If you know me for more than an hour, you’ll probably find out I lived in Australia and I love the country a whole lot. A close second is New Zealand and if they had better beaches, I would have wanted to live there too.
From that time there we traveled around a lot and there’s a few experiences that stick with me to this day.
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Australia & New Zealand Travel Bucket List
It’s time to move on to Australia and New Zealand now and this was really hard to narrow down. We lived in Australia for three years and I was determined to see as much of my travel bucket list as I could while there.
1. Flying over the Whitsunday Islands
The first experience that really sticks out is flying over the Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef. We landed in the water and spent time on Whitehaven beach. It was spectacular and well worth the money.
Top Tip:
Book this ahead of time because it will definitely fill up.
There’s only so many seats on the plane.
2. Road Tripping Around Australia
Before we left Australia, we spent 6 weeks traveling around the country and did a lot of road tripping. This was probably my favorite trip of all time. We saw so much of the country that you can’t see without driving. If you’re going to see Australia, hit the road! All the photos below are from places we drove to, some of which require 4-wheel drive.
3. Australia Open Tennis Tournament
I’ll be honest, I’m was not a tennis fan. My husband had to explain the rules to me (and I do love sports). Yet, getting to go each year to the Australian Open was fantastic. The weather is usually great, the atmosphere is lovely, and the tennis is more fun than I ever thought.
4. Driving the Great Ocean Road in Australia
Living near Melbourne, we did the Great Ocean Road about 6 times. A lot of other travelers that I talked to over there were so tired of doing this drive every time someone came to visit them. I was not one of these people. There is so much to see on this drive that I don’t know how you could get bored or tired of it. Every time I saw the 12 apostles, they took my breath away. And it’s one of the top sunset spots in Australia for sure.
5. Watching the Sunset from a Camel at Uluru
Uluru is the sacred rock in the “red center” of Australia, and it’s pretty special. The rock changes colors with the setting (or rising) sun and viewing it from a camel ride is a pretty unique experience.
6. Hot Air Ballooning Over Melbourne
In order to go on a hot air balloon ride you have to have pretty perfect conditions. I tried booking one in Australia once before and it was cancelled, then I tried for California, also cancelled. Finally, when we lived over there, my husband bought me a gift certificate for one in Melbourne. This way, we had options if it had to get cancelled.
And guess what? The first try was, you guessed it, cancelled. We actually got up, drove out to several spots, and then we were told, “nope, the wind is too much”. Luckily, we did finally find a time when we got to do it, and it was so amazing. It’s not scary and you just float, it’s so peaceful.
7. Canyoning in the Blue Mountains of Australia
Another fun thing to do in Australia is canyoning. The blue mountains are lovely from above, but way better down in them. This canyoning trip had us floating right through it.
7. Hiking a Glacier in New Zealand
Hiking a glacier is another super tricky activity. I was worried the whole trip that it would be cancelled. We took a helicopter ride to the top of the glacier and clearly the weather needs to be good for this. Then, they also tell you, that there’s a chance you could get stuck there! They can’t fly back if the clouds roll in. However, we had a perfect day for this one and I’m so glad.
Top Tip:
You’ll need to book this and do it with a good company,
this isn’t one to cheap out on!
8. Rafting New Zealand
New Zealand really is the adventure-junkie’s paradise and I am an adventure junkie. You can raft the tallest commercially rafted waterfall in the world here and it’s pretty cool. The tour company told us it’s about 50-50 chance you will flip (we did not), and to just get in the boat and hold on. Now, as crazy as it was, it was actually one of the easier raft trips I’ve been on because there’s very little paddling. š You just hold on for dear life.
9. Bungy-Jumping New Zealand
Finally, I told you that New Zealand is all about adventure and no top list of activities there would be complete without bungy-jumping. It was invented here, and they are very cautious and careful. It’s the most terrifying thing I have ever done, but still cool.
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