Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific
Australia is overwhelmingly vast. With almost twenty million people in a space bigger than Europe, much of it is as sparsely populated as an Icelandic beach in December. Compare the harsh living conditions of the outback with the coast’s world-famous diving, fishing and surfing and it’s easy to see why the vast majority of Aussies live within 20km of the sea. New Zealand, while far smaller, seems to pack more diversity (not to mention sheep and rugby players) into each square mile than most places on the planet, from fjords to volcanoes to rolling green hills. Most travellers visit the South Pacific, by contrast, purely for the almost universally excellent diving, fishing and beaching. Whatever your plans, though, you may well end up extending your stay to explore beyond the beaches of these welcoming islands.
With developed infrastructures and politically stable climates, the concern is less on being able to get around in a scheduled or safe fashion, and more on how to cover the buttflattening distances, try all the hair-raising activities and cope with the increased lager intake. Aussies and Kiwis are among the best-travelled humans on the planet. So, not only do they sympathize with the budget traveller, they cater for us so well that some people claim it has taken a good deal of the adventure out of the journey. Just the same, it would be a pity to miss the experience. People don’t get much more welcoming – a slap on the back and a shared beer and you’re practically related – which means cultural immersion is within easy grasp.
The unfathomable friendliness of the Pacific Islands’ six million inhabitants is legendary, too; the Fijians were once voted the “world’s friendliest people” in Condé Nast Traveller magazine and made Rough Guides’ own top ten list. Of the 3300 islands, spread over 11 million square miles of ocean, Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti, the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands are among the most popular. Whether you’re sailing or flying your way around the planet, you may have an excellent opportunity to visit one or more of them – it’s just a question of making time for more than a stopover (and saving some money) so the islands can be thoroughly explored.
MAIN ATTRACTIONS
1 Great Barrier Reef South Pacific. Beginning at Lady Elliot Island in the south and extending 2300km north to New Guinea, the Barrier Reef follows, in disconnected strips, the outer edge of Australia’s continental plate, between 50 and 300km from the shoreline. Beneath the waves, it harbours some of the world’s most diverse and spectacular marine life.
2 Milford Sound New Zealand. A natural wonder that can be visited in a multitude of ways: whether you’re trekking, kayaking or sipping a drink on the deck of a ship, this Southern-Hemisphere fjord is not likely to disappoint. Unless it’s raining so much you can barely see it, which, unfortunately, is quite common, as it places among the top five rainiest places in the world (7–9m per year). More frequently, though, the rain simply adds stunning waterfalls, majestic mist and rainbows.
3 Queenstown New Zealand. Credited with the commercial origins of the bungee-jump, this picturesque mountain town has expanded into other eyeball-ejecting ventures, from jet-boating down a narrow canyon river to parasailing to skydiving to flying gliders to… if you can think of something else, they’re probably open to suggestions.
4 Sydney Opera House Australia. Tickets are readily available to many performances, although this Australian icon is best known for the view from the outside. The beautiful shell-inspired design came from a Dane – the late Jørn Utzon – who abandoned the project before completion due to political interference.
5 Uluru Australia. Commonly known as Ayers Rock, this mammoth rust-coloured landmark is sacred to Aboriginal peoples and is the most-visited site in Australia. Familiarize yourself with the local debate before you decide whether or not to climb it.
SECURITY ISSUES
It’s always a good idea to check the current political conditions before visiting a country (see Chapter 15), but the following are worth a little extra research: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu.
WHEN TO GO
There’s never a wrong time to be in Australia/New Zealand, as long as you’re flexible enough to migrate towards the weather you prefer. The main tourist season is the summer holiday, which runs from just before Christmas until the end of January. Expect resorts, buses and domestic flights to fill up during this time. The shoulder seasons are October to Christmas and February to May. New Zealand gets a little cold and drizzly between June and September, but the far north is still balmy. Australia’s outback season is October to November and March to May. Outside of that, you’ll either sizzle during the day or freeze at night. If Melbourne gets too cold and wet in the winter, just head north until the temperature feels right. The South Pacific is fine so long as you miss the cyclone season around November to March, which can be escaped as close by as the Marshall Islands, just to the north.
