2013 Travel in Review

This is now my third year of doing reviews (2011 and 2012), and I think I've had a pretty big year. In fact we went on a trip somewhere every month except November.

January 2013
Started with a visit from DHs family and lunch at both Bills and Barrenjoey House

I took a family trip to Hawaii and Las Vegas, including a stay at the Cosmopolitan, dinner at Serendipity 3, dinner at Roys, Dinner at Lawry's Prime Rib and brunch at Mon Ami Gabi  at the end of the month

February 2013
We celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary in Newcastle

March 2013
We spent Easter and DH's birthday at the stunning Wolgan Valley

April 2013
I celebrated my sisters birthday with a girls lunch at Jamie Olivers

May 2013
We had dinner at Bell's at Killcare

I did the Nike She Runs 10K, so we stayed at the Blue at Woolloomolloo and breakfast at the Boy Charlton Pool Cafe

June 2013
We spent a night at The Darling and had dinner at Sokyo

July 2013
DH went to visit family in the Cook Islands and my sister, mother and I had a nice weekend at Spicers in the Hunter Valley

August 2013
We went to the Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney and stayed at the new QT, Sydney

September 2013
We ran the Blackmore's Sydney Half marathon and stayed at the Hilton

October 2013
Off to Africa, including:
Johannesburg, South Africa
Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Tangerine National Park, Tanzania

Lake Manyara National Park, TanzaniaSerengeti, TanzaniaNgorongoro Crater, TanzaniaGreater Kruger, South AfricaMarakele National Park, South AfricaKhama Rhino Sanctuary, BotswanaMaun, BotswanaOkavango Delta, BotswanaMakgadikgadi Pans, Nata, BotswanaChobe National Park, BotswanaVictoria Falls, ZimbabweLivingstone Island and The Devil's Pool, Zambia


December 2013
Melbourne for work

Lunch at Newcastle beach

A birthday lunch for me at Iceberg's Bondi Beach

Finishing of the year with a trip to Philadelphia, Washington DC, and a midnight run in Central Park - posts to follow in the new year!

Transiting in Nairobi

September 2013

We tried to avoid travelling through Nairobi, but when our flight to Kilimanjaro through Kigali got cancelled we were left with no choice.

Nairobi is lets say an interesting airport,  and the recent fire hadn't helped things.

The issue isn't so much the age but the organisation of the "smaller" flights out of one gate.

We did manage to get the correct flight and it did leave on time so it was definitely not our worst airport experience, maybe because it was a better experience than I had been warned about.

Long weekends of the past

I always avoided travelling over long weekends, prices were higher, airports were busier, it was generally school holiday time and more screaming kids, but a few years back I decided we could be wasting a good free three or four days and have tried to travel each Easter and October (Labour Day in NSW).

Easter 2012 - Wilson Island, Queensland

Easter 2011 - Bay of Fires, Tasmania

Easter 2010 - Daintree/Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

October Long Weekend 2012 - Hobart, Tasmania

October Long Weekend 2011 - Lord Howe Island, Australia

Or we use the public holiday to extend an otherwise already lengthy trip, such as:

Australia Day 2013 - Waikiki, USA

Australia Day 2012 - Tahiti, French Polynesia

I'll keep you posted in a few weeks where we spend Easter 2013.

The type of traveler I am not...

You might have seen my travel style post, but this is a post on the type of traveler I am not....

Trendy

If I ever cover trendy locations it's usually because of the view, the location in general or the food tastes good. In fact if I go to a place that was once deemed trendy, it's no longer trendy. I love to follow other blogs where people go to trendy bars and hotels, but it's not my thing.

Thrill Seeker

I love the great outdoors and I love a challenge, but I can't see myself jumping out of a plane anytime soon. DH on the other hand....

Long term stayers

Our trips can range from over night to 6 weeks, but we don't like to stay in the one place for long. Time is short, we see what we can, when we can and don't worry too much that we might miss something because we only have 8 hours one location. I'm also convinced the people that claim you need to spend a week in each location have never been to Nazca....

