airfares will be expensive to au/nz because you are going in southern hemisphere summer.
as a not you might want to check going via HK to nz/au as sometimes you can get a cheaper deal flying via hawaii/hong kong and in. sometimes a night stay in japan from la to aus/nz can be cheaper than a direct la to au/nz deal.
looking at your list, id get cable cut off completly while gone and argue the cancellation fee if you have one.
i like my creative micro n200. takes 1 aaa battery and gets many many hours. disregard the ipod and things that will require you to take a charger. (when i hiked i made sure my dig cam would take crv32's or two aa's as charging can be a pain).
for your storage, make sure you prepay up front if you can and make itemised lists and take photos incase they sell it off while you are gone.
things missing on the todo list;
gear shakedown pull out that fav packtowel and make sure there aint no mold or such. clean down backpack, get some nikwax tdx direct spray and give your greg chaos a liberal going over _inside_ and out. spray your old goretex jacket too.
throw the old leather boots out and get some good trail runners with a nice toebox and cushioning (like montrail ventana or something). hit walmart and get some waldies (1/10th the price of crocs for the same thing). great in showers, great on the beech, great in evenings!
write down complete gear list. scratch off every second item. if you cant use each item for more than two different things, dont take it!
make sure you have that silk liner (some hostels wont let you sleep there if you dont have one), and trust me, silk liner is worth the cost over a cotton one.
do you plan on taking a sleeping bag? if you do, I hope its been stored uncompressed and hanging/laying out so as not to destroy the down...
for meds, some ibuprofen, a couple of antihistamine and a few condoms and you'll be good to go. mini toothpaste tube from walmart. some spare ziplocks, photocopies of your passports, leave copies with your folks!
you may not need the card reader since most cameras will report the memory card as a drive and will connect without drivers to most any (non-win98...) machine.
the hipbelt comes out of the chaos, so pull it out, get a small ziplock and stick $10 in it and ductape it and put it back so you have a spare in emergency that ppl wont find.
Stu - thanks for giving me A LOT to think about. A few responses....
Airfare to NZ - thanks for the tips, you're definetly thinking outside the box.
Cable - Sopranos final season is airing now. Forgetaboutit! My cable will get downgraded in 7 more weeks. It's a luxury I can still afford to live with, though it'll certainlly be cancelled closer to when my lease ends Nov 2.
MP3 player - I've got the old Creative Arts Nomad 128k, good for 4hrs of music, and love it. I definetly intend to get an mp3 player with flash memory that takes regular batteries. I would think it's hard to find just the right song when you get up to having a gig of music though. Also, I guess I can store pics on it, but I wouldn't be able to see them, and it's not clear to me if I could dowload directly from camera to mp3 like I can with some of the bigger players. The benefit of the mini-players are they cost less, and I wouldn't worry about it as much.
Storage - good tip!
Good sneakers - I invested in a pair of Merrell boots - $120 just 2 years ago - so I'm going to have a hard time not bringing them. They're practically like new. They don't breathe too well in hot climates though, probably because they're waterproof. They take up a lot of room when not being worn though, and because they're dirty, inevitably have to stay at the bottom. We'll have to revisit this topic down the road.
Sleeping Bag - negative. I was going to skip it, as it'll be a lighter load, and I intend to stay in hostels more than campgrounds.
Cardreader - the memory card reader was more a suggestion to avoid the need to carry a USB cable than anything else. It's cheap and cables are annoying!
Pacsafe - this is the first I've heard of it. Looks interesting. Doesn't it lull you into a bit of a false sense of security?
Stu
· 2 years ago
pacsafe is good. its not chickenwire, sure if you had some big bolt cutters you could cut through it. think of it like a good bike lock. if you have no lock, odds are someone will walk off with your bike. locking it up is a deterrent. most hostels i stayed in had no lockable storage, so you really need something, esp if you go out for the day and not take it. its also hard to get your hand in the links and into the pack.
you can also wear ya pack with the pacsafe on if need be.
I like it and think its worth it. if I can find mine I'll put it on my chaos and take a pic, size of pacsafe is important that it fits the pack without too much spare room to move...
Stacy
· 2 years ago
Happy Anniversaries! I laughed because today is Rambling Traveler's 3 month anniversary. Sometimes I feel like I started it yesterday, and sometimes I feel like I've been doing it for years!
I checked out your spreadsheet... Wow, that's a lot to think about. I'm looking forward to reading your Saving for a Trip Around the World series.
Stacy
Dan
· 2 years ago
Looks like you are a lot more organised than I am, good luck with sticking to it, hope you can bleed some more savings out of it.
pam
· 2 years ago
This is terrific. While that not all of these things apply to all travelers, of course, I think it's a great thing to share because it shows the kinds of expenses and actions that get overlooked when a traveler is about to head out into the world. Paying off that dental bill, remembering to give notice on the apartment, etc etc etc.
Thanks for sharing.
Pam
chirky
· 2 years ago
I do love this series - and am excited to see how you're planning your budget/how you'll make it happen. My husband and I have been considering doing a similar trip, and this may very well be the catalyst to get us planning! Well done!
