Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

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  • World Trip 2011: Day 1 – Melbourne to Los Angeles to Las Vegas, USA

    Tuesday 31 May 2011
    Highlights: Qantas Business International Lounge, Los Angeles Admirals Club

    Early start getting up at 6 am today with a big day of travelling ahead.  Checked in at 6.45 am thanks to a drop off from Reagan.  Mum checked out the duty-free and now has items waiting for when she returns in 8 days.

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  • 2011 USA Trip

    Well less than one week now to I take off to the USA for a very much needed holiday, and this time the Australian Dollar is very strong meaning shopping is a part of this trip!  I’ll be leaving on Tuesday 31 May and returning to Wednesday 15 June 2011.

    I’m leaving on a 9.35 am Qantas flight direct to Los Angeles and from here transfer to a flight to Las Vegas after a 4 hour stopover.  Arrival time in Vegas is noon on Tuesday, the time zone thing meaning it is a few hours after I left).  I envisage shows, gambling and hard to believe it but also shopping for this part of the trip.

    I’ll be leaving Vegas on Friday morning after 2.5 days and heading for San Francisco (via Los Angeles).  I’ll be in San Fran for the weekend so I see a Pier 39 visit in my future and maybe even a sporting game if I can find one.

    On Monday morning I’ll be catching a flight to Anchorage, Alaska for the main part of the trip.  After flying over Canada (sorry next time) I’ll arrive in Alaska around 6.20 pm (I have a 3 hour stopover in Seattle) and from here hopefully my hotel will be ready for me to crash before the fun begins.

    On Tuesday 7 June I’ll be catching an 8 hour train to Denali, apparently the sights on the train trip are great.  That night in Denali I’ll be undertaking White Water Rafting.  The next day I’ll be getting up at a crazy time (around 5 am) to start a day long Kantishna Wilderness Trails Tour.  On Thursday 9 June I’ll be catching a bus back to Anchorage (again good sights apparently) and then visiting the Anchorage Museum.

    On the Friday I catch a train to Whittier and do a day cruise to Prince William Sound.  On the Saturday, back at Anchorage, I will be undertaking a Redoubt Bear Viewing Flight.  Small planes can be a bit hair rising at times, so I better find some bears!

    Sunday 12 June I have the whole day to wonder around Anchorage before catching a late flight back to Los Angeles via Seattle.  I arrive around 11.20 pm and will be staying at an airport hotel, hopefully without fleas.

    I have a late night flight back to Australia on the Monday so I’m thinking for the first time ever in LA I’ll do a real tourist thing and do one of those Hollywood Homes tours (I know could be really lame but you never know).

    Finally late Monday night I catch a flight back to Sydney and then change planes to get back to Melbourne around noon on the Wednesday (Tuesday 14 June is lost to me this year).  Hopefully this will be an enjoyable trip.

  • 2010 Fiji Trip: Day 8 – Sydney to Melbourne (via Brisbane), Australia

    Trip Photos (on Facebook)

    Arriving back at the airport with lots of memories Kara left me there as she flew home to Jason and her daughter (my niece) Erin.  Lots of good memories all round.  While this was a very different trip for me, most staying in one location and it was also very short I enjoyed the chance to spend time with my sister and to just relax.

    My time at the Sydney airport was uneventful, I made the most of the Qantas Lounge as was already planning for my next adventure.  My Air Pacific booked ticket then took me back to Brisbane which was the start of my positioning to earn extra status credits and Qantas points.  A short wait in the Brisbane airport and my flight return flight to Melbourne linked to my flight back on 30 October kicked in and I was back home.

  • 2010 Fiji Trip: Day 7 – Nadi to Sydney, New South Wales

    Friday 5 November 2010
    Highlights: Business Class flight home, Darling Harbour dinner cruise
    Trip Photos (on Facebook)

    All good things must come to an end and so it was with this wonderful relaxing mini trip with my sister Kara.  One last buffet breakfast and we said good-bye to our resort.  Clearing customs wasn’t a problem.  The Air Pacific lounge wasn’t anything great but gave us a chance to get some toast.

    IMG_5996Now the plane trip back was something else.  We were on a bigger jumbo and our business class seats were right up the pointy end of the plane.  Extremely comfortable.  As you can fly Air Pacific to the USA this might be a future option one day.

    We planned to stay one night in Sydney and to make the most of it so after checking into our hotel and resting for a little while it was down to Darling Harbour for a Starlight dinner cruise which was a great way to end the trip.

  • 2010 Fiji Trip: Day 6 – Nadi, Fiji

    Thursday 4 November 2010
    Highlights: The Sand, the Sea and the Sunlight of Fiji
    Trip Photos (on Facebook)

    IMG_5989Today was our last full day in Fiji and we decided to go on a pleasant cruise to nearby small islands.  We spent some time on South Sea Island, walking along the beaches, I even played on volleyball (and hate my hand – DOH).

    Floating in the calm waters my problems, and the world seemed a million or even trillion miles away.  Life can be really enjoyable if you allow yourself to just relax for a short time.