Changes in itinerary for Australia and NZ, March 5

Radman

Hello. My wife and I are going on Grand Australia and NZ, March 5th. Anyone out there scheduled to go at this time? We recently received notice of changes to the itinerary, which deleted Alice Springs, flying from Melbourne directly to Uluru. Also, the flight on day 18 in NZ has been replaced with a motorcoach ride with a stop to see a dairy farm. Anybody have input on this?

crackers54

When I did this trip a few years ago we did have a wonderful lunch at a dairy farm. But, I am confuse on the flight to Uluru. How do you get there. Only way is to fly.

sherry_schare

Radman wrote:

Hello. My wife and I are going on Grand Australia and NZ, March 5th. Anyone out there scheduled to go at this time? We recently received notice of changes to the itinerary, which deleted Alice Springs, flying from Melbourne directly to Uluru. Also, the flight on day 18 in NZ has been replaced with a motorcoach ride with a stop to see a dairy farm. Anybody have input on this?

We were there last spring. Ground time in Alice Springs was very short, just long enough for the group lunch and a short walk through the tiny town. Some people did have time to visit the Flying Doctors site.

I understand from friends of ours that are taking this trip next spring that the flight from Melbourne to Uluru is now a Tauck charter.

British

It has been mentioned for several months on the forums that there is going to be no stop at Alice Springs because there is now a direct flight to Uluru instead. As shescha says, it is a short visit to Alice, interesting, but not going there is not going to spoil your trip. To get the real scoop about the NZ changeI really think the easiest and quickest way is to call Tauck for an explanation, and if you are not happy maybe they can change you to different dates for the tour. There must be a practical reason for the temporary change.

rogfam

In Melbourne a few days prior to our tour. If you have a chance, try to come early, it's a wonderful city.
Concerning change of flights, Tauck is now using private charters in both Australia and NZ. Much better, less hassles.

British

Am in NZ now. Do you mean the day we fly to Rotorua? Will try to get the scoop and let you know. As far as I know, Tauck has always used private charters for the New Zealand part of the tour. The flights we have taken so far have been seamless and begin with a glass of champagne, even the one that was only twenty minutes long. I did hear that it was a new company they were using but not sure if it will be the same company for the next flight in a couple of days. But yes, using charter in Australia is very new for them.