Australia and Oceania Favorites

  Scenery on the way
by iandsmith
 
  • Scenery on the way
      Scenery on the way
    by iandsmith
  • Manly Wharf
      Manly Wharf
    by Gypsystravels
  • Sweet Briar bushes and Blue Borage in red grass.
      Sweet Briar bushes and Blue Borage in...
    by Kakapo2
  •   Favorites
    by Kakapo2
  • Lovely steamboat
      Lovely steamboat
    by iandsmith
 

Most Viewed Favorites in Australia and Oceania

51.

Beaches   Sydney

Beaches, Sydney

 64 Reviews  A close friend lives not 50 metres from this beach, so I know it well. This beach is for swimmers as well as surfers. It is clean and well visited. Whether you want a walk along the beach, have a nice... 

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52.

Great Ocean Road   Melbourne

Great Ocean Road, Melbourne

 29 Reviews  I took part in a Great Ocean Road tour with Bunyip tours and it was a great decision. The small personal group with a tour guide that had great knowledge was really amazing. The Otway Ranges and the... 

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53.

Perth City   Perth

Perth City, Perth

 20 Reviews  Australians love music as much as people everywhere else in the world. The invention of the MP3 player, however, is not yet known down under... [/nonsense modus off] The lively pedestrian streets in... 

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54.

Information   Brisbane

Information, Brisbane

 13 Reviews  Are you in Brisbane or the surrounding Suburb's and looking for an Internet connection? In BRISBANE......... There are free public access computers available on levels 1 to 4 of the State Library of... 

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55.

Queen Street & Downtown   Auckland

Queen Street & Downtown, Auckland

 3 Reviews  Auckland now has a fine little pocket of restaurants around its waterfront and Viaduct Basin areas. Though not comparable to the great culinary capitals of the world, Auckland's restaurants may not... 

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56.

Theme Parks.   Gold Coast

Theme Parks., Gold Coast

 13 Reviews  Hi there, Just came back from vacation in Gold Coast few weeks ago. Surprisely, it was a school break that time and we didn't aware about that. We spent 2 days wednesday and thursday and found that... 

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57.

City Centre   Adelaide

City Centre, Adelaide

 19 Reviews  Every city has it's rich area or street. The first 2 photo's I attached are from the richest street of Adelaide. The other 2 photo's I attached are from the house of the tennis player Lleyton Hewitt... 

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58.

Downtown Christchurch   Christchurch

Downtown Christchurch, Christchurch

 29 Reviews  - The city centre features a huge new steel sculpture, an oversized bunch of wheat, higher than the surrounding high-rise buildings. Its name is "Flour Power". (August/September 2008) The square at... 

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59.

Parks / Gardens / Lakes   Canberra

Parks / Gardens / Lakes, Canberra

 17 Reviews  Of course, Floriade is also about people; about the charming little girl with the great hat I spotted running around who just made my shot of the playground; the guy I met who was involved in the... 

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60.

Underwater Life   Bora-Bora

Underwater Life, Bora-Bora

 5 Reviews  One thing I would definitely want to remind each of the VT members is to make sure you take plenty of pictures of yourselves while on the road. There are tons of trustworthy people on the tours, on... 

 See All 41 Favorites in Bora-Bora

61.

Lake Wakatipu   Queenstown

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown

 5 Reviews  Lake Wakatipu is the South Island’s second largest lake after Lake Te Anau. It is Z-shaped, has a total length of 77 kilometres, and covers 293 square kilometres. It is surrounded by steeply rising... 

 See All 42 Favorites in Queenstown

62.

Internet Connections   Wellington

Internet Connections, Wellington

 2 Reviews  This was the most amazing machine I found! Here you can free up some memory space on your digital camera by a number of ways: Print digital photos from $1-45 NZD per print. Edit digital... 

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63.

Te Whakarewarewa   Rotorua

Te Whakarewarewa, Rotorua

 7 Reviews  You pay around £ 6 for adults ad £3 for kids to get into visit Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and after that you can explore Maori village, kiwi house, Frog pool, Maori concert etc for free. You... 

