So, the countdown is now at less than 50 days left until we hit the road..how exciting?!? I think I've got everything under control at this stage with the 3rd of the 5 visas I need sorted before we leave being ready for collection tomorrow. I'm hoping to get the application for the 4th one underway as soon as I get my passport back. Exciting times! Running around like a headless chicken trying to squeeze in embassy visits and repeat visits along with work.
We're not booked onto the Sail & Rail yet..still toying with the idea of flying to London to take the easy route. I like the idea of keeping the trip as overland as possible...but easing ourselves in with a 12 journey to London instead of a 50 minute flight might not be the smartest..I can see us arriving into Paddington Station saying we never want to see another train or bus seat!
I've spent a bit of time this morning trying to find a cheap and cheerful place to stay near Cleopatra's Needle for the two nights we're in London before the off. Finding lots of cheerful places..not so many of the cheap ones..and I don't have a clue as to how close they actually are to Embankment where we'll be taking off from on the 24th. If anyone knows the area and has any tips..greatly appreciated :)
Finance for the trip is now finally in place too so I'm no longer stressing about surviving on bread and water for 6 months and having to miss out on parachuting, zorbing etc :)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Two months!!
So, just two months from today we'll have started the adventure...I can't believe how quickly it's come around - a bad sign for how quickly it's going to pass! We're most likely going to be doing the Sail & Rail from Dun Laoighaire to London on May 22nd to make sure we've got a cushion day before departure on May 24th.
The information pack finally arrived from OzBus. It wasn't quite the lengthy document I was expecting, but it does have info on what Visa's I need to get sorted and some updates on what's in and what's out for the trip.
East Timor is likely to be removed from the itinerary as it's considered dangerous to visit at present. It's still on the list for the time being, but it's probable that we'll be flying from Bali to Darwin and skipping over the East Timor section of the trip. Myanmar is definitely off the list as OzBus have decided it's too unsafe for us to travel into and are suspending all travel into the country. It's a shame as it's the only place Mr Green really wanted a postcard from...but I'd like to make it back alive so I'll listen to the people who know :)
Because Myanmar is off the list we've got an extra flight on the schedule now (Kolkutta to Bangkok). It was never gonna be fully overland...but this makes a minimum of two flights now to get us there.
The other big change is that camping is off the table until we get to Australia. No camping in Europe so no need for a tent we're told - so my swish blue 3 man will be sitting at home unused. Damn my organisation and buying it way early! For the Australia camping the tents will be supplied...kinda makes me wonder why we needed to have our own for Europe if they already have enough for everyone but I'll let that one go :)
Our OzBus departure date (for anyone who wishes to come wave us off) is from The Embankment in London on Sunday May 24th @ 7am.
Visa wise..we've got 5 to get. From what I've read and heard from people this can take a bit of time so I need t get moving on it ASAP. Stupidly however I've only just applied for a replacement passport as my current one is up in March 2010 which will cause problems for entry into some countries. I got it in my head that I'd have loads of time to do Passport Express when I get back from Krakow (heading off next weekend for two days - I know..there's a recession on and I'm heading off randomly to London, Krakow, Oz etc). Thankfully the lovely people in the passport office said they'd be able to have a shiny new passport ready for me to collect this coming Friday in time for departure to Poland so I can get onto the Visa stuff as soon as I get back. Phew!
Vaccinations are all done...praise Jeebus...never been so happy a course to be over. I'll definitely be getting any and all boosters that will extend the protection for as long as possible to avoid having to get them all re-done if I need them again!
I believe the workday countdown is now at 31 days...sweet! I've still got a lot of stuff to sort out..but I'll get there in the end.
The information pack finally arrived from OzBus. It wasn't quite the lengthy document I was expecting, but it does have info on what Visa's I need to get sorted and some updates on what's in and what's out for the trip.
