Planning

Booking Segments 1-3 Europe 2012

Posted on February 26, 2012
Booking Europe 2012

Originally I had planned to have all of my bookings complete by early February. Alas, that did not work out as planned. However, I can confirm that I have completed booking the majority of the first three stages of the journey.

What Is Booked

In saying that I have booked these stages, what I mean is the hotels and transport are booked. These are the main things that I primarily care about. Having a bed to sleep in each night and knowing how I will be getting there.

The flights I have booked will take me from Brisbane > Seoul > London > Vienna > Berlin > Manchester > New York > Fort Lauderdale. With hotels booked as needed in each of these cities. Additionally, I have the cruise booked, which is one of the first bookings that I made.

What Is Not Booked

In my post “Europe 2012 Booking & Planning Outline” I mentioned that I would like to pre-book some tours. At this stage, I have not chosen or booked any tours, but still, would like to try and organise some before leaving. How possible this will be is going to depend on booking the last two segments of the trip first. But I feel confident that I will be able to organise some tours in advance.

The other thing I had considered trying to pre-book was airport transfers. In the end, I have decided to take the same approach as in the past and leave it until arrival. I might be able to do some research on what is available before leaving home. But it gets little complicated booking things in some cities. From what I can tell many European cities have good public transport anyway.

Benefits Of Booking Early

There are a couple of benefits that I have found from booking especially tours before leaving home. Booking tours for example before leaving home can help to limit the amount of cash you may need to carry. It also gives you a better idea of what the overall trip may end up costing.

Booking before leaving home can also help to ensure tour availability. In the past, I have tried to book tours when I arrive in a city with mixed results. In Las Vegas, I was able to book tours without a problem. However, in San Francisco a tour I would have liked to do was full and I had to miss it.

Finally especially when it comes to tours on the cruise ship availability is a big thing. Many of the tours that of interest often have limited availability. With everyone able to access booking online, some do book out before boarding.

What’s Next

I still have the two segments after the cruise to finish booking. Although, some of these are locked in I am still not certain on a couple of the destinations. The ideas are there, but I keep seeing alternatives and weighing up options.

I do still expect to have everything finalised before leaving home. The last thing I want to be doing is spending time in a city where I have already limited time booking hotels. I have faced this challenge in the past and I can tell you it is a real buzz killer. I hope to have the rest of the bookings finalised soon and will post when I do.

Needs Photos

Piecing Together The Travel Jigsaw

Posted on February 5, 2012

Everyone approaches the concept of travelling in a different way. Many people’s ideas may overlap or have certain aspects that are shared, but they do differ in little ways. Some people may see travel as a plan like you might draw up plans for a house. Others see travel is a board game, where each new step is based on the roll of the dice. While I tend to look at travel like a jigsaw puzzle, putting all the pieces together.

The thought had never truly occurred to me that I saw travel in this way. It was only a passing comment by my mother that got me thinking about it. Just the way I do things like grabbing at pieces until they all fit together and become the full picture.

No Traditional Jigsaw

When I did a little more thinking on travel as a jigsaw puzzle, it is not the traditional jigsaw puzzle. My travels are more like puzzles inside puzzles almost. The puzzle starts out as one big puzzle with just a couple of pieces. Before each of those pieces breaks out into some other pieces.

If you were to look at the starting puzzle for my upcoming Europe trip it has five main pieces. You might have seen me refer to these as stages in the past. But they are pre-cruise Europe, pre-cruise USA, Cruise, post-cruise Europe, and post-cruise USA. If you look at each piece, there are some smaller pieces that make each one up.

So, for example, pre-cruise Europe at this stage breaks down into some smaller parts. At the moment it includes time in Seoul, Vienna, Berlin & Manchester. Each of these smaller pieces than contains further smaller pieces such as flights, hotels, and attractions to visit.

Putting Together the Jigsaw

Putting the whole jigsaw together is not all that easy before leaving home though. With three levels of pieces, it can be a challenge. The big pieces, in this case, were easy to put together. In the end, the pieces on the next level down did require a little messing around. Getting them in just the right order did take a little manipulating, very much a reminder of a jigsaw.

But that third layer of the smallest pieces was a much greater challenge to make sense of. While a couple of pieces would fall into place before hand. Things like the hotels and the travel between places took some adjusting but got there in the end.

You see there are a whole bunch of little pieces that just do not seem to work together until you are in the right place. The pieces that include what to see, where to go and how to get around on a day to day basis.

More Pieces Than Needed

The biggest challenge in putting together the pieces in the second level is that there are many extra pieces. When you start trying to fill in that big piece of Europe, there are hundreds of different pieces you could fit in there. They do not always work together so it can take a little work to make it fit. Finding the pieces that are most appealing to you.