RECOMMENDED VACCINATIONS
- Routine boosters for measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) and polio
- Hepatitis A (Papua New Guinea, islands)
- Hepatitis B (optional)
- Japanese encephalitis (Papua New Guinea, far northern Australia, islands of Torres Strait)
- Rabies (if you might be exposed to bats)
- Typhoid (southern and western Pacific)
- Yellow fever (if travelling from a risk area, this is an entry requirement in some countries)
GETTING AROUND BY AIR
In Australia, a plane is a decent way to connect some overland segments (it’s four hours coast to coast). The shorter distances in New Zealand make it less appealing, but flights are cheap enough to prevent any unwanted backtracking. In the South Pacific, flying is the best way to visit the islands, and there are seemingly more air passes in this region than coconuts.
LOWEST DAILY BUDGET
Expensive (£50/$78+):
Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Vanuatu
Mid-range (£35–50/$55–78):
Kiribati, New Zealand, Tonga
Budget (£28–35/$44–55):
Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands
AIR PASSES
- Visit Australia and New Zealand
oneworld.com. Sixty destinations in the two countries
serviced by LAN and Qantas and their affiliates, including
Jetstar. The minimum is two legs, but unlimited extra coupons
can be bought after arrival. Fees are divided into four zones
(depending on mileage). The deal is only available if you fly
into and out of Australia or New Zealand with a OneWorld
alliance member airline, and must be booked before you leave
home. - Circle Pacific staralliance.com.
Pricey pass for those in a hurry that offers 85 destinations in
25 countries around the South Pacific. Prices vary according to
where you start and how many miles you cover. Maximum of sixteen
flight segments.
- Circle Asia and Southwest Pacific
oneworld.com. Flights in northeast and southeast Asia
and the southwest Pacific with British Airways, Cathay Pacific,
JAL, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian Airlines, SriLankan
Airlines and affiliates. The fare is based on where your journey
starts and finishes and the distance travelled: up to either
13,000 miles or 17,000 miles. Can only be bought in the region,
and you must travel for between five days and one year.
SAMPLE RETURN AIRFARES
Auckland to:
- Christchurch £70/$110
- Dunedin £80/$125
- Wellington £55/$86
Sydney to:
- Alice Springs £360/$560
- Cairns £180/$280
- Melbourne £65/$102
- Perth £170/$265
OVERLAND ROUTES
Getting around down under is about as easy as it gets. Plus, with no political conflicts to avoid and a reliable infrastructure, it’s easy to design your own route. Both Australia and New Zealand offer excellent, outdoorsy packaged and unpackaged adventures.
In Australia, the popular overland path forms a circle, starting in Melbourne or Sydney and going up the east coast, hitting the SPF 25 hangouts (Byron Bay, Airlie Beach, Whitsundays, Magnetic Island), then cutting inland and south to Uluru and finally looping back to Melbourne and Sydney by way of the Great Ocean Road. If it’s about the same price on your RTW ticket to stop in Perth on the way in or out, a glimpse of Australia’s barren west coast can be well worth the effort. Crossing the country can be done by bus, train and car. A less-travelled route will take you up the rugged north coast (unfortunately, you can’t see the coast from the road for much of the journey) through Broome and on to Darwin, where you can see the nearby saltwater crocs first hand.
From Auckland in New Zealand, you can catch a ride south to Wellington, then take one of the frequent ferries across the channel to the South Island. You can make an overland circuit of South Island: go east and swim with dolphins on your way to Queenstown or make for the west-coast glaciers. Whatever you miss on the way down you can catch on the way back up.
BUSES
Traditional bussing is, after hitchhiking and cycling, the cheapest
way to move about. The main routes are followed by Greyhound ( greyhound.com.au) in
Australia, and Intercity ( intercitycoach.co.nz) and Newmans Coachlines ( newmanscoach.co.nz) in
New Zealand. All but Newmans offer a range of passes with unlimited
stops that are well worth looking into. Be warned, though: the two big
catches with these tickets are that they are typically nonrefundable and
don’t allow backtracking.
There are a number of bus companies such as the Kiwi Experience ( kiwiexperience.com) and
sister tour Oz Experience ( ozexperience.com) that will shuttle you, at a very reasonable
rate, from one pre-selected hostel to the next, stopping for all the
important places (read: ones that give the company kickbacks) along the
way so there’s very little decision-making left for the traveller. It
can be something of a party on wheels, great if you’re looking for that
sort of thing. Plus, the guides may be knowledgeable and they do take
you to attractions that aren’t easily accessed on other bus routes. In
Australia, the Oz Experience “Fair Dinkum” pass makes a loop that covers
the east coast and Outback and lasts twelve months with unlimited stops.