East Timor is likely to be removed from the itinerary as it's considered dangerous to visit at present. It's still on the list for the time being, but it's probable that we'll be flying from Bali to Darwin and skipping over the East Timor section of the trip. Myanmar is definitely off the list as OzBus have decided it's too unsafe for us to travel into and are suspending all travel into the country. It's a shame as it's the only place Mr Green really wanted a postcard from...but I'd like to make it back alive so I'll listen to the people who know :)
Because Myanmar is off the list we've got an extra flight on the schedule now (Kolkutta to Bangkok). It was never gonna be fully overland...but this makes a minimum of two flights now to get us there.
The other big change is that camping is off the table until we get to Australia. No camping in Europe so no need for a tent we're told - so my swish blue 3 man will be sitting at home unused. Damn my organisation and buying it way early! For the Australia camping the tents will be supplied...kinda makes me wonder why we needed to have our own for Europe if they already have enough for everyone but I'll let that one go :)
Our OzBus departure date (for anyone who wishes to come wave us off) is from The Embankment in London on Sunday May 24th @ 7am.
Visa wise..we've got 5 to get. From what I've read and heard from people this can take a bit of time so I need t get moving on it ASAP. Stupidly however I've only just applied for a replacement passport as my current one is up in March 2010 which will cause problems for entry into some countries. I got it in my head that I'd have loads of time to do Passport Express when I get back from Krakow (heading off next weekend for two days - I know..there's a recession on and I'm heading off randomly to London, Krakow, Oz etc). Thankfully the lovely people in the passport office said they'd be able to have a shiny new passport ready for me to collect this coming Friday in time for departure to Poland so I can get onto the Visa stuff as soon as I get back. Phew!
Vaccinations are all done...praise Jeebus...never been so happy a course to be over. I'll definitely be getting any and all boosters that will extend the protection for as long as possible to avoid having to get them all re-done if I need them again!
I believe the workday countdown is now at 31 days...sweet! I've still got a lot of stuff to sort out..but I'll get there in the end.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Facebook Group
Here's our Facebook group for the trip:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=33617750207
We're up to six members now! I know of a 7th person on the trip but he's not signed up to the group yet because he's not quit his job yet and he doesn't want work to find out that way. At Christmas, OzBus Mark said the trip was about 60% full so I'm expecting 20+ people minimum on the bus come May 24th.
It's nice to be in contact with some of the bus crew before we arrive in London..it'll be kinda like we know each other on the first day.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=33617750207
We're up to six members now! I know of a 7th person on the trip but he's not signed up to the group yet because he's not quit his job yet and he doesn't want work to find out that way. At Christmas, OzBus Mark said the trip was about 60% full so I'm expecting 20+ people minimum on the bus come May 24th.
It's nice to be in contact with some of the bus crew before we arrive in London..it'll be kinda like we know each other on the first day.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
March..April..May..
Nearly there! Only 42 work days left for me..how great is that?!? Not as great as Loonie who has less than 40...but really..who can complain with 42 ;)
I'm still waiting for the information pack from OzBus to tell us what we need to do before we go with regard to Visas etc. Had hoped it'd be here by now but there's no sign as yet... I'd like to chase them up on it, but reckon that'd probably be a bad idea. I don't wanna annoy them any more in case they (like Loonie has suggested) take out a restraining order for being too inquisitive and don't let me on the bus! So to fill the gap and give me something to do, I've mapped out what they suggest the itinerary might be on Google maps to see what it looks like. Check it out: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=102559618817735675944.0004622c05bde08b6a8ba&z=2
Still trying to figure out how to get to see as much as possible with the time I'll have in Oz and NZ but finding it more and more difficult with the more I read in my travel books. Wondering if a 10 day organised tour from Perth - Broome (and so missing Tasmania) is better than 4 -5 days in Perth and then heading to Tasmania for 3 - 4 days. It's like comparing kangaroo burgers and ostrich burgers..given that I've never had either..how am I supposed to know which is the better option!
Until I get the information pack I'm taking a break on organising and spending time trying to calm Loonie down cos she's starting to stress about all that's to be done (think I've made her worry unnecessarily!). The only plans I'm working on at the moment is to get my vaccinations finished. I'm almost done at this stage..only 2 more jabs left to get. I'll be very, very, very happy to see the back of my Tuesday morning GP visits :) She's lovely and all..but I've had enough of playing pin cushion.
