New Zealand or Austrialia?

KlodaX

I'm fleeing the country and feel that Austrialia is an obvious choice... everyone goes there .. but I'm thinking everyone must be going there for a reason?

My mate is going to New Zealand and has just applied for his working visa... now he did have a working visa in Austrialia last year and so cannot do the same thing this year .. hense New Zealand.

My question and thoughts are ... should I apply for the New Zealand or Austrialian working visa?

I've never had an Austrialian visa ... so the option is still open to me... plus I could really do with some warm weather... although I hear New Zealand is quite a scenic place to visit ...

have any of ye been to either or both and which would you reccomend?

por

Been to both,prefer NZ.
If you are going on a working holiday, I would have a good look at their respective economies first. NZ is much smaller than Aus in both size and economy,so you don't want to be stuck in NZ with poor job prospects

Fearo

Yo, Im the same as ur mate. I was in OZ 3 years ago on a working visa now Im going to NZ in 4 months on a working visa. Why dont you get both? The New Zealand one isnt expensive and that gives you the option of working in both places. You could also do a year in OZ then a year in NZ without having to come back!!!

Unemployment is at its lowest level in years in New Zealand which is good for anyone planning on going there. I loved OZ but I spent a month in NZ and have always wanted to go back. So Im llokinf forward to another year away, not too long to go now

ixus

Spent 6months in NZ last year and had a great time. Lived in both the North and South islands. Its winter over there now, but the winters aren't too bad, North islands much better weather (also offers skiing) but in winter you should head down the south island, especially Queenstown!
I lived in a relatively small town called Tauranga (about 40,000), it was a really nice place, it would be one of the main holiday resort areas of NZ in the summer.

Only spent 2 weeks in sydney on the way home but plan on going back.

My advice would be take in NZ first. A lot of people i've talked to have prefered it to Aus. oh and the euro doubles over there and price of living is pretty cheap (i.e rent ,owning a car etc)

KlodaX

excellent .. thanks for the advise.. I'll get the NZ working visa.

I don't want to get the auz visa cause I might actually apply for a resident visa if I get a proper job... not looking for a proper job just yet ... just looking at everything else ... basically I don't want to waste the working visa on a holiday... cause I may wish to live there in the future.

Does anyone know if its easy to get citizenship of NZ if you have one of Auz?

ixus

here are two good sites to check out.

http://www.nzpure.co.nz/

http://www.immigration.govt.nz

as far as i know, if you have citizenshi[p in one country you can live in the other like us in the EU, but i'm not 100% on that.

For NZ they look at you profile i.e. age, education, financial, work experience etc and depending on how many points you get, you can live there. they do this in canada too, and probably Aus.
the test (or a version of it) used to be on the immigration site.

ixus

sorry, purenz.com is a better one

KlodaX

cheers Ixus .. that site is pretty cool .. .I was looking at it before .. it gives an 18 day driving route that covers both islands!

how cool is that.

Epitaph

Easy way to get another visa to Austrailia: apply again with your passport as Gaeilge.

p.pete

Originally posted by Epitaph
Easy way to get another visa to Austrailia: apply again with your passport as Gaeilge.

Does that work? have many people done it? Sounds like a cool idea but doesn't it show up on your actual passport document?

ixus

You can hold 2 passports at once alright i think, one in irish. in know a bloke who couldn't get into that states with his english passport one time 'cos he overstayed previously but when he went back with an irish passport he was grand (tickets and all would have to be in irish).

another tip for NZ is to buy a car if you're stayin for more than 3/4 months.
i bought a car (about 15 years old for 500 euro (1000$) it was a 2 litre and in pretty good condition. just make sure it has a Warrant Of Fitness W.O.F ( kiwi's NCT). If the WOF is relatively new the car will be grand.
I got fully insured for a year with the state insurance for 250 euro ($500) which is UNREAL, and when i cancelled it after 3 months they gave me half back.

