An American Abroad: New Zealand and Australia

I’m about to embark upon a grand adventure to New Zealand and Australia in early July (spending about two weeks in each country). I’ll be landing in Auckland, eventually making my way down to Wellington, leaving from Christchurch to Melbourne, and then if all goes according to plan, enduring the hellaciously long drive to Alice Springs.

It was brought to my attention some time ago (thanks to the ever-raging debate over thongs and whether or not certain people are in fact pieces of shit) that many duders call these countries home. So I'm wondering if anyone’s willing to offer recommendations: sites to see, eateries to experience, possible establishments to stay in, or really anything one thinks might be helpful.

Any comments are much appreciated.

I'm from Melbourne so I'll throw a few suggestions out there;

Visit;

ACMI (Federation Square) Opposite Flinders Street Station. Good exhibitions, sometimes game related

Brunswick (It's our hipster/arty area. Lots of nice cafes and fun places to eat

St.Kilda Beach

DON'T go to the docklands. It's empty and boring

Try and see an AFL (Australian Football) game at the M.C.G in Richmond

Botanic Gardens are fun on a nice day

The CBD area is good to just casually explore and see what unfolds infront of you. I think the new Melbourne Central shopping centre is getting close to finished but I'm not too sure, I haven't lived in Melbourne for a few months now.

Have a good time :)

How long have you got in Melbourne? If you like sports you should definitely catch a game of footy at the MCG.

If you are heading to New Zealand in July then you can forget the thongs (Jandals we call them in NZ). I am heading back to NZ from China for a holiday around then and I am not looking forward to the winter weather!

Also from Melbourne. As others have said, if you are into sports at all then seeing an AFL game is a good idea. Something that is exclusive to Australia. The Melbourne Museum is also good as it covers Australian history in general but also the history of the city.

China town can be really fun if alcohol and dumplings are involved.

Queen Victoria markets may be worth a look.

Crown casino and the new shopping complex in the city (Melbourne Emporium) could be good depending what you are into.

Are you coming alone, with a partner, with a group of friends? That will somewhat determine what you are going to see.

I live in the CBD, let me know if you want any more info on anything.

Pack warm.

If you can make it down to Barwon Heads, about 1hr 20min out of Melbourne, I work at Jirrahlinga Wildlife Sanctuary. We have a lot of native animals, I'd be happy to give you a tour, you'd even be able to handle/pat some animals, like wombats, kangaroos etc.

yeah man, It's cold down here at the moment, Auckland can get to 2ish degrees Celsius at night,

There's still plenty to do though, what are your interests?

Hope you like SPIDERS!

You should check out Lygon Street while you're in Melbourne. Some of the best Italian food in Australia.

Also Queen Victoria Market makes for a super fun afternoon, even if all you're going to do is eat pastries while gawping at all the knock-off toys and dodgy electronics.

Don't go to the Docklands, even to see their ersatz London eye. It's a ghost town.

Melbourne is a great place to just wander from cafe to cafe drinking coffee, idly stuffing yourself and throwing the leftovers at pigeons while a busker plays covers of John Butler Trio songs for change.

@zimzam99@mrfizzy@red12b: I’ll actually be tagging along with my father and brother; we definitely plan to do some hiking while in New Zealand, like the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Also, have any of you ever been to Owlcatraz? That place sounds preposterously awesome.

Furthermore, any thoughts on Dunedin? We might have enough time to head down there for a day or so.

I'm seconding the ACMI suggestion, they have a free "moving images" (tv/movies/games/etc) exhibition that's worth a visit when you go to the CBD. And I agree that Docklands is a ghost town (I live in the area).

I was in New Zealand this time two years ago. It was absolutely beautiful, but chilly. I didn't mind that though.

Got to the Sky Tower in Auckland. Spectacular views.

@evo We’ll be in and around Melbourne for about a week, and then maybe on to Sydney/Alice Springs (we’re kinda winging it for our time in Australia).

@xavtron Ah dude, that would be awesome. I will definitely try to convince my fellow travelers to spend a day there. Thanks for the heads up!

@patchcoat: I'm from Alice Springs! I live in Melbourne now, but that's cool that it's a part of your plans. You might be in for a preeeeetty big culture shock when you go there, but the scenery is *incredible*.