New Zealand - Trans Alpine

Trans Alpine

 

One of those bucket list things for us was to do some of the great train journeys.  It will be a little while before we can do the big (read expensive) ones like the Trans Siberian or the Blue Train but a jaunt on the Trans Alpine, thank you very much think we will.   



 

I love the trip out from Christchurch, it really is stunning and the first glimpses of the Alps is always so exciting.  The Canterbury Plains are so lush and green, its a different kind of green to home.  The Trans Alpine goes from Christchurch on the eastern side to Greymouth on the Westcoast.  The great thing, or one of the great things, about trains is, someone else is driving and we can both look at the scenery zipping past. 

 

The rivers always amaze me, the way the braid their way across the landscape, the volume of water as the snow melts must be huge.  The fine rock particles in the water give the distinct icy blue colour.  Which I cant seem to get a good photo of!

 

There was an open observation car, which was really popular but a tad chilly!  Everyone had their cameras out.

It was drizzling by the time we got to Arthurs Pass so it was a quick jump off, grab a few pics and jump back on. 

 

Its a 4 and a half hour trip which didn't seem to take that long.  I would love to do this again and a few of the other New Zealand train journeys with Rhys, he would love them!

http://www.kiwirailscenic.co.nz/tranzalpine/

Next stop.....Greymouth.

New Zealand - Milford Sound

It was an amazing drive from Te Anau through the Homer Tunnel, with an unbelievable 1 in 10 gradient, no that's steep!

 

 

The boat we were to go on.

 

A misty kind of day which is actually a good day weather wise here, they have something like 6m of rain a year.  Look a waterfall!!!

Look more waterfalls, they were everywhere and all were just so pretty.  Bit of a photo overload day!

 

The mouth of the Sound. 

 

Don't know who this pair are but it did make a good photo.  I wondered if they were going to do a titanic scene!!!!!!

The Road to Walvis Bay and Flamingos

Quite often on a weekend -usually a Sunday afternoon we would jump in the car and go for a drive to see the flamingos.  They are such a strange bird and pink! 

It was a beautiful drive along the coast, where we passed the quad bikes and sand boarding areas

Oil rigs in for work... and more sand

and finally get to see the magnificent pink birds.

Planning a Family Trip - Travel Insurance

This is really important, hopefully you never ever need to use it.  Not only are you covering yourself and your family for things like lost luggage but also medical treatment, emergencies, travel delays etc.

There are heaps of providers and it is important to read the policy to ensure you are covered for what you need.  Compare apples and apples. 

Some are:
http://www.travelinsurancedirect.com.au/
http://auspost.com.au/finance-insurance/get-travel-insurance-quote.html
http://www.worldcare.com.au/
http://www.1cover.com.au/
http://www.covermore.com.au/
http://www.covermore.com.au/


The activities you will be doing can also carry a surcharge, things like snow sports, you are going to pay extra as they carry greater risks!

Some things are not covered eg acts of terrorism, some countries.  Look into things like natural disasters, a few years ago when the volcano in Iceland (with the name that drove news presenters crazy, Eyjafjallajökull) decided to spew ash for weeks over Europe. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_travel_disruption_after_the_2010_Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_eruption

There are even websites that will do comparisons for you but it is up to you to read the details and remember they may not have access to all the market.

http://www.comparethemarket.com.au/travel-insurance/
http://www.comparetravelinsurance.com.au/

Pre existing conditions, if you have one search around.  Some companies will not cover you, others will charge extra, some might ask for a medical.  As someone with a medical condition I always am upfront and provide as much detail as I can including last specialist appointment, current treatment, status of the disease, any ongoing treatment and any monitoring or regular checks.  It helps to define the risk. 

But most importantly don't lie or omit to tell them about a problem. 

Finally take out your insurance as soon as you make your first booking, that way you will be covered for cancelling your trip.

Dinosaur Footprints

Okay I may be one of the only people who get excited about this (and some of my geo friends).  We were on the way back from Waterburg NP and decided to find the dino tracks.  It was pretty easy to find - well we had a map, a rough idea and there are not a lot or roads!  I think there was a small entrance fee.

 

 

 

We are sitting above the smaller prints

made by a two foot chicken lizard. 

Someone was not impressed.

 

 

Looks like Big Birds footprints!

Reminds me I still have these boots, just need to glue the sole back on.

 

 

Yep getting a bit keen to go back. 

http://www.namibian.org/travel/natural/dinosaur-footprints.html

http://www.dinosaurstracks-guestfarm.com/dinosaurstracks-eng.html

Etosha

  Be still my heart, I feel like I am living in Nat Geo World!

 

 

The gates to a whole new world....

 

I will never forget as we drove through Anderson Gate and had signed in, John turned to me and said "Right where are the animals", and as I turned I could see a kudu buck standing off to my side, springbok and then just ahead was a lone giraffe.  It was so fast and amazing neither of us grabbed the camera, to show our age, it was just before the digital camera phase.

 

 

The first camp isn't far from the gate and called Okaukuejo.  This was some of the accommodation, it was basic but more than adequate.  It was self catering with a brai area outside that we made use of.  All the camps have had major overhauls and look even better.

 

http://www.nwr.com.na/okaukuejo_camp.html

 

Since we were here to see wildlife.....here it is

 

 

Yep this girl has a belly full of paws.

 

Out on the pan.

 

How cool to see so many different animals.  The guide book was so well written you could not miss them.

How lucky were we to see a heard of elephants on their way to the waterhole.

 

If you look closely you might see a tiny bubba tucked under its mumma. 

 

 

 

About to settle in for sundowners and game viewing at Halali Camp.

 

 

After a few nights we moved to Halali, the camp in the middle.  It was smaller and had less facilities, however the game viewing overlooking the waterhole was said to be special.  As you arrived at the camp, a huge elephant skull sans tusks greeted you.

 

 

There is that sunset.

 

 

 

 

Here is some current info on the park http://www.etoshanationalpark.org/

 

 

 



Keeping Track

While we hate the fact Big Bean has to go away there is some consolation in the form of airline and hotel points.  We had never been big collectors of hotel points until about two years ago.  Points for air travel, well that was always a given even after loosing several hundred thousand points when Ansett collapsed. 

I have been using a program called Awardwallet to manage the points.  It allows you to add different users (good for us) and see the points values for each person and program on the one screen.  It also lets you see the expiry details of the points. 

This is the website www.awardwallet.com

So the upside is that we have enough to do a couple of trips for all of us.  Now to do some serious planning!