-
I am traveling with my parents in about 3 weeks. We are going for 2 1/2 weeks and splitting that time between both places. We first plan on going to NZ and then Australia. Is mid to end Nov a good time to go and what can I expect temperatures/weather to be like?
For someone who has never been before, what are the main attractions I should be sure to see and what do you think is a good length of stay to see them?
What is the best way to get there (I am coming from Atlanta and them from NYC)? Is travel between the 2 countries easy?
In NZ, we plan on going to the south island (I guess landing in Christchurch is the best place) and renting a camper van to tour around. Where is the best place to go and to rent a van with toilet and showers?
In Australia, we plan on going to Sydney and Melbourne. I want to do this as cheaply as possible and I am not sure what would be the best area to stay in around those cities that would also be central to sightseeing. How long is the distance between these 2 cities and is it driveable?
Lastly...I also have always wanted to hold a koala bear and I heard that they have places where they allow people to hold them. Is this still the case? If so, where are those locations?
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
-
Welcome aboard luvs2travel.
Loads of Australia info on the board (do a quick search) plus Al, the Australia correspondent, has an excellent travel article Al's article. You can also post questions to Al in his correspondent's thread. BTW, since you mentioned wanting to hold a koala bear, I guess I should mention Al thinks he's a cute koala bear (see his correspondent's photo), even though he wayyyy too tall. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emotic...on_biggrin.gif
Keep'em flying
-
Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney is a good place to head for to do the Koala holding bit, as well as being able to see most of our unique fauna examples "on display". The afternoon is best - avoids the busloads of Japanese and other tourists that tend to go there in the mornings. A day trip out to the Blue Mountains in the morning, followed by Featherdale in the afternoon is a nice way to kill a day.
As for the rest of it, your wishlist is a bit generalised. Are you non-revving down here? NZ run a nonstop flight into CHC once or twice weekly and it's usually easy enough to get onboard. Failing that there are 2 or 3 nightly services to AKL from LAX as a back-up. November weather will be warm, ranging from a dry heat to humid in Sydney. Trans-Tasman flights are plentiful and usually cheap if you plan ahead and don't want to do the non-rev lotto.
Emirates, Aerolineas Argentinas, Air Tahiti Nui, LAN, Air NZ, Qantas, Freedom, Pacific Blue and probably a couple of others all fly across the Tasman frequently. EK in particular are known for offering very good deals and they fly from both CHC and AKL back to Oz. Flights to SYD are the most prolific, but if you can get one to MEL it's easier for you in your routing.
Britz usually have some sort of deal or other avilable for campervan rentals - another to look for online would be Maui.
Depends on how much time you have on the South Island, but a visit to Queenstown and then Milford Sound is a good starter.
Don't worry too much about non-revving between MEL & SYD - while not quite the halycon days of 109 daily flights between the two when AN was around, there are still something like 80+ daily flights offered between Qantas, VirginBlue and Jetstar and there are always one way fares around for AUD50-80 if you are flexible and plan ahead.
SYD and MEL centre city accom is not cheap, but deals/bargains can be found. If there are three of you, you may well find it to be far more cost effective (and comfortable) to look at one of the apartment style hotels. 1 or 2 bedroomed apartment with full facilities like Kitchen, appliances etc. There's a list in the article Mig mentioned previously.
If you are non-revving be aware that the first week of December is the last days of low season airfares here - can get busy with families heading out for family Christmases in far flung locations at the cheap rates. November generally is heaven for non-revvers out of Oz.
-
Al,
Thank you SO much for all of the info. I have a couple of other questions if you don't mind...you mentioned EK as having good deals from Christchurch to OZ. I am not familiar with that airline code. Who is EK? Also, do you recommend that we buy the tickets to OZ there or ahead of time?
Also, we will most likely be flying into SYD or AKL to start our trip in Christchurch where we will pick up our camper. Do you recommend driving (if we go to AKL) to CHC and is that something that can be done in 1 day (we have a day to spare before we pick up our camper). And if we go to SYD, is it better to non-rev to CHC or to buy a ticket ahead of time? I just didn't know if the walk up fares would be much more expensive.
How is the commute between SYD and MEL. Is that something worth driving to see the countryside or better to fly and check out the city? That is up in the air right now for us, but if it was easy, we would probably try to add it into our plans.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks again! http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emotic...n_rolleyes.gif
Again, thank you so much
-
hi
EK is emirates from dubai,which i can only recomend. i also think,that they are a good option for going nonrev syd-chc vv, as this is a transit flight and normaly there should be seats availible. there are several flights daily between those cities-so i would say non-rev would not be a problem.but i'm sure al can give you exact details. for revenue fares you can check out <a href="http://www.qantas.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.qantas.com.au,</A> <a href="http://www.virginblue.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.virginblue.com.au</A> or <a href="http://www.airnz.co.nz" target="_blank">http://www.airnz.co.nz</A>
-
PacificBlue and Jetstar are both offering fares at just over NZD100.00 one way on their websites at the moment for CHC to Oz flights. That's how good it can be for you and really makes the uncertainty of non-rev a tad superfluous.
You would need a whole day set aside to drive between AKL-CHC with most of that spent on the ferry crossing between North & South Islands.
Perhaps check out how good the LAX-CHC flights are looking for nonrev first - I believe CHC is always easier to get on than AKL.
Driving from MEL-SYD is an option - the quick way is via the Hume Freeway which runs inland, although it's fairly boring being a double laned freeway all the way. Of course you can get off and explore local areas on the way through. The coastal run is quite nice, but takes a lot longer & is probably best done over 2 days rather than push it.