How does your travel jigsaw look

What does you travel look like, a jigsaw puzzle, a plan, or a board game? Are you getting your pieces together or just playing it by the roll of the dice. Let me know in the comments below.

Needs Photos

Tips For Getting Through Airport Security

Posted on January 29, 2012

The one thing that often makes travel a challenge for people is the idea of tacking the Airport Security Checkpoint. If there is one thing that you tend to learn from taking over twenty flight through over a dozen different airports is how to handle passing the security check point without any problems.

How I Started Out

The first few times that I went through airport security were my worst nightmares come true. I would have my bags all packed perfect, knowing what was where and then you would have to pull them open to get to your laptop to put separate, along with liquids and such.

I can remember multiple times when I was not prepared at all, pulling my laptop out. Then fishing through my pockets for phone, keys, wallet, coins, and the watch off my arm. It is easy enough to pull everything out in a matter of seconds and throw it in the tray. But then on top of that you need to remember your belt (with the metal buckle) and shoes (some have a metal brace).

The hardest part is trying to get it all back together once you are through the security check point, and making sure you have everything. All while a whole lot of other people are coming through behind you all trying to do the same.

How I Handle Security Now (plus a few tips)

Depending on the line of people I can have security handled in a very short time now. I literally am at the point where I can walk to security, open bag and place laptop in a tray, close bag and put on conveyer, walk through the gate, return laptop to bag and walk away. With the only additional step take off and put on shoes where required.

Achieving this all comes down to how you prepare for the trip through security. Which I hope the tips below will help you make this trip a lot easier.

  • The first thing is be prepared. Find a place, you feel comfortable and transfer everything from your pockets and body that you would normally put in the tray to your carry on bag. This would mean your wallet, phone, keys, watch, jewellery, Ipod, camera, notebook, pens, and anything else that creates a bulge or is made of metal. This should include your Belt and money belt if carrying one. You can leave your belt to take off at the checkpoint if you really need it to keep your clothes where they should be.
  • Pack your laptop close to the top or in an easy to get to place in your carry on luggage. The number of times I have watched someone having to go digging to find their laptop, so keep it easy to get to.
  • Carry On Liquids are almost NEVER permitted through the security check point. This means no cans of soft drink, no bottled water, no liquor or any other liquids over 3oz in size. For Liquids of 3oz or smaller they generally MUST be in a clear zip lock bag of approximately 20x20cm. In addition in some cases approved duty free packaging may allow you to carry larger quantities. HOWEVER IT IS ADVISED TO CHECK WHAT IS AND IS NOT ALLOWED TO GO THROUGH SECURITY WITH THE AIRPORT YOU ARE TRAVELLING THROUGH. Medication is generally ok, as long as you follow the correct procedure, but otherwise err on the side of caution and leave it behind.
  • There is a fairly common range of items that are not allowed through security at all. These include items such as any form of blade, firearms, nail clippers, scissors, explosives, ect. Most airports will post this limitations in a lot of different locations well before security. while some of them are common sense not to take with you for a flight, others you may not think about. If In doubt, LEAVE IT AT HOME.
  • Finally in many airports you need to show some form of id and your boarding pass to security. Rather then trying to fumble around and put this away in the proper place or someone different to where you normally put it. I have never had a problem carrying these through the security gate.

These are pretty much all the things that I keep in mind when going through security. Keep in mind though that some airports may be different and can have higher or lower levels of security. The one thing that you should always remember is to use common sense, and don’t argue with the security officer. While some rules are bendable by discretion, you will find it more difficult if you raise your voice or get on the offensive right away.

Keeping these things in mind will generally make your time in the security area at any airport just a bit easier. Unfortunately the one thing that we cannot change is how other people handle this process. Even though you may be ready most other people will be very much unprepared for this so unfortunately patience is still needed.

Just remember that it the officer’s may be a little abrupt or rude at times, but think about it if you had to repeat the same thing to every person all day and argue over the same items that are not allowed constantly. You would probably be pulling your hair out by the end of the day, so if you make their job a little easier and be patient things should be much more smoothly for you.

Planning

Final Outline For Europe 2012 Trip

Posted on January 18, 2012
Planning Europe 2012

** Note: 2016 Update. The below post is a summary of five original posts for booking the five stages of my Europe 2012 trip. I made the amalgamation of posts when I transitioned from joelbrown.com.au to travelexplored.com in January 2017 **

Time is ticking away as I move towards departing for Europe with just 50-days until I leave for London. In the last week, I have been putting in a lot of time researching a number of destinations. Right now I feel that I have a good plan ready to start getting some bit booked.

