My long awaited vacation trip to Australia and New Zealand is finally here. I’ve talked a lot about the planning and booking process for this trip using Delta miles.
My trans-pacific flights are on Virgin Australia, which I anticipate being quite packed due to the Qantas strike. Its a bit concerning taking off for many hours of flying, not exactly knowing what I will find when I land early Tuesday morning in Sydney. Once there I have a Virgin Australia flight up to Cairns. I am hoping to use the Virgin Australia lounge in Sydney prior to my flight to clean up and get some food before that flight, but that also may be affected by the since Qantas elites are given free access during the strike.
I will try to do quick hits as able while traveling, but expect a full trip report upon my return.
Here is my final routing:
The outbound has long layovers in LAX and SYD, so I hope to do some exploring in both places. Then a few days out of contact while on a boat Scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef. After that back to SYD, and trans-Tasman flights to explore New Zealand most visited spots according to https://absoluteaustralia.com/.
This trip has a few new airlines for me, V Australia, and one NZ domestic leg on Jetstar. Also some new destinations, as I’ve never been anywhere in New Zealand or to Melbourne. I’m also looking forward to a stay at the Park Hyatt Melbourne on our way back. While in New Zealand, we have a few stays at Hilton properties, but lots of B&B and local places, which should be a nice change.
I’ll take lots of photos and post while I can. Happy flying!
