reef.
Thanks amyzng -- I am also doing the tour in October (trip leaving the 17th) and this is helpful.
I double checked with Intercontinental Sydney because I did not think they had a valet laundry price by the bag, and they indeed do not, but they recommended a nearby laundry that does, and they will do pick up and delivery for a small charge. washontherocks.com.au
Well, I guess our TD did a great service for us, because I know specifically several folks who submitted a bag of laundry at the intercontinental in sydney and got it washed and returned without having to contact a nearby laundry. Perhaps things have changed or our TD just made things easy for the group.
Maybe that's what happened! Certainly would be nice.
Some TDs go above and beyond; others don't. As I mentioned in my above post, ours walked those interested to a nearby laundry service (pay by the bag)
Anyway it is a relief to know that a reasonably priced laundry service is available in at least 2 places for this trip. In the hotel in Palermo Sicily they wanted 20 euro for one T-shirt! It included pressing, and when I asked how much without the pressing, they said they couldn't NOT press it! Same day laundries are scarce in Italy.
Wan - on one trip (I forget which one), someone asked TD about laundry and he said it's cheaper to buy new clothes.
When we took this tour in 2019, I did a load of laundry at Silky Oaks. At that time, the Marlborough hotel also had a guest laundry. I did not use it. but remember one of our fellow travelers working on a load during dinner.
A few words of advice about this trip. For outerwear, obviously check the weather in the various cities monthly averages. For the dress code - this is an existential question….. Comfortable during the day and what you would wear to nice hotel restaurants. Some men wore jackets. Some wore sweaters over collared shirts. One wore a T shirt. This is pretty personal. I like getting dressed because it is part of the fun for me , so I bring lightweight dresses on vacation for dinner. For laundry- we used the laundry at Silky Oaks during the “cowboy show” , and then did a huge load in Queenstown down the street from the Sofitel. Lots of other guests did that as well. It was reasonably priced and it was drop off and pick up service. While in Uluru, make a dinner reservation at Sails in the Desert restaurant for after the “champagne in the desert “ cocktail party . The hotel restaurant will be jammed with everyone at the same time and it was annoying to wait 45 minutes for a table. Also - before you go out on the hotel terraces, look around for large arachnid critters that you may not want to share the space with…. While in Silky Oaks- take the balloon ride. People loved it. We didn’t and wished we had.
This is very useful MOP! Especially about the arachnids. Also question, we were thinking maybe dinner wouldn't be needed on that day in Uluru, but did most people want dinner? Any other casual options available? It seems like every tour group on the planet stays at that hotel.
At the hotel in Uluru, we had a light dinner in the bar area.
Wan - we did the tour in 2017. The hotels and itinerary are pretty much the same. We are not big eaters ( really) , but did not find the food at the champagne sundowner to be enough. The restaurant and bar at the hotel were really crowded when we returned. We too ate in the bar area - after a 45 minute wait! At the time we all complained to Tauck (to our TD ( fabulous Jim Hahn) and on our card evaluations) that they needed to include dinner that night or have more food at the sundowner. Maybe people who have taken the tour more recently can comment on that. We really loved this trip. It was one of our favorites. I , personally, would take masks. If someone on the tour gets a respiratory infection, everyone will get it. Between the buses and the small planes the germs will fly. ….. One person on our group was hacking up a lung (note medical terminology…🙂), and by TeAnau we were all lined up at the pharmacy trying to get antibiotics. Another lesson learned- American medical licenses are worthless in New Zealand. By Queensland we were all lined up in the local medical clinic and given antibiotics. I was coughing for 3 weeks after we got home. This was pre- covid. Bring N95s. Better than nothing.
My husband also got a terrible respiratory infection on the NZ tour which we took separately from the Australian one. When the Australian group teamed up with us, many were il, my husband had a roaring fever on the last day, he ended up on antibiotics when he got home as it traveled to his chest. Next thing, he was in hospital at death’s door with c diff. We rarely get sick, when we do, it’s from other people on Tauck tours. We still haven’t had Covid, which is a miracle.
On our trip an elderly gentleman traveling on his own, 81 years of age, ended up seriously ill. On the plane to Auckland he was sweating profusely and having trouble breathing (one of the doctors in the group had a pulse oxymeter and he was measuring an O2 saturation of 84%) . When we landed the airport medics were already there and he was wisked off to the hospital. The TD went with him and made sure he was tended to. It was towards the end of the trip so we had all bonded. The TD spent time with him every day, and gave us regular updates on him , even after we were home. He made sure a relative flew over to be with him while he was in the hospital. This was the first time we had ever witnessed anything like this while traveling. We made 2 decisions- 1. Better buy the travel insurance that Tauck offers ( fairly comprehensive); 2. We are only going to very far locales with Tauck as we get older because even though we have a considerable amount of time before we are in our 80s, you never know what is going to happen when you are traveling. Another example- When we were in Switzerland 2 years ago, an 87 (!) year old collapsed from dehydration on the way down from the Matterhorn. A medivac helicopter was there in 5 minutes. I opt for that instead of a few missed meals here and there……( I know this has strayed from the topic of clothes….).
Yes, group travel health sadly continues to be the giant elephant in the room. Nobody wants to talk about it. My husband and I have gotten really good at knowing where to mask. We sadly do still get weird looks from people but the stories above only confirm my desire to remain healthy while traveling. Ever tried giving someone a fist bump or an elbow bump instead of handshake while on a Tauck tour? Be ready to lose 20-40 friends. By the way since packing is related to clothes, do not assume that your usual OTC meds will be readily available in Australia and New Zealand, at least according to my friend who lives there. She told me last year that nose sprays such as Flonase and Nasacort are not available without a prescription, and telemedicine has not yet been embraced. Which means you physically have to go see a doctor for routine things.
Good advice to take any over the counter meds you might need. I also ask my primary care for an antibiotic just in case
Is it necessary for a man to bring a sport coat on this trip??
No.
Sports coats are not necessary but many men wore them occasionally last fall, especially for the final evening.
Can you define ‘many,’ I think it depends on the group you find yourself with. There were only a few on our tour. You saw them at the welcome dinner but maybe just one or two at the Farewell, a waste of space on a three week tour. Australia is a laid back country