If you're interested in going to Australia or New Zealand but you're not sure where to begin with planning, then this is the post for you. I wasn't able to see absolutely everything myself, but I'm happy to share some tips and lessons learned from my recent trip!
BEFORE YOU GO
Check out my "Going to Paris?" post for some basic travel tips that can also apply for a trip to AU/NZ! For the most part, my tips would be the same.
Similar to Paris, there’s no tip!
Don’t forget about bringing adaptors for the different plugs for electronics
One advantage about AU/NZ is that they speak English, so there’s no stress about meeting people or asking them directions to help find your way around!
Now heads up - this post will be a little different than my last two, simply because I went on a cruise. So instead of posting by “sites to see” and “foods to eat”, I’ll be going by the separate ports/stops I made throughout the cruise. However this post will not be about my time on the ship since I may choose to do a post about my overall cruise tips (since I’ve been on quite a few) in the future.
SYDNEY, AU
Sydney was definitely my favorite - I enjoyed it so much that I could actually imagine myself living there! I was so comfortable walking around downtown because it felt so safe and clean. There weren’t any homeless people or creepers, or even crazier - any trash! I swear, I couldn’t find a trash can anywhere, and yet the streets were still so clean! How ironic is it that almost every other downtown around the world has trash cans on every corner but are significantly more littered than Sydney?!
I basically had two days there so, as jam-packed as they were, I still didn’t get to see everything :( The highlight and something I really recommend is the Sydney Bridge Climb. I did the full climb in the afternoon and although it was pretty pricey, it was so worth it. There’s only a short ladder part that kinda freaked me out, but the rest of it was such a breeze. Plus they give you quite a bit of time at the top to just appreciate the view. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not that adventurous (I can’t even handle kid-sized roller coasters) but I still seek cool experiences, so this was definitely that perfect medium for me!
The second day, we did a full day excursion that took us to multiple spots. As rushed as it felt at times, this was a good way to try to see as much as possible in one day. You basically get to go to Featherdale Wildlife Park, Echo Point and Scenic World.
Featherdale is where I got to take a picture with a koala (disappointing fact: the only place you can actually hold one is in Queensland, AU) and play with some kangaroos. It can’t get more Australian than that, right?!
Echo Point is just a sick lookout point for a great view. And Scenic World is where you can ride the cableways across the same views and the world’s steepest railway.
As for the food…
If you like Thai food, then I highly recommend Chat Thai. We had a Thai Uber driver that told us about it and it was the best pad thai we’ve ever had (never been to Thailand but I’ve tried many places throughout LA).
Something cool I got to try was a kangaroo skewer at the Rocks Markets - which was surprisingly good and just tasted like beef.
For some delicious and cheap fish n chips with a nice harbour view, check out the Pontoon Bar at the Darling Harbour. It has a chill, outdoor vibe with refreshing Pimm’s drinks (ginger beer).
I also went to the Bourke Street Bakery in the suburbs of Surry Hills, which was recommended by my friend’s friend (who used to live in Sydney) for classic meat pies.
MELBOURNE, AU
First note - they pronounce it like mel-bin.
This place felt more like any other downtown, and I happened to go on a walking tour on an extra humid day - lucky me! One tip - I was only here for a day and made the mistake of buying a myki pass, when in reality you can hop on for free all around the downtown area.
The graffiti alleys are cool to check out since street art is highly appreciated as a part of their vibrant urban culture. And as a random fun fact, they have a few street crossing lights that are female shaped rather than male to celebrate women equality!
HOBART (TASMANIA), AU
I was here on a Saturday, when the most popular thing to do in Hobart is go to the outdoor Salamanca Market. It’s a huge street market but I actually didn’t find it too unique compared to other outdoor markets, so I didn’t buy much. But this was my last day in AU so I was on a mission to find an opal ring - luckily there were plenty of jewelry stores to look through in the heart of town.
Other cruisers went to a wildlife park at this port and informed me that the kangaroos were huge (unlike the ones I saw) and were surprised how openly they were able to play with them. Also FYI, tasmanian devils are marketed to be a lot cuter than they actually are - to prepare yourself you can hear how they sound on this video and you won’t think they’re so cute anymore haha.
BEFORE GOING TO NEW ZEALAND...
One major thing to note is that the border patrol seems very strict going from AU to NZ. I was on a ship so I’m not sure if the experience is different at the airport - but many people that tried to declare food items like honey (a popular souvenir from AU) got them confiscated. They also needed to check how clean your shoes were if you visited a wildlife park, because they don’t want the dirt to ruin their nature.
In case you didn’t know, New Zealanders are commonly called Kiwis and they have super weird lingo. For instance, when I first heard “sweet as” or “kiwi as” I was like...as what…?? But a local Kiwi informed me that it basically means cool, good, etc.
New Zealanders also sprout from Maori (pronounced mow-ree) culture so you’ll see/hear a lot of things similar to a polynesian culture. A helpful tip to know is “kia ora” (pronounced like kee-or-ruh with a rolling R), which is a greeting that essentially means “to be well/healthy”. You’ll hear people greeting you with it all over the place.
FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK (SCENIC CRUISING), NZ
I won’t say much about this one since it’s just scenic cruising (aka you can’t go there unless you’re on a boat) but it was quite beautiful. The best time to see this place is during sunrise - hopefully it won’t be too cloudy if you ever get the chance to go!