Breaking The Trip Down

I have split the trip into five segments to make it a little easier to handle, rather than looking at everything as a whole. These segments are as follows,

Segment #1 : 15-days Europe pre-cruise

Segment #2 : 10-days USA pre-cruise

Segment #3 : 29-day Transatlantic cruise

Segment #4 : 17-days Europe post cruise

Segment #5 : 10-days Canada post cruise

As it stands the time frame for each segment is locked in based on the bookings I have already made. Below I will briefly cover What I have established for each segment. Keeping in mind that this is the plan and most of this is still not booked.

Segment 1: Europe pre-cruise

My original plan for Europe was to spend plenty of time exploring Europe in Depth. The plan has changed somewhat with this first segment being around 15 Days. However, this also includes 2 days it will take to travel from Brisbane to London, with an overnight stop in Seoul, South Korea.

City Visits

I will be staying in four different cities for this segment, including London, Vienna, Berlin and Manchester. London and Manchester are just overnight stays to avoid problems if there are any flight delays.

Vienna, Austria

I originally chose Vienna, sort of at random. However, the more research I have done the more I feel excited about visiting the city. An additional benefit of Vienna is the ability to join tours to visit two other countries. These are Hungry and Slovenia, I am unsure if I will take advantage of this, but the option is there. I have allowed 10 days in Vienna, which I hope will not be too much.

Berlin, Germany

Berlin has been a change from Frankfurt since my first plan. The main reason for this has been from my research, Berlin seems like a much more tourist friendly city. Berlin does seem to have a lot to offer both from a historical point of view and here and now perspective. I have allowed 3 days in Berlin.

Segment #2: USA pre-cruise

The USA arrived on the itinerary for my Europe trip when I booked the Transatlantic cruise. Due to the timing of my trip, the cruise was going Eastbound from the USA to Europe. Since I was going to be in America anyway I figured it a good chance to visit New York, and Fort Lauderdale pre-cruise.

City Visits

New York, USA

When you fly to America from Australia,most often you arrive in Los Angeles. If you want to get to New York it is over 5 hours, each way to fly. I decided it would be great opportunity to visit while I needed to be on the East Coast for the cruise. I have allowed 4 days in New York.

Fort Lauderdale, USA

Fort Lauderdale is where I embark for the Transatlantic cruise, so I thought it a good place to visit beforehand. Having allowed five days here, and I would have wanted to be overnight here anyway. From my research, there is not a lot here, but hopefully, I can fill in the time.

Segment #3: Transatlantic cruise

The Cruise is a Transatlantic & Mediterranean cruise for a total of 29 days. A total of 11 days is at sea, with seven of those days just to cross the Atlantic. There will be 16 port visits in five different countries, with two overnight stays in port. Looks like a great cruise to me and it will be my longest cruise to date.

Port Calls

Portugal

There are four ports of call in Portugal. The first two are both islands off the coast of Portugal names Horta and Ponta Delgada. These are followed by an overnight stop in Lisbon, and a day in Portimao.

Spain

There are three ports of call in Spain. The first is Cadiz (Seville) which is on the Atlantic coast of Spain. After entering the Mediterranean there are calls at Malaga and Barcelona.

Italy

Italy has the most ports with five different stops. The first is Livorno (also covers Florence and Pisa) befoe heading south to Civitavecchia (Rome). These two ports are followed by Naples and Catania. The final port for the cruise is an overnight in Venice, but there are port calls to Greece and Croatia before this.

Greece

There are three port calls in Greece over three days, which include Nafplion, Katakolon and Kerkira.

Croatia

Just one port call in Croatia, to the city of Dubrovnik, and the last port of call before heading to Venice to Disembark.

Segment #4: Europe post cruise

The second part of my time is Europe is potentially a little different since I have booked the cruise. The cruise allows me to visit a couple of cities that I otherwise would have wanted to visit by land. I have allowed three nights in each city, giving me two full and two part days in each city. In addition to the main stops, I will also spend overnight in Venice after the cruise.

City Visits

Nice, France

I have heard nice things about this area along the French Riviera. The toss up was between Nice and Marseille. In the end, Nice won out due to the proximity to Monaco with the potential of a day tour here.

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels was a destination I wanted to visit for two reasons. The first was that I have a friend who lives here that I want to visit. The second is that I think it would be a nice city to explore as well.

Copenhagen, Denmark

When you go back on my family tree, there is quite a lot of family from Denmark. As such, there are some relatives that I am able to contact and organise to spend a day with.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is a city with a certain reputation. However, in researching destinations there seems to be more to Amsterdam. I can see from my research there are some interesting places to explore so it is on the list.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland as a destination had never occurred to me as an idea. But when I was booking flights, I had found Iceland Air to provide the best value between Europe and USA. Since I need to fly this route twice I decided to add a few days to see what Iceland is about.

