I'm going to Australia and New Zealand for 2.5 weeks in January!!!!
We're going to be in Sydney for about 4 days and then go on an 11 day cruise around the coast of New Zealand. We will stop in Napier, Wellington, Picton, and Dunedin.
Here's my question for you (and for anyone else who might know):
What touristy things must I do?
What food must I eat?
What Australian/New Zealand authors must I buy?
- I'm already planning on picking up some Melina Marchetta and Kirsty Eagar books. Who else shouldn't I miss?
Cool! I love New Zealand, it's on my bucketlist. I work for some newspapers there (although I'm based in the Philippines). You should bring sturdy sandals, especially if you're planning on doing some walking trails. They have a lot of beautiful places, although I'm more familiar with the southern part (Christchurch) and the West Coast. :)
ReplyDeleteHave fun!
OMG. OMG. I'm so jealous!!! You've been a traveling maven lately and now you're going to the place that's been on my list for so long...I can't wait to hear all about it!!
ReplyDeleteEep, that sounds so freaking cool!! I know you'll have a blast.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Shadows by Paula Weston? It was just released in North America, but the 2nd book (Haze) is already out there and not here. They are amazing books, I highly recommend them.
Nomes has a whole Aussie YA page on her blog, so maybe that will give you some ideas. =)
So cool! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteAustralia is wonderful :D And Sydney is the second best city, so you made a good choice.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely get some Juliet Marillier books if you can! She is my favourite author, an Aussie, and a seriously amazing writer!
Obviously you need to see the Harbour Bridge, and the Opera House, but you'll see them since you're in Sydney. They're pretty hard to miss, haha! You should probably go to Bondi Beach since it's our most famous, but don't expect to find a patch of sand because there is always about 2387394783 million people on that one tiny beach.
Go to Taronga Zoo in Sydney! You catch a ferry over, so no dealing with traffic or anything. It's a pretty awesome zoo, and the animals are adorable!
We don't really have any iconic food, except for Vegemite (which everyone who isn't Aussie seems to hate), and lamingtons. You should try both. OH AND TIM TAMS. Tim Tams are God's gift to Australia, haha :D
I hope this helped a bit. I don't live in Sydney, otherwise I could have probably given you some more suggestions.
I hope you have a super fun time :D
Jealous!! I have family who live in New Zealand and I've been to visit them once and it was beautiful. This was before the Lord of the Rings movies were out though because if they had been, I totally would loved to see the Shire set that I believe is still set up for tourists to visit. I hope you take lots of pictures and have fun!
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean you will be stopping by the locations where they filmed LOTR???? Soooo jealous!
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous of the New Zealand part! (I have an irrational fear of Australia, lol.) I hope you have fun!!!
ReplyDeleteIf you are staying in Sydney itself you will find lots to do - head down to Darling Harbour to visit the Aquarium, a Wildlife Park, and the Power House Museum. Stroll from the Opera House around the to the historic Rocks area and then catch a ferry and cruise the harbour.
ReplyDeleteIn Sydney you will also want to visit Abbey's Bookshop http://www.abbeys.com.au/, an iconic independent bookstore not far away is Dymocks Sydney, our Borders equivalent - sort of.
All that should keep you busy :)