We’re Going to Australia and New Zealand!

I’m so excited because we are going to Australia and New Zealand!!! We’re flying from Vancouver to Auckland in April, 2023 and will have three weeks in Oceania. And I cannot wait!

I’ve actually been to Australia before, in 2013, but New Zealand has been on my bucket list for a very long time. I almost visited in 2018 and it was our first choice for our 2021 honeymoon, but that didn’t happen.

So I can’t freaking believe we’re finally making it to New Zealand! Plus, Colin hasn’t been to either New Zealand or Australia, so he’s super excited to visit this area of the world.

But now comes the hard part: How do we divide up three weeks between Australia and New Zealand?

We want to do it all but we also don’t want to be on flights so often that everything becomes a blur. Planning an Australia and New Zealand itinerary is harder than it looks!

It started with a flight deal

As I mentioned, New Zealand has been on my bucket list for a long time. In fact, I have a standing alert set up anytime flights from Vancouver to Sydney or Auckland drop below $900 CAD round trip.

So you can imagine how incredibly excited I was when I got an email (shout out to YVR deals!) about roundtrip flights from Vancouver to Oceania for less than $600 CAD! 

Cut to: Hours of chaos and frantic searching. The airline hosting this awesome deal, Fiji Airways, was not equipped for the amount of excitement us Vancouverites would have. Their website kept crashing or not showing the right information.

I also wasn’t able to pull up the dates on Google Flights at first, so was forced to search through Kayak and the Fiji Airways website, which were painful search engines.

I was trying my best to find the best price for the best dates while messaging Colin (who was busy at work) and keeping up with my own work and meetings.

After many hours of searching, trying different date combinations and working out what we thought was Colin’s schedule, I finally booked tickets for late April from Vancouver to Auckland for $750 CAD roundtrip each.

Sadly, that wasn’t the final price we ended up paying. That night, Colin found out one of his colleagues had a destination wedding to attend during our travel dates.

And since only one person in his department can be on holiday at a time – and since this person had higher seniority than Colin did – it meant we couldn’t go to Oceania.

I was pretty upset. I had spent hours that morning trying to find these tickets. While $750 wasn’t as good as the advertised under $600 deal, it was still an insanely good price to get to New Zealand. I really did not want to give it up.

Colin went into work the next day and tried hard to get our trip back on track. He was able to find some free dates and assured me that no one else had any scheduling conflicts this time. So I went back to searching and after a few more (dozen) tries, I was able to find new flights for just a little bit more money.

So our final total was $896 CAD per person for roundtrip flights from Vancouver to Auckland in April 2023.

Not as good as the $600 advertised deal or $745 flights I originally booked, but still a very good fare for flights to New Zealand. According to Google, these flights are usually $1400-1800 each!

Planning our Australia and New Zealand itinerary

Once our flights were finally confirmed, I could start getting really excited about our Oceania trip. And if you know me, you know that means an intense level of travel research!

Almost immediately I downloaded 20+ podcast episodes from my favourite travel podcasts all about Oceania, created a YouTube playlist with 50+ videos featuring the region, built a spreadsheet for my research, opened up way too many tabs of Oceania blog posts, and put together a slideshow to present Colin with all of our options.

The biggest problem with planning an Australia and New Zealand itinerary is that there is so much to see and do, but never enough time. Everything I was researching just introduced me to more and more things we could add to our itinerary.

Criteria to consider when planning an Australia and New Zealand itinerary

To help narrow things down, I have a few considerations to keep in mind when planning our Australia and New Zealand itinerary:

Weather

In April, the North Island of New Zealand will be pretty nice while the South Island is starting to get chilly. Most of the regions in Australia that we’re looking at will have nice weather in April, except Queensland might be getting a little too hot for us.

Driving

I don’t drive and while Colin does, he doesn’t have any experience driving on the other side of the road (and other side of the car!). So while we’ll probably do some self-driving, I don’t think he wants that to be the majority of the trip.

Flights

Australia and New Zealand are much bigger than they look! Flying is the fastest way to cover the huge distances but we don’t want to be on a flight every two or three days. We find it exhausting to travel that quickly and getting to/from airports is always a pain.

Money

Oceania is not the cheapest area in the world to travel. And a lot of big bucket list items, like an overnight cruise on Milford Sound, visit to Uluru, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, and anything in a helicopter or small plane, will cost a pretty penny.

2023 update: Check out how much our trip to New Zealand actually cost!