Spontaneous

I like planning, I like to have a plan and I like to be planned. I would never show up somewhere without a booking or without a list of things to do and places to eat. Having said that, if plans change or fall apart due to delayed flights I am also luckily patient.

Tips for 1st time travellers

I've been fortunate enough to travel a fair bit and from a young age, but for many people if they're travelling for the first time, especially to a foreign country where the language and culture is different from home it can be a bit over whelming. So some of my tips for first time travelers:

Be patient
It's one of the things I've been able to pick up when travelling in the Pacific Islands. Be patient, don't expect everything to run to a schedule (even if there is one printed), don't expected everyone to understand your stilted Spanish or your frantic hand signs and don't be surprised when things aren't the same as at home. Relax, your on holiday!

Travel light
I've seen many travel articles where people say put everything you think you need and then halve it. I've never had this issue, and generally travel with the same for a 1 week trip vs a 6 week trip. How? I only take what I truly need, I pack clothes for about 4 days and then wash on the go (have you never noticed the repeat of outfits on this blog) and I travel for comfort.

Learn key phrases
DH and I suck at foreign languages  I tried to learn Mandarin in my younger years and it either gets greeted with giggles or looks of disgust. The thing is I am trying and those few key phrases can help break the ice (if you get the giggling response). If all else fails take a small phrase book.

Leave your comfort zone
I'm an overly organised person, too much perhaps. But when I travel I sometimes just have to go with the flow. For others it's trying a new dish, or talking to strangers or dealing with bugs in the jungle. Whatever it is take it as all part of the travel journey.

Respect the local customs
I've seen it on every trip. The women who go with their shoulders uncovered to temples and then mutter under their breaths when they're refused entry. The men who want to be able to drink in public during Ramadan in Muslim countries. Sometimes it is hard to know what the don thing is in each country, customs in one part might be different in another. But do some reading before hand, speak to others that have traveled there and when in doubt when a local says make sure you shoulders are covered in the temples of Siam Reap, don't debate with them why you feel that's an outdated practice.

Travel Insurance
We've been lucky and never needed it, but we purchase it on every trip. You hear horror stories of broken legs costing 10's of 1000's of dollars, of getting hit by another driver in your hire car and still being slugged with the cost or natural disasters hitting and the trip being extended with no way to fund it. Don't risk it, either purchase travel insurance or make sure your home insurance covers you overseas (I think some US companies do).

Travel by Accommodation

We've been lucky to travel to some a wide variety of places and the accommodation we've used has varied from the luxuriousness to the basic. They each have there advantage and disadvantages. Sometimes when all your doing is sleeping at the place basic is all you need, other times there's not a lot of option. Glamping has become a newer thing in Australia, which I personally love because it has the advantages of camping with a touch (or two) of luxury! So these are our favourites by "category"

Luxury
Hands down it has to be Lord Howe Island and the Capella Lodge.

The Bay of Fires lodge used during the Bay of Fires Walk is a close second.

Glamping
This is a toss up between Paperbark Camp in Jervis Bay (which reminds I'll have to blog about that sometime soon) and Wilson Island, which is well know for it's "Ship wreaked in Style" feel.

Camping
We haven't done a lot of this lately, but the place we slept on day 1 of the Inca Trail had a spectacular view, and someone else set up your tent for you.

Boutique
This one is difficult we've staying in quite a few small, boutique places, including the Islington Hotel in Hobart.

Hostels
This is the prime example of where to stay when you want to spend little money, and there's one country that does them extremely well - New Zealand. The room we stayed in in Te Anau to base ourselves for our Sound cruises was clean, private (you can choose private rooms with or without private baths) and inexpensive.

Boat
We haven't done a lot of this, cruising isn't really our thing, but there are some places that are better seen by boat, such as our cruise on Doubtful Sound or our cruise in the Galapagos. Our boat in the Galapagos was our favourite, mainly due to the low number of guests (16).

Budget
Some trips we've been on a tight budget, so it can be a mater of how to we find budget accommodation without a tent and without staying in a hostel? One good example of this is the cabins we stayed at in Kings Canyon National Park in California, they were a great low cost option right in the park.

