Our plans are indeed underway. We have spent many months in dreaming and anticipation. Getting closer to travel time, the past month has been cause for more intense organization. One says that planning is half the fun but I am here to say that it is only on some days that I can agree. The fact is that we have made a trip such as this before so we know what to expect.
There is nothing more fun than the trip itself although planning is fun it really increases the excitement. Careful planning will also establish and determine your budget to help avoid getting to a location where all hotels are booked! All of our passports are in order as well as our visas to enter Australia. These are also known at ETA’s and are available thru a travel agent, airline or online thru the Australian Department of Immigration.
We will fly from our home in Port Angeles, Washington to Los Angeles and then on to Auckland, New Zealand aboard Qantas Airlines. Our traveling companions will fly from Portland. Since we cross the International dateline, we will not arrive until.
It will indeed be a long flight but after a meal and movie, we will hope to drift off to sleep and conserve energy for arrival. Air travel internationally is a great deal more comfortable than that of domestic flights. One is advised to plan ahead to prevent jet lag by adjusting sleeping schedules to better accommodate the time zone for your destination.
Drinking lots of fluids and avoiding a big meal before boarding is well advised. Most all International flights will serve a big meal soon after take off. You won’t want to be too full to enjoy it. Take a good book, magazines or calming music. If you are traveling with kids, print the pages at Kids southcaribootourism.com It is a good idea to limit alcohol as well as carbonated beverages. The bubbles rise and can make one uncomfortable.
Since our travel dates are during a very busy travel time Down Under (it will be Summer), we know we need to secure accommodations for motor homes well in advance. Our reservations are with Affordable Motor Home Rentals in Christchurch, New Zealand and although we fly into Auckland, these folks will meet us at the airport with both motor homes.
We were so impressed with these folks both thru e.mail and phone conversations. They offered to meet us at the airport! We soon realized that they always offer this service! This is true Kiwi hospitality. We have booked two vehicles; one for Michael and Christine and the other for Lynn and I. We will have sleeping accommodations, cooking facilities and a bathroom. Beyond that, we know little!
We will spend two weeks visiting both North and South Islands and hope to cover lots of areas that will be of interest to you; caravan (RV) parks, attractions, and many special interests. We want to delve into the cultural influence, music and foods. We have been in touch with many venues to arrange for detailed information and will be sharing that with you as we travel.
We fly to Sydney Australia. We have reservations at a hotel and will be covering interests in the big city. Since the hotel is centrally located and on the fringe of the Sydney City Central Business District, we understand that it is an easy 7-minute walk to Central Station and attractions such as Darling Harbour, the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
We do not plan to rent a car for the four days but instead see how we do with the city transportation system. Many of you have asked about this since you have hesitations about driving on “the other side of the road.” We will let you know how well we can get around. Lynn and Michael plan on crossing the Harbour Bridge; Christine and I want to see the Australian Wildlife Park.
We will pick up motor homes from Maui and Britz to offer a comparison in vehicles. We tentatively plan on heading toward Melbourne then back toward NSW on the Hume Highway. That is tentative with four of us wanting to do it all, we will take a daily vote or flip a coin.
We all know that our impulsive ideas are always the best guide. Our best advice for planning a trip such as this is to leave 50% of your time open for last minute planning. When tied to a schedule, you will either be rushed from enjoying a particular event or attraction or not have time to stop at something that is of special intrigue.
+ There are no comments
Add yours