It really puts Ireland into perspective when NZ has the same population as us yet higher death rates and more drink driving and yet the insurance is **** all!!

In_Diana_Jones

Just back from NZ.
Auckland sucks more than a cheap vietnamese whore in wartime.
However, Queenstown is possibly the greatest place on earth...especially during winter for the Snowboarding!!

Go there and stay forever, I wish I did!

Third_Echelon

Originally posted by In_Diana_Jones
Just back from NZ.
Auckland sucks more than a cheap vietnamese whore in wartime.
However, Queenstown is possibly the greatest place on earth...especially during winter for the Snowboarding!!

Go there and stay forever, I wish I did!

Hi phil/In_Diana_Jones... Im sure that is you...

Anyway, Im just back from NZ. I was there on holiday and it was great...

Auckland wasnt as bad as Ms.Jones has pointed out. It was pretty unlively to say the least though.... I think the absolute greatness of Queenstown eclipsed it... defintely go to Queenstown.. it is just the greatest place on earth...

big mountains, snow boarding, bungy, rafting, jet boating and all those other sports were you could get mamed or killed... Im defo thinking of a career break down there in the next year or two...

KlodaX

I'm gonna try to get a car in Perth .. drive to sydney ... does anyone know if a car can be brought by ferry from Sydney to NZ? ... or would I be better of sellin the car in Sydney and gettin a new one in NZ?

In_Diana_Jones

Originally posted by KlodaX
I'm gonna try to get a car in Perth .. drive to sydney ... does anyone know if a car can be brought by ferry from Sydney to NZ? ... or would I be better of sellin the car in Sydney and gettin a new one in NZ?

NZ and Aus are pretty far away from each other....think dublin to moscow!
That would not be a pretty boat journey!

Third_Echelon

Originally posted by KlodaX
I'm gonna try to get a car in Perth .. drive to sydney ... does anyone know if a car can be brought by ferry from Sydney to NZ? ... or would I be better of sellin the car in Sydney and gettin a new one in NZ?

driving from perth to sydney? thats a hell of a drive in fairness... you would want to make sure that your car is in very good condition...

its really hot out there and a pretty dangerous place to be on your own (if that is the case)... Id say it'd be a great experience, but it would have to be well planned...

Oz to NZ is about 5 hours by plane, so you can imagine the journey by boat... sell it in oz and buy again in NZ... probably be cheaper... and less time consuming..

KlodaX

gonna sell the car in sydney ... any suggestions for pit stops along the way from perth to sydney?

therecklessone

Sorry for thread hijacking, but I need to make my mind up about a few things...

Following a couple of nights in Hong Kong followed by 3 weeks in Oz, I'm making my way to NZ for what looks like 12 days in April of next year.

I leave Oz the 17th April (more than likely Sydney-Dunedin travelling with this crowd http://www.freedomair.com/index.jsp) and leave Auckland on the 28th to travel to LA.

Bearing in mind the first day is half gone by the time I get there (flight lands at 2.30pm) and I leave Auckland at 5.50pm, its really only 10 full days in the country. I know I can't get everything done, but was thinking of starting with South Island as follows:

Dunedin & Otago Peninsula (for the ickle penguins) - Day and a half/two days at most.

Dunedin to Queenstown - One/two days for bunjee and what not.

Queenstown via Lake Tekapo to Christchurch - Possibly overnight in Tekapo for some stargazing?

Christchurch to Greymouth - TranzAlpine railway sounds pretty good.

Then up West Coast to cross the Cook Strait.

ixus and Third Echelon in particular, am I on the right track? Is there anything absolutely must see on the South Island?

Please help a rather overwhelmed and confused wee chappie...two guide books (one Oz/one NZ), 1600 pages...

:eek:

In_Diana_Jones

New Zealand is great in general, but seriously, Auckland is crap!
I've heard the same about Christchurch from every Irish person i met in Queenstown because most travelled via Christchurch!

