Take a Vacation

[LiveCoug]

Lie flats are a definite game changer if you aren't a poor like me.

My wife and I are going to NYC for the weekend next weekend for an anniversary trip. Haven't been to the Big Apple in 2 decades. I love the city, so I'm excited. And Hungry

[Bo Diddley]

Lie flats are a definite game changer if you aren't a poor like me.

My wife and I are going to NYC for the weekend next weekend for an anniversary trip. Haven't been to the Big Apple in 2 decades. I love the city, so I'm excited. And Hungry

[chrisrenrut]

I waited way to long to ask, but what provides the best assistance in having a comfortable 15 hour flight. Leaving Tuesday.

I’m heading to the same city you are next week (assuming you are going with the choir), but for business. I’m fortunate my company springs for biz class, but my wife wanted to come and I couldn’t afford the same for her. I kind of feel bad about that, but she’ll get to hang out in a 5 star hotel for a week near a nice shopping area, so she’ll get her reward.
My only advice is to download a couple of seasons of a tv show that I haven’t seen before that can binge watch. Makes the time go by faster. I try to not sleep much in the way there. Maybe an hour or two nap early in the flight We arrive in the evening, and I want to arrive tired. . Coming back, it doesn’t seem to matter whether I sleep a lot or not, my sleep cycle is completely messed up.
mother than that, stay hydrated, and get up and walk around every couple of hours.

[Copelius]

I’m heading to the same city you are next week (assuming you are going with the choir), but for business. I’m fortunate my company springs for biz class, but my wife wanted to come and I couldn’t afford the same for her. I kind of feel bad about that, but she’ll get to hang out in a 5 star hotel for a week near a nice shopping area, so she’ll get her reward.
My only advice is to download a couple of seasons of a tv show that I haven’t seen before that can binge watch. Makes the time go by faster. I try to not sleep much in the way there. Maybe an hour or two nap early in the flight We arrive in the evening, and I want to arrive tired. . Coming back, it doesn’t seem to matter whether I sleep a lot or not, my sleep cycle is completely messed up.
mother than that, stay hydrated, and get up and walk around every couple of hours.

Sounds like a plan. I did really well when I went to Sydney 28 years ago, but I was a younger man then and am somewhat concerned about my tolerance for the long flight now. If you are around the MOA and want to meet up, let me know.

[chrisrenrut]

Sounds like a plan. I did really well when I went to Sydney 28 years ago, but I was a younger man then and am somewhat concerned about my tolerance for the long flight now. If you are around the MOA and want to meet up, let me know.

Thanks for the offer. I’ll be on the other side of the city from where the choir is performing. And my schedule is pretty packed. I like to get in, do what is needed, and get out, so I rarely have much free time. The couple times I have, I visted Corregidor, which was pretty cool for the WWII history. And the other weekend I had there was during a typhoon.

[Copelius]

Thanks for the offer. I’ll be on the other side of the city from where the choir is performing. And my schedule is pretty packed. I like to get in, do what is needed, and get out, so I rarely have much free time. The couple times I have, I visted Corregidor, which was pretty cool for the WWII history. And the other weekend I had there was during a typhoon.

No worries. We're actually heading out to Corregidor one of the days.

[Northwestcoug]

New Zealand is a land of many contrasts…

We just got back spending 20 days on both the North and South Islands. It was not exactly as I expected. I was surprised to learn that it was relatively new to colonization, with the Maori arriving there around 1300 AD and no evidence that it was inhabited before then. There are pockets of areas that are exotic and breathtaking. But the majority of the land is involved by their three economies: forestry, wine making, and agrictulture. And all these have fundamentally altered the landscape in the last ~200 years. This meant that for hours of our car rides, we saw landscape that closely resembled Montana, Alberta, California, and the Pacific Northwest. It also meant that indigenous wildlife is not very abundant, since the introduced predators decimated the flightless bird population. You won’t see a kiwi in the wild (we did in a sanctuary), but you’ll get your fill of sheep and cattle. That isn’t necessarily bad, mind you, just was unexpected when I thought we were going to be seeing less familiar sites. That being said, there was rarely a drive or hike that wasn’t beautiful on it’s own merits.

