So What Is The Plan?
On the 10th October we are heading to Sydney to start what could be a yearlong working and travelling trip but what is the plan once we land in Sydney?
After we land on the 12th of October and we are staying in Bondi Beach for four nights to recover from jet lag, enjoy some beach and sun and see a bit of Sydney – but now it’s go, go, go on an East Coast road trip using Greyhound. We have purchased km passes from STA getting 6900km for just over 550, we are hoping this budget travel doesn’t make us regret not hiring a campervan but we have chance to do this later on.
We plan to spend a month travelling from Sydney to Cairns, arriving in time for the eclipse on the 14th November. Along the way we will stop in Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Bryon Bay, Nimbin, Coolangatta, Surfers Paradise, Tamborine MT, Brisbane, Mooloolaba/Maroochydore, Noosa, Rainbow Beach, Hervey Bay/Fraser Island, Town of 1770/Agnes Waters, Rockhampton & Great Keppel Island, Arlie Beach/Whistunday Island, Townsville, Mission Beach, Cairns, Port Douglas & Cape Tribulation. Hopefully we will be able to sky dive, sail, dive, see whales and more.
After such a busy month it will be time to do some work, what and where we do this is any one’s guess. We are trying to keep our options as open as possible, in case we get offered something along the way or decide we want to live and work in a certain place we go to. After all I really don’t mind what job I do as long as it pays and it’s a bit different to what I have done before.
We are planning to stay in Australia until 23rd March 2013. We hope to spend New Year in Sydney and Christmas on a beach – although I’m not too fussed which one! Go to and maybe even work the Melbourne f1 grand prix, road trip the great ocean road, head over to Adelaide and maybe even get to Alice Springs and Ayer’s rock.
From there we will head to New Zealand for a little over two weeks, hopefully we will rent a campervan and drive from Christchurch around South Island and then head to the North Island. I am really keen for Milford Sound but apart from that there is little plan yet, would love some suggestions!
Come April 10th we are back on planes and off to Bangkok for Songkran Festival – basically a water fight festival which happens to be over my birthday. We then have a month and a half to go round SE Asia – heading north through Thailand, over to Laos and Vietnam then south to Cambodia and on to the Thai islands before heading through Malaysia to Singapore where currently our flight is booked home from on the 30th May 2013.
All of this is light plans and subject to change as I would ideally like to head back to Australia so I can visit Darwin and Kakadu National Park during the dry season instead of the wet season which it would be if we visited before we left. Luckily we have tickets valid for a year and paid £50 to allow us to change our flight dates up to 3 times. The thought of everything that is to come is still too much for me to take it. It just feels like a dream, but soon my dream is going to become real.
Sounds like a fantastic trip. I did a similar route around Australia about ten years ago (god that makes me feel old!). New Year in Sydney was amazing and definitely not be be missed, and if you have time I loved the west coast – much wilder and more underdeveloped but some amazing scenery.