Segment #5: Canada

Initially, I had considered spending some time in America. But in the end, have opted for two stops in Canada before an overnight stop in Los Angeles before flying home.

City Visits

Toronto, Canada

My choice to visit Toronto is based on spending time with a friend who lives here. Of course, there is going to be sightseeing as well, but it is always nice to see a city with a local.

Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver is also a choice based on meeting with a friend that lives in Seattle. They are organising some time off work and will meet me here to enjoy a different city. In the past, I have visited them twice in Seattle so this could be fun.

Other Information

Seeing the Sights

In most of the cities that I will be visiting I have allowed not much time to see the area. As such I will be looking to balance most stops between a tour and my own exploration.

I have been using a website that I recently discovered to look at some potential tours for each city. The website is www.viator.com and it is very useful with a lot of excellent information on tour options. I like the website because it is  in English and saves the problem of trying to locate individual tour operators. As well as if the benefit of booking in advance without trying to find space on a tour when you arrive in a city.

More Soon

At this stage the above seems like it will be what I go with. However, there is still a lot that needs to be booked and a chance that things could change. But I will look to update along the way as I get things booked and locked in.

Planning

Europe 2012 Planning & Booking Options

Posted on January 8, 2012

I am sitting down to write this post for the third time now. To get something published and share about my upcoming trip to Europe. Primarily I have faced a couple of self-imposed challenges in getting anything planned and booked for this journey.

The trip started with a couple of left over pieces of bookings from changes I made to my last trip. There is a return flight from Los Angles to Brisbane, A Transatlantic cruise I booked & a flight from Europe to America.

Either way from what I have already booked in 58 days I will be boarding a plane. The flight is from Brisbane to London, and at this stage I have some 51 days of travel still to plan and book. But let’s have a look at my challenges, and what I am currently thinking about to fill in this time.

The Challenges

There are two challenges that I have been fighting in my mind. The first is the impulse bookings I have already done and the second is choosing easy options.

Challenge #1 – The Impulse Bookings

When I booked my last trip, I booked a return flight to the USA. Even though at the time I only used one-half I booked the return leg as far out as I could for this trip. A result of looking to save money, on booking a one-way flight. Then while on the cruise portion of the last trip, I booked a Transatlantic cruise. Finally, I had already booked a flight to Europe and a flight onwards to America.

All up I had flights that would get me around the world, with a cruise going the opposite direction. At this stage, I have spent to much time focusing on how to reverse the flights without booking entirely new tickets. Something that is far from productive and not getting me anywhere.

Challenge #2 – Getting Stuck In Easy

Instead of looking at ways that I could explore and see more of Europe I had started to focus on repeating previous trips. So I was thinking more about renting a car in England (the same as my first trip), rather than exploring the European Continent.

The problem I have faced is that the natural option is not always so simple. It somewhat leaves you wanting more and well dissatisfied that you are not expanding your horizon.

Challenges Are Just In The Mind

Looking at them now that I have identified these problems they are not that big. Honestly, they are pretty petty little things. But before you identify them they do start to consume your thought process blocking out what you need to focus on.

The Destinations

Thankfully I do have a rough sort of plan that I am looking at which I want to share with you today. Currently, I am seeking to visit 16 different countries, staying in or visiting 30 different cities. While some stops are just a day as part of the cruise, most stops will be 3 or 4 days. There will be two flights from Europe to America, but this is a small sacrifice to save excessive rebooking fees for the other flights.

I leave Brisbane and fly to London, with 12-days in Europe. At this point, I am looking to spend some time in Paris, Frankfurt, and Vienna. From Vienna, I will fly to New York, with eight days in America before I board the Transatlantic cruise in Fort Lauderdale.

The cruise visits 16 different ports over 29-days in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece & Croatia. The cruise finishes in Venice where I disembark and continue for another 17-days in Europe. I expect to spend this time in France, Luxembourg & Belgium before flying to Toronto.

I have my flight from Europe to Toronto booked with Iceland Air and will take a short stopover in Iceland. From Toronto, I will visit Chicago and onto Los Angles before flying home to Brisbane.

Transport & Accommodation

Currently, I am within 60-days of leaving home and have no flights or transport booked. Well, I have a flight from Brisbane to Europe, Europe to America, and America to Home, plus the cruise booked.

There is still an awful lot of planning and booking to do. The brief outline above is not set in stone and is reliant on what some of my research comes up with while planning. However, at this stage, I estimate there is still 47-nights of accommodation to book in 15 different cities. Along with at least 14 different airfares for getting between cities.

Sightseeing

Previously, I have taken minimal time to plan anything in advance for sightseeing. However, this is something that I would like to consider changing on this trip.

