Kiwis & Aussies, Need help planning next R&R

[Kiwi]

My ears were burning!

Lemme think on what advice to hand over (other than come to Canada instead like me!)

[fireheart]

However, the Southern Ocean is also fantastic, and Melbourne has an aquarium devoted to Southern Ocean sea life. Sydney's aquarium is (IIRC) a Southern Pacific sea life aquarium. She may well enjoy visiting both, and doing the compare-and-contrast.
(I assume NZ has at least one major aquarium, but I know nothing about it. Last I knew, Brisbane didn't, and I don't know about Adelaide, Perth or Darwin. If Alice Springs has an aquarium, their fish would have to be imported from a looooong way!)

We don't have an Aquarium. In terms of anything ocean-y, we have the Maritime Museum located in the town-suburb of Port Adelaide (which is somewhat north-west of the city centre). That's about it. (I wish we had an aquarium though)

Seconding the Great Barrier Reef for SCUBA diving. If you do, the best place to try would be Cairns. (sounds like "cans")

There's also an Aquarium in Queensland called UnderWater World, which is located on the Sunshine Coast. Seaworld is also worth a visit for marine life.

[Kiwi]

So NZ is pretty different from the tip of the north island to the bottom of the south. March is pretty brutal heat wise in most of the country, its the hottest month of the year and our sun burns. We have a very thin ozone layer so people who NEVER burn, burn fast and badly. SPF 50 and top it up ALL day.

I would personally skip Auckland, if you are going to Sydney they are practically the same city. The only thing I would recommend if you have a sunny day is going to the top of the sky tower to get a 360 view of the city. It really shows how much of a Island it is. I grew up on the North Shore, if you want to go over there (not really a tourist area) go to Brownsbay! There is a pie shop there that the BF will not miss in NZ.

I prefer the upper north island (Northland) areas like Russel, Paihai (pronounned pie-he-a) and ahipara (a-he-pah-ra). You can do more outdoorsey stuff, relax on beautiful unspoiled beaches. We always go quad biking at Ahipara

http://www.paihia.co.nz/

The next best place IMO is Rotorua (Roe-toe-rue-ah) it is a geothermal area and a little more touristy but it's where the BF and I choose to vacation when we go back to NZ. We check out the polynesian spa, $15 a day for access to 8 or so mineral hot springs.

If you want to have a real kiwi holiday go to the Coromandel, half way down the north island.
http://www.thecoromandel.com/

This is where kiwis go to vacation, their is a beach where hot springs under the sand make the water hot, steaming hot. People did pools into the sand filled with sea water. They pack a picnic and a bbq and just hang out in the sun!



The futher south you go the less tropical the country gets.Im from the North and while I have nothing against the south (Dundein is AWESOME) I would recommend doing the north island first.

A few other guidelines.

Don't tip, it's considered fairly insulting. Unless you are eating in a 5 star silver service resturant. Accordingly the service is no where near as good as table service in the USA, servers will not take care of you like they do in the US.

Non stop pop does not exsist

American lemonade does not exsist. If you ask for a lemonade they will give you sprite or 7 up. Iced tea or sweet tea does not exsist. If you wan't a lemon fizzy drink (soda pop) get L & P. That is the closest thing.

Do not assume anything is like it is in America, kiwis are fairly proud of their culture and will not take kindly to being told how everything or anything is better in America.

Get fish and chips on the beach, that is a kiwi must with lots of tomato sauce (ketchup)

Go to a bakery for cheap, filling, food. Pies, filled rolls (think premade sub) sandwhiches etc plus cheap cakes and sweets.

People might say thank you, people might say TA, it is the same thing. TA muchly is like saying "thank you very much".

Kiwis speak fast, very fast and run their words together

Bus drivers give change but usually won't change notes

Tax is included in price listed. The price listed is the price you pay.

Do not walk around with a camera around your neck, you will be mugged

If you want any specific info Green feel free to PM me with questions, I am pretty giddy that your considering going to my home country!

[Greenday]

How hot does it actually get? Is it hot hot or just what is locally known as hot but really isn't that bad.

[fireheart]

A few other guidelines.

Don't tip, it's considered fairly insulting. Unless you are eating in a 5 star silver service resturant. Accordingly the service is no where near as good as table service in the USA, servers will not take care of you like they do in the US.

