Australia/NZ - the plan!

[friedel]

Our plans for Australia and New Zealand are starting to take shape. Posted here for information and any advice people would care to offer. After the replies here to our thread about budgeting and some other information we gathered I think we will be fine on A$50 a day, hopefully less but we'll have to wait and see what happens on the ground.

Our thoughts are now to fly into Perth around mid-December and try to find a quiet place to wait out the Christmas rush... any ideas? A national park perhaps or any remote loop where we can just load up on food and head out for an adventure, without need to rely on expensive hotels. We can carry food for a week - that's 300-400km of relaxed pedalling.

After that we'll take the train to Adelaide, cycle Adelaide-Melbourne (maybe Great Ocean Road but maybe inland a bit depending on traffic and back roads), then 3-4 weeks in Tasmania and back to the mainland. If we still have time we'll see a little of the area between Melbourne and Sydney.

We'd like to be in New Zealand no later than mid-March and we'll go straight to the South Island, then back up north and out on May 20th on a cargo ship bound for Seattle. Phew, it's tiring just writing all that!

So, any ideas of what to see and do? Special places we might not find in the tourist brochures? We can look up the main highlights but it's the secret spots that are great to learn about. And any ideas for what to do over Christmas would really be appreciated.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

Christmas has to be a barby on the beach right!

We can carry food for a week

wow..how do you do that? I struggle to carry two days for just me!

 

[friedel]

Food for a week.... food needs a whole section on our site, which I will write someday...

Lots of things like lentils... they pack small but cook into a lot of calories. Dried sausages, powdered milk and not liquid. Sauces with spices and not tomato sauce (heavy). Just a few of the many tricks of the road

 

[bonj2]

i harboured vague intentions of going to new zealand but the flights are over a grand EACH WAY - there's no way I'm paying that. It's shocking really.

 

[Haitch]

Great Ocean Road is a must! One of the most spectacular roads in the world. And far better than the inland routes.

 

[Percy]

Good to hear you are still on the road and enjoying it!

Have you booked the cargo ship? How does one go about hitching a ride on these things? (I can't stand flying!)

 

[HLaB]

Great Ocean Road is a must! One of the most spectacular roads in the world. And far better than the inland routes.

When visited Melbourne/ Victoria, I went on a road trip along the Great Ocean road. I'd agree

 

[need2]

When visited Melbourne/ Victoria, I went on a road trip along the Great Ocean road. I'd agree

For sure,,went over 2 years ago to visit my mate who now lives in Melbourne .
He runs an internet business out there now and has internet caffs in hostels around Melbourne and on Bondi,,,I can email him to get the addresses of the cheapest ones he knows if it`s of any good to you..
Melbourne and Sydney are great places to be at you will love it for sure..

 

[friedel]

He runs an internet business out there now and has internet caffs in hostels around Melbourne and on Bondi,,,I can email him to get the addresses of the cheapest ones he knows if it`s of any good to you..

If there's a particular one he'd reccommend, that'd be great, although we will try first to look up some Warmshowers hosts in Australia. We are really looking forward to meeting and chatting with other cyclists.

Comments on the GOR noted! We were just worried about traffic during the high season but as long as there's a shoulder... I think there is from something else I read online.

We are adding heaps of content to our resources section while we're in a hotel with wifi, waiting to finalise those cargo ship arrangements. For those interested in this mode of travel...

http://travellingtwo.com/resources/cargoship

It's not cheap but it does sound like an adventure and no airport stress. Roll on, roll off! Maybe by the end of our three weeks I'll have made some progress on our book

Interestingly, the cargo ship between Aus-NZ is not so much more than a flight could be so if you're in the area and can make it fit with your schedule it's worth looking into.

 

[GrahamG]

i harboured vague intentions of going to new zealand but the flights are over a grand EACH WAY - there's no way I'm paying that. It's shocking really.

Shocking? Of course, it's only 12,000 miles - I'm sure someone could do it for a tenner

 

[ChrisKH]

Silly question I know but aren't Perth and Adelaide at different ends of the country? Why fly into Perth and then ship out on a train for 000's of miles? Perth is lovely, but not my ideal place to start a cycling holiday. I would fly into Adelaide and tour via Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Port Douglas taking in the Great Ocean Road, Blue Mountains, Gold Coast, Barrier Reef as you go (or reverse from Cairns if flying out of say Adelaide to Tasmania). Ulurhu can be done as a one off flying visit over 2-3 days with or without bikes (would be great with, but it's in middle of nowhere). Perth would be my last place to visit on a bike; you could always stop off at Perth on way home if time or funds allow but otherwise it just doesn't make sense to me. The money you are using on the train could pay for the Uluhru trip which is a much better destination IMO. Just a thought.

 

[friedel]

Silly question I know but aren't Perth and Adelaide at different ends of the country? Why fly into Perth and then ship out on a train for 000's of miles? Perth is lovely, but not my ideal place to start a cycling holiday. I would fly into Adelaide and tour via Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Port Douglas taking in the Great Ocean Road, Blue Mountains, Gold Coast, Barrier Reef as you go (or reverse from Cairns if flying out of say Adelaide to Tasmania). Ulurhu can be done as a one off flying visit over 2-3 days with or without bikes (would be great with, but it's in middle of nowhere). Perth would be my last place to visit on a bike; you could always stop off at Perth on way home if time or funds allow but otherwise it just doesn't make sense to me. The money you are using on the train could pay for the Uluhru trip which is a much better destination IMO. Just a thought.

Hi there, I just saw this! Perth is in the west and Adelaide is about halfway along the southern coast. When we were looking for flights, we first searched for Melbourne but didn't find anything remotely reasonably priced. There were really good deals to Perth. Also, we don't want to do the GOR in January because it's going to be high tourist season and though the scenery is lovely, cycling with a steady string of caravans flying by and fighting for crowded campgrounds is not fun for us.

We have heard great things about the SW corner of Australia, below Perth, and we're really looking forward to it. We'll be on the train over Christmas and got a good deal on it so that covers us for where to stay on the 25th, good for us. Otherwise who knows what we'd find on such a key holiday.

Anyway, it's all booked and paid for now so no going back

 

[Tony]

Friedel, there is so much to read about the SW corner, including my own blog, and it is really worth the visit. But if you do go there, George and I will request a very specific graffiti picture!
Any questions, happy to answer.

 

[ChrisKH]

Well, wherever you go, I'm sure it will be brill! Have a good trip.

 

[friedel]

Friedel, there is so much to read about the SW corner, including my own blog, and it is really worth the visit. But if you do go there, George and I will request a very specific graffiti picture!
Any questions, happy to answer.

Tony, what's your blog? Will definitely have a peek! Your graffiti picture request is intriguing... you'll have to reveal more