| Subject: Anyone have suggestions about Australia and New Zealand? |
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It is starting to turn into a beautiful spring here.
Winter was short this year, but at
least in Queensland (North East coast) it was unusually cold. (Got down to
55 F. a few weeks, so not really bad up here.) They do get snow down south,
Victoria and Tasmania. Of course New Zealand is cooler than most of
Australia. Even in the summer it only gets up to around high seventies, low
eighties.
Both the countries you are going to be visiting are beautiful, and
most importantly, inhabited by very friendly people. Life is slower here,
except in the bustling cities, of course. Marghe and I enjoyed Sydney, with
the caveat that we are not big city people. But the Ethnic restaurants, the
Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, are a joy to experience. Take a harbor
cruise, go down some of the rivers if you are water lovers. Sydney's
Botanical Gardens are also gorgeous, but watch out walking under trees where
the flying foxes sleep during the day (huge, fruit bats). Ha ha ha.
There are several great Indian restaurants, one fantastic Spanish
restaurant, but we don't have their names. Food is great in most of Sydney:
we never have had a bad meal there, reasonable too! Bon appetite!
Melbourne is coolish, too. Can you tell we ex-Californians
ex-Hawaiians eschew colder climes? Cairns is very tropical, on the other
hand. Do take the tour over the Rain Forest Canopy. The beaches are
gorgeous. Cairns (pronounced Cans) is a fun city, much more our size. We
will leave specific recommendatins to our fellow Ziners who live in the
cities you mention. We also have several helpful Ziners from New Zealand who
will have a wealth of information for you.
Rest assured you will have a wonderful time here. Welcome and Bon Voyage. Marghe and Marty Coral Cove, Queensland. |