Vacationing in Australia and New Zealand

[LrdVader]

I'll be lucky enough to spend next February in Australia and New Zealand, and I'd love to hear your suggestions about things to see and do while I'm there.

At this point I know I'll be in Sydney, Melbourne, and a whole lot of New Zealand.

Any must see places?

thanks for any and all input,

Steve

 

[HYPERTUNE]

Well, you're welcome to visit my workshop...... (about 20 min drive from Syd. airport)

I'd have to get my turbo setup finished so there is something worth looking at. :biggrin:

 

[NeoNSX]

Great choice of destination!

In Melbourne, you can go visit places like The Great Ocean Road (World famous and incredible road), Phillip Island (if you like Penguins), Mt.Dandenong, and dozens of other places.

In Sydney you have the Harbour Bridge... and the road that leads to Melbourne. j/k


Hope we have a chance to meet you and show you some true aussie hospitality! :smile:

 

[stealth]

Well you can always go to the rialto tower, in Melbourne that’s on Collins Street and Flinders Lane (look it up) and take some nice pictures from the observation deck 55 levels up. But it cost allot just to buy a bag of chips so you might not want to eat there.

You must go for a wine tasting tour, I went to one in werrbiee and it was grate, there are some really good pubs in the city and once people find out you are from overseas they will want to help you with some other places to go.
Wyndham Cultural Centre
177 Watton St
Werribee VIC 3030

I don’t know about you but I am a big art fan so if you are interested go to the National Gallery of Victoria,

National Gallery of Victoria
180 St Kilda Rd
Melbourne VIC 3004
(You are going to need to look up these places for direction)
I hope you have fun here, I took a friend of mine that was from the UK to these places and she liked them.

 

[LrdVader]

Well it's official! I'll be in Melbourne from January 31 to February 3, and Sydney from February 3 to February 7.

I think I'll definately check out the Rialto tower in Melbourne, as well as the old Gaol. In Sydney, we'll see the opera house and either Featherdale Wildlife Park or the Koala Park (which is better?), and I think a trip to Bondi Beach is a must.

Neo, it would be great to meet up for dinner one night (Thursday the 1st?) with the Melbourne group, but I've promised my wife that we won't talk about cars or computers :smile:

Looking forward to the trip!

Steve

PS: Neo: I don't know of you remember, but we met at NSXPO...

 

[OzzieJohn]

Neo, it would be great to meet up for dinner one night (Thursday the 1st?) with the Melbourne group, but I've promised my wife that we won't talk about cars or computers :smile:

LrdVader, that sounds good to me. If you or Neo let me know the details, I'll do my best to make it.

But you've got this petrolhead geek a bit worried... Neo, I reckon we should get there early to brainstorm some topics that don't lead straight back to cars and computers! :biggrin:

 

[NSXBOX]

A1GP is on in sydney Feb 3-4 not that far from the city.

you have to go to bondi on the weekend and the others on the weekday.

catch the ferry down to taronga or manly.

have fun in sydney eh. need any help give me a yell.

 

[NeoNSX]

Hey Steve, I wish i remembered you! lol. i met sooooo many great people at NSXPO.

Currently i have a dinner engagement on Thurs 1st and I'm away 2-4th feb. :frown: I cant change my weekend plans but I'll see about changing the dinner engagement. Will keep you posted.


> with the Melbourne group, but I've promised my wife that we won't talk about cars or computers :smile:

Err... what else is there to talk about? The weather? That's ok... we'll try to keep the conversation "normal" just for your wife.

 

[NeoNSX]

Thursday 1st Feb is cleared and now available.

Sooooo.... i guess if the Melbourne NSXers are meeting you for dinner, we're eating at Dippy's restaurant? :wink: Do you like Vietnamese food?

 

[LrdVader]

Vietnamese food sounds fine. Is Dippys in the CBD, or can we get there easily on public transportation? We won't have a car on our trip.

Steve

 

[NeoNSX]

Check your PM.

 

[OzzieJohn]

We go to Dipppyyyy's, we go to Dippppyyyyy's!!

 

[dippy9]

No we no go to dippy's unless it is earlier maybe for lunch or arvo as i have a dinner engagement to attend to very important.

Shoot me your ideas

 

[Andrew]

Forget Australia it's all desert dude, no green stuff.