Then again, you have very limited time here so it depends on what you want to really see and get done in the time available.
-
Thanks for the info Al. I went on both Pacific Blue and Jetstar's websites and was not able to find the $100NZD rate. All I found was $189. Do you have a special link for them with the special listed? I am ready to buy them and think that it is a good rate. If you have any more info, I would love to hear it.
I was also looking to see if I can get some info on the load factors from ICN to CHC on Korean Air on Nov 17. That is the day I plan to fly. However, my travels are still flexible and can also go from HNL-SYD on AC the 17th as well (found the tip on other forums). I am going with my parents and want to ensure there is enough availablility on either of those flights so that we don't waste the precious time we can be in New Zealand and Australia.
Thank you SO much for all of your help. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
-
Well despite HNL being one of the top 5 nonrev black holes around the world, the nonrev Gods must be smiling on you.
Checked the loads today for Nov 17th HNL-SYD on AC33 and I'd be prepared to put my, ummm, hmmm, camcorder, on the line to categorically state you will NOT have a problem nonrevving on that flight, that day out of HNL. The 18th & 19th, forget it. 17th for some reason is smoooooth.
As for pacificblue.com.au they are still offering NZD119.00 one way (plus taxes) from CHC-SYD. Once the taxes are added on you are looking at close to NZD190.00 though. AUD189.00 in the other direction (or as a return when your journey starts in Oz) DOES include all taxes. (Local law here requires advertised prices to include taxes). Without the taxes, that AUD189.00 would be about AUD100.00/110.00 or USD75.00-ish.
NZ, QF, DJ and JQ all offer one way mix and match airfares across the Tasman, so often you will get the best deal using 2 one ways from the different carriers.
-
Is HNL really that bad http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif ? My girlfriend and me are thinking of Norway – Japan – HNL – Australia in April / May. The catch is that I have to bring her on a Star Travel Partner ticket. That means UA NRT – HNL and AC HNL – SYD… No backup, except for the same way back to NRT and then via BKK and KUL to SYD. (Of course we are in no rush http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif )
Is HNL really as bad as BKK – Europe? And just to be curies.. What are the other routs/airports on your top 5 black holes list?
---
Vegar
-
Okay Al, we've been been through this before, you're just still bitter from that 'Japanese-only shopping-night' last time you were in Honolulu! You don't have to ruin someone else's trip just because you're still bitter. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emotic...on_biggrin.gif
I might (just might - no promises) be back in HNL in January. I'll be happy to show you the real Hawai'i. Maybe that will renew your faith in humanity. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
-
If you reckon HNL is not a black hole for non-revs, you're delusional young Randy! http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
-
I suppose your "black-hole" supposition may be correct depending on which direction/destination you may be attempting.
I have been bumped trying to get to Hawai'i but never trying to get from Hawai'i to the mainland U.S.
The only time we were bumped was trying to get to Hawai'i for the wedding of a 'local' friend. Unfortulately we couldn't tell her not to get married in June. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emotic...on_redface.gif You can't pick a worse month to get to Hawai'i.
For those who don't know, most of my 'in-laws' are in Hawai'i. On average, we make about 2 trips a year to the islands from Chicago (sometimes more, sometimes less.)
-
hi al
i am also interested in your top 5 nonrev black holes-please tell us!
but i wouldn't say that bkk-europe is that bad as hermi said. if you avoid peakseason and have some back-up tickets it's no problem to get back to europe.
-
Al,
You are a wealth of knowledge. Thank you SO much for the info! Is that HNL flight you checked the availability on the flight by Air Canada as you specified? Since I am going with my parents, they can't non-rev on Qantas, but they can on Air Canada. That may be our best option to go instead of the previous option of flying on Korean through Seoul. Still unsure. But thank you for all the info. It really helps. I can't wait and am looking forward to the trip as it is coming up quickly...next week! :-)
-
Yeah - that was AC33 on the 17th ex HNL. As I said, it's a one day reprieve - 18th/19th are back to normal and shocking again.
For the others - I've started a "Black Hole" thread in the General Discussion forum.
Cheers!
-
BTW...incase anyone is interested, I just booked a roundtrip flight from HNL to SYD 9 days before my departure date on Hawaiian Air for $728US. I couldn't believe it after comparing all the specials and offers from all other airlines out there and thought it was a computer error, but it wasn't. I was planning on nonrevving the whole way (getting VERY creative), but this was an excellent alternative that cost about as much as the ID90s and ID95s I would have had to purchase to get there and it is confirmed seating. It was an offer I couldn't refuse and hard to believe. Anyone interested in going, I would highly recommend researching all possible alternatives and fares and continue looking even up until the last day before travel. You just never know what can happen...especially when non-revving. Now, if this isn't that big a deal to others out there, I apologize as I am VERY excited and I no longer have to worry about getting there and back which was causing me HUGE heartache and frustration. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emotic...on_biggrin.gif
-
I'm with you Luvs2travel, sometimes it's just not worth the "non-rev worry". http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
Of course there was that time in SJC, ticket in hand, they were calling for volunteers to give up their seats, I got a gtd seat on a later flight, a meal voucher
and believe it or not a $$$ voucher...talk about discovering the beauty of bumping. http://www.nonrev.net/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Have fun.
Keep'em flying
-
I've also seen HA's webonly specials such as LAX-HNL one way for USD99.00 as example. Definitely a good option.