With nineteen different itineraries to choose from (not including the
flight combo passes), it’s hard to find something you want to do that
doesn’t match up with one of their routes. The Kiwi Experience has 33
bus passes to choose from, culminating in the “Whole Kit & Caboodle”
pass which will allow you to cover the entire country so you don’t miss
any of those Lord of the Rings filming
locations.
TRAINS
In both countries, rail lines aren’t nearly as extensive as bus routes
(or quite as cheap), but for longer hauls, trains tend to be more
comfortable and more scenic, offering a nice respite from bus travel and
certainly worth at least one leg of the journey. Australia’s
Indian-Pacific line, between Sydney and Perth, is the world’s
second-longest (three full days of travel), with 478 continuous
kilometres of completely unbending track ( gsr.com.au). For other rail
info, try the NSW TrainLink ( nswtrainlink.info). New Zealand’s TranzAlpine ( kiwirailscenic.co.nz/tranzalpine) line between Christchurch
and Greymouth is particularly stunning, as is the Northern Explorer from
Auckland to Wellington ( kiwirailscenic.co.nz).
CARS
Driving is not a bad idea, especially if you have some specific off-road locations in mind or are hooked on back-road travel. You can rent (if you’re 21), but at about £19/$30 a day for local rentals and £44/$69 for longer distances, it’s a painfully quick way to lighten your money belt. If you plan to spend at least a month in the country, buying is a better way to go. You can pick up a used rust-bucket for about £750/$1170 and hopefully you’ll be able to off-load it at the end of your trip.
A safer bet, and one that might keep you out of the repair shop, is to
spend £1800–3000/$2800–4700 on a Holden Kingswood or Ford Falcon, the
reliable (or at least fixable) road warriors of the traveller. For
serious bushwhacking, check out a Toyota Land Cruiser. A road-weary
model may set you back around £6000/$9400, but these things almost never
give up. Depending on how much you fix it up and how clever you are at
buying and selling, you could get anywhere from 65 to 110 percent back
on your investment. If you’re hopeless with mechanics, get the car
checked out by a pro ( nrma.com.au) before you buy it, especially if you’re buying
from a fellow traveller – and don’t take a clapped-out car into the
outback, unless you’re very well supplied with food and water. A
buy-back plan is not a bad idea if you’re arriving and leaving from the
same place. You can find a dealer to offer you a price if you bring the
car back in reasonable condition. If you’re shopping for used
motorcycles, consider the popular Yamaha XT600 Tenere.
Whatever you buy, you’ll have to get it registered ( www.rta.nsw.gov.au).
But before you do, check with PPSR, the Personal Property Securities
Register ( ppsr.gov.au), to
make sure you’re not buying a stolen vehicle. You’ll also need to check
to make sure there’s no outstanding loan on the car, or you’ll end up
paying it or having the vehicle repossessed; the PPSR will issue a
search certificate that will prevent repossession by a financier if the
seller still owes money on the vehicle. Try to pick up a car with the
registration of the state where you hope to sell it. The registration
requires third-party insurance, calculated on the type of car. If you
realize you got stuck with a real rust-bucket, joining an auto club
(with free roadside assistance) is well worth the £50/$78 or so.
Just so you’re familiar with the terms (in Sydney, anyway – each state has its own rules): a Blue Slip is the registration, which you’ll need to prove transferred ownership, and keep updated. The Pink Slip is a safety-check report, stating in rather vague terms that your car works, and also must be updated. The Green Slip is the obligatory third-party insurance.
BIKES
Cycles can be rented just about everywhere, and are a great way to navigate the cities and venture a little further afield. If you don’t have powerful tree-stump thighs and want to head between cities, the distances are a little more manageable in New Zealand. In northern Australia, pay particular attention to your water intake and sun exposure.
BOATS
Ferries run from the North Island of New Zealand to the South Island
( interislander.co.nz) and around several of the island groups
in the South Pacific ( aranui.com), plus between Australia and Tasmania ( tt-line.com.au). They range
from high-speed catamarans to rusting freighters to oversized
dinghies.
HITCHING
Hitching can be a good way to get around, although it’s not officially endorsed anywhere (this guide included). The 1992 “backpacker murders” in Australia targeted women, men and couples, and changed the way people looked at hitching. In New Zealand, though, you’ll often find there are so many people hitching in the prime spots, it’ll feel more like you’re standing in a queue.