Auckland is just a big boring dead city....that's all there is to it.

I'd highly advise doing everything else and leaving a day at the end for Auckland...and that'll be too much time!

ixus

For bungee jumpin in queenstown check this out.

http://www.ajhackett.com/index.php?page=kawarau

i did mine in hamner springs about 2hours from christchurch (and jet boats)
but i you won't have the time to make it there.the bungee jumpin has to be done. i also did jet boatin in the centre of queenstown but it wasnt as good.

i think you're pushin everything relly tight. once you cross cook straight how do you plan to make it to Auckland?? if you have time there, you should try jumpin off the sky tower (probably best with a harness!) or the bridge.

Milford sounds is supposed to be amazing but i didnt make it there.

how do you plan on gettin from queentsown to christchurch? i rented a jeep for the drive down (well worth it) and flew back to christchurch. i drove at 70-90 mph most of the time and it took me nearly 7 hours so i can't imagine what it would be like in a friggin bus!! but the views are unreal and you will hardly meet anyone on the road.

i think flyin to some places may be a good option due to time constraints as the two islands are so big.
in the north island, travelling from wellington to auckland could take something like 12 hours. flyin would be a little over an hour and probably the same price if npt cheaper. check out http://www.airnz.co.nz/ for good cheap internal flights. as usual the earlier you book the cheaper it is.
i recommend planin everything really well due to the little timme you'lll have, and flyin a bit to give you more time in places...

jaysus that was long!

Third_Echelon

sounds like you have everything covered there...

If you can, try and make it to milford sound... It was pretty amazing..

For NZ$155 we got a day trip from queenstown to milford sound on a bus. Really cool bus with a part glass roof and the seats tilted sideways so you can see all the scenery on the way...

When you get down there you have a cruise for about an hour to an hour and a half on the milford sound.. bring a camera!! Meal was included in price as well.. buffet type thing...

The drive is about 4-5 hours each way, but you dont notice it as the view is spectacular from start to finish and the bus is really comfortable.. The company is real journeys... well worth the money....

When in queenstown you have to do the following:
Bungy - Nevis (134m/440ft) or Kawarau (43m/140ft)
White Water Rafting - Queenstown Rafting on the Shotover River.
Jet Boating - Shotover Jet, again on the shotover river...

You can get all that in a package called 'the awesome foursome', there is a helicopter ride including with the rafting during winter as the road to the start point is impassable.

Defintely make the most of queenstown...

therecklessone

Originally posted by ixus


how do you plan on gettin from queentsown to christchurch?

I'm told there's a bus that does Queenstown via Lake Tekapo to Christchurch, and I'll stay a night at Lake Tekapo. Problem is, every night I spend somewhere means I'm latish getting to my next stopoff the following day, and some stuff needs to be done early (TranzAlpine railway journey is a perfect example). I might need to hire a car, certainly for South Island, to make full use of the time available.

I'm told whale watching is worth doing, its somewhere between Christchurch and Picton? I've decided to get the train back from Greymouth to Christchurch cos' its easier to get to Picton from the east than the west.

North Island I haven't even looked at to be honest, might have to cut that short and visit again in the next few years.

Looks like I'll manage to shave a day or two off the Oz trip, there's a nine day tour from Darwin through Kakadu and Katherine Gorge to Ayers Rock, finishing in Alice Springs, so that'll save me a day/two and at least one flight.

therecklessone

Originally posted by Third_Echelon


When in queenstown you have to do the following:
Bungy - Nevis (134m/440ft) or Kawarau (43m/140ft)
White Water Rafting - Queenstown Rafting on the Shotover River.
Jet Boating - Shotover Jet, again on the shotover river...

One and three I'll definitely get done, don't know if time will allow number two.

This may sound like a stupid question, but how practical is it to do white water rafting if I can't swim?