I'm still waiting for the information pack from OzBus to tell us what we need to do before we go with regard to Visas etc. Had hoped it'd be here by now but there's no sign as yet... I'd like to chase them up on it, but reckon that'd probably be a bad idea. I don't wanna annoy them any more in case they (like Loonie has suggested) take out a restraining order for being too inquisitive and don't let me on the bus! So to fill the gap and give me something to do, I've mapped out what they suggest the itinerary might be on Google maps to see what it looks like. Check it out: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=102559618817735675944.0004622c05bde08b6a8ba&z=2
Still trying to figure out how to get to see as much as possible with the time I'll have in Oz and NZ but finding it more and more difficult with the more I read in my travel books. Wondering if a 10 day organised tour from Perth - Broome (and so missing Tasmania) is better than 4 -5 days in Perth and then heading to Tasmania for 3 - 4 days. It's like comparing kangaroo burgers and ostrich burgers..given that I've never had either..how am I supposed to know which is the better option!
Until I get the information pack I'm taking a break on organising and spending time trying to calm Loonie down cos she's starting to stress about all that's to be done (think I've made her worry unnecessarily!). The only plans I'm working on at the moment is to get my vaccinations finished. I'm almost done at this stage..only 2 more jabs left to get. I'll be very, very, very happy to see the back of my Tuesday morning GP visits :) She's lovely and all..but I've had enough of playing pin cushion.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Flights home booked :(
I've not even left on my adventure yet, and I've already got flights booked to take me home...way too organised and it's slightly depressing to know exactly when I'll be back before I've even left..especially as I'm supposed to be taking a break from my normal super hyper planning mode! Re-visited Trailfinders today...weird experience.
Last week I was quoted just shy of €1400 for me to fly Perth - Melbourne, Brisbane - Auckland and Christchurch - Dublin (had to change the plan up a bit based on the revelations about trains appearing to be booked & the restriction about validity period of driving licence restricting when I'd be able to do some camper driving). I figured all's I needed to book was the Brisbane - New Zealand (now Christchurch) and New Zealand (now Auckland) - Dublin flights so I matched up with what Conor was booked on. The quote for him last week for his whole round trip was €1213 and I was told it was only valid until Feb 28th so we wanted to move on it.
You can imagine my surprise when we got in there today all ready to book those flights for me to be told that my flight would be a minimum of €4500 while Conor's has dropped to €1169!!!! The guy said I'd be better off calling a travel agent in New Zealand and tell them the exact flights I wanted to get on as it'd work out cheaper. So Conor's all sorted with little or no effort and I'm back online searching like a crazy lady for a reasonable quote as owing to the time difference I wasn't really going to get a travel agent too easily in time for Conor to finalise his booking. So I spent an age searching for a bargain...can you believe that I found the flights Conor's on from Brisbane - Christchurch and Auckland - London (need to sort out London to Dublin separately) for less than €700!!! That's such a saving on what Trailfinders were saying they'd have to charge...WTF??
I'm still in shock over the price difference..and slightly peeved that I won't be getting air miles for the flying I'll be doing. Had to pay more to get them on the flights and as we're now flying with Singapore Airlines (rather than Quantas/British Airways where I'd get the miles automatically) I thought why bother spend the extra. The guy sold us on SA because he started on about the A380 (in my naivety I had no idea what the big deal was about but Conor seemed excited) and the reputation of SA (again..I've never heard good, bad or indifferent I just wanted flights!). Somehow we ended up leaving the building with an itinerary in hand for Conor and with nothing in place for me..just the knowledge that I needed to get on the same flights within the next 24 hours to make sure we travel home together. Managed it but it seems that I don't get to go on the A380...it's one of the planes Conor gets on his way over!! ARGHH!!
