OK – last one of the day!

For budget purposes, I think you should allow a minimum of US$30 per day for food.  This dollar value is based on doing a couple of simple things like buying a loaf of bread or cereal for breakfasts at the homes you’re all staying in rather than eating out for brunch every day, and maybe doing a quick supermarket run for having snacks in the car rather than buying lunches and nibbles at more expensive rest-stops.

There are a few days where there will be an opportunity for eating at some very fine restaurants if you so desire: Monday 4th January out at MONA for lunch is one of these days (although they have a full range of options including BYO and eating picnic-style on the lawns, plus a cafe if you’re not wanting to splurge in the award winning restaurant).  Monday 4th Jan in the evening is another: I’ll most likely be down at the Salamanca Waterfront where there are many great places to dine.  Thursday lunch at Frogmore Creek Vineyard could be had for less than $40 if you only wanted one course and wine; again, you could picnic in the park if that suits your budget better.  Friday lunch at the Jetty Cafe at Dennes Point on Bruny Island will probably be about $30-$40 per person if you want a wine or beer with lunch then coffee with dessert; Thursday night I’ll most likely be in the North Hobart area where there is a fantastic, bustling restaurant strip (say $30-$40 for this too).   And don’t forget you’ve already paid for dinner on the 2nd and 3rd of January 🙂

OK dudes and dude-a-loos…

In an attempt to continue assisting with your budget and trip preparation, I want to make sure you know that one of the other costs you’ll need to factor in for the trip is going to be for gas (as you Yanks insist on calling it).  This liquid gold, which will be purchased from a number of petrol stations along our various routes, don’t come cheap Down Under at around US$5 per gallon.  Yep, you read that correctly.  The good news is it looks like we have secured three donated vehicles for our collective time on the island so we don’t have to factor car hire costs beyond a crisp $100 bill per car and a full tank of fuel for the generous friends and family who are allowing us to borrow their wheels.  I have pulled my abacus out this morning and have figured out each of your pro rata costs for transport (given that people are staying for different lengths of time and traveling significantly different distances by car).  You’ll find your own lucky number below and in the spirit of full transparency I’ll also share my crazy lady budget spreadsheet via Google Drive so you can see how things are calculated.

I don’t need this money up-front however given the number of bodies involved here I do suggest we try using the “Elise Tolbert / Andi Lucas Travel Kitty Stuffed With Cash” theory to deal with this element of the trip.  This basically involves kicking the amount of money in cash on the day you arrive; keeping that communal purse with the car it matches and paying the costs out of that.  Receipts for anything paid out of the kitty are simply popped back into the same purse which It eliminates the whole “…hang on, didn’t I put $50 of gas into someones car on my credit card in Coles Bay?” confusion too.  If you all feel comfortable and in agreement on this, just note the dollar value below as something you’ll need to sort out as part of your ‘First Things To Do When I Arrive in Australia’; withdraw the cash at an ATM, hand it over to me when I collect you at the airport and then never think of it again.  And of course, and as always, if you’ve got a preferred way of handling this please drop me a message and we’ll get it sorted in a way that makes sense to everyone 🙂

IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF ARRIVAL

* These figures includes a pro-rate per person for contribution towards ‘car hire’ including the car wash and filling borrowed vehicles back up with gas to be returned to the generous souls who are letting us have access to their transport.

Andi & Heather: $340 each

Anni & Andrew: $295 each

Mandy: $235 each

Bev & Jake: $220 each

Laura, Amy & Dustin: $110 each

Susan & Karla: $100 each

Lorena: $40 each (mini-trip for Lolly!)

Americans!  Come join the rest of the (banking) world and get your debit and credit cards reissued with security chips.  Australian cards haven’t been “sign only” for a long, long time so you’ll get a few blank looks when making purchases if you’ve got an old style card.  Thanks to Heather for thinking about this one… there’s time still to get it sorted, but not lots!

Only six weeks to go…

OK – one of the questions that keeps coming up lately is – “…what should I pack?”  Tassie is quite a similar vibe to Colorado in the sense that people are pretty relaxed and casual, and the weather is super changeable with some extremes thrown in for fun.  So here is what I reckon you should pack, from the inside out…

Undies: same number of knickers as number of days on holiday (there will be laundry facilities available but who wants to do laundry on vacation?)

Socks: probably the same rule as above.  Chuck in one extra thick wooly pair just in case we’re unlucky with the weather on nights when we’re camping.