Also, any absolute must-dos on North Island?

Third_Echelon

Originally posted by therecklessone
One and three I'll definitely get done, don't know if time will allow number two.

This may sound like a stupid question, but how practical is it to do white water rafting if I can't swim?

Also, any absolute must-dos on North Island?

I couldnt really swim or one of the other guys with me... its not a problem as you have a life jacket etc, so you stay bouyant in the water if you fall out...

The demonstrations etc that they give you before you start are really good and they show you all you need to stay safe etc...

Definitely do the rafting. For me it was one of the highlights... great craic...

As for the North Island, if you like jumping off things.. the Sky Tower jump in auckland is a good one:
http://www.skyjump.co.nz

Rotorua is supposed to be good. It is a load of geyzers etc.. Never been..

They do 'zorbing' somewhere in the North Island which sounds like fun but I never made it.. You are basically strapped inside a big huge inflated ball and rolled down a hill... looked great....

therecklessone

Originally posted by Third_Echelon


They do 'zorbing' somewhere in the North Island which sounds like fun but I never made it.. You are basically strapped inside a big huge inflated ball and rolled down a hill... looked great....

:eek:

Must stay off the lagers the night before if I'm gonna do that! Don't want to get hit with the cleaning bill...

Third_Echelon

Originally posted by therecklessone
:eek:

Must stay off the lagers the night before if I'm gonna do that! Don't want to get hit with the cleaning bill...

Im sure they'd hose you down, free of charge!!:D

KlodaX

People keep saying that the north island sucks and to stay away from Aukland its boring .. but that jump from the Sky tower looks like a musts and zorbing sounds pretty cool.

is it worth venturing north just for the sky tower jump?

In_Diana_Jones

Originally posted by KlodaX
People keep saying that the north island sucks and to stay away from Aukland its boring .. but that jump from the Sky tower looks like a musts and zorbing sounds pretty cool.

is it worth venturing north just for the sky tower jump?

To be honest with you, No.

The skyjump is good for approx 2 seconds at the very top, the step off the edge is pretty daunting. The only reason to really do it is the view from up there which is well impressive. It's probably the least thrilling of all the adventure activities you can do in NZ.

I did it twice (got the second jump for free), once jumping frontwards and once backwards, and if you do end up bothering with it I'd definately jump backwards, it was a lot more fun.

Anyway, once again, the short answer is, no the North Island is not worth doing just for the SkyJump. But there are other things to do like Bay of Islands Tours and that kind of thing which are supposedly good!

Hope that helps...I'll show you the pics from SkyJump when I get them on my computer.

ixus

There's nothing wrong with the north island, it's just that in terms of scenary and adventure sports, its not as good as the south. but then i don't know if anywhere else in the world is! the north is probably better for beaches and hot weather in the summer. especially the top half of it. there's still plenty to do, hot pools (Rotorua & Tauranga), sailing, surfing, game fishing, etc.

Every place is what you make of it, don't be totally turned off of a place before seeing it, keep an open mind.The thingabout Auckland is it's ful of asian and polynesian people, not so many white europeans.

Third_Echelon

Originally posted by ixus
There's nothing wrong with the north island, it's just that in terms of scenary and adventure sports, its not as good as the south. but then i don't know if anywhere else in the world is! the north is probably better for beaches and hot weather in the summer. especially the top half of it. there's still plenty to do, hot pools (Rotorua & Tauranga), sailing, surfing, game fishing, etc.

Every place is what you make of it, don't be totally turned off of a place before seeing it, keep an open mind.The thingabout Auckland is it's ful of asian and polynesian people, not so many white europeans.

True. I dont think I saw enough of the north island to know enough about it. Im sure there is a lot of stuff to do, but as you said the activities on the south island as well as the scenery are the main advantages....

That was one thing about Auckland. It was full of asians... If it wasnt for the cold, i would have thought we caught the wrong flight and ended up in Beijing!!!

therecklessone

Cheers folks.