Still..at least that latest drama is over..I've got a bus to get me to Oz and I've got flights to get me home :)
Last week I was quoted just shy of €1400 for me to fly Perth - Melbourne, Brisbane - Auckland and Christchurch - Dublin (had to change the plan up a bit based on the revelations about trains appearing to be booked & the restriction about validity period of driving licence restricting when I'd be able to do some camper driving). I figured all's I needed to book was the Brisbane - New Zealand (now Christchurch) and New Zealand (now Auckland) - Dublin flights so I matched up with what Conor was booked on. The quote for him last week for his whole round trip was €1213 and I was told it was only valid until Feb 28th so we wanted to move on it.
You can imagine my surprise when we got in there today all ready to book those flights for me to be told that my flight would be a minimum of €4500 while Conor's has dropped to €1169!!!! The guy said I'd be better off calling a travel agent in New Zealand and tell them the exact flights I wanted to get on as it'd work out cheaper. So Conor's all sorted with little or no effort and I'm back online searching like a crazy lady for a reasonable quote as owing to the time difference I wasn't really going to get a travel agent too easily in time for Conor to finalise his booking. So I spent an age searching for a bargain...can you believe that I found the flights Conor's on from Brisbane - Christchurch and Auckland - London (need to sort out London to Dublin separately) for less than €700!!! That's such a saving on what Trailfinders were saying they'd have to charge...WTF??
I'm still in shock over the price difference..and slightly peeved that I won't be getting air miles for the flying I'll be doing. Had to pay more to get them on the flights and as we're now flying with Singapore Airlines (rather than Quantas/British Airways where I'd get the miles automatically) I thought why bother spend the extra. The guy sold us on SA because he started on about the A380 (in my naivety I had no idea what the big deal was about but Conor seemed excited) and the reputation of SA (again..I've never heard good, bad or indifferent I just wanted flights!). Somehow we ended up leaving the building with an itinerary in hand for Conor and with nothing in place for me..just the knowledge that I needed to get on the same flights within the next 24 hours to make sure we travel home together. Managed it but it seems that I don't get to go on the A380...it's one of the planes Conor gets on his way over!! ARGHH!!
Still..at least that latest drama is over..I've got a bus to get me to Oz and I've got flights to get me home :)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Hyper-Planning Mode
I'm in planning overdrive...my brain's melting from entering dates into pretty much every travel site there is out there. Flights, trains, ferries, camper hire...so many modes of transport to try link up!
Finally popped into Trailfinders to suss out the price of Conor's flights, and my flight home. How depressing is it that he's gonna do twice the distance I'm doing for less money! Looks like we'll get a pretty sweet deal if we book before February 28th, so hoping to finalise flight dates this week and book them next weekend. From there we can start nailing down the rest of the transport. I'm working on camper van hire right now..still hoping for the 30% discount I was looking at for the hire in Australia. If we can get the discount that's another booking to be confirmed before the end of the month. Everything will be falling into place nicely ;)
Plan at the moment looks a little something like this:
Sail & Rail (Dublin - Holyhead - London)
Ozbus (London - Sydney)
Indian Pacific Railway (Sydney - Adelaide - Perth)
Some kind of touring (Perth - Ningaloo Reef - Perth)
Fly Perth - Melbourne
Ferry Melbourne - Tasmania (3 day tour then back to Melbourne)
Meet Conor in Melbourne
Camper van from Melbourne - Brisbane (via Great Ocean Road, Canberra, Sydney and if time up to Frazer Island and back)
Fly Brisbane - Auckland
Camper van from Auckland - Christchurch (looping both islands)
Fly home Christchurch - Dublin
It really does look like it's going to be the trip of a lifetime, and I'm incredibly excited to get it started. It's still a way away, but with everything falling into place bit by bit it's hard to contain the thrill sometimes.
First of my vaccination appointments this week :( Not a needle fan...but it's for the greater good! Not sure what the GP has on the table for me..she reckons three visits will get everything done for me, and thankfully I don't need some of what I thought I might so I'm down 7 shots on what I was preparing for...nice for me and nicer for my wallet!