If you're single(ish) theres hotter women in Australia, theres a few hotties in New Zealand but most are average by International Standards and are far too demanding

If I had to holiday in NZ I would strongly recommend Taupo, then drive to Hawkes Bay (Napier in particular) from Taupo then take State Highway 1 via Dessert Rd to Wellington and then tour the South Island a little bit.

You have to see NZ by car; planes, trains and buses just will not do it justice

Taupo you just missed the A1GP that was a week ago; but still theres the lake, probably pay to get a hold of a boat and spend a few days there

Some decent fishing in Hawkes Bay and a whole lot of vineyard's out that way

Then the drive from Taupo to Wellington is pretty cool, but don't bother with the Army Museum cause it sucks; but stop and ask them for the direction to the Air Force Museum which is about an hours drive away. While on the topic Te Papa in Wellington is worth having a look in and so is Auckland Museum.

Auckland is near the top of the North Island, Taupo is in the middle with that great big lake on the map and Wellington is the bottom of the North Island

If you're going to be around Auckland I would highly recommend a trip to Coromandel in particularly 'Hot Water Beach', Piha is pretty decent and might pay to check out Miruwai and within Auckland itself I would say check out Long Bay Beach

I've never been down to the South Island but I've heard it's pretty cool with the mountain ranges n stuff

You would want to set aside at least a week for it if you drive one way and fly/train back

 

[LrdVader]

I don't yet know what I'm doing Thursday, but I think I can work around lunch as easily as dinner.

Steve

 

[OzzieJohn]

Steve hopefully we can work a time that suits everyone but getting a group of people together during business hours might be tough. Next Thursday I can probably do either lunch or dinner so I'll try and work in with whatever suits most people.

I've sent you a PM with my number, so that if you leave home before we figure out the details, you can drop me a line when you arrive.

Andrew, good to see someone new from Melbourne!

 

[LrdVader]

With all my efforts to plan my vacation, I forgot that people will be working :smile:

Dinner is probably easier for everyone to schedule around, but I'm pretty flexible - I don't think we've got any all day sights or tours planned.

I'll keep watching this thread until tomorrow night for the latest changes - if we get it sorted out, I can come armed with a map of the location we ultimately choose. I'll coordinate with Neo once I arrive.

My wife to be has upped the stakes with our dinnertime conversation: We can feel free to discuss cars and computers to our hearts content, but every time we do, she will go shopping.

If I am to get those new rims I've been wanting, we must avoide these topics or else I'll quickly find that my Volk funds have been spent! :biggrin:

 

[NeoNSX]

i definitely can't make lunch that day; i'll be working and I'm already in their bad books for cutting my time there short. You guys should still meet without me though.

I'll keep my evening free for dinner, and work things out once you've arrived.

My wife to be has upped the stakes with our dinnertime conversation: We can feel free to discuss cars and computers to our hearts content, but every time we do, she will go shopping.

Tip: Leave your credit card back in the USA "by accident"... :biggrin:

 

[LrdVader]

What does everyone say to dinner?

Steve

 

[NSXclubofAustralia]

Hi

I am from the far north of the North Island, so I am definitely pro-North Island.....but if you only have limited time and can't see both, I would suggest you go to the South Island grab a rental car and go and check out the beautiful scenery.........I will never admit I said this........

Good luck not talking about cars with Neo, John and Dippy......I had dinner with them 2 weeks ago (when they came to Sydney for a drive day I organised) and I don't think we talked about anything else........what else it there???........just incase you missed the link about this drive, here it is:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81989

 

[LrdVader]

Well, I'm off to catch a plane for a very long ride. I'll connect with Neo and OzzieJohn via mobile phones when I get in.

I look forward to meeting up with you all,

Steve

 

[NeoNSX]

It was an absolutle pleasure to have dinner and re-meet you Steve & Karyn. I hope you enjoyed dinner (the service SUCKED though.... hehehe... our waiter left early) and the walk around our grand prix track.

Sorry about the car talk... Karyn's going to enjoy a life-time of shopping now. Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay down under!

 

[LrdVader]

It was wonderful to meet up with you all, and despite the service, the food was really quite good.

Karyn hasn't done any shopping yet. She is having much more fun holding it over my head. She assures me that she will go on a spree any time now.

So much for my Volks :smile:

If any of you find yourselves in this part of the world (Colorado), please give me a shout.

Steve and Karyn