Dislikes

It’s probably a big travel sin to admit this, but we’re not hikers. We’re also not beach people, I get seasick and we don’t care about wine. Which might lead you to ask, why the heck we’re visiting this region of the world!?! And I get it.

But I truly do think travel offers something for everyone. The whole point of Teaspoon of Adventure is introducing the world to people who don’t do these epic multi-day hikes, have all this money or look like the typical traveller. You can be a homebody like me and still see the world!

Can you see both Australia and New Zealand in 3 weeks?

Technically, yes. You can see both Australia and New Zealand in 3 weeks. But, of course, you won’t be able to see everything. While we could easily spend our entire 3 weeks in just one country and still not see it all, I think we’re going to split our time to try and get a taste of both countries.

Coming all the way from Canada, it’s a long and expensive journey to reach Oceania. And while I do think we’ll return again one day, who knows how far away that day might be? We definitely want to make the most of this trip and scratch a few things off the bucket list.

How much time do you need to visit Australia?

In an ideal world, we’d have 4-6 weeks just in Australia to really see and do it all. But since we only have 3 weeks total, I think we’ll dedicate about 10 days to Australia.

That likely only means 2-3 spots, so certainly not enough time to see it all. But nothing is set in stone yet!

How much time do you need to visit New Zealand?

Again, I would love to spend 2 full months exploring both the North Island and South Island of New Zealand. But since we only have 3 weeks in Oceania, I think we’ll spend about 10 days on our first trip to New Zealand.

Should you spend more time on the South Island or the North Island of New Zealand?

This is a tricky one. From my research, it seems like the South Island offers more stunning scenery and has more big bucket list items. But the North Island is attractive because the weather will be better in April and we fly into Auckland, so might as well start exploring from there.

In the end, I think we will spend just a bit more time on the South Island though (maybe 6 days on the South Island and 4 on the North Island).

New Zealand bucket list

All right, let’s get to the good stuff! Here all the top places I’d love to see in New Zealand. Of course, I’d love to see all of New Zealand, but these are the main places we’re considering for this trip.

Auckland + day trips

I’ll be honest: Auckland isn’t actually on my New Zealand bucket list. There’s nothing wrong with Auckland, I’m just not super excited to see it. And I think even Aucklanders would admit that people don’t come to New Zealand for their city.

But since we’re flying into and out of Auckland, we’ll likely spend a day or two there. I have heard great things about the Waitakere Ranges and Waiheke Island, both easy day trips from Auckland.

Rotorua + Hobbiton

From Auckland, we could pick up a car and start driving to Rotorua. Rotorua is the geothermal centre of New Zealand, as well as a great place to experience Maori culture. I’d love to visit Rotorua’s geothermal pools and geysers in the area, like Kuirau Park, Waiotapu and Te Puia, as well as the big Redwoods forest.

On the way to Rotorua, we’d stop in at Hobbiton for a stroll through the Shire. And if we’re in the area for a while, I’d like to head over to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves and down to Taupo for more natural wonders.

Coromandel Peninsula

The Coromandel Peninsula is another driving trip from Auckland. While this coastline does look pretty epic, as people who don’t really love hiking or beaches, I’m not sure if Coromandel will be a priority for us. But if we do end up here, Cathedral Cove is definitely a must-do!

Another cool place to visit would be Hot Water Beach where you can dig your own “hot tub.” Because the beach is on naturally heated mineral water, you can dig out a personal hot tub on the sand that will fill with hot water from below.

And if it’s too hot, you can run into the ocean and grab a bucket of cold water to mix in!

Wellington

Wellington is the kind of city that I could see myself moving to, purely based on its reputation. It seems very similar to my hometown of Vancouver and just feels like a cool place to be. While there, we’d definitely ride the iconic Wellington Cable Car and visit Weta Studios for more movie magic.

However, there doesn’t seem like much to do in Wellington. And since it’s pretty far away from our other New Zealand bucket list items, I don’t think we could justify flying or driving all the way there.

Queenstown + Wanaka

Moving onto New Zealand’s South Island, we have Queenstown as our first stop. Queenstown is known as the adventure capital of the world.

And while we won’t be jumping out of planes or into canyons, Queenstown is a very convenient base to fly into. Plus, it’s got a beautiful lake (Lake Wakatipu) and famous burgers (Ferg Burger).

From Queenstown, we could drive to beautiful Glenorchy or Wanaka on a day trip. It would also be the best place to leave from to visit Milford Sound.