 See All 35 Favorites in Rotorua

64.

The Great Ocean Road   Geelong

The Great Ocean Road, Geelong

 24 Reviews  The whole Great Ocean road is great, though not everyone has time to see it in its entirety. I'd recommend starting the trip at the trendy surf town of Torquay with its world famous competition surf... 

 See All 48 Favorites in Geelong

65.

General Scenery.   Hobart

General Scenery., Hobart

 20 Reviews  I'm not sure what did it to be honest. But I left Hobart wanting to see so much more of the little town. In someways it reminded me of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in others, a small Danish coastal village.... 

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66.

The Octagon   Dunedin

The Octagon, Dunedin

 4 Reviews  The Octagon is the central "square" [actually and obviously an octagon] in the centre of the city. It is well laid out with a nice covered walkway alongside the road thru the middle. A variety of... 

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67.

Cable Car   Wellington Region

Cable Car, Wellington Region

 6 Reviews  The Cable Car is one of Wellingtons oldest and most popular tourist attractions. The cable car journeys up under the motorway, through the three tunnels, past Kelburn Park and Victoria University and... 

 See All 32 Favorites in Wellington Region

68.

West Coast   South Island

West Coast, South Island

 1 Review  through Arthur's Pass and the Otira Gorge Road, looks so benign, doens't it? But drive carefully and don't get distracted....drive on to the most charming small Town on the West Coast..Hokitika, its a... 

 See All 24 Favorites in South Island

69.

Taranaki   North Island

Taranaki, North Island

 4 Reviews  Facing the Tasman Sea on the north, west and south of Mount Taranaki, New Plymouth has easy access of beaches for sailing, swimming, surfing or sand castles. Was surprised by the black sand beaches.... 

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70.

Native New Zealand   New Zealand

Native New Zealand, New Zealand

 3 Reviews  New Zealand has some rather interesting natural landmarks as you will no doubt see as you travel around our fair land. In the South Island you can see everything from the split apple to the moeraki... 

 See All 621 Favorites in New Zealand

71.

Darling Harbour / Casino   Sydney

Darling Harbour / Casino, Sydney

 43 Reviews  What you now have is an Entertainment Centre, Sydney Aquarium, Star City Casino, IMAX Theatre (pic 4), Powerhouse Museum, 5 star accommodation - and that's just to name a few! There are also pleasant... 

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72.

St. Kilda   Melbourne

St. Kilda, Melbourne

 15 Reviews  St Kilda is one of inner city suburbs of Melbourne and in recent years, it has begun to shake off a seamy reputation and is home to many of Melbourne's famous visitor attractions including Luna Park,... 

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73.

King's Park   Perth

King's Park, Perth

 12 Reviews  It's definitely worthwhile to check out Kings Park...it's a huge park that overlooks the city of Perth and isn't too far from the centre...it's an uphill walk though so take a bus or taxi if you don't... 

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74.

Parks & Gardens   Brisbane

Parks & Gardens, Brisbane

 3 Reviews  Paralysis ticks lurk in even quite short grass in summer. They particularly multiply when it is humid. These ticks will kill a dog in a few days after first paralyzing their back legs and causing them... 

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75.

Mt Eden   Auckland

Mt Eden, Auckland

 3 Reviews  This is the extinct volcanic crater at Mt Eden. Besides being always pretty, grassy and green, since childhood I've always enjoyed the great view of Rangitoto (another volcano) and Auckland city and... 

 See All 43 Favorites in Auckland

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Ship Movement

by Kakapo2

-Sometimes you think you are used to it. But then the ship starts swaying again, and especially when you are in bed you feel like in a nutshell on the ocean. And we were on an easy cruise in smooth waters! (At least on most days and nights. We had two rough nights, and that was hell in our bow cabin. It felt like racing through potholes for hours without end – and straight into hell on a downward track in a train without breaks, and falling into space at the same time.)The most difficult thing is to walk a straight line in the endless corridors. It is impossible. You sway from the left to the right and from the right to the left, to the rhythm of the ship’s movements, and it looks as if you were drunken. It is like walking in the aisles of a train and worse than in an airplane. Just that on a train you would crash into sitting passengers, and on the ship you would hit the wall ;-) It is...