In the past, I have found that I spend too much time looking for what to do when I arrive in a city. For once I would like to have a little bit pre-planned and know that I make the most of my time. I am going to try and roll this into the research for transport and accommodation. So that I know where I want to visit has things that I want to see and do before just arriving there.

There are a couple of things that I will be looking for in this part of the planning. First I want to know that the city has sights to see. Second what sort of tour is available in the city. Third what events may be happening which may interest me. Finally, how the sights are spread through the city and about the potential hotels, I will book.

Stay Tuned For Europe 2012

Starting tomorrow, I will be putting time in every day towards the planning and booking of this trip. Without this dedicated time, I could end up getting to Europe without much organised. As such I hope to have the reservations mostly complete by the first week of February.

Over the next few weeks, you can expect to see a couple of updates. These may include the research and finalised plans for each section of the trip. With information, that I hope will help others in planning their next trip. Either way, I expect that this is going to be a great trip. Of course, looking forward to sharing both the planning and the trip with you over the coming months.

Needs Photos

Planning And Organising For Europe

Posted on December 28, 2011

Today is the 19th of December and not at all long until the next overseas trip that I have planned. In fact, it is just 79 days until I will be heading to the airport to fly out to Europe. That means now is a great time to get started on finishing the planning and organising for the trip.

At this point, I have done almost no planning and still have a lot to get organized. Although I would love the idea of just taking things as they come, that is not the sort of person I am. I am looking forward to a successful well-planned trip, without the chance of much going wrong.

What Is Planned

I have some of the key elements of the journey planned and booked. These include

  • Flights from Brisbane to Europe
  • Flight from Europe to the USA
  • 29-night cruise from the USA to Europe.
  • Flight home from the USA
It might stand out that this is not the most cohesive itinerary, and is missing some relatively large chunks.

The Major Parts To Plan

So from the above list, most of the long haul international flights are booked. There are two main gaps in above plan still to be booked.

  • A Flight from Europe to Canada after the cruise
  • Travel from Canada to the USA for the flight home

Once these two parts get booked, there will only be minor internal travel in Europe and the USA. Along with the accommodation pre and post cruise.

The Minor Details To Plan

When it comes to travel I suppose no detail is minor, they all share some importance. But this is the stuff for pre and post cruise, things like

  • Actual routes to take for before and after the cruise
  • Hotels for before and after the cruise
  • Transport for before and after the cruise
Some of them are probably major things since I am hoping for no surprises along the way. But either way, there is a considerable amount of time for planning and organising here.

What Level Of Planning

From my previous trips, I know that I enjoy the journey much more if it is all laid out from the start. The less that I need to do while on the road, the happier I will be. But also the more disconnected from being present on the trip.

My goal is to have all of the travel and accommodation booked before leaving. I am happy to work out sightseeing along the way but may consider booking some tours as well before leaving. If there is something that I just cannot book before leaving I will consider taking notes on a couple of options.

Time To Get Started

There is no point talking about the planning and organising that I need to get done, though. I am best just to get started with it. My goal is to have the majority completed by the 8th of January. At the very least a plan where I just need to research and book the most appropriate options.

Be sure to watch the blog for more updates, and connect with me on social media via the links below.

Destinations

Exploring The Coromandel Peninsula

Posted on December 17, 2011
Coromandel - Hahei Beach

I arrived in Auckland almost a week ago now, and have spent almost all week with work. Even though I got a little time to explore the city itself yesterday, I am now ready to get out of the city. I have seen enough about New Zealand to know that the countryside is going to be beautiful.

The one thing about New Zealand and especially Auckland is that you have so many options. I had taken a look at some options such as Bay of Islands, Rotorua or somewhere near Hamilton. In the end, I decided on visiting some areas around the Coromandel Peninsula.

Coromandel Peninsula

The drive looked to be around two hours or some 150km. It does depend on the particular destination on the Coromandel Peninsula that you are heading. I set out on the motorway heading to the southeast of Auckland before joining the winding Kopu-Hikuai Road. The road winds its way through the mountains of the Coromandel Forest Park before meeting with the eastern coast. It is here that I made my first stop at the small town of Tairua.

Tairua

I stopped at the visitors center in Tairua to get some maps and further information about the Coromandel Peninsula. Mainly interested to see what some of the options are to visit in the area. It turned out there was an interesting spot quite close. A short drive of just two minutes and I was t Mount Paku.

Mt Paku

Mt Paku has a height of 179m above sea level, and you can drive almost to the top. From the parking area, there is a short but steep walk up a trail, stairs and some large uneven rocks.

Coromandel - Path up Mt Paku

However, for the effort of this short walk, you are rewarded with quite a stunning view over the coastline. Looking out to the Pacific Ocean there are some small islands. To the south, you can see the town of Pauanui and the inlet to Tairua Harbour.