Milford Sound

Number one on my New Zealand bucket list is probably a cruise in Milford Sound. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this “8th wonder of the world.”

The drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound is about four hours, but there are plenty of beautiful things to stop and see along the way. I’d love to take a couple of days to travel the route and maybe even stay overnight at Milford Sound.

Aoraki/Mount Cook

Aoraki, also known as Mount Cook, is a recent addition to my New Zealand bucket list. I had assumed most of the famous mountains and hikes in New Zealand would be too challenging for me (like Roy’s Peak or the Tongariro Crossing) or too expensive (like the Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike).

But apparently there’s a hike around Aoraki that even couch-lovers like me can do!

The Hooker Valley Trail is supposedly an easy hike in the Mount Cook area with beautiful views. Since this is one of the must-see places in New Zealand, and within driving distance of Queenstown, I think it might be worth a visit.

Australia bucket list

And here are the top places I’d love to see in Australia! Once again, I’d happily see all of Australia, spending months and months travelling there, but limited time and budget have led me to this list.

Sydney

I visited Sydney on my past trip to Australia in 2013 and completely fell in love with the city. I saw a show at the Opera House, walked across the Harbour Bridge, strolled through the Rocks and CBD, did the Bondi to Coogee Beach walk, and went on a day trip to the Blue Mountains.

While I don’t personally feel the need to see Sydney’s icons again, I definitely want Colin to see them. And I know I will enjoy being back in this cool city for a few days. Sydney is also a very easy airport to fly into and out of.

Melbourne + Phillip Island

I also visited Melbourne when I was in Australia in 2013. I really loved the vibe of the city, but didn’t think there was a ton to actually see and do. It felt more like the type of place you live, not visit.

That being said, I’m excited to experience more of Melbourne’s great food and coffee scene if we head there on this trip.

Melbourne is also a great base for a visit to Phillip Island. I haven’t been but love the idea of visiting the Koala Reserve, seeing seals off the coast and watching the nightly Penguin Parade.

Great Ocean Road

If we make it to Melbourne, we definitely have to take off on a Great Ocean Road road trip. I did a mini version of this on my last visit, when my friend Malindi drove us to the 12 Apostles and back in one day.

I loved singing along to Queen in the car (the only CD we could find at the gas station since the radio didn’t work and this was before bluetooth or USB), being blown away by the view (and the wind!) at every stop and, most magically, spotting koalas in the wild.

I’d love to do the Great Ocean Road again but with a bit more time. With two or three days, we could stop more often to appreciate the coastline and natural wonders – and increase our chances of seeing wild koalas!

Uluru

Uluru (previously called Ayer’s Rock) is maybe the most well-known site in Australia, perhaps after the Sydney Opera House. This impressive rock is in the Red Centre of Australia – quite literally in the middle of the country and deep in the outback desert.

It is absolutely on my bucket list to see Uluru, since I didn’t get to the last time I was in Australia. But it will be tough to get to. Being so far from the other sites in Australia, it will require a longer flight. Plus, staying at and touring around Uluru isn’t cheap!

Whitsundays

After my mother-in-law went to Australia in 2018, she showed us her pictures and there was one shot I couldn’t get out of my mind. I even wrote a note in my phone so I would remember it. And thus, the white sand beaches of the Whitsundays were officially on my bucket list.

While the Whitsundays are beautiful and I’m sure we’d be amazed the whole time, there are a few cons to visiting.

It’s a longer flight, it’s an expensive area to stay and, as I mentioned, we’re not really beach people. I also get seasick, and sailing is one of the main things to do out there (including to the Great Barrier Reef!). But maybe it’s still worth going?

Cairns

Last on my Australia bucket list is Cairns. This city on the northeast coast of Queensland is probably the most popular jumping off point for the Great Barrier Reef. It’s also the base for visiting the beautiful Daintree Rainforest and Kuranda Village. However, the city itself doesn’t seem all that appealing.

Like the Whitsundays, it’s a longer flight to get to Cairns and will be hot in April. I’m also not sure I’d enjoy the choppy waters out to the Reef. But I do love all of the things to do from Cairns, so it’s still on the list for now.

Conclusion: I can’t wait for our Australia and New Zealand trip!

I am so excited that we’re going to Australia and New Zealand next spring (their autumn!) but as you can see, I need help planning our itinerary! There’s so much I want to see and do but I know we can’t see and do it all.

If you’ve been to Oceania, please weigh in. What should we prioritize and what can we skip?