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The Extras Shock and Restaurants

by Kakapo2

-I have spoken of the big personal account shock that can hit you upon checking out, thanks to the magic Cruise Card. Nothing costs a dime while you are onboard, only signature after signature. You sign for every purchase on board, from a tin of diet coke to the money you gamble in the casino, and even the AU$ 15,000 an original painting might cost at the art auctions. Add all the specialty coffees, cocktails and shore tours, pizzas and steaks, perfumes and watches, and hire of snorkel gear. In principle all food on board is free. Exceptions are the Steakhouse & Seafood Restaurant as well as the Pizzeria. Free drinks are sparse and limited to water from jugs and coolers (this is served in the restaurants automatically, and you find a water cooler at the bar and in the gym), coffee and tea at the Buffet Restaurant (Lido) on level 10, and fruit juice during breakfast hours. For all other...

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First People Encounters

by Kakapo2

-Having spoken of queueing, queues on the ship are not always the fault of the crew. (Although most are…) They can also be created by indecisive people. For example this couple with the American accent at the lunch buffet when you were still allowed to help yourself. They did not only struggle with their huge professional camera and laptop bags permanently slipping from their shoulders but also with the choice of dishes.“How do you prepare this pasta?”, asked SHE, and after looking in puzzled eyes on the other side of the buffet, clarified: “Is there any wine in it?”No, there was no wine in it.“Is there any lemon in it?”, she continued.Yes, there was lemon in it.“Which kind of lemon do you use? Freshly squeezed lemon or lemon from concentrate?”They always use concentrate.“What is in the butter chicken?”, asked HE.Butter and chicken, I would have thought.Looking in the poor chef’s rolling...

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Transport and Embarkation

by Kakapo2

-Once we had booked the cruise, everything went forward strategically. The best point, however, was that some weeks before departure we got quite a lot of money back because the prices had obviously changed. This seems to be normal practice and unique in the travel industry. If, for example, you buy an airline ticket and later they decide to sell tickets at dumping prices, you will not see a cent of your money back. You are just unlucky if you have purchased at the wrong moment. However, once on the ship we found out that some people who had booked at about the same time as we had got the refund and others not. Our domestic flight from Christchurch to Auckland was included in the cruise package. Such give-aways can change without notice. The seats in the airplane were booked, we only had a voucher. At Auckland Airport a staff member pointed cruise passenger towards the shuttle buses to...

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The Company

by Kakapo2

-P&O was founded in 1837, starting with so-called excursions on Royal Mail runs starting in England and travelling to ports of the Iberian peninsula and the Mediterranean.Their ships have got a not very flattering reputation for not the greatest safety standards lately. In 2008 the Pacific Sun – so just “our” ship – got into a very bad storm because the captain made a bad decision, sailing from Fiji to Auckland through a bad storm and very rough seas in the last days of “our” cruise. Several people were badly injured when non-fixed furniture and gambling machines crashed through rooms and lounges, one woman even lost part of a finger. The report of the investigation has just been published when we came back from our cruise.It criticises the captain’s decision who felt under pressure of meeting the ship’s tight schedules. My view: They have surely fixed the problem of flying furniture but...

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The Ship

by Kakapo2

-The Pacific Sun is 224 metres long, 31.6 metres wide and has a maximum draught of 7.8 metres. It can carry 1900 passengers. It was full to capacity when we travelled.It is a ship of 47,546 gross tons, powered by two single acting, two stroke, slow speed, turbo charged, non-reversible crosshead diesel engines. Her cruising speed is 19 knots.(1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour; 1 nautical mile = 1852 metres; so: 19 x 1852 m = 35,188 m; so the speed is 35.188 km/h)So you see, a cruise ship travels at very low speed. It only gets from A to B relatively quickly because its engine keeps on running until you reach the next port of call.The ship has two stabilizers that can be extrended at any time, in order to reduce the rolling of the ship by 85 per cent. Each fin is 15 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 2 feet thick, and they are located 14 feet below the waterline, on either side of the vessel –...