With so many travellers owning vehicles, it’s not difficult to post notices in the backpackers’ hostels and catch a lift without wagging your thumb. You chip in for petrol, cram into the back seat and hope the driver didn’t get stuck with a lemon.
In the South Pacific islands, the locals are so friendly it’s not unheard of for taxi drivers to give hitchhikers a lift for free. More likely, though, a shared taxi or minivan will pull over and pick you up for a small fee.
READING LIST
- John Birmingham The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco
- Bill Bryson Down Under
- Peter Carey The True History of the Kelly Gang
- Bruce Chatwin Songlines
- Sean Condon Sean and David’s Long Drive
- Alan Duff Once Were Warriors
- Robert Hughes The Fatal Shore
- Keri Hulme The Bone People
- Mark McCrum No Worries
- John Muk Muk Burke Bridge of Triangles
- Nevil Shute A Town Like Alice
- Roff Smith Cold Beer and Crocodiles: A Bicycle Journey into Australia
VISAS
Having a visa ( immi.gov.au) is
not an absolute guarantee that you’ll be allowed into Australia –
immigration officials may well check again that you have enough money to
cover your expenses during your stay, and that you have a return or onward
ticket. In extreme cases they may refuse entry, or more likely restrict your
visit to a shorter period.
Twelve-month working-holiday visas (subclass 417) are easily available to visitors aged 18–30 from most of Western Europe and Canada, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Citizens of the US, Chile, Malaysia, Thailand, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Portugal and Turkey get roughly the same offer but with another name (subclass 462). Visiting on a working visa is not normally a chance to further your career, since the stress is on casual employment: you are generally meant to work for no more than six months at any one job. Unfortunately, you must arrange the visa before you arrive in Australia, and several months in advance to avoid disappointment. The actual processing time is only six days, but the numbers are sometimes capped. Also note that a process is underway to exclude volunteer work from the working holiday visas. Some travel agents, such as Trailfinders in the UK, can arrange working-holiday visas for you.
In New Zealand ( immigration.govt.nz), passport holders from Europe, the US,
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Korea, Japan, Singapore and large parts
of the Middle East don’t need visas for visits of less than three months
(six months for UK visitors). All visitors, however, need to provide
evidence of sufficient funds to support yourself without working, in the
form of a bank draft, cash, travellers’ cheques, bank statements, one of the
major credit cards or a friend or relative who is prepared to guarantee your
accommodation and maintenance. You must also have a confirmed onward ticket
and right of entry to your proposed destination.
Nearly all the South Pacific islands have the same visa requirements: an onward ticket and sufficient funds. On arrival, you get an automatic visa if needed, and permission to stay about a month.
VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
Australia Advance visa required for EU citizens, free from immi.gov.au (search for
“eVisitor”). Good for three months in the country. To stay longer (6
or 12 months) you need a proper Visitor visa; apply at least two
weeks before your eVisitor expires. US and Canadian passport holders
need an advance ETA visa ( eta.immi.gov.au). Processing time is usually one day, and
there is a service fee of Aus$20.
New Zealand No visa required for stays up to 90 days. Sufficient funds and onward/return ticket required.
Cook Islands No visa required for stays of up to 31 days. Proof of funds and onward travel.
Fiji No visa required for travellers from developed countries.
Kiribati No visa required. Sufficient funds and proof of onward travel necessary.
Marshall Islands No visa required for US citizens. 30-day visa on arrival for all others.
Nauru Visa required for all Western travellers for stays of up to 30 days.
New Caledonia Unlimited visa-free stays for EU citizens. Visitors from other European countries, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia can stay up to 90 days without a visa. Return/onward ticket required.
Niue No visa required for stays of up to 30 days.
Palau No visa required for stays of up to 365 days for US and Israel. 30-day visa on arrival at Koror/Airai International Airport for all others.
Papua New Guinea Visa on arrival (60 days) for travellers from Europe, New Zealand, the Americas and some Asian countries. Advance visa required for most others.
Samoa No visa required for stays of up to 60 days (90 days for Schengen signees).
Solomon Islands No visa required for up to 90 days for travellers from developed countries. Onward ticket and sufficient funds necessary.
Tonga Visa on arrival for 31 days for travellers from developed countries.
Tuvalu Visa, onward ticket and sufficient funds required for up to 90 days.
Vanuatu No visa required for stays of up to 30 days (90 days for Schengen signees).