We have a rough itinerary jotted out which enabled us to book a couple of internal flights and sort out hire car rentals in advance to get some good deals. After speaking to several people about the hot spots in OZ and what to do whilst we're there we opted to skip on the west coast this time round and soak up all the adventures on offer on the east coast of the country.
As i write we are on board flying into Sydney where we'll spend the new year period in the city, joining an expected 1.6 million people by the harbour bridge to welcome in The new year.
2012 has been a cracker for us and we want to build on this significantly on the coming year. Two weeks in Sydney will get us nicely around the area and up into the famous blue mountains region.
2012 has been a cracker for us and we want to build on this significantly on the coming year. Two weeks in Sydney will get us nicely around the area and up into the famous blue mountains region.
From here we'll catch another flight on up to Cairns at the north of the country and pick up a car to spend about 3 weeks driving down to Brisbane, making the most of the Great Barrier Reef and Gold Coast on route. Another plane across to the south in Adelaide for a few weeks then drive over to Melbourne to wrap things up.
We've found that planes are likely to be our best mode for transport. OZ is simply massive and whilst driving in New Zealand meant we had complete freedom and plenty to see and do on route, in OZ we anticipate that driving will not only hit the bank hard with fuel costs but will also involve probably days upon days of sleepy eyed cruising down long dusty baron roads. For accommodation we have our trusty tent and she's a beaut. Easy up and easy down but will no doubt heat up like a sauna in direct sunlight. Campervan would have been great but at this time off year it would have cost and arm and leg, and I know that Naomi wants to keep her legs and mine are only good for scrap anyway.
So too be honest it's all been pretty straight forward so far, but if I had to put things into one word I would say that word was "Planning". Without research, budgeting and being resourceful it simply wouldn't be anywhere near as comfortable for us. I just can't imagine being a person that turns up in a place with no plans, no money, no transport no nothing and then wants to go travelling around!? How can that be any fun?! Anyone who calls that liberating and "going with the flow" is frankly talking out their backside. Perhaps its just the way we are. we like to know roughly what we're doing, where we going, how much it will cost etc, because if you don't surely its not only dangerous but almost certainly a damn site more expensive totally uncomfortable. And it isn't about having money - its about being organised and investing some time to prepare. I appreciate that some things you cant plan for, but if you stick to some basic principles there is always a solution. We're well organised and get better at it every day, learning all the time from people around us - that's probably our secret.
NZ was incredible and we pretty much saw and did everything in our 3 months there, including spending some long overdue and memorable time with family and friends. We both feel very lucky to have my folks, their friends and Neil and Janine out there and it's fantastic to see them enjoying the life they have all worked hard for. Well deserved.
And so in about 45 minutes we'll touch down in the land of spiders, sharks and snakes...sounds appealing huh?
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