exciting travelling news, input welcome!

joosie

joosie

lifelong sufferer of restless brain syndrome
Oct 28, 2004
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New Zealand
I've had a growing interest in New Zealand ever since I got a taste of it from the Lord Of The Rings films (nerd alert!), and everything I've seen or read about that country since then has just added to my desire to go and experience it for myself. I also have some friends and a cousin who have been there for work and/or travel, and have heard so many fantastic things about their experiences that have just added to the attraction. For the last 6 years I have been putting money into my NZ Travel Fund, with the aim of going out there on the 12-month work & travel visa, obviously to do more travel than work but with the option to do casual work if I need to top up my funds. Well - the exciting news is that I have finally reached my target amount (exceeded, actually!) and am all set to start planning my trip.:cool: However when I started looking into flights in more detail, I discovered to my sheer delight that there are a lot of options for round-the-world tickets that actually work out CHEAPER than a simple return to New Zealand. So my plan has gone from simply spending a year in NZ, to going there for a year but also extending my travels to other parts of the world on a RTW ticket - I am now looking at around 18 months to 2 years of non-stop travelling. My head is actually buzzing just thinking about it :D I am 30 this summer and have no relationships or family ties keeping me in one place, so if this isn't the right time to take the plunge, I don't know when will be!

Anyway I'm aiming to head off early in 2016, so with a year and a bit to go, now is the time to start planning! The first step is of course research - before I look too closely at flights I need to have an idea of the places I want to go, and since there are very few parts of the world that don't interest me, I am going to have to do a lot of research to narrow it down to a shortlist. I am not looking to cram as many places in as possible, I don't want to simply tick places off a list - I want to go to places that really interest me and take the time to see them properly, so I need to be sure that I am picking the right stops. I have been given a fairly comprehensive list of travel websites, blogs, magazines, forums etc to help me with my research but when it comes to travelling the world I don't think anything is more valuable than talking to individual people about their thoughts and experiences of the places they have been. So anyone who has been somewhere they really loved, let me know!
 
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How incredibly exciting:) Well deserved and hard earned too if you've been saving for that long. I've always loved the idea of New Zealand but that's a dream for the future still for me. I haven't done heaps of travelling but will always remember a trip to Zimbabwe - however, that was 20 years ago so a lot has changed since then. I do think you're right to do less but do it thoroughly though. Best of luck and fun with your planning. The world literally is your oyster;):D
 
Kenya - absolutely beautiful. Would love to go back - the only place away, that I've felt at home. It is a big big culture change, and a lot of poverty - but people are lovely and the country and Safaris are stunning.
 
Wow that is amazing. It would be helpful if you gave some idea of what you like: cities versus countryside, sports (cycle touring, hiking, trekking) versus culture, logistically easy - ie countyies with good infrastructure - or logistically challenging - but that gets you to remote places which can be amazing. Roughing it or like being able to eat a decent meal and sleep somewhere clean!

New Zealand and Australia have incredibly beautiful countryside and are a mecca for sporty types. All the backpacker hostels are clean, friendly and welcoming. There are nice cafes in the tiniest places. New Zealand is incredibly easy to get around as it's so small but with great infrastructure. Oz was harder as its so vast but not really a problem just taked a long time!

India and Pakistan China were noisy, dirty, smelly. Hostels usually had shared latrines and I had to get used to the left hand wiping trick as none had loo roll. Getting around was challenging, delays inevitable. Beggars hassled westerners the whole time. But they were vibrant, fascinating places to be and very beautiful especially the Himalayas. I got sick while alone in Pakistan and it was quite scary knowing that there wasn't a hope in hell of getting any help from anyone and just having to ride it out.

Hong Kong is incredible: has more skyscrapers per acre than anywhere else in the world. It has an amazing harbour and skyline, is incredibly lively. It's a fascinating blend of east and west but is expensive and extremely crowded which some people don't like.

