Travel Forum / Destinations / Australia and NZ / January 2007

Not sure this is the most appropriate newsgroup as it seems to mainly be
about people visiting Australia / NS, but:
Does anyone have any information about which banks, etc, tend to offer the
cheapest purchase of traveller's cheques in Australia (converting AUD cash

I would like some advice for my first trip to Australia, hope you can help.
We are a family of four, with two kids that will be 1,5 and 3 years at
the time of travel. We are looking for a house to rent, at the west
coast not to far from Perth, to stay for 2-3 months. We would like ...

Can somebody settle an argument for me please. To travel from Australia to
New Zealand you need a passport. Has this always been the case? Is it true
that a few years ago (maybe in the 80's or 90's)  a passport wasn't needed
for an Australian citizen to travel to NZ? I know we ...

I intend to fly from the London area of the UK to Sydney to arrive in
Sydney on 5th April and leave Sydney for the UK on 30th April. I would
like to break the journey in each direction for a night or two. I intend
to fly from Sydney to Cairns or Townsville on the 10th, take the ...

A supplementary question to previous postings asking about car rental
recommendations for Australia.
Does anyone have any comments/advice re the use of Britz for car (not
van) rental?

If you intended to travel to Australia: wait another 2 months.
Continuous drought and excessive temps (today 38˚C/100.4°F just
inland north of Sydney) make travelling/sightseeing pretty unpleasant.
And the forecast for February is for unusually high temperatures.

Can anyone recommend a good car rental firm in Dunedin - we want to
hire a car there and drop it off at Picton 3 weeks later.
Any good recommendations?
Thanks

The parents of a British traveller who died while trekking in Nelson
Lakes National Park say safety regulations in NZ need to be improved.
Read the full story here:
http://www.lep.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1986437&SectionID=73

Has anyone tramped the Rees-Dart Track/  How hard is it?  Any
experiences to share?
Regards,
Janev

We are flying into SYD in Feb and plan a 6 week walkabout (by car).
I've looked at Orbitz and found a Dodge Lancer compact for $ 29.99/day,
unlimited Mileage (Kilometer-age?).
Orbitz shows you the "big 5" and their prices are very similar.

Now, more than ever, is the perfect time to apply for an Australia
visa. Australia is home to Sydney, currently named as one of the best
and most vibrant cities in the world. With a brisk economy such as
Australia's, Sydney offers its residents high-quality but low cost of

Sydney's river of life
Sydney's river of life
http://www.stuff.co.nz/print/3926635a34.html
Much of colonial Sydney has disappeared, but history can still be found on

Can you help me with the following questions?
My friend and i would like to camp close to 'easy' public transport
into Sydney city centre... can you recommend a good campsite? (perhaps
there is a good camp site close to a train station??)

OK, the decision is made (at least in principle): we are emigrating
from the UK to Australia.
We're pretty sure that either Sydney or Melbourne is going to be the
right choice for us, but although I've spend a bit of time in the

Howdie all,
Without my life story getting in the way, basically how much would I in
need in Australian dollars to walk both Milford Track and Routeburn
Tracks ignoring airfares and gear (which i mostly have already, from my