I Planned a Vacation!

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 Generally, we are not long-range planners. For example, last year hubby had a conference in Sweden. We had never been to any part of Scandinavia before so we decided to go.  Just planned the basics ahead of time...plane tickets, hotel and conference. We went to Uppsala  Sweden and while Arie attended the conference, I found things to do locally. We went to Stockholm, Malmo and Copenhagen on the fly. It was fun and relaxing.

This year that same conference is in Adelaide, Australia. Sine we have never been to that part of the world before and will likely never go again, I'm planning. Lots to consider. What do you do and see in a huge country in a limited amount of time ?

I booked a tour which will give us a glimpse of the tip of this iceberg. Melbourne,  Cairns, Sydney and then over to New Zealand to Queenstown and Auckland.  


 I said I planned a vacation and then 'just' picked a tour but that doesn't seem accurate. I have to say that one does not 'just' pick a tour. With so much to choose from, it was a laborious task! 

This was done in February!! We never plan so far in advance! 

After the tour we need to go to Adelaide. I was amazed to discover that a direct flight from Auckland NZ to Adelaide AU is a 5 hour flight and that is only if you can get a direct flight.  Who knew?

Anyway, all things are in place- flights, hotels AND activities!! It feels good and strange at the same time.  

One activity that we have not been able to book is the 12 hour  train ride from Adelaide to Melbourne. This runs twice per week on Thursdays and Sundays. The conference ends at noon on Thursday and Arie is giving a paper at the conference so we had to wait until the program came out to make sure he was not scheduled for Thursday morning. I’m happy to say that we will be leaving early Thursday morning on the train. I’m excited!

June and July 2026 should prove interesting!


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