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New Years at the Gold Coast

by amandajayne81

This is a forum question answer wanting to know about the Gold Coast and what there is to do on New Years. A few years ago we did the Cavell Mall think at Surfers. If you like BIG crowds and that sort of thing you will love it. We lined up to get into a few clubs but gave up as the lines were moving no where. The cover charges were also $20 and more! Instead we just settled ourselves on the beach to watch the fireworks. From memory there was no drinking alcohol except in the clubs but you might like to check that because I couldn't be one hundred percent sure. Also I remember huge line ups for the yucky portable toilets.We had another New Years spent on our apartment balcony down at Coolongatta at the southern end of the Gold Coast. Make sure you ask for an ocean view room so you can see fireworks. The good news is at Cooloongatta you do New Years twice as it is right on the border of...

EXEMPTED GOODS THRU TOURIST REFUND SCHEME

by AusPinay

Goods/purchases that do not attract refunds under the TRS (Tourist Refund Scheme) -for goods that you buy and carry with you when you leave Australia.Several goods are excluded from the TRS: * alcohol such as beer and spirits (you can buy wine and wine products under the TRS) and tobacco products (these goods can be purchased from duty-free shops) * GST-free goods-no refund can be claimed if no GST was paid * consumables wholly or partially consumed in Australia * goods which are prohibited on aircraft or ships for safety reasons. These include items such as gas cylinders, fireworks and aerosol sprays (all airlines provide information to passengers on prohibited items) * goods which fail to meet airline cabin-size or ship hand luggage restrictions * unaccompanied goods (including freighted or posted goods) * services such as accommodation, tours and car rental and labour charges * goods...

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GET REFUNDS for GOODS BOUGHT in OZ

by AusPinay

MAny tourists and even Aussies do not know that you can claim a refund of the goods and services tax (GST) and wine equalisation tax (WET) that you pay on goods you buy in Australia. The refund only applies to goods you take with you as hand luggage or wear on to the aircraft or ship when you leave the country. That's why it is a good idea to keep the docket with you (and the product in your carry on) when you go overseas or leave for your home country.There are signs after going through the departure's immigration section where you can claim your refund. You will get this immediately. It is also a good idea to keep the packaging to show that the item is really newly bought. There is a limit to the amount- from $300 for goods you bought and taking with you.Other tips:To claim a refund you must: * Spend $300 (GST inclusive) or more in the one store and get a single tax invoice * Buy goods...

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Honeymoon in Oz - what could be better?

by unravelau

Hi there, most of the responses here covered everything that I would say too with the exception of one. I would narrow my field down by reading about all of the different places that you can visit on the east coast.....vt members are a great source of information and share their opinions easily. Just pick spots on the map and line them up with the search engine here and see what the locals and visitors have had to say before making up your mind. There are lots of wonderful places to see so it really depends on your own taste but most holiday places on the coast have the ranges of accommodation that would suit you too. Happy honeymoon. Do come back and tell us what you thought.Carole. Well, I live here and although I have had opportunities to live in other countries, I still come scuttling back to my beloved Oz. The weather is great, the people wonderful and we are doing all that we can...

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Top 3 Hotels in Australia and Oceania

Park Hyatt Sydney  Sydney

 5 Reviews and 286 Opinions  A luxurious setting, conveniently close to the city centre without the hubbub. You can have it both,... 

 Hotels in Sydney

Crown Towers  Melbourne

 10 Reviews and 303 Opinions  We arrived by limousine , the doorman opened the door with a flourish, a Casino representative... 

 Hotels in Melbourne

Novotel Langley Perth  Perth

 4 Reviews and 528 Opinions  My partner and I just spent an anniversary night at the Novotel Langley. While the rooms were clean... 

 Hotels in Perth

Questions and Answers

ant1606 profile photo

Q:  This coming August I should travel to Australia and I'm considering flying one way from Melbourne to Cairns, then drive along the... 

margsch profile photo

A: the 3 times I booked with tiger they changed my flight times by 9 hours each time, if this is not a problem for you do it. Virgin have a happy hour each day at 12.30p.m.... 

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