Discovering Australia

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My first visit to the opposite, “foot of the world” (the word “antipodes” deriving from the Greek words for “opposite” and “foot”, apparently) was on an adventure road trip to New Zealand with my then partner, way back in mid-2000. It was my first time to that part of the globe, and at that point my longest ever flight too! My adventure to New Zealand is a tale in itself: it was an awesome vacation, full of amazing things like hiking on a Glacier, trekking through ancient forests, Wine Tasting (obviously! 😉), Jet Boating, and panning for Gold! And I made a mental note to go back and do Australia at some point so that I could compare and contrast, amongst other things 😎 Roll on some two decades, and I finally get to tick doing just that off my bucket list!

Planning an adventure to Australia can be a daunting prospect. Especially if you’re not a seasoned traveller. Despite having travelled a fair amount over the years (predominantly with work), or perhaps because of it, I’m not one to prefer leaving things to chance. Shall we say I like to have in place a (viable) travel plan before I set off 😊 Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to roll with whatever comes my way – travelling, especially internationally, is rarely all plain sailing – however I do prefer to have some sense of where I’m going and also know I have somewhere to stay when I get there! 😄 Something that I’ve discovered over the years, also tends to satisfy the local authorities that you are a genuine traveller!

I started by looking at what Explore! had to offer. Many years ago, circa 2000, my partner at the time (a different one to my New Zealand companion; there have been a few over the years 😉) and I took a trip with Explore! to Egypt – and it’s without a doubt another of the most amazing vacations I’ve ever had! Explore! vacations typically tend to be tour-led, and the one I took to Egypt was a combination of 3 tours kind of bolted together. I could wax lyrical about that trip, but it’s a story for another time…suffice to say that, sadly, Explore! didn’t have anything that fit the bill for what I was looking for in an Australian Adventure.

With Explore! off the table, my attention turned elsewhere. Having already taken a TRAVELBAG vacation with my most recent partner to the Seychelles back in 2023, I decided it might be worth giving them a go. As luck would have it, a fortuitously timed brochure headlined “Winter Blues? Not on our watch” dropped through my letterbox…which to me felt like an omen 😲 So, with the brochure in hand, I contacted TRAVELBAG and found myself in the capable hands of Sam Dear.

Travel planning with TRAVELBAG

In his bio, Sam says, “I’m passionate about customer service and love going the extra mile to offer expert advice.” And that couldn’t be more true! Taking the original “Australia & Fiji” trip listed in the aforementioned brochure (at the time of writing, the same as the one listed here on their website) it would have been easy for Sam to simply use the itinerary as supplied. However, with travel experiences that include “touring America and visiting spectacular Australia, Thailand, and Singapore”, Sam was more than willing to share his expertise and suggest different options in order to come up with something of a more customized nature.

Now, it’s typically easier to modify something that already exists than it is to build something from scratch. Despite a few inconsistencies I spotted, the as-supplied TRAVELBAG itinerary was a good basis from which to start; these days, inconsistencies – particularly where websites are concerned – are not uncommon, so it pays to do the groundwork and dive a little deeper into the details 😊 Over the course of some two weeks, Sam and I worked on my specific itinerary, and I really do have to say that nothing has been too much trouble – from tracking down alternative island transfers to accommodating delayed responses from me due to a work trip to Las Vegas (which is a story in its own right), Sam has been patient and accommodating throughout!

Budget

Budgeting – especially where a vacation is concerned – is a personal affair, and largely depends on whether you’re travelling solo, with a partner, as a family, or as part of a group. Whatever you spend on booking a vacation – i.e. flights, hotels, pre-planned excursions, etc – you can rest assured you’ll be spending an additional amount on the likes of meals, entertainment, supplemental trips and incidentals. For me, this time as a solo traveller in my advancing 50s, I wanted to achieve a balance between the adventurous and the relaxing 🤗 So I started at the bottom end of my budget and progressively worked my way up, adding here, and adjusting there, to achieve my goal. Again, Sam was more than accommodating as we navigated my selection process 😎

Itinerary

So here it is, my planned itinerary for my travels to Australia! I’m going to be departing December 2nd – a little over a month from the time of publishing this article – and returning December 23rd, 2024. I decided I wanted to be at home for Christmas and spend the festive day with friends 😎 December is not the hottest month of the year in the southern hemisphere, but close to it, so I shall be visiting the land “down under” in what is effectively their Summer 🤗 I also say “planned itinerary” as I will no doubt have many unplanned adventures along the way! Feel free to comment below, and also follow along with me: I will be posting about all of my travels along the way 😊