Bathers: aka swimmers, togs, bikinis, boardies…

Shorts: for the (hopefully) hot days hiking and mucking around outdoors.

Trousers: jeans for sure, maybe some other long pants just in case we’re unlucky with the weather and it’s chilly.

Tank-tops and / or t-shirts: general, mucking around type stuff

Long sleeve tops / fleeces / lightweight vests: again, guarding against that inclement Tassie weather.  At least one warm fleece or jacket is highly recommended.

A rain jacket: ESSENTIAL – something lightweight, wind-and-water-proof

A couple of ‘noice’ aka ‘a little dressy’ aka smart-casual options: the day we go to MONA; when we’re hanging around at the Taste of Tasmania; lunch at Frogmore Creek vineyard and maybe the seaplane day, we’re all going to want to look a little ‘spiffy’.  Sheilas, we’re talking cute sundresses or nice top and pants, flat sandals or a wedge, a little cardie or a wrap if its chilly and bit of lipstick will cut it.  Blokes, a nice pair of shorts and pants, short sleeve shirts or nice t-shirts, sandals or slip on dress shoes will do just fine.

Shoes: you’ll need a pair of flip-flops / thongs; some kind of really comfortable running or hiking shoe / boot; a pair of water-proof Teva-style sandals and one “noice” pair of shoes or sandals to get you through the trip.

Other stuff: a hat and sunglasses: the sun is super intense as we’re right underneath the hole in the ozone, thanks Northern Hemisphere polluters!  Smaller day-pack for little jaunts; a water bottle (as recommended in earlier posts for the long haul trip).

TRANSPORT (mainly luggage allowances)

This is one aspect of my country that I really, really don’t like, and if you get caught out here it can seriously put a dampener on your vacation.  Aussie airlines are notorious arseholes when it comes to luggage allowances.  They will publicly bend you over in the airport and give you (via you wallet) a serious flogging if you’re over on anything (e.g. the $200 flight I had booked from Cairns to Darwin where I was charged $600 for an extra bag I hadn’t pre-registered online.  No, I’m not joking.  Two years ago and I’m still pissed off about that one!).  Here are my top tips to beat the bastards:

1. buy a hand scale.  Best single investment of my life, allowing me the absolute satisfaction of having EXACTLY the weight limit for my checked bag (50lbs / 23kg as a rule).
2. by aware of the domestic flight checked bag weight allowance.  Some of these bastards make it just under 23kg then charge you between $20-$50 per extra kilo (no, again I’m not kidding).  And make sure your Aussie domestic flight ticket definitely allows for one checked bag – some of the budget airlines bury this in the small print and if you don’t pre-register (normally $20-$30 per bag) they then charge you at the airport per kilo as though it’s excess (result: my $600 suitcase for christ sake).
3. by aware that for some reason, only US-airlines allow the larger carry-on bags.  Aussie domestic airlines will sometimes make you check a bag that you took as carry-on for the first part of the trip, leading to often Kafka-esque conversations like “…but I carried it on to get here” and “…what do you mean that’ll be $600???” (no, I still haven’t let that go!)

Getting closer and closer to launch my friends…  For the eleven brave souls who are joining me on this adventure, here is the Google Calendar (which has been shared with you all by email) whacked into the blog for even easier reference.

Everyone will have a different take on how to tackle the 15 hour long haul section of this trip and the lengthy journey generally.  I’ve made 26 flights of this length over the past 18 years so while I’m not saying this is going to be one-size fits all, or that you’ll want to include as much booze (!) this is my tried-and-try approach (using the ‘flying from America’ example, as most of you are):

