Need Advice: Summer trip, 2 months, travelling by myself. More info in post.

[snplow]

Hey RFD,

I've never really planned a trip like this before so I would like to get some input from people who have more experience than me.

I have 2 months off this summer and I would like to plan a trip to the Oceanic region (Australia, New Zealand, Fiji) but I'm not sure where to start planning.

For the 1st month I'm looking for:
- adventurous (would like to see a fair amount of stuff, but not too much where it becomes exhausting. I figure 2 months and 3 countries is fairly good)
- exciting (skydiving in New Zealand, scuba diving the great barrier reef)
- easy to meet new people
- good night life

For the 2nd month I'm looking to:
- settle down and live in a place for 1 month
- do surfing as often as I can
- just hang out on the beach
- meet alot of new people
- go out most nights

I have a fairly generous budget for this as well too.

Any suggestions/insights/advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[asdfvcx]

If you don't know where to start either buy or borrow a guidebook and do some reading. It'll give you some idea of the basics.

Also, remember that this is their winter. Certain parts of NZ are going to be quite cold and while Australia won't be as cold, if may not be beach weather in the south.

[heymikey]

Just to let you know, when it's summer here, it will be winter there although it will still be relatively warm in Australia. NZ, particularly in the south (around Queenstown and Wanaka), will be cold (under 0C).

Qantas and Air New Zealand can do stopovers in Fiji (usually via LAX). You can probably book an open-jaw ticket where you fly into Sydney then fly out of Auckland with a stopover in Fiji. Depending on how fast you travel, you can probably do Sydney to Cairns for a month then fly to NZ where you travel from north to south for about 3.5 weeks. The remaining time can be spent in Fiji.

My trip to Australia was quite limited but of all the places I've been, I highly recommend the following:
Sydney
Whitsundays
Bondi Beach

Fraser Island is OK and if you're pressed for time, skip the Gold Coast.

In NZ, you definitely have to check out Milford Sound in the Fiordlands. Take an overnight cruise if possible. It makes me want to go to Norway just to see if their fiords are better. I also recommend Rotorua, Queenstown, and Wellington. Swimming with the dolphins in Kaikoura and cave tubing in Waitomo are also a must.

[spookie149]

You might want to check out an around the world ticket. I talked to someone when I was out in Asia last year who booked one through *I believe* Quantas. You pay a bit more, but it's definitely worth checking out.

[Bazooka Joe]

Honestly, go to SE Asia instead. You can do all that in a single day, or spend weeks or months sitting on a beach. It will be way cheaper and so much more adventurous.

For surfing you can't beat Indonesia's Pulau Nias, it's pretty quiet though. If it's night life you're looking for, Bali might be more up your alley (half decent surfing as well)

Is South Africa out of the question? Durban has awesome surfing, and Capetown is also wonderful with lots of nightlife and adventure (cage dive with great white sharks, go on safari, etc)

[heymikey]

Honestly, go to SE Asia instead. You can do all that in a single day, or spend weeks or months sitting on a beach. It will be way cheaper and so much more adventurous.
+1

Although one thing I like about Australia is that in some places, they offer introductory dives where you don't have to be PADI-certified to try it. On the other hand, Australia is a big place and getting from one place to the next involves a lot of sitting in the bus. SE Asia is a lot more compact with more things to see and do, not to mention that it's much cheaper.