Mrs. NWC planned the whole trip, and her biggest influence was a facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/newzealandtraveltips. Super helpful and had many suggestions based on the time and regions we wanted to visit on each island. Because of that advice, we only spent limited time in the cities and focused on the outdoors. So if you want to know much about cities other than Napier and Queenstown, I can’t help you.

We went top down, arriving in Aukland after a 12 hour flight from SFO. NZ Air offers a couple of upgrades. First class was more than double the price but we took the ‘sky couch’, which gives you a whole row of three seats and the foot rests come up so you can lay down better. If you’re over 6 feet you can give up the thought of spooning with your significant other, as we found out. But it was nice to be able to spread out. Arriving in the early morning we opted to take a ferry out to Waihiki Island to spend the day there, forcing ourselves to stay awake so we could sleep that night. It’s a beautiful Island but if you’re not into shopping or winebibbing, you might want to skip that. Tiritiri Island sounded awesome but the ferry wasn’t running the days we were in Aukland. From there, we went to the Eastern Coast below Corumandel. Beautiful warm and isolated beaches. Look up staying in Whiritoa or Whangamata, smallish areas that aren’t super touristy. Then to Rotorua, which is. Very. But the lake and surroundings are beautiful. I’d skip hot tubbing at Hell’s Gate, a geothermal area where people like getting mud baths. Wasn’t awesome. Plenty of redwoods near the lake, but they are almost all transplanted from Cali. Nice to walk around them though. Go see the Hamurana Springs, a Maori settlement in the past. Crystal clear water and you can practice your chops seeing a few NZ-native birds. There’s about 4 Maori dinner experiences around there. We did one, was nice.

Lake Taupo is of a similar level of tourism, but again, very pretty. Definitely see the glow-worms. We did this tour: https://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting. Huka Falls and the lake are stunningly blue.

Spent a few days in and around Napier which I would also recommend. A 1930’s earthquake levelled the town and in the rush to rebuild it art deco was installed everywhere. Most of the downtown still shows that original architecture. Would also recommend this tour to see one of the largest gannet colonies in the world: https://gannetsafaris.co.nz. Thousands of birds where I took many pictures. Swampfrog would do well here. Plenty of wineries around here. Even if you’re not going to imbibe, many of them do food in really pretty settings.

From there we flew to Christchurch on the south island. Looks like a very nice city but we were on a mission to continue south to Lake Tekapo. Another deep blue lake surrounded by mountains. Got up early one morning to the do the Hooker Valley track, which gets you near the base of Mt. Cook. Very stunning, easy 6 mile out and back trail, and at the end of summer there were still icebergs in the adjacent lake. Highly recommended, but get there early; it fills up.

Continuing south to Central Otago, a huge wine area. Nice towns and pretty valleys, but if it’s not your vibe I would probably just drive through going south to Queenstown down to Southland/Fjordland. We spent 6-7 days in this area, and if you’re looking for my highest recommendation, I would focus on this area. You’ll get slammed by tourists in Queenstown (3.5 million annually), but it is such a gorgeous setting that you have to see it. Te Anau is how we ended our trip, which is the best jumping-off point to go see the Fjordland. I would highly recommend hooking up with a good tour company, which we did: https://tripsandtramps.com/experienc...-3-day-package. Three days of easy/moderate hikes with a high service level. Don’t let the price scare you; when they take care of everything, it’s worth it. Out of the three days we spent with them, Milford Sound was the most spectacular. Do the flat 6 mile out and back hike to Giant Gates Falls and then a cruise through the Sound. Also Routeburn Track gives 360-degree mountain vistas. Drive the road and see kea, the world’s only parrot that lives in alpine regions. But seriously, just book the guided tours and let them take care of all of this.

