Suggestions about a trip to Australasia and Islands..
Hello I am beginning to plan a trip to NZ and Australia for next October...Any suggestions including which pacific islands are not too touristic and stop over to take into consideration?! Ciao ciao fabiana
Reply to this I only have experience of Fiji - but I think it was a good choice. It has some real variety and you could easily spend a month travelling around spending time at different places.
Rainforests, beaches, islands, rivers, great scuba diving and snorkling, a few cities and it's easy to get away from the touristy spots.
Other destinations; cook islands, new kaledonia, samoa - well I don't know enough about them to comment or make a suggestion.
What were you looking for? surfing, chilling out on beaches?
Reply to this The Cook Islands are a great place with real friendly people - undiscovered? Not really. Rarotonga is a bit of a tourist hotspot for the Kiwi's and the Yanks, though less so than Fiji. In fact its kind of like being in a really hot, tropical version of New Zealand.
The locals are really friendly, and if you stay for more than a few days you'll be bound to get to know a few. It's very relaxed, and there is no touting at all. As for Aitutaki, it is meant to be idyllic - sadly I couldn't afford the air fare....
Reply to this Hello, yes, you should get high enough along the Eastern coast to check out the Great Barrier Reef, it really is gorgeous. Also, the Wet Tropics in North Queensland is lovely. Oh, and the amusement parks on the Gold Coast are fun for the kids and adults too.
Reply to this I suggest rotorua in NZ - its where the hot springs and volcanos are.
Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast is a must if you are coming to Australia.
Reply to this If you are in Australia during their summer, I also thoroughly recommend Tasmania. The most beautiful beaches I visited in Australia are there, (though the weather is sometimes a little cold and wet outside of summer).
It also has a lot of wildlife and the advantage of destinations being only 3 or 4 hours away rather than 8 or 9.
Reply to this You must go to Perth, in Western Australia. We stayed there last Christmas in an apartment in the city. The city is really quite small, and not too busy so it is fairly relaxed. The beaches are awesome and there are great bush walks and national parks with kangaroos everywhere. It is great if you taking children. We stayed at the Duke's Apartment (http://www.dukesapartments.com )and followed there advise on what to do from there web page at http://www.dukesapartments.com/Things%20to%20do%20in%20and%20around%20Perth.htm . This kept us busy for 3 weeks, when we then fly to Melbourne for 2 weeks visiting relatives.
Reply to this If you're planning a trip to NZ, you should definitely read "Straying from the Flock: Travels in New Zealand" by Dr. Alexander Elder-- it's part memoir and part travel guide, and really goes into detail about the best places to visit in NZ. Also lists a directory of restaurants, B&Bs, homestays, vineyards, etc. Look it up!
-Jackie
Reply to this If you are interested in experiencing a mix of real Fijian and Tongan culture, the Lau Group in Fiji is a fantastic experience. Its off, off the beaten track. There is great cheap accomodation on Vanua Balavu, the epitome of a Pacific Island - hardly any tourism, beautiful beaches, pure clean water, colours of blue you've never seen before. Great place. It's a one hour flight from Suva. You can just relax and do nothing or walk or swim or get them to take you in a boat to look around. Fuel is incredibly expensive so the boat trips are too.
Reply to this Aitutaki in the Cooks is paradise. It's one of the most beautiful lagoons that we saw in the pacific and the locals are so friendly it's jsut ridiculous. Everyone waves hello to you and will have a chat in the local bars. We only stayed a week and we had to go around visiting people to say goodbye before we caught our flight out. Rarotonga is fun but really touristy. The extra flight to Aitutaki is well worth the money. I just hope that that American Survivor program didn't ruin the place
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