America was extremely friendly pretty much everywhere which might appeal to a lone traveller. Got sick there too but that was no problem - very easy to access medical care if insured.

The world's a big place!!! Can you narrow down what sort of experiences you are after?
 
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I should add that beggars only hassled westerners in cities and tourist/traveller hot spots. The people I met in remoter areas, were the most generous and hospitable people I've ever met. One day I was invited to sleep in someone's house as there was no accommodation. I couldn't figure out where the rest of the family had gone and in the morning I realised they had slept on the roof!
 
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My nan adores new Zealand, she is going there in 10days for the 2nd time. She is travelling alone but staying with friends and she is 80 :)
 
The other thing is that if you are living out of a rucksack you are limited in what you can take so also need to think about different climates and equipment. It's hard to pack for snowy/icy conditions as well as hot, dry ones. And for mountain climbing and chilling on a beach.

I separated my trips going every few years and choosing similar places during each trip. Ie 3 months in NZ and Oz, then on a separate trip, 3 months in south east Asia, 3 months in America, 3 months in the Arctic. Plus some shorter climbing trips to himalayas. Atlas mountains and Alps. Africa would have been my next trip but jobs, mortgages and kids came along! (I got pregnat about 2 months after returning from Pakistan. I was married by then but my husband understood my wanderlust and was happy for me to go anyway.)

As you can't keep coming home an option might be to have 'kit drops' round the world. Ie ship out a box of warm weather clothes to a friend for wintering in colardo! Rather than carrying winter wear all round Asia! Does depend on knowing friends or friends of friends in places you want to go. In my view travelling with locals is fab so if you can plot a dot to dot round the world from friendly face to friendly face that works well. Not that you will be with people the whole time but its nice to have someone around who knows the city especially when you first arrive somewhere jet kagged and knackered.
 
That sounds amazing, I bet the planning will be lots of fun too. My brother is there at the moment, his 2nd long stay there and honestly I dont think he will come back if he finds the right job, he organised the visa before he went this time so he can stay if he wants.
 
I have family in New Zealand involved in sport. And if your ticket comes back across USA, the American West and the National Parks are where OH and I hang out.
My only travel tip is about travelling so one is ready to ride if the opportunity crops up, which it usually does if one looks for it. To get some boots like Ariat Terrain that are dual purpose for walking and riding and wear them to travel on the flight. Plus get a back pack for cabin luggage that meets cabin luggage measurements yet is big enough to hold your riding helmet in its (padded?) bag plus your camera. A modern waterproof liner for the back pack is a good idea too as no back pack is entirely water proof and NZ has rain and rain in USA is pretty serious.
Being dual purpose our Ariat boots arent perfect for serious rock face mountaineering - but I have walked miles in mine in the States including through surface snow.
 
This is going to sound really silly but if I could go any where the one place I would go again is Harris. It's not on any traveler's plans I don't imagine and is not cultural or anything but it is the most amazing place. There is a peace there like nothing I've felt before and a stunning beauty that would rival anything anywhere else in the world, empty beaches of golden sand and crystal clear turquoise sea. The wildlife is fantastic, saw my first ever basking shark off the coast of Harris. There's white tailed eagles, golden eagles, otters, harris hawks, porpoise, dolphins, basking shark, seals and a million other creatures plus if you get chance to go in the summer months and you like wild flowers go down to Uist and see the machair, honestly I can bet you won't have seen anything like it anywhere else.

I had a very good friend at college who recommended India, she spent a lot of time there, like KP nut though she stayed away from the usual touristy places and fully immersed herself, she did say it's not for the feint hear ted but very special non the less.