A word about guided fishing trips on the South Island: most of it is sight fishing, meaning that you’re walking the river and waiting until you spot fish to cast to. It is technically challenging and it humbled us. I usually don’t have a problem fly fishing, but when the water is clear and the fish can see me and I need to place the fly in a 4 square foot area surrounding by low-hanging willow trees, yeah I’m going to have problems catching fish Kristina. Both of us got skunked, and was the only slightly bitter day on an otherwise great trip. But we asked for the quintessential NZ fly trip and we just didn’t know what we were getting into. If you do know what you’re getting into, this is a good reference to pick your guide in the Southland: https://www.fishingguides.co.nz/fly-...land-fiordland. Kristina was very nice, just make sure she understands your skill level.

Another word about expense: food and lodging are expensive, but relatively so. The NZ dollar is ~.60 USD. Gas is a sticker shock though, around 3 dollars per liter. This was my third time driving on the left side of the road. I started finally feeling comfortable this time.

So how does NZ score on my 2 tier vacation scoring method? Could I see myself living there? Yes. There is a vista and size of community for everyone one there. And It is true that everyone there is really nice. It’s also true what they say about Aussies: they bring the party. Who I thought was a reserved retired woman didn’t hesitate to ‘go there’ when someone dropped the phrase ‘trim the hedge’. Would I go back? That’s a little bit harder to answer. I won’t go back until I’ve finished the countries on my bucket list. But once I do, I’d definitely go back during spring and see the South Island again.

[Bo Diddley]

That sounds amazing. Great report, and good to have you back!

[BigPiney]

excellent returning and reporting.

[Copelius]

That sounds like a lot of fun. I wish I could have made the south island when I was there, but I didn't have much choice, given that BYU was paying the bulk of the bill.

Planning ahead for the distant future, I just spent the past hour figuring out what I think would be an awesome road trip but the wife says she won't even consider it until kids are all adults and we can afford to take 6 weeks off. I wanted to drive through all 48 of the contiguous states while only entering each one time. With a little help from Canada, I was able to plan it out. I figure it would take 6 weeks taking a nice leisurely pace as well as stopping for points of interest along the way and taking some days off. It took two google map route plotters to fit it all in. I know it is not attractive to most,but I love driving.

Screenshot 2024-03-03 231722.png.

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[BigFatMeanie]

That sounds like a lot of fun. I wish I could have made the south island when I was there, but I didn't have much choice, given that BYU was paying the bulk of the bill.

Planning ahead for the distant future, I just spent the past hour figuring out what I think would be an awesome road trip but the wife says she won't even consider it until kids are all adults and we can afford to take 6 weeks off. I wanted to drive through all 48 of the contiguous states while only entering each one time. With a little help from Canada, I was able to plan it out. I figure it would take 6 weeks taking a nice leisurely pace as well as stopping for points of interest along the way and taking some days off. It took two google map route plotters to fit it all in. I know it is not attractive to most,but I love driving.

I did a jeep tour of the White Rim Trail with a retired couple from Florida. They were slowly working their way around the USA - driving and stopping along the way for various sites and attractions. They didn’t have a camper or trailer or anything - just stayed everywhere in hotels. Their rule was they wouldn’t drive more than 3 hours a day.

[Clark Addison]

I did a jeep tour of the White Rim Trail with a retired couple from Florida. They were slowly working their way around the USA - driving and stopping along the way for various sites and attractions. They didn’t have a camper or trailer or anything - just stayed everywhere in hotels. Their rule was they wouldn’t drive more than 3 hours a day.

We did a very miniature version of this several years back. We had a family reunion that was only a 3.5 hour drive from our home. We decided to drive it over a period of about 5 days. We roughly followed the Blue Ridge Parkway, but made a lot of side trips and backtracks to various sights and towns. We never spent more than 3-4 hours a day driving, and some nights would stay in a town that was only 40 or 50 miles closer to our destination than the previous night.

