AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND - A 6000km road trip

[Klazu]

This trip took place already long time ago, but it was quite a trop and I only recently got to edit many of these photos, so why not share them here as well. Back in 2009 we traveled Australia and New Zealand for four amazing weeks and got to see some incredible places. Here we go.

The trip got started when we found some ridiculously cheap flights from London to Sydney onboard the then-five star Malaysian Airlines. Nice service onboard and I would definitely fly again (despite the incidents last year).





Traveling for over 30 hours straight takes a toll on one, but arriving in Sydney we were greeted with excellent spring weather. First thing we headed to check out The Rocks, which is an active bar area next to Sydney Harbour.





It seems that Oktoberfest takes place everywhere in the world.



First thing one has to check out is of course the world-famous Sydney Opera House.







I love this angle.











Downtown Sydney skyscrapers.



The ferry/railway terminal in the area is known as Circular Quay. It is a very busy terminal with connections to many places all around the city.













Sydney Harbour Bridge is another famous landmark in the area. This is where the huge NYE fireworks take place every year!



You can climb on top the bridge. Not for people with vertigo!





Being a tourist area, there are many performers around Circular Quay.











Some good burgers in a nearby pub.



Next day we explored the inner Downtown.















Next to Downtown is also the lively area of Darling Harbour. Not visible in these photos, this is where several new tallest skyscrapers in the city are currently going up.











Darling Harbour has the world's largest IMAX screen. We watched an IMAX document there, but I was still so jetlagged that I don't remember anything about it. I suppose the screen was huge, but can't exactly remember.







Sunset in Darling Harbour.



There was a monorail running between Downtown and Darling Harbour back in 2009, but I think it is defuct nowadays?



Sydney Tower is the tallest structure in town.





Downtown gets quiet after dark, but is still a safe place to roam.









Night view from our hotel room.



And that was days one and two. Much more to come in the future.

[OhioGuy]

Fantastic photos! Looking forward to more!

[Daveography]

Great photos! I got to spend time in Sydney and Canberra in 2013 and just loved it.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures. Looking forward to more!

[Klazu]

On our third day we rented a car and headed west to check out the famous Blue Mountains National Park.

Driving out of Sydney takes some time due to the traffic, which can be really bad.







First we wanted to check out Wentworth Falls.





The trail down to the falls is very interesting and I wish we would have had time to continue further down!



Wentworth Falls is tiny in late fall, but still respectable 187 meters tall.



Back up the view of Jamison Valley is spectacular. I guess you can tell why they call this region Blue Mountains.







Three Sisters is a famous rock formation nearby. There is even a gondola that you can ride to get a better view.





Note the green stairs on the left side of this photo. You can get between the formation where the winds blow really hard (see video).





• Video Link

A week before we traveled to Australia there were newspaper articles in Europe about some severe sand storm in the Sydney area that had originated in the Outback. Week later, this dirty car is the only proof of that storm that we could find.



The next day we continued westwards. Some meadows along the highway.





Our destination of the day was Jenolan Caves where one can drive through a huge cave to reach the tourist center!







Jenolan Caves is a large cave system and this model only shows the most common sections.







Underground it is dim but they have installed permanent lights along the most common trails. It is a very interesting small tour that takes you through several caves. Not for those afraid of tight spaces!

















Biggest of the caves is called Lucas Cave. They even have concerts in this massive underground space!



• Video Link

Inside one cave they have installed colorful lights.



It's a very interesting tour that I highly recommend and definitely worth the drive from Sydney!



Next some more photos from Sydney. Stay tuned for a lot more!

[Murphy de la Sucre]

Oh there's tears in my eyes I love Australia, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane the best; Adelaide is OK, never been to Perth, but I just love Australia.

I was in Sydney in 2009. I love Australia(key comment should repeat three times)

[Bedhead]

Amazing shots!

[Klazu]

Thanks guys! I took these with my old camera only few months after getting my first DSLR. Many still turned out quite nice.

Murphy, I hear you about Australia. It's a fantastic country and I have hundreds more photos coming from several locations.

