eight flights . four cable cars . three busses . two ferries . one train . one boat . one Air BnB . one hotel . one RV
Australia and New Zealand 16-Day Itinerary
Friday, January 25 to Saturday, February 9, 2019.
1.25.19 . Day 1 – Fly to Sydney, Australia.
1.26.19 . Day 2 – Cross the International Date Line, loose this day.
1.27.19 . Day 3 – Arrive in Sydney. Sydney Opera House. Sydney Harbor Bridge. Bondi Beach.
1.28.19 . Day 4 – Taronga Zoo. Darling Harbor.
1.29.19 . Day 5 – Blue Mountains National Park.
1.30.19 . Day 6 – Manly Beach. Barangaroo Reserve.
1.31.19 . Day 7 – Fly to Cairns, Australia. Swim in Cairns Esplanade Lagoon.
2.1.19 . Day 8 – Great Barrier Reef .
2.2.19 . Day 9 – Kuranda Rainforest.
2.3.19 . Day 10 – Fly to Auckland, New Zealand.
2.4.19 . Day 11 – Coromandel Peninsula. Cathedral Cove Beach.
2.5.19 . Day 12 – Hobbiton Movie Set. Hot springs in Rotorua.
2.6.19 . Day 13 – Hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Trail.
2.7.19 . Day 14 – Waitomo Glow Worm Caves.
2.8.19 . Day 15 – Piha black sand beach.
2.9.19 . Day 16 – Travel home. Cross the International Date Line. Repeat this day.
When and with whom
I had the great pleasure of traveling with my better half and four other friends on this trip, making us a fun group of six. Four of us had gone to elementary school together and had been talking about taking this trip since we were roommates in college. This was the year we actually made it happen since we were a few years out of college and had a bit of money in our pockets.
We chose to go at the end of January because it is the dead of winter in Wisconsin and the middle of summer in Australia. In fact, there was a 100F degree difference between Chicago and Sydney the day we departed! Late January is also when flight prices start to become more affordable. Flights to Australia are the most expensive over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
