Originally Posted by
avatarworf
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.
I'd look to be in New Zealand by around Mid-February if possible, then head for the South and work your way up. There are passes where summer snow is not unheard of. The prevailing wind in New Zealand and Tasmania is from the west, and it can blow strongly -- I copped 90km/h winds near Invercargill when I was there. It's worth having the flexibility to shorten a day or two in case that happens. I'd definitely ride the west coast from Queenstown, through Wanaka, Haast Pass up to Westport (with visits to the glaciers along the way). Milford Sound is also worth checking out -- personally I found the ride along the road to get there was almost as impressive as Milford Sound itself.
Also, you might consider your options immediately after Adelaide. There aren't really a lot of route options until you Mt Gambier near the Victorian border. The only route along or near the coast is the Princes Highway, and while it passes some nice areas (the Coorong in particular), it does carry a high volume of traffic. It pay to spend an extra day or two riding in the Adelaide Hills, then jump on a bus to Mt Gambier (which is definitely worth a visit, particularly the Blue Lake).
The Great Ocean Road could be heavily trafficked if you're there in January (the school holidays usually finish around the end of that month), but in saying that, my experience has been that Victorian drivers are pretty good by Australian standards. Accommodation could be more expensive at that time too. Most of the attention around Port Campbell is focussed on the 12 apostles, but I found some of the other limestone formations (Loch-Ard Gorge, The grotto) to be more interesting.
In Tasmania, my top picks are Bruny Island (South of Hobart), the Tasman peninsula (camp at the backpackers at Eaglehawk Neck, the owner has a heap of information about things to see in that area), Cradle Mountain (you could spend an eternity hiking around that area) and the west coast. Also head for Freycinet National Park and Maria Island as suggested earlier.
Contrary to popular belief, there are a number of different route options between Sydney and Melbourne if you take the inland route through the mountains. That said, you'd be just as well off doing a loop through eastern Victoria, because that's where most of the scenic interest is, and it's easy to get a train back to Melbourne from anywhere in the state. I wouldn't rely on getting a cargo ship between Australia and New Zealand. Virtually all of the information I've read about NZ suggests it's surprisingly difficult to get to by sea.
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