I'm just gonna overnight in Auckland before my flight to LA, don't think I'll miss that much. Gonna spend a little more time on South Island than North now, certailnly from what I've heard on here and read in my Rough Guide.

Must find out more about zorbing...

Third_Echelon

http://www.zorb.com

cool site... looks like great fun!!!



As for puking in it:

"We've had over 10,000 Zorbonauts and not a single one has vomited inside the Zorb (thank goodness - I'd hate to have to clean it out.)

The experience is NOT like being in a tumble drier - the Zorb rotates once every 10 metres - so the revolving sensation is not stomach turning - although it is VERY bizarre."

boogie man

I'm just back from a 3 month stay in NZ. We stayed roughly half and half between the two islands, maybe a little more in the south island. The north island always gets a bad rap! It's actually really nice once you take the time to explore it. The bay of islands (above auckland) was one of my favourite places.

The south island does rock though!

All of NZ is pretty much beautiful and there is loads to do everywhere!

Enjoy, BM.

therecklessone

Originally posted by Third_Echelon
http://www.zorb.com

cool site... looks like great fun!!!

I can imagine myself getting out of that rather dizzy...

















...and shouting AGAIN!

Third_Echelon

... and its going to be available in ireland soon..

http://www.zorb.ie

gonna give that a go!!!!

bringitdown

None of this north island bashing:

I found it a wonderful interesting place, granted the landscape may not be as gosh darn breathtaking as sth but here are a few highlights:

Rotorua: the most volvanically active city in the world, walk down the street and watch the smelly stuff spontaneously bubble up, relax in a geo-thermal spa, kayak down a 7m waterfall in a geo-thermally heated river.

Tongariro crossing - an amazing 1 day trek across an active volcano (LOTR - was allegedly Mordor basckdrop)

Bay of Islands - a bit of fun in the sun, swim with or watch dolphins, sea kayak to the many deserted islands

Waitomo - get lost in the countryside on the Waitomo walkway and go cave tubing in the massive caving systems

Taupo - jump out of a plane for E100, enjoy a pint in the local, visit the thermal reserves and watch (smell!) a geyser or mud pool ...

Wellington - take the cable car for an amazing view, walk back via the Botanic Gardens, enjoy the superior national museum Te Papa, watch LOTR back to back in the restored cinemas.

I could go on, but yea Auckland is not as fun as it might be, but if you venture out to One Tree Hill or the harbour or botanic gardens or summat and it can be an idkle bit more interesting than what is made out.

KlodaX

sounds scenic .... and relaxing.

silverside

all sounds cool.

I have 4-6 weeks in NZ this Sept/Oct and want to fit as much as I can in.

I havent made my itinerary out yet - does anyone want to help me out and make a very rough one out?

at the moment i am thinking
North island 2 weeks (want do do glow-worm cave, volcano, and all the stuff bringitdown mentioned)
south island 2 weeks
(what to see? - want to do a glacier walk and a bungee jump, dunno what else)

fly home and start work

johnnyboy4711

Spent over a year in each of them!
Each country has a lot to offer defo!
But the Kiwis are more down to earth i found!
Like a irish england rivalry(NZ-OZ).
Would go back in the morning!!!
NZ is about the size of england,scotland and wales!
Much easier to travel around than Oz!
1 1/2 hour flight you can be from surf beaches in north auckland to ski fields in central otago!
Total class!!!
Plus they kick aussie ass in rugby every chance they get!!!
later
have a good one matey!
johnnyboy

johnnyboy4711

Way more to do in the south island for sure!!!
10days north the rest south fly into Auckland and out of Christchurch!
Milford sound, Queenstown, Wanaka,Dunedin,kaikoura just to name a few!!!
check out www.nz.com,www.newzealand.com,www.tourism.net.nz,nzpages.co.nz
just grab a search engine and go for it man
later
j