• After checking in, and divesting yourself of the big suitcase, have a Bloody Mary at the bar of which ever airport you first get to.  This is very important as it sets the tone for the rest of the trip.  Substitutes can really be any type of alcoholic bevy to get into the holiday mode, but I personally think a “breakfast” drink is best (mimosas are another good one) as it’s morning in Australia when you’re boarding in the States.
• Setting an alarm on your phone for when your next flight is boarding is a good idea too, stops the constant checking of time and allows you to relax even more.
• While sipping on this drink and setting the “don’t get too relaxed and miss a flight” alarm, change any time keeping devices to Australian time.  Yep, do this immediately, while on the first  leg of your travels: it helps your brain start getting ready, plus you can say “…ohhh, I’m drinking a bloody mary at 8am!” to further advance your brains reorientation.  Having a relaxing bevy at this point also helps you feel a bit drowsy on any internal connecting flights, which is good, because taking a wee nap on this first leg will help with this next piece of advice.
• When you depart from LAX, it’s normally between 9pm and midnight.  That means it’s completely the middle of the day Down Under.  This is my #1 hot tip: DO NOT go to sleep for as long as you can on the long haul.  I aim to stay awake for AT LEAST the first 8 hours of the flight.  I will watch 2-3 blockbuster movies (usually action or something really exciting and “awakening” for the first two, something a bit more sedate for the last one) or pick a TV series that I know is going to be really gripping for a marathon session.  I don’t eat all the food they give me (a less full belly means less tired) however I happily quaff a few free beers and couple of glasses of red wine (yes, I know this is contrary to advice from most travel sites, and perhaps if you just drank water you’d feel even perkier, but this is me we’re talking about!).
• Speaking of drinking: yes, you should drink at least a good few pints of water from the water bottle you cleverly bought with you and have nice and full so you don’t need to buzz the attendant or keep getting up for drinks.  However, make the drinking part of the flight (booze or H2O) occur in the first 3-4 hours then slow WAY down.  Then, when you are seriously droopy eyed and can’t hang on any longer, go and do a wee (yes, I am actually giving you this level of info) then whack an Ambien or some type of other proper, prescription sleep aid down your throat.  I don’t EVER take sleeping pills in normal life, but I swear to god, they have been the game changer for me on long hauls.  I did the first 10-12 long haul flights in my life without drugs and since then would not even consider it.  I equate it with “you could have dental surgery or give birth with no pain relief at all, but why the hell would you?”  To deny yourself the advances made by modern medicine while indulging in modern flight is a masochistic decision in my opinion (plus an opportunity for some lovely alliteration).  If you are really, truly opposed to (or unable to safely take) prescription medication, get the very best herbal / melatonin-y loaded natural sleep aid you can find.  Between being really knackered, the few glasses of vino, the drugs, and an empty bladder, you should get at least 6+ hours of solid sleep which is going to mean you wake up in time for brekkie, with only a final few hours to fly and the sun will be rising (further brain trickery as your body says, “…wow, that was all a bit weird but it seems to be morning!”)
• When you get to Australia, DO NOT TAKE A NAP DURING THE FIRST DAY.  This is the hardest thing because by mid-to-late afternoon you’re REALLY going to want too, but if you make this mistake in your first 24 hours, honestly, you will lose the next few days to a shitty sleep pattern that looks like this: “wow, I’m so freakin’ sleepy at 7pm I’ve actually just landed my face into my dinner in a restaurant” followed by “wow, I’ve just woken up feeling bright as a button and ready to have adventures but it’s only 4am!”.  On a holiday that might only be for a week, the combo of ‘really early to bed, disgustingly early to rise’ just sucks.  So – as soon as you arrive and get to your first destination, jump in the shower and wash the grime of transit off you.  Then go outside.  Keep moving.  Get as much sun on your face as humanly possible (while moving around – no napping!).  Go for a swim or a run or a spot of beach cricket.  Drink coffee, Red Bull or whatever is going to give you a push for another few hours or even consider taking a very small amount of prescription stimulant like Adarol (yes, I know I’m sounding like a pusher-man but if your doctor can give you a script for a couple of tablets for this specific use they will fundamentally change your experience).  Try not to drink too much booze on the first night (finally the voice of reason!).  Obviously a few coldies to wash the dust from your throat will be mandatory but waking up not hungover on day two is the other critical part to my preferred strategy.  I also keep another half an Ambien for the first and second nights of sleep.  If – even with all the other steps followed – I wake up before 5am on the first night, I take the little half a pill to knock me out for the next few hours.  Better to wake up at 9-to-10am on the first day after a slightly medicated snooze than the alternative, I promise!  By day two, you should have broken the back of the lag.  You’ll probably still wake early-ish (like 6am) but not stupidly early, allowing for a nice full day of fun and a close-to-normal bedtime after 10pm.  And that’s it!