Coromandel - View over Pauanui from Mt Paku

Hahei Beach

From Mt Paku I continued north along the coast driving along winding mountain roads. There were many spots where you could stop to see and photograph the fantastic views. Around 30 minutes later I arrived into another small town by the name of Hahei, which is around 1km from Cathedral Cove.

Before finding a spot for lunch, I stopped briefly to take a look at the beach. Hahei beach did look very nice, but there were few people here. I think the cooler weather today could have had something to do with that.

Coromandel - Hahei Beach

Since it was around lunchtime, I decided to stop and have something to eat before heading off to Cathedral Cove. A little back from the beach was a small cafe by the name of Grange Cafe, I enjoyed a burger and drink here.

Coromandel - Hahei Burger Lunch

Cathedral Cove

In my original plan, I had decided not to visit Cathedral Cove. The weather today was not great, and the information I had found noted the walk as 90 minutes return. However, when talking with the person at the visitor center, Cathedral Cove was his recommendation. Even though it was quite overcast he suggested it as the best option with the time I would have available.

I almost thought I was going to be disappointed after coming all this way to Cathedral Cove. You see the parking here is rather limited, and it was very full. There were plenty of people parking in area’s that were not ideal. However, I end up getting lucky and finding a marked car park on my second loop around the area.

The walk itself down to Cathedral Cove is around 1.5km each way. It hugs the contours of the hillside in a meandering up and down the folds of the land. The last section of the path turns into a series of between 150-200 stairs to get down to the beach level.

Coromandel - Walking to Cathedral Cove

As you can see above, there is some beautiful scenery as you walk the trail. But you will also find some breathtaking views as you step down onto the beach in this lovely sheltered cove. There are towering rock cliffs as you look both to the left and the right.

To the right, you will find a small cave in the cliff. While on the left you have a huge opening in the cliff which passes right through to the next cove. The opening itself in some ways does almost appear to be a cathedral with it’s pointed roof.

Coromandel - Cathedral Cove Largest Opening Coromandel - Mares Leg Cove Coromandel - Cathedral Cove Looking North

After spending a little while exploring the area, I retraced my steps back to the carpark. On the way back I followed a slightly different path, just to see a little bit different scenery.

Hot Water Beach

On my way back towards Auckland I decided to make one more stop, based on a sign I spotted. It was my second beach for the day, but this one is a little different. The beach is named Hot Water Beach, not because the water in the ocean is hot, but because of one section where there is a thermal spring.

With the cooler weather, it is a favourite spot for locals by the looks of it. Many people come down to the beach and dig into the sand to encourage the hot water to raise up. At the right time with the incoming tide, the cooler water will mix in and provide water just the right temperature.

Coromandel - Hot Water Beach

Since it was getting later in the day, I started making my way back towards Auckland. I took roughly the same route in reverse and covered the distance in a little over two hours. It did take a little longer than this morning due to a bank up of traffic at a single lane bridge. You might be able to see to the right of the photo below they have almost finished construction on a new bridge for the area. The new bridge should make weekend traffic much better.

Coromandel - Bridge to Kopu

In the end, I was surprised when I got back to the hotel, and it was still daylight. So I took a short drive around the area nearby to the hotel and found this place to get some photos below.

Auckland - Near Hotel Auckland - Airport Runway

Unfortunately, even though I am in New Zealand for 12 days, today is the only day I had to explore. However, I am extremely happy with what I have been able to see today. But not worried as I know New Zealand is a country that I am going to return and visit many times in the future. Especially since it is so close to Australia.

Destinations

An Afternoon Exploring Auckland

Posted on December 11, 2011
Auckland - Mount Eden Skyline View

I arrived in Auckland just under a week ago on Sunday Afternoon. The trip over to New Zealand is work related, and as such, I have been quite busy. With the need to work quite some hours through the week it was nice to have the afternoon to explore.

Getting Into Auckland

Without much time to look into what there was to see or do in the CBD itself, I set the GPS for SkyCity Casino. The drive from where I had been working took around 30 minutes and being a Saturday afternoon was rather painless.

Before parking, I did drive around a little of the city to see what was here, before parking at Skycity Casino. Without any other knowledge the price seemed ok, and with spending a little money on lunch was made a bit cheaper. The location is excellent as well with just a short walk down to the main street.

Skycity Sky Tower

One of the main attractions I wanted to visit was attached to the Skycity Casino. The Auckland Sky Tower is an observation deck that sits at 186m above the ground. Additionally, you can go a little higher to the SkyDeck at 220m above the ground, which of course I opted for.

For the adventurous, there are the options to walk around the top of the observation deck. While if you like to get the heart racing you also have options somewhat like bungee jumping. If you are looking for something to eat there are two restaurants and a cafe in Sky Tower as well.

