With a graduating HS senior and her freshman sister, we are planning a trip to New Zealand/Australia for June 2017. We are locked into landing in Auckland and departing 15 days later from Sydney, but otherwise are free to roam. I was thinking 2 nights Auckland, over to Cairns for 5 nights, on to Ayers Rock for 2 nights, then the rest of the time in Sydney. I feel like I might be short-changing New Zealand, tho, and it’s not likely we’ll be back. Should I cut back on the time anywhere to squeeze in Queenstown or Rotorua? Appreciate any help from the CC experts!
I visited New Zealand and Australia in June 1989. I’m not an expert by any means, but based on my experience, I"d suggest spending more time in New Zealand, preferably Queenstown. (We also went to Rotorua and although the bubbling springs were fascinating, the area was kind of dreary.) Cairns was great but perhaps you could cut one night apiece from it and Sydney to have more time in New Zealand.
Since you are spending a handful of nights in Cairns, I hope you’ll be visiting some of the islands. I spent time in that part of the world when I was a travel writer, and there is simply nothing that compares to snorkeling or diving on the Great Barrier Reef. I loved Lizard Island.