Once you make the decision to go to New Zealand and Australia you might as well stay as long as you can (if you have no other obligations). In our case that means 2 weeks in NZ and 5 in Australia. Feb. 1 to March 23. It's summer there in Feb. and March so we thought we'd escape some of winter in NYC and outfox the worst heat by starting in NZ and then going from the south to the north in Australia. At this writing however, a week before departure, both countries are experiencing horrendous heat waves so we have no idea if we will be lucky with the weather. Update: The heat wave has ended!
Looking at the map below, it can be seen we are only visiting a small fraction of these countries. But that's always the case when you travel.
Putting NZ first led to a bit of irrationality. We didn't want to fly on the airlines which have the most direct fights to NZ (United, American and Air NZ) because of our low opinion of them. So instead we decided to fly with Qantas. At least, unlike United and American, we had no bad experiences with them. But, as you will see, that didn't last very long. With Qantas we have to fly first to Sydney, Australia and immediately fly to Auckland, New Zealand. That makes it about 27 hours on Qantas instead of 21 hours otherwise. That sounds foolish in retrospect.
Qantas turned out to be quite incompetent in the international ticketing phase. We hope they are better in the actual flying. First, they reneged on the ticket they sold us (believe it or not) claiming the agent mistakenly gave us a price which had been sold out. So we had to pay much more a few days later. Second they changed the time of the later international leg which will take us from Auckland, NZ to Melbourne, Australia. Third, they reversed my first and middle name on the ticket. And these days that can cause big problems. That alone took a few days to straighten out.
Then came the choice of where to go within these countries. A very desirable 12-hour, scenic daytime train ride in NZ from Auckland to Wellington, the capital, runs only a few times a week. Notice the completely open car behind the locomotive - for unimpeded viewing pleasure.
That train schedule forces us to leave Auckland just two days after arrival (but we will have 4 days there after finishing the rest of NZ.) Secondly, a desire to see the fjords, particularly a remote one called Doubtful Sound, compels us to fly from Wellington to Queenstown on the Southern island and use it as a base.
Both Wellington and Queenstown have abundant walking, hiking and day-drive attractions to fill the three or four days in each. One particular attraction we have in mind is called the Pinnacles, a 2 1/2 hour drive from Wellington. We see a resemblance to some of Emma's ceramic sculpture, particularly those called "caves." Hopefully we can do that in a day trip.
A wonderfully witty and informative book by Bill Bryson helped prepare me for Australia. https://www.amazon.com/Sunburned-Country-Bill-Bryson/dp/0767903862
When it came to planning our time in Australia the limited room availability at an idyllic snorkeling island on the most southern part of the Great Barrier Reef, named Lady Elliot, https://www.ladyelliot.com.au/ determined the first fixed point on our schedule. That compelled us to fit Lady Elliot into five days in the middle of March. Notice the landing strip running the entire length of the island. (It's only a half-hour from the mainland by small plane.)
That made Sydney, about 700 miles south, the logical final stop afterward before we return home. That placed the rest of what we wanted to see in Australia (Tasmania, Melbourne, the Barossa wine region, Adelaide and Kangaroo Island) into the time between leaving NZ on Feb. 17 and going to Lady Elliot on March13.
We decided not to go to the iconic central desert of Australia and its celebrated Uluru Rock (formerly known as Ayer's Rock). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru Why? It sounded like a recipe for heatstroke. And the geological and mythological aspects were not sufficiently attractive. It might be a good destination wedding site if one wanted to discourage guests.
Nor will we got to the west or north, both of which sound interesting, especially Kakadu National Park in the north and the Ningaloo Reef in the northwest. Let's not forget that Australia is about the same size as continental United States. So it is unreasonable to think one can see all of it in just five weeks.
Then came picking the domestic flights (all Qantas except for the charter flights to and from Lady Elliot) and car rental reservations, After the flight from Auckland to Melbourne we start Australia with a short flight to Hobart, Tasmania and 5 days on that island. It's home to the virus-endangered, carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian Devil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil
and a particularly beautiful place for hiking called Wineglass Bay.
The choice of hotels in all these places was the usual strain, brought about by always first reading the most critical ratings on Trip Advisor, something guaranteed to raise doubts in the most optimistic mind. Blood on the sheets, cockroaches in the toilet, no hot water, faulty air-conditioning, food poisoning, rude staff, theft......and that's the luxury hotels....HELP! Well, that's a slight exaggeration - but it is nerve-wracking.
Then came the sprinkling of the schedule with what we hope will be extraordinary restaurants and entertainment such as La Traviata in the Sydney Opera House, Ides Restaurant in Melbourne, https://www.idesmelbourne.com.au/ Orana Restaurant in Adelaide http://restaurantorana.com/ and the Hentley Farm Restaurant in the Barossa region https://www.hentleyfarm.com.au/food-philosophy/
These places all require us to make reservations far in advance.
Looking at the photos I just collected from the internet for this blog I ask "Why is it necessary to go?" Maybe it's just as good staying home, reading books and watching pictures. But that kind of thinking leads to the victory of mechanical convenience over natural life. So, placing my faith in unpredictable reality, I reject the devilish temptation of electronic vacationing and start packing my suitcase.
At this point, two days before departure, my traveling pharmacy is almost complete. Perhaps I will add some more insect repellent in view of the high heat and humidity. Those mosquito netting hats might come in handy.
I can't decide whether to take that ear liquid which dissolves wax and clears up swimmer's ear with a very enjoyable, champagne-like fizzing. I did take those neck bands filled with water-absorbent crystals which provide a cooling effect on hot hikes. And the folding walking sticks, of course, and the umbrellas and the water shoes and the snorkel mask fitted with prescription lenses and the three-pronged electric plugs and the Swiss Army knife. And let's not forget 30 sets of underwear, 25 t-shirts, 10 dress shirts, 8 slacks, 5 swimsuits and 6 pairs of short pants, 3 salamis, a wheel of parmesan cheese, 10 lbs. of assorted nuts, 25 rubber bands and a roll of gaffer's tape.
I hope I am correct in thinking I can arrange smartphone and internet service with the internet providers who have stores at the arrival airports. Here's hoping the internet works well enough to allow me to blog with regularity. That's the second most important regularity of enjoyable travel.
Good luck to us all.