Auckland - Skytower at Skycity Casino

The View

There is an uninterrupted view in all directions from the observation deck. Which is exactly what I was hoping for. My only disappointment is the blue tint to the glass which does give a weird hue to the photos. I will intermix the photos of the view with the next couple of points. As each of them relates to other things, I did this afternoon.

Mount Eden

From Sky Tower, you can see Mount Eden, which is relatively close to the city. It is a small mountain around 196m tall and is the tallest of the volcanic mounds in Auckland. It is fairly easy to reach by car and a short walk, so that is just what I did next.

Auckland - View of Mount Eden from Skytower

From the peak of Mount Eden, you get a great view of Auckland and across the harbour to the North Shore. You can also see that Sky Tower is one of the most prominent features on the skyline from here. But the next destination for me would be to drive around to the North Shore.

Auckland - Mount Eden Skyline View

Auckland North Shore

Another prominent feature you can see from the Sky Tower is the Auckland Harbour Bridge. You can reach the North Shore via another road. However, it is three times the distance and takes close to an hour. Where it took me around 15 minutes to get to the small town of Devenport. The main street here is quite nice lined with many small stores and restaurants. However, it was closer to 7 pm on a Saturday evening, and most everything was closed.

Auckland - Harbour Bridge from Skytower

I still headed down to the waterfront to take a look at the city from a different perspective. I also timed the visit here quite well with the Sun Princess cruise ship departing.

Auckland - Skyline from Northshore Auckland - Sun Princess departing Auckland

Off To the Countryside

It might have been a rather brief visit to the city of Auckland. It would have been nice to see a little more, but it is hard to complain when you are being paid to be here for work. I do have a whole day off from work tomorrow though and will be heading out to see some of the countryside. So will be looking to get a post out for you to share that adventure tomorrow.

Needs Photos

Holiday Travel Planning & Booking Tips

Posted on December 1, 2011

The official date of the Christmas Season starting can be of debate at times. However, it is once you get into December and school holidays progressively start for students that travel gets a little more hectic. The one thing which most people will likely agree on is this time of year can be a problematic time for planning a trip.

Christmas it also the time that many people like to travel and unite with family to celebrate the season. Travelling and travel planning can be stressful as it is, but when trying to fit in with family it can be a little worse. But I wanted to share a few tips to hopefully make your planning and booking travel either this year or in the future a little easier.

Book Early

If there is one thing that I can suggest at this time of year above anything else it is to plan your travel early. With so many people wanting to travel at this time of year the later you leave it the fewer options will be available. Additionally, the closer to your travel date especially over peak periods the more chance you will pay a lot more for the same thing.

Flights

Booking flight early can be a good option to ensure you get on a flight at the time you want to. The closer to your travel date you leave it the chances will increase of not getting what you want. You either might have to fly at an odd time or might have to take a date that is less than ideal. Pricing is not always an issue, as airlines still want to fill the seats and may still offer deals even close to the date. But if you want to lock in an affordable price it is better to book early.

Hotels

Unlike airlines, you will very likely pay a higher rate around peak holiday periods from the start. Of course, this is not all properties, but you will find many that have a peak and off-peak rates. But often it is not a case of the rate being increased in the peak period. It is the rate is decreased in the off-peak period to encourage bookings.

If you find that travelling and booking a hotel is a must at times like Christmas and New Year, you are best to get in early. You will ensure that the room and location you are after is locked in. Leaving the booking until later could result in having to take a room that is not ideal or having to book further away from where you want to be.

Tours & Cruises

If you are interested in booking a tour or cruise it is highly recommended to get in early. Both tours and cruises can be more popular around Christmas because of a mixture of school holidays and people having time off work.

When it comes to cruises though you will find that there are a lot more families travelling at this time of year. But again the best advice if you do want to travel, is get in and book early.

Pre-Book Extra’s

The extra’s or addon’s that are offered for different things can be a great way to save money. Adding these at the time of booking can be considerably cheaper than later on. One thing that often can be a big saving is luggage. There are many tickets that do include luggage. But if you have booked one that does not include luggage and have to pay at the airport it can be quite expensive. One flight in North America I paid an extra $12 to book a ticket with luggage included. Other people were paying $50 or more to check their luggage at the airport. That was a saving of $38 for me.

The best approach here is don’t just scroll past the extra options. Stop and take a look and consider if that is something that you might need or want. There is a chance that booking it up front might just save you some money over adding it at the airport.

Prepare For The Airport

As we get closer to Christmas there will be a lot more people travelling. It can be longer queues and more delays at the airports. Being prepared to make your way through the airport can save you some stress and problems getting through.