Non stop pop does not exsist

American lemonade does not exsist. If you ask for a lemonade they will give you sprite or 7 up. Iced tea or sweet tea does not exsist. If you wan't a lemon fizzy drink (soda pop) get L & P. That is the closest thing.

Do not assume anything is like it is in America, kiwis are fairly proud of their culture and will not take kindly to being told how everything or anything is better in America.

Get fish and chips on the beach, that is a kiwi must with lots of tomato sauce (ketchup)

Go to a bakery for cheap, filling, food. Pies, filled rolls (think premade sub) sandwhiches etc plus cheap cakes and sweets.

People might say thank you, people might say TA, it is the same thing. TA muchly is like saying "thank you very much".

Kiwis speak fast, very fast and run their words together

Bus drivers give change but usually won't change notes

Tax is included in price listed. The price listed is the price you pay.

Do not walk around with a camera around your neck, you will be mugged

If you want any specific info Green feel free to PM me with questions, I am pretty giddy that your considering going to my home country!

Most of these can also apply to Australia as well. With a few extra tips:

-Fish and Chips is also an Aussie thing. There are a number of places as well that will do Chicken and chips.

-See my post earlier about Aussie slang. Some of it can apply to Kiwis.

-Bus drivers in Australia will exchange $5 notes, but that's it. Also, the bus services are different in each state so prices WILL vary.

-Kiwi's right about the tax, in Australia, nearly all prices include GST, however there are a couple of duty-free places in airports and such.

[Kiwi]

How hot does it actually get? Is it hot hot or just what is locally known as hot but really isn't that bad.

The heat isn't what hurts it's the humidity. In Auckland during March I believe the average temperature is only 26 celcius but with the humidity it will feel like 35. Most days the humidity is around 80% or higher. The BF went through 3 t-shirts a day during the summer there and he comes from a town in Canada where summers hit 40 celcius (104F).

After being in Afganistan the sun might not bite you as much but I will warn you again, the Sun in both NZ and Aussie bites hard and fast. My Boyfriend is Danish with Romani Gypsy blood. He is a fairly dark guy naturally who never burns, he didn't heed my advice and got brutal burns on the top of his feet. You will be fine if you wear sunscreen and top it up though.

I hope you go though, you will have a super awesome time! That AND you get to see where I grew up!

[fireheart]

Oh and we do have Iced Tea. But its in a bottle.

The brands are Lipton and Nestea.

[Kiwi]

Oh and we do have Iced Tea. But its in a bottle.

The brands are Lipton and Nestea.

correct me if I am wrong but you can't usually get it at resturants right just dairys (corner stores) and the like.

[fireheart]

correct me if I am wrong but you can't usually get it at resturants right just dairys (corner stores) and the like.

Nowadays you can in AUstralia, depends on the restaurant, so YMMV.

You can also pick up bottles in supermarkets and cafes.

There's also a packet mix you can get, which is sweet but yummy.

[Nyoibo]

How hot does it actually get? Is it hot hot or just what is locally known as hot but really isn't that bad.

If you are in Australia during the hottest part of the year, which I don't think you will be, it gets hot, it will get Afghanistan hot, there have been occasions where there have been 7 or more consecutive days of over 35 celcisu temperature, the one saving grace is there's usually no humidity unless you go up past mid Queensland.

Most of the things Kiwi said about NZ also apply to Australia if you come over.

[Seshat]

How hot does it actually get? Is it hot hot or just what is locally known as hot but really isn't that bad.

December, January and February can exceed 40oC in every part of Australia I've been; and that can be for stretched of five days at a time.

Since you'll be coming in March, if I recall correctly, you'll probably experience between 20oC and 35oC as maximums, depending on where you are and what the air masses are doing.

[Greenday]

Kiwis speak fast, very fast and run their words together

Good, I'll feel like I'm back home. That's exactly how I speak.

Since June, sunny days range from 37.8-43.3C though it's been hotter before. Living by the beach all my life, I'm well accustomed to apply and reapplying sunscreen so I should be covered.

I'm really pumped up for this. My company, when I take a break, will pay to fly me home. If I choose to fly somewhere else, they'll subtract the price it would have been if I went home and I pay the rest. Only a couple hundred. Was checking out some hotels. Auckland doesn't seem very expensive. Only $1500 or so for a hotel room for a month. Very affordable. And if that's in NZD, even better.