Finally popped into Trailfinders to suss out the price of Conor's flights, and my flight home. How depressing is it that he's gonna do twice the distance I'm doing for less money! Looks like we'll get a pretty sweet deal if we book before February 28th, so hoping to finalise flight dates this week and book them next weekend. From there we can start nailing down the rest of the transport. I'm working on camper van hire right now..still hoping for the 30% discount I was looking at for the hire in Australia. If we can get the discount that's another booking to be confirmed before the end of the month. Everything will be falling into place nicely ;)
Plan at the moment looks a little something like this:
Sail & Rail (Dublin - Holyhead - London)
Ozbus (London - Sydney)
Indian Pacific Railway (Sydney - Adelaide - Perth)
Some kind of touring (Perth - Ningaloo Reef - Perth)
Fly Perth - Melbourne
Ferry Melbourne - Tasmania (3 day tour then back to Melbourne)
Meet Conor in Melbourne
Camper van from Melbourne - Brisbane (via Great Ocean Road, Canberra, Sydney and if time up to Frazer Island and back)
Fly Brisbane - Auckland
Camper van from Auckland - Christchurch (looping both islands)
Fly home Christchurch - Dublin
It really does look like it's going to be the trip of a lifetime, and I'm incredibly excited to get it started. It's still a way away, but with everything falling into place bit by bit it's hard to contain the thrill sometimes.
First of my vaccination appointments this week :( Not a needle fan...but it's for the greater good! Not sure what the GP has on the table for me..she reckons three visits will get everything done for me, and thankfully I don't need some of what I thought I might so I'm down 7 shots on what I was preparing for...nice for me and nicer for my wallet!
Friday, February 6, 2009
It's been a while
My doesn't time fly when you're waiting for a big trip to come around ;)
Today marks 62 work days left *bounce*. I'm sure I'll miss it somewhat when I'm on the road, but I really can't wait to finish up and not have to think about oncall and whether I'm free to work in 17 weeks time. I'm sure I'll struggle with the lack of regime a little bit, but I'm excited about the challenge. I'm either super organised, or super lazy - 100% commitment in either direction, but never been too good with down the middle. I'm hoping to work on that!
My camera has arrived and is very swish and beautiful. I severely struggled with it the first day I tried to use it and ended up with every photo being a blurry mess. I couldn't work out how to set a shoot mode on it (really should have read the manual first) but I've eventually got there and managed to get some non-blurry, very clear images, so I'm a happy camper. Next item on the wish list is a netbook to bring along with me. (Conor's just bought one and I'm tempted to 'borrow' it). As much as I'd love to be able to leave my inner (and sometimes outer) nerd behind, I'm not sure I could function without a computer for the three months of the bus trip. I reckon it'll be handy for entertaining me on the days we're driving for 18 hours, for sorting out my good photos from my crappy ones, keeping a journal (though I'm very tempted to keep a physical one that gets stained with coffee and whatever else along the way) and for getting emails and blog posts ready on the road for mail at the next stop along the way.
I've still not done anything about a new passport - really need to get onto that. Because I'm being so laid back about sorting that I've not done anything about Visas either. Though on the Visa front I don't know what I can do until OzBus provide some kind of itinerary for the trip. All well and good using the itinerary off their website and calculating days that way but I'm sure that's all very much subject to change and may not be valid any more. The one thing that I have done is started some research into vaccinations - now I'm scared!! For the list of countries we should be hitting there are a good few vaccinations recommended/suggested. I did a count of the number of shots we're taking about..and it's 18!! I'm not a happy camper..I hate needles..HATE HATE HATE them. But, I know I need to get them so I've called my GP to try set up a schedule to get them all done in enough time to spread them out and avoid having to get a massive cocktail all in one go. We'll see what she comes back with next week.
The facebook group that I set up for the trip has two new members. It's cool to see other people getting excited about the trip too. I'm looking forward to meeting all of these new people when we get to London..wonder how many of us will stay in touch after the trip.
Loonie has resurfaced at last...she's working herself to the bone to save for the trip. Wish I could say the same about myself!