This guy also has really good advice, I agree with all of the tips wholeheartedly except #4, but lets face it, I have been genetically engineered to drink booze so maybe following all of his tips would be a better idea!  As far as coming back, I honestly find it’s easier returning as far as feeling crappy.  Maybe it’s being sustained by happy memories of what always is an amazing trip 🙂

1. Make a scan of your passport, drivers license and medical insurance details and store it in the cloud ‘just in case’.  Let at least one trusted loved one have access to that information in case of emergencies.
2. When you are on the plane, they will ask you to put down the Aussie address that you’re going too.  For ease, even if you’re going somewhere first (a la Susan and Karla) just use 2 Duke Street, West Launceston, Tasmania 7250 (my parents address).  Lets make customs think mum and dad are having a massive, summer-long party!  FYI my cell is +61.417.380.675 as the contact number.
3. Take a surge-protected power board so you only need one US-to-Aussie power adaptor so you can plug all your devices into one outlet.  Be aware Aussie outlets are higher voltage than US (by more than double I think) so protecting your electronics is important.                                             
4. Hot tip: when you plug something in to a wall socket, you need to actually turn the power point / outlet on with the switch.  This sounds like silly advice, but after living in the US I’m out of the habit now, and often catch myself plugging something in to charge then coming back to find I never turned it on which is annoying to say the least, and painful if it’s something you really need like a GPS unit or camera battery!
5. take a refillable water bottle.  Aussie water is really good quality (Tassie’s is, of course, the very best) so you can fill that up on the long haul flight to avoid buzzing for the attendants and save a tonne of money buying bottled water during the trip.  Hot tip: make sure you haven’t filled it right up before going through security as you’ll have to gulp it down quickly!
6. make sure your carry-on contains at least your basic toiletries, a change of clothes and all essentials like laptop and camera to avoid the “I don’t have my suitcase for five days so am wearing the same clothes in every photo” experience I just had in England, ha ha!
7. this link here covers a bunch of other stuff like how to get a tourist refund on tax you paid on products (especially wine and spirits); details on our currency, climate, where US embassies are located, what happens if you fall in love with someone while visiting and want to get married (it has happened!); maps, apps and general touristy info.
8. and here is another link to even more helpful tips – made me feel happy to see some of mine in here, there are loads of other good ones too!

1. Phones: I strongly advise to avoid global roaming on your cell unless it is a serious emergency.  You will be bent over with fees in a way that is hard to describe – a good habit to get in is simply turning your smart phone to airplane mode as soon as you land and only turning it on when you get somewhere with free wifi.  As we get closer to the time, I’ll allocate out the numbers of some pre-paid local cell phones (I have a bunch left over from the Kardashian job) so you can communicate with each other and me at regular fees while Down Under and will have a number to leave on your US voice mail if someone really needs to get hold of you in an emergency (e.g. my voice message when I’m at home says “…hey, don’t leave a message here as I’m out of the country, email is best, Skype is good too or call this Aussie number between these dates if you really need to talk to me” sort of thing).
2. Interwebs: there is nowhere near the availability or speed of wifi service (especially free) in Australia as there is in the States., especially once you leave the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.  I’d forgotten how annoying that is after living in the land of the (free) wifi for five years so be prepared.  Our instinct to immediately update our status or check emails upon landing either need to be curbed or paid for (usually an amount like $4.95 for an hour at the airport or something equally outrageous).  Couple of tips: there are nearly always free wifi at McDonalds restaurants; major chain hotel lobbies will sometimes have ‘guest’ services you can jump on and some cafes will have free wifi.  If a cafe or pub do have wifi it will be advertised so try to avoid asking a busy barista if they have free internet as the request is likely to earn a withering stare, like “…can’t you entertain yourself offline even for the time it takes to drink this amazingly good latte??”  All of the friends you are staying with in Hobart will have wifi, however plans are expensive (another monopoly provider situation) so the etiquette for me when staying with mates and piggy-backing on their network is usually something along the lines of “…hey, I’d love to jump online for a bit to check emails, are you guys on a limited plan?” or “…if I promise not to stream endless hours of hardcore porn, can I jump on your network to connect with home?”

From top to bottom (reflecting arrival times), here are Heather, Anni, Andrew, Mandy, Amy, Dustin, Karla and Susan’s respective Maps o’ Tassie 🙂

* Two more Maps ‘O Tassie for our new additions to the gathering tribe: Beverly, Jake and Laura!

tassie-palooza-calendar [updated for new additions Laura, Bev & Jake!] – check it out.  Note that “LST, Lonnie or L’ton” means the thriving metropolis of Launceston (biggest city in north of the State and where my parents and brother live), HBA is Hobart (the capital in the south).