Standard
This is a bit of a broad group, and maybe should be other. I guess out of everything left the Hotel Bristol in Opatija with it's gorgeous sea views also belongs on this list.

Where is your favourite accommodation? Do you tend to stick to the same style?

To tour or not to tour

Everyone has their own travel style. Most people have strong opinion one way or another on traveling in groups or a tour group. We do a mix and match. Why? Because there are advantages and disadvantages to both:

Advantages of a tour group

• There's a coup or a natural disaster someone has already figured out your alternative arrangements and made on the bookings (this includes minor things such as planes being cancelled)
• You can pack as many things into as tight a time frame as you have
• If your travelling alone it's a great way to meet other people, even as a couple it's great to travel with like minded people
• The your transport, accommodation and tips of the areas your visiting are pre-planned, and for most of the trips we do there's time to do your own thing
• If you can't speak the language or don't speak more than a few key phrases a group can give you more security

Advantages of doing it on your own

• You can change your itinerary just because you liked a specific location
• You can mix and match activities to suit your mood or style
• You can choose your own accommodation based on where you are and what you've heard
• Sometimes you want to immerse yourself in one city for that one trip and pick up side tours as you go along

Disadvantages of a tour group

• There can be the over whelming personality Tip: Just go with the flow, sometimes by fussing you can make it worse
• Even in a group that you get along with after a certain time period on a bus you just want a break Tip: Choose a tour where there is free time and/or optional activities build it
• Some tours include things like meals, which limits you to more of the tourist style places Tip: Choose a tour with limited add on meals and do your own research
• You can spend all your time on a bus/train/ferry Tip: Research the tour company and itinerary well before you book, don't be afraid to email the company and ask them lots of questions
• Someone has always been somewhere you never thought of travelling to and you end up crossing off 5 countries this trip to add 20 to your wish list Tip:  The world is large, add it to your list, who knows what you've been missing

Disadvantages of doing it on your own

• If you can't speak the language a boarder crossing can become lots more complex, or as we saw with a couple on the Thai/Cambodian boarder, stuck without transportation Tip: Research before you go to learn key phrases or find other travelers that have done it before
• Costs can be more of a unknown, if exchange rates fluctuate unfavorably then the price goes up, or you don't get the group rate Tip: Plan ahead or if you like to be spontaneous then add some beef to your budget for the what if's
• You can spend half your time trying to figure out where the doggy parts of town are, or what really is the best place to eat guinea pig Tip: Talk to other travelers as you go to see what they're experiences were, usually you can find someone who's just been to the place your headed to

So for one or more of those reasons we either do it alone, join a tour or do it in combination. It's really up to you and what you find to be the advantages or disadvantages, just don't tell me I'm not doing it "right" when I travel with a group :)

If your looking at small group travel two groups I recommend are:

Intrepid Travel - small group adventures based in Australia
G Adventures (previously GAP) - small group adventures based in Canada

Travel by Season

We don't always plan our trips based on what the best season is. But since we've started to do more outdoor related activities this has been more important  It was interesting to look through our recent trips and think of them in terms of the season, depending on the location it wasn't always easy to pick!


Summer
We got mostly dry weather when visiting the Milford and Doubtful Sounds of New Zealand.

Yet it was hot and humid, when visiting the Iguazu Falls.

Winter
We live in a location with a relatively mild winter, so Vegas in January isn't too bad. Especially considering DH is wearing a T-shirt in this photo.

Most of our rugby trips are taken in the Southern Hemisphere winter (being a winter game and all), including this game in Auckland in July.

Spring
Spring in the California National Parks such as Yosemite can be pretty spectacular, with the snow melting the falls are in full swing.

While the weather wasn't fantastic for our trip to Lord Howe Island, I think the season helped the green's in the fantastic scenery and also meant it was warm enough to go swimming.

Fall/Autumn
The leaves were starting to change on our trip to the Plitvice Lakes in Croatia.