Today marks 62 work days left *bounce*. I'm sure I'll miss it somewhat when I'm on the road, but I really can't wait to finish up and not have to think about oncall and whether I'm free to work in 17 weeks time. I'm sure I'll struggle with the lack of regime a little bit, but I'm excited about the challenge. I'm either super organised, or super lazy - 100% commitment in either direction, but never been too good with down the middle. I'm hoping to work on that!
My camera has arrived and is very swish and beautiful. I severely struggled with it the first day I tried to use it and ended up with every photo being a blurry mess. I couldn't work out how to set a shoot mode on it (really should have read the manual first) but I've eventually got there and managed to get some non-blurry, very clear images, so I'm a happy camper. Next item on the wish list is a netbook to bring along with me. (Conor's just bought one and I'm tempted to 'borrow' it). As much as I'd love to be able to leave my inner (and sometimes outer) nerd behind, I'm not sure I could function without a computer for the three months of the bus trip. I reckon it'll be handy for entertaining me on the days we're driving for 18 hours, for sorting out my good photos from my crappy ones, keeping a journal (though I'm very tempted to keep a physical one that gets stained with coffee and whatever else along the way) and for getting emails and blog posts ready on the road for mail at the next stop along the way.
I've still not done anything about a new passport - really need to get onto that. Because I'm being so laid back about sorting that I've not done anything about Visas either. Though on the Visa front I don't know what I can do until OzBus provide some kind of itinerary for the trip. All well and good using the itinerary off their website and calculating days that way but I'm sure that's all very much subject to change and may not be valid any more. The one thing that I have done is started some research into vaccinations - now I'm scared!! For the list of countries we should be hitting there are a good few vaccinations recommended/suggested. I did a count of the number of shots we're taking about..and it's 18!! I'm not a happy camper..I hate needles..HATE HATE HATE them. But, I know I need to get them so I've called my GP to try set up a schedule to get them all done in enough time to spread them out and avoid having to get a massive cocktail all in one go. We'll see what she comes back with next week.
The facebook group that I set up for the trip has two new members. It's cool to see other people getting excited about the trip too. I'm looking forward to meeting all of these new people when we get to London..wonder how many of us will stay in touch after the trip.
Loonie has resurfaced at last...she's working herself to the bone to save for the trip. Wish I could say the same about myself!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Small small world!
Latest trip update is a bit of a small world revelation...I had a call from my old flatmate yesterday to tell me he'd bumped into an older flatmate of his from college on the Luas. His news for him was that he's quiting his job..and you guessed it...taking the OzBus in May!!
How mental is that?!?
Camera hasn't arrived yet :(
Well technically it's arrived twice and I've not been here to get it (silly work). Despite having called DHL to redirect it to work, they attempted delivery again yesterday and then gave up. I was expecting to find it on my desk at some point today but instead found that the muppets hadn't completed the update on their system to get the package redirected! So *fingers crossed* I'll get it tomorrow. My goodies from Penrith Survival did arrive in one piece however, so I'm now the proud owner of a fine selection of needles and syringes (really, really don't want to have to think about using them or having to explain them in customs along the way). So basic first aid kit is acquired and will be beefed up a bit with a multitude of migraine and anti-nausea tablets for fear my motion sickness makes an unwelcome return somewhere after Europe!
Loonie appears to have gone underground...has anyone heard from her?
How mental is that?!?
Camera hasn't arrived yet :(
Well technically it's arrived twice and I've not been here to get it (silly work). Despite having called DHL to redirect it to work, they attempted delivery again yesterday and then gave up. I was expecting to find it on my desk at some point today but instead found that the muppets hadn't completed the update on their system to get the package redirected! So *fingers crossed* I'll get it tomorrow. My goodies from Penrith Survival did arrive in one piece however, so I'm now the proud owner of a fine selection of needles and syringes (really, really don't want to have to think about using them or having to explain them in customs along the way). So basic first aid kit is acquired and will be beefed up a bit with a multitude of migraine and anti-nausea tablets for fear my motion sickness makes an unwelcome return somewhere after Europe!
Loonie appears to have gone underground...has anyone heard from her?