Anyhow wherever you decide to go I think it will be amazing and you'll have so many fantastic memories from it. :)
 
Kite_Rider said:
This is going to sound really silly but if I could go any where the one place I would go again is Harris. It's not on any traveler's plans I don't imagine and is not cultural or anything but it is the most amazing place. There is a peace there like nothing I've felt before and a stunning beauty that would rival anything anywhere else in the world, empty beaches of golden sand and crystal clear turquoise sea. The wildlife is fantastic, saw my first ever basking shark off the coast of Harris. There's white tailed eagles, golden eagles, otters, harris hawks, porpoise, dolphins, basking shark, seals and a million other creatures plus if you get chance to go in the summer months and you like wild flowers go down to Uist and see the machair, honestly I can bet you won't have seen anything like it anywhere else.

I had a very good friend at college who recommended India, she spent a lot of time there, like KP nut though she stayed away from the usual touristy places and fully immersed herself, she did say it's not for the feint hear ted but very special non the less.


Anyhow wherever you decide to go I think it will be amazing and you'll have so many fantastic memories from it. :)
Click to expand...

Some of my immediate family used to live on Uist. It is one of my regrets that I didn't go visit them.
 
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I definitely preferred staying away from the Backpacker/Gap Year circuit where the chief attraction for the travellers appears to be cheap dope! Having said that, Goa was very beautiful and it was nice to watch gorgeous sunsets over the sea after weeks of dirt and dust.
 
Go via California!! I was desperate to fly via san fransisco to new zealand when we went in october but as we were stopping to visit friends in NSW via sydney on the way I couldnt get enough time off work. Love california, prefered to NZ actually but that might just be because we were there a long time...

Money saving tip from someone whose just got back... theres a magazine in arrivals (at least there was in auckland and christchurch) and could also be picked up in some city centres called Arrivals. We picked it up to skim through waiting for cases and it stuck with us for the entire trip as the back was full of vouchers probably saved us 30- 50% on entry on the things we decided to do.. vouchers were in date for a year too.

Im sure u might have something ordered but send me your address if you like and i will post you out the lonely planet new zealand as weve ended up with two!!
 
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Wow, what a fantastic thing to do. But are you sure you will want to come back??? ;)

Places I have loved and which are definitely worth a visit: South Africa if you want to see big animals that bite: Kerala (south of Goa) for a gentle, relaxed and polite introduction to India: Hong Kong: and Japan - a wonderful, deeply deeply foreign country. But of course I have no idea what would most please you, these are just personal likes.
 
Just want to say thanks for the comments so far, I have had some bad news this evening and not really in a frame of mind for replying right now, I am not being rude I promise!
 
Thanks Jane. I had a phonecall from my dad on Monday night - my mum has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Apparently she hasn't been "right" since before Christmas but they didn't want to say anything until they knew what was wrong. My dad sounded so shaken on the phone, I've never known him to be so openly emotional, it's not like him at all. We will know more after her appointment with the oncologist next week but I have all sorts of horrible thoughts going through my head. It's times like these when living abroad is really difficult, I feel like I can't do anything to support them from here :( Need to keep myself busy I think.

Thanks everyone who's replied for your comments and tips. Seems the NR lot are a very well-travelled bunch! In terms of the type of places I want to visit, I'm aiming for a good blend of countryside and city life. Obviously being in the Great Outdoors is what I enjoy the most, so I'll want to do plenty of sport, hiking/camping etc, but visiting cities is also important to me for the cultural aspects and I want my trip to be nice and varied. I am happy being away from civilisation for short periods of time, but "roughing it" for long periods isn't practical for me for health reasons so I do need to be wary of getting "stuck" in difficult places! I'm not particularly interested in south-east Asia and the backpacker hotspots, further north is more appealing though so I thought maybe visit a couple of the big cities whilst en-route to NZ. I loved the sound of Beijing from friends who visited for the Olympics, they went to Shanghai as well, and preferred both to Hong Kong. I should add that I am not really thinking of including much of Europe in the trip as I can do the places closer to home anytime. I think the parts of the world that interest me the most (apart from NZ) are the US and Africa, but obviously these are vast areas so selecting a handful of places to visit will be pretty difficult!
 
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