It was also autumn when we visited Launceston prior to our Bay of Fires hike in Tasmania.

Do you have a favourite season to travel in?

Travel by photo

Some of my favourites since the age of digital photography (or more to the point since I embraced digital photography!).

Lord Howe Island, Australia
This is a favourite because it was our outlook for breakfast each day we stayed on Lord Howe Island, but the different shades of green and blue show the diversity of the Island.

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
This was one of the places DH pushed for us to visit (normally its the other way around) and I like the colour of the water, matched with the rushing water.

Doubtful Sound, NZ
We had been disappointed with our trip the day before on Milford Sound, but I knew it would be a different experience when we hit this lookout on our way down to Doubtful Sound.

Galapagos, Equador
There are so many pictures from our trip to the Galapagos Islands, but this seal, combined with the red vegetation behind it made me think of home.

Bay of Fires Walk, Tasmania
The combination of the white of the lighthouse, the texture of the body of the lighthouse and the ripples caused by the wind in this picture make me remember what became a sunny lunch break.

Mauke, Cook Islands
We spent hours watching waves roll in the day this picture was taken. The blue in the waves and sky are calming for me.

Machu Picchu, Peru

I can remember how I felt when we took this picture, after four days hiking at altitude and a early morning start, seeing Machu Picchu was so much more spectacular than I expected it to be (and than this picture shows).

Kings Canyon National Park, California

I don't know what I love about this picture, but we have this one in a few places over the house (including framed in A3 size), I think part of it is the sunlight on the left hand side.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Cambodia
A typical shot taken at Angkor Wat, but it's the colours that I love in it.

Where's your favourite picture taken from? What makes it your favourite?

Travel Quotes

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain 

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

"Life is a journey, not a destination"  - Unknown

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover" - Mark Twain

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." -Miriam Beard

"Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going." - Paul Theroux

"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time." - Stephen Wright "The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it."- Rudyard Kipling "To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world."  - Freya Stark "Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world." - Gustave Flaubert

What's your favourite travel related quote?

What travel style?

People travel for different reasons. For some it's to get away from it all and lay by the resort/hotel pool. For others it's to eat their way through a city or country. For some it's all about immersing yourself in the local culture.

For me it's a combination of many things and depends on the time we have available.

History:
I'm a history buff so like to check out historical monuments, museums and listening to locals stories.

Mostar

Angkor Wat Cambodia

Food:
But as you would have seen from previous sites I also like food. I haven't yet made a decision on where to travel based on what will be available to eat (because I will try almost anything once), but I defiantly will seek out the local cuisine, such as Chili Crab in Singapore or that unusual restaurant, like the place - M Restaurant - in Budapest that was covered in brown paper.

M Restaurant Budapest

Bubble Bar and Cafe, Melbourne

Outdoors:
I'm big on the great outdoors, so National Parks are high on my list, like Kings Canyon National Park in California. But recently so is hiking like the Bay of Fires in Tasmania. We actually have a dream trip that picks off a number of National parks on the west side of the USA we hope to do someday.

Yoesmite National Park California

Plitvice Lake, Croatia

Local:
We like to try and keep things "sustainable" when we travel to locations, particularly those in the third world or developing countries. Sustainable means different things to different people, but for us it's trying to stay local (although we will stay in the Hilton on an odd occasion!), eating local produce (like eating at Friends in Cambodia) in locally owned restaurants and trying to make sure that basic human requirements are met, such as porters rights on the Inca Trail. This is one can be difficult to implement depending on what it means to you.

Staying local in Mauke

Eating at a local Yum Cha place in Hong Kong

Comfort:
On different trips this will mean different things. Sometimes it can be that you get your own bathroom (no communal showers!), other times it can be that your relatively isolated with good food like our trip to Wilson Island. It's not a key criteria, but we always try to do one thing that has a high level of comfort.

The Hilton Moorea (breaking the keeping it local style above)

Rugby:
For DH it's all about can he squeeze in another AllBlacks game.

RWC QF4 2011 Auckland

What's your travel style?