Thursday, January 8, 2009
A week in the life..
So first week of 2009 drawing to a close and let's see where I'm at. Now got 82 work days left and I'm getting excited again. It's all excitement one minute, all forgotten the next! It's been quite a productive week really, though I've still not actually sit down to write up my list of things to do/buy/check out and I promised myself I'd have that done by now.
Even with the lack of a list, I'm making headway on the preparations..
a) Dentist appointment made for a checkup to make sure if I need anything done I've got time to get it done.
b) Travel insurance sorted in advance of the 31st Jan end date for the 10% premium discount..now all's I've got to remember is to stay away from the US and Canada for the six months and I'm sorted
c) New compact camera ordered and currently winging it's way to me. As much as I dearly want to bring my SLR, I don't want to have to carry it around, and I really don't want to have to be keeping a constant eye on it. So I've purchased a Canon IXUS 85 IS with spare battery, carry case and 4GB SD Card for a steal on a UK site..now awaiting delivery
d) Also awaiting delivery on a Solo Traveller First Aid kit complete with the needles they're saying to bring (I'm slightly concerned) and a few other bits and bobs from a Scottish outdoor site that had stuff at much cheaper prices than here in Dublin
e) Sleeping bag liner and pack towel purchased here at home for a reasonable price..and the towel amazes me, it's going to save SO much space!
I've also started to read the Insight Guide to Australia...WOW! I can't wait :)
The latest food for thought for me is how to get to London in advance of May 24th...I can fly, but it feels a bit like cheating..it's hardly overland now is it, even I can't justify that one. I'm toying with the idea of the bus to London, though I really want to avoid ferries as much as possible to avoid the sea-sickness. We'll have to wait and see how brave (or stupid) I am closer to booking time!
Now to check how Loonie is getting on with her preparations?!?
Even with the lack of a list, I'm making headway on the preparations..
a) Dentist appointment made for a checkup to make sure if I need anything done I've got time to get it done.
b) Travel insurance sorted in advance of the 31st Jan end date for the 10% premium discount..now all's I've got to remember is to stay away from the US and Canada for the six months and I'm sorted
c) New compact camera ordered and currently winging it's way to me. As much as I dearly want to bring my SLR, I don't want to have to carry it around, and I really don't want to have to be keeping a constant eye on it. So I've purchased a Canon IXUS 85 IS with spare battery, carry case and 4GB SD Card for a steal on a UK site..now awaiting delivery
d) Also awaiting delivery on a Solo Traveller First Aid kit complete with the needles they're saying to bring (I'm slightly concerned) and a few other bits and bobs from a Scottish outdoor site that had stuff at much cheaper prices than here in Dublin
e) Sleeping bag liner and pack towel purchased here at home for a reasonable price..and the towel amazes me, it's going to save SO much space!
I've also started to read the Insight Guide to Australia...WOW! I can't wait :)
The latest food for thought for me is how to get to London in advance of May 24th...I can fly, but it feels a bit like cheating..it's hardly overland now is it, even I can't justify that one. I'm toying with the idea of the bus to London, though I really want to avoid ferries as much as possible to avoid the sea-sickness. We'll have to wait and see how brave (or stupid) I am closer to booking time!
Now to check how Loonie is getting on with her preparations?!?
Thursday, January 1, 2009
It's 2009!
January 1st is finally here so at least our trip is now THIS year! I've just been practising for pitching the tent..and it's a splendid sight to behold..though it's crowding the living room and so that means I'm gonna have to take the blasted thing back down...that or sleep in there tonight (I don't think so!). I'm pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was..though I think perhaps they forgot to colour code the poles like the instructions say. Definite relief that I went for the three person size..we'll comfortably fit in there with our bags :)
Trip countdown is now down to 144 days..of that only 88 are work days for me!! How exciting?!?
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year in 2009, and hoping all your dreams come true :)
xx
Trip countdown is now down to 144 days..of that only 88 are work days for me!! How exciting?!?
Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year in 2009, and hoping all your dreams come true :)
xx
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