DUNEDIN (PORT CHALMERS), NZ
Pronounced like duhn (like the word done) - neh-din. Another small town to walk around and explore. The railway station had beautiful architecture to check out and we were warned by a few Kiwis that we shouldn’t expect anything too crazy from the castle.
We got some cool pictures at the top of Baldwin Street, which is the steepest street in the world - so steep that the sidewalk actually has steps!
And lastly, we ate at a chicken place called Nando’s - which isn’t that important to note - but the cashier named Theo was crazy nice. She walked us all the way to the bus stop just out of kindness to help out!
AKAROA, NZ
Pronounced like ack-uh-row-uh. An even smaller town that’s surrounded by the beauty of nature. This was probably my favorite small-town port of this trip. Getting off at this port we had the option to visit Akaroa or Christchurch, and I’ve learned that Akaroa is more unique being situated on a volcano vs. Christchurch is just another city. Apparently we got very lucky because numerous cruises before us couldn’t stop here due to bad weather, and to get there we had to hop onto a smaller cruiser to bring us to the dock. The pictures we took just at the dock were amazing!
I wanted to get the picture worthy view at “summit road” but it’s a 20 minute drive, and there’s apparently only 2 taxis in the whole town! So if you go there, plan ahead and rent a car from the very beginning to make it more worth it (you can drive to the winery too)!
The Giant’s House is a cool mosaic sculpture place that’s pretty touristy, but I skipped it because I prefer outdoor/nature pictures. This is also where I did most of my shopping for their famous greenstone jewelry.
TAURANGA, NZ
Pronounced like tuh-rawn-guh. The one thing my heart was super set on (because everyone said it’s the must do thing) was to climb to the top of Mount Maunganui. Unfortunately, I was only about 10 minutes away from the top before I absolutely had to turn around in order to avoid my ship leaving me behind. Luckily, the distance I got to ended up having a decent view and sheep to admire close up.
The reasoning for my hike being cut short was my full day excursion which included visits to the Whakarewarewa Village and Kiwifruit Country. The Whakarewarewa Village taught us about the Maori culture and how they use the natural geysers to do everyday things like cook and heat up water for bathing. It was fascinating to learn about their way of living and feeling the ground itself, which was naturally so hot I thought it would melt the bottom of my shoes! I didn’t get the full experience by trying their food (wish I did), but I did get to enjoy their cultural performance. Kiwifruit Country was exactly as you would expect a kiwi farm to be. Nothing too exciting but when in NZ, right? The kiwi ice cream really hit the spot though!
AUCKLAND, NZ
Pronounced like awk-land. We got some pretty cool pictures at the top of One Tree Hill - FYI, now has a statue instead of a tree at the top because the tree didn’t last lol. It’s basically a 360 view of the city so it’s like any other city view, but better since there’s more beautiful greenery. There were also a ton of sheep we got to admire on the way to the top.
Mission beach isn’t very exciting for people like me who live by the beach. And the aquarium sounded like any other aquarium. I did however make it to the Hobbiton Movie Set, which I purposely watched the first Hobbit movie for so I could appreciate it more haha. Coming from someone who wouldn’t consider herself a LOTR fan, it was still cool to check out and the fun facts were pretty interesting! Heads up - the tour guides don’t have microphones, so if you want to hear the cool facts, stand as close to them as possible (I regret not hearing more because the few I heard were pretty cool). Sad story, I didn’t get to go into Bilbo’s house (not even up the door steps) so I was pretty disappointed in that, but they did give out free beer at the end so there’s that!
The Waitomo Caves were pretty cool because it’s basically a pitch black cave you go through by boat to see glow worms. It was awesome to see but I will honestly say, out of the hour long tour it was only about the last 10-15 minutes of it. The rest of the time was walking around and learning about the caves that lead up to that.
As for food recommendations, Giapo Ice Cream definitely has picture worthy ice cream creations. But honestly, they were so overwhelming that they were a little difficult to eat though. And hokey pokey (honeycomb) is an NZ classic, so try out the hokey pokey ice cream, chocolate, etc.
SOUVENIRS
AU and NZ were pretty hard to find souvenirs for. I’m not a huge fan of bringing back food for friends and family, but AU is so famous for their Tim Tam biscuits that I just had to. I believe they just started selling the basic flavors in America so I made sure to get more exciting flavors like coffee, mint chip, and salted caramel. NZ had some delicious hokey pokey chocolate you can find in a grocery store. As for jewelry, AU is known for their opals and NZ is known for their greenstone (their special jade). In AU you can also bring back nicely painted boomerangs, but be careful because the larger ones are considered weapons so you may or may not have trouble at the airport! Other than those, the souvenirs were pretty much the basic souvenirs you’d expect.
FINAL THOUGHTS
One great thing about AU and NZ being so many hours ahead of LA is that it only feels like a 5-7 hour time difference. So in the end, the jet lag wasn’t as bad. Also, these countries were definitely not as much of a culture shock as visiting Paris and Rome, so it’s less scary to explore. As much as I wish I were adventurous enough to do those crazy things in the nature NZ (i.e. ziplining), I still had a wonderful time exploring these two new countries and I’m ready for the next!