I really enjoyed it. My youngest, on the other hand, who was about 7 at the time, still remembers as the worst vacation ever. She was continually asking "Where are we GOING" and "When are we going to get there???" and was thoroughly displeased with our lack of daily progress. This was also the trip where she created her rule that motels/hotels with hallways on the outside were strictly forbidden.

We have a reunion scheduled for next year that is about a 10 hour drive. Maybe I will schedule 2 weeks to get there.

[BigPiney]

Has any one here planned a Safari or gone on one. Looking for reputable company, but also don't want to break the bank.

My mom and dad had one planned last spring, but with his health issues, they had to cancel.

My mom really wants to go still after my dad's passing, so I am going to tag along and keep her safe.

Any help or suggestions are welcome.

We were thinking of a South Africa one and then hit Victoria Falls (she really wants to see that). But are open to suggestions.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Has any one here planned a Safari or gone on one. Looking for reputable company, but also don't want to break the bank.

My mom and dad had one planned last spring, but with his health issues, they had to cancel.

My mom really wants to go still after my dad's passing, so I am going to tag along and keep her safe.

Any help or suggestions are welcome.

We were thinking of a South Africa one and then hit Victoria Falls (she really wants to see that). But are open to suggestions.

We did a safari in August 2021 to celebrate my retirement and felt we could blow a pretty significant amount, which we did. I worked with Audley and was assigned a specialist who focuses only on Kenya and Uganda. She was an American but lived half-time there, and was a long-distance runner. I don't think she's there any more. Anyway, she asked what we wanted to do/see and the price range we were looking for. I said I wanted to see the Big Five, hike up a mountain and hang out with a family of gorillas, see the Great Migration, ride in a hot air balloon as the sun rises over the Serengeti, and to visit a Masai village. We did all that and more, including visiting a women's shelter that focuses on sewing and cycling (my wife was in heaven) and a pygmy village where we were treated like giant kings, which we kind of were. Because COVID was still suppressing travel to Africa (we had to get tested before entering either country), we were doted on at each stop and it was always just the two of us with our guides. The trip could not have gone better. Here's a sample South Africa tour from Audley.

Friends and relatives have done safaris in South Africa, including a side trip to Victoria Falls, and loved it. You should call a couple of companies, tell them the specifics of what you want, and have them give you an estimate, then weigh your choices. You might want to talk to Odynovo, an Austrailian company that has a number of South Africa tours (here's one). They appear to be very highly rated and they've planned our September trip to China and Tibet and I've been very impressed with their work thus far.

[BigPiney]

We did a safari in August 2021 to celebrate my retirement and felt we could blow a pretty significant amount, which we did. I worked with Audley and was assigned a specialist who focuses only on Kenya and Uganda. She was an American but lived half-time there, and was a long-distance runner. I don't think she's there any more. Anyway, she asked what we wanted to do/see and the price range we were looking for. I said I wanted to see the Big Five, hike up a mountain and hang out with a family of gorillas, see the Great Migration, ride in a hot air balloon as the sun rises over the Serengeti, and to visit a Masai village. We did all that and more, including visiting a women's shelter that focuses on sewing and cycling (my wife was in heaven) and a pygmy village where we were treated like giant kings, which we kind of were. Because COVID was still suppressing travel to Africa (we had to get tested before entering either country), we were doted on at each stop and it was always just the two of us with our guides. The trip could not have gone better. Here's a sample South Africa tour from Audley.

Friends and relatives have done safaris in South Africa, including a side trip to Victoria Falls, and loved it. You should call a couple of companies, tell them the specifics of what you want, and have them give you an estimate, then weigh your choices. You might want to talk to Odynovo, an Austrailian company that has a number of South Africa tours (here's one). They appear to be very highly rated and they've planned our September trip to China and Tibet and I've been very impressed with their work thus far.

Thanks.

After doing a lot of searching today, I also found the Costco travel option. https://costco.ttc.com/en-us/vacatio...nerary-section

I will check these out as well.