Could a forum moderator please change the thread title to AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND - A 6000km road trip? Thank you.

[Centropolis]

ace!
hope you steered your road train around the yaba yaba shadowlands.

[Danny]

Beautiful! Amazing landscapes. I like the pictures of Sidney very much too.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Crikey! Great country...

[mrnyc]

thanks for putting these together -- it was a lot of fun & i feel like i went on a mini vacation!

i wish we could take climbs over the hellgate bridge like that.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

Yes, it is indeed seen almost everywhere. I've done some research accordingly.

Oktoberfest is the world's largest Volksfest (beer festival and travelling funfair). Held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, it is a 16-day folk festival running from mid or late September to the first weekend in October, with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year.

For sure:
1. The word is German.
2. It is indeed related to the meaning of October Festival.
3. It is happening in October.
4. It originally happens in Munich only, now is seen slogan worldwide.

Unsure:
1. Is it a German campaign to market its beers and some festival concept?
2. or is it a worldwide well-recognized word merely meaning "beer festival", got nothing to do with German beer marketing?
3. or is it just limited to some German restaurants or bars in foreign countries to celebrate Octoberfest as a reminder of German-origin?
4. What is an average "beer festival" called anyway? Just "beer festival"?

[SHiRO]

Originally Posted by Klazu

Could a forum moderator please change the thread title to AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND - A 6000km road trip? Thank you.

Just now saw this...

[Klazu]

Thanks, SHiRO and all others for your comments!

Back in Sydney we enjoyed some nice spring weather while exploring the Downtown area.



Government House







St. Mary's Cathedral





Sydney Tower is the tallest structure in Sydney (not so much today anymore).























The Main Post Office.



In the afternoon we headed towards Sydney Opera House to enjoy a nice day-time symphony. It is an amazing venue to experience classical music and we enjoyed the concert quite a bit. The only downside were some badly-behaving elderly, who made constant noise with their candy wrappers...





Unfortunately there was no taking photos in the main concert hall, but here are some interior shots of the hallways.







In the evening we had tickets to a local comedy club at the Entertainment Quarter. The show was fun and we laughed a lot!





The next day it was time to walk across the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and catch a glimpse of Downtown skyline from across the water. It is a huge and very busy bridge, connecting two sides of Sydney.

















Milson's Point at the other end of the bridge.



The view across the water is great, especially as day turns into night.









Luna Park is a small theme park next to the bridge with a funny-looking entrance.



Those were our first few days on the Australian soil! Next we will be traveling to New Zealand for two amazing weeks there. Stay tuned for a lot more.

[Klazu]

After spending few days in Sydney, we packed our bags and flew to Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island. There we rented a car and started heading south, towards the famous adventure town of Queenstown.

This is the first ever Airbus A380 I saw at SYD airport. Unfortunately we didn't fly one on our way to Christchurch.



Local currency



We spent out first night in a small town of Temuka, where everything appeared to be closed.





From there onwards the spectacular mountains began rising around. Sheeps are really a trademark of New Zealand and there are millions of them!







Mackenzie Country is a huge plain between the mountains. These are the locations where many scenes in Lord of the Rings were filmed.







The mountains are absolutely huge and were all covered in fresh snow.





Lake Tekapo





Weather near Mount Cook Village was very cold. Brrrr!!



Now that's one huge conifer cone!



Approaching Mount Cook Village the road climbed up to the snow elevation.











Unfortunately we didn't have the time or clothing to do any hiking here, so we turned our car around and continued towards Queenstown. On our way we encountered a massive traffic jam!











Further on the weather changed to sunny and some epic landscapes revealed themselves!







Wow! Just wow.



In my next update we will be discovering Queenstown!

[tdawg]

Wow! Looks like you had great weather, too. Both are on my Bucket List.

[Klazu]

Thanks, tdawg! We were indeed pretty lucky with the weather while in New Zealand. Lots of amazing photos to follow.

[boden]

Awesome thread!

[FREKI]

Awesome shots mate - must say such a trip is a dream of mine!

Thanks for sharing!