Dave
· 2 years ago
Hi chirky -
Welcome aboard! I definetly intend to share all the lessons I've learned during the past few years - mostly financial - in what may appear to be excruciating detail. There are a lot of people who seem to gloss over the financial details leading up to their departure. Perhaps they feel it's in bad taste to share salaries and budgets, or it's a step beyond the kind of personal details they're ready to share.
In the interest of filling that void, I'm going to put it all on the table. I just hope I don't scare anyone away! :)
Mike
· 2 years ago
Very cool, Dave! I have a similar spreadsheet in the works, and I think it's really helpful to share your own planning with other travelers and travel-hopefuls.
Happy anniversary btw!
Sydney
· 2 years ago
Really glad I stumbled upon your link. I'm a newly single mom, and planning to take my children (ages 9 and 11) on their first world journey in Spring of 09. We will homeschool on line, and plan to be gone for two years. We've already worked out a lot of the details, but it always helps to see someone else's research. Have a fabulous and life-changing expedition!
All Comments
as a not you might want to check going via HK to nz/au as sometimes you can get a cheaper deal flying via hawaii/hong kong and in. sometimes a night stay in japan from la to aus/nz can be cheaper than a direct la to au/nz deal.
looking at your list, id get cable cut off completly while gone and argue the cancellation fee if you have one.
i like my creative micro n200. takes 1 aaa battery and gets many many hours. disregard the ipod and things that will require you to take a charger. (when i hiked i made sure my dig cam would take crv32's or two aa's as charging can be a pain).
for your storage, make sure you prepay up front if you can and make itemised lists and take photos incase they sell it off while you are gone.
things missing on the todo list;
gear shakedown
pull out that fav packtowel and make sure there aint no mold or such.
clean down backpack, get some nikwax tdx direct spray and give your greg chaos a liberal going over _inside_ and out. spray your old goretex jacket too.
throw the old leather boots out and get some good trail runners with a nice toebox and cushioning (like montrail ventana or something). hit walmart and get some waldies (1/10th the price of crocs for the same thing). great in showers, great on the beech, great in evenings!
write down complete gear list. scratch off every second item. if you cant use each item for more than two different things, dont take it!
make sure you have that silk liner (some hostels wont let you sleep there if you dont have one), and trust me, silk liner is worth the cost over a cotton one.
do you plan on taking a sleeping bag? if you do, I hope its been stored uncompressed and hanging/laying out so as not to destroy the down...
for meds, some ibuprofen, a couple of antihistamine and a few condoms and you'll be good to go. mini toothpaste tube from walmart. some spare ziplocks, photocopies of your passports, leave copies with your folks!
you may not need the card reader since most cameras will report the memory card as a drive and will connect without drivers to most any (non-win98...) machine.
the hipbelt comes out of the chaos, so pull it out, get a small ziplock and stick $10 in it and ductape it and put it back so you have a spare in emergency that ppl wont find.
I carried a pac-safe over my pack ( http://www.pac-safe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&a... ) they ROCK for hostels and trains and stuff, really good and worth the minimal weight they bring.
im sure i'll think of more random stuff later :)
Airfare to NZ - thanks for the tips, you're definetly thinking outside the box.
Cable - Sopranos final season is airing now. Forgetaboutit! My cable will get downgraded in 7 more weeks. It's a luxury I can still afford to live with, though it'll certainlly be cancelled closer to when my lease ends Nov 2.
MP3 player - I've got the old Creative Arts Nomad 128k, good for 4hrs of music, and love it. I definetly intend to get an mp3 player with flash memory that takes regular batteries. I would think it's hard to find just the right song when you get up to having a gig of music though. Also, I guess I can store pics on it, but I wouldn't be able to see them, and it's not clear to me if I could dowload directly from camera to mp3 like I can with some of the bigger players. The benefit of the mini-players are they cost less, and I wouldn't worry about it as much.
Storage - good tip!
Good sneakers - I invested in a pair of Merrell boots - $120 just 2 years ago - so I'm going to have a hard time not bringing them. They're practically like new. They don't breathe too well in hot climates though, probably because they're waterproof. They take up a lot of room when not being worn though, and because they're dirty, inevitably have to stay at the bottom. We'll have to revisit this topic down the road.
Sleeping Bag - negative. I was going to skip it, as it'll be a lighter load, and I intend to stay in hostels more than campgrounds.
Cardreader - the memory card reader was more a suggestion to avoid the need to carry a USB cable than anything else. It's cheap and cables are annoying!
Pacsafe - this is the first I've heard of it. Looks interesting. Doesn't it lull you into a bit of a false sense of security?
you can also wear ya pack with the pacsafe on if need be.
I like it and think its worth it. if I can find mine I'll put it on my chaos and take a pic, size of pacsafe is important that it fits the pack without too much spare room to move...
I checked out your spreadsheet... Wow, that's a lot to think about. I'm looking forward to reading your Saving for a Trip Around the World series.
Stacy
Thanks for sharing.
Pam
Welcome aboard! I definetly intend to share all the lessons I've learned during the past few years - mostly financial - in what may appear to be excruciating detail. There are a lot of people who seem to gloss over the financial details leading up to their departure. Perhaps they feel it's in bad taste to share salaries and budgets, or it's a step beyond the kind of personal details they're ready to share.
In the interest of filling that void, I'm going to put it all on the table. I just hope I don't scare anyone away! :)
Happy anniversary btw!
Sydney