Although we might all be pressed for time around Christmas, do what you can to get to the airport early. The lines are going to be longer and it will take more time to get checked in and through security. Arriving early might not get you to your destination quicker. But it can save the stress of trying to make it to your gate on time. You can even use the time once you are through security to grab food or coffee and just relax.

Be sure that your luggage is well tagged and that you know what is in it. Clearly marked tags correctly secured t0 bag your bag will help if it goes astray. Find out the code for your destination airport and keep an eye when your bag is being tagged at check-in. There are plenty of stories of bags going astray from an incorrect airport code accidently ending up on a bag.

Airport Security

If you do not travel often or don’t fly often it is worth doing a little research. Knowing what you are allowed to have in carry-on luggage is a great place to start. While some of the items may be logical, there are some that you might not understand why.

The key message is that if it is listed as not allowed, do not pack it in your hand luggage. The people at the security checkpoint are not there to interpret the rules only to enforce them. If it is on the list of items not allowed, they will require you remove it. Often at this point, there is no other option but to surrender it.

The following link might be useful if you are travelling in or out of Australia (TravelSECURE Website). While the information may apply to some degree in other countries as well. I would suggest you look for specific information about each country to ensure you are complying. You don’t want to find you are following a slightly different rule and run into problems.

Enjoy Your Trip

Your trip might take some organising and planning to get sorted out. But the planning you do up front can save you a lot of hassle on the road. The most important part is have fun on your holiday. Especially at this time of year over Christmas.

Needs Photos

The best Souvenirs Cost Nothing

Posted on November 21, 2011

The very first trip away that I did to Melbourne last year was a big learning experience for me in many ways. There of course was the fact I was traveling by myself and had to work it all out as I went along. There was also the truth that just because you carry a camera it does not mean that you need to be held to your face everywhere you go.

But one of the biggest lesson’s I learned was that souvenirs are not always such a great investment. At the very first place I visited, as I was leaving I went through the gift store (a lot of tourist attractions do not give you to many options on this front) and saw many little trinkets all relative to what I had just seen. I had this thought then and there that I should get a souvenir from each place that I visited.

In theory this seemed like a good idea, collect a range of small things that you can use to remember your trip and the places you visited. So this is just what I did, I came home with a collection of nine key rings (including, Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Aquarium, Eureka Skydeck, MCG, Crown Casino, Cooks Cottage, Old Melbourne Gaol, a Melbourne Tram and Shrine of Remembrance) along with at least two post cards from each attraction.

When you look at this small collection of 9 key rings and all up 19 post cards, you are probably looking at around $60 or more that I spent just on souvenirs. This was just in one single 7 day trip. When it came time that I was getting started on my first trip overseas, it did not take me long to realise something had to change. If I continued to buy souvenirs like I had in Melbourne I would have multiple issues in not just getting through the trip, but probably getting home without spending an absolute fortune. Just look at some of the challenges

  • Cost – My first trip overseas was 39 days, if I spent at the same rate as the 7 days in Melbourne I would have spent somewhere in the region of $330-$340 on souvenirs alone.
  • Weight – While one key ring or one postcard may not be heavy, when you have 10 or 20 key rings they start to add to the weight of your luggage a bit. Postcards are fairly similar but not quite as bad.
  • Excess Luggage – While I was well under the limit when I left home, along the way if you start buying souvenirs, books more clothes, not only does your suitcase end up very full, but also much heavier. Which of course often can lead to excess baggage charges from airlines.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to souvenirs though is that this does not need to be this way. There are ways to get great low cost or even Free souvenirs, most of the time and leave the more elaborate souvenirs for when you really see that it is a must. Here are my favourite souvenir options when traveling now.

  • Photographs – Unless you are still using a film camera, then you will find that you can get a great range of souvenirs for practically nothing, but a little time. This is my favourite way to get a great collection of souvenirs that actually mean something to me. Plus if you already own a camera it is free. There are a lot of options for what you can do with the photos once you have got home was well, from print individual photos to creating photo books and putting them online.
  • Postcards – While I also mentioned the problems with postcards above, they can be a great alternative to a photograph. For whatever reason sometimes a photograph just does not capture the scene like a postcard may be able to for you. Sometimes the time you are in a location isn’t right the lighting it off, or your camera just may not be able to get the sort of shot you want. In this case a postcard can help you capture the memory. Prices range anywhere from 25cents up to $1 or more. However it can be a cheap price to pay to get that memory.
  • Inspire items – Sometimes you just may not be able to help it you will find that there is something that you see in the way of a souvenir that you just really do want. In cases like this sometimes you need to just do it. The general idea it to not see something that you just must have in every location that you stop at.

Overall though the idea is to find that images, memories and stories are the most important souvenirs that you can bring home from your travels. They generally do not weigh anything and will be more important to you in 5 or 10 years time then the key ring that broke a week after you got home.

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