Tag: animals

Our Japan Itinerary

In addition to lots of exploring in Australia, we found time between boat jobs to visit Japan. It’s much closer than from North America, meaning no jet lag, so we took the opportunity to explore Japan. As is becoming our norm, we booked this trip last minute. Even with little advance planning, we liked our two week Japan itinerary. We got a taste of what a wonderful country it is.

Getting There

Port Macquarie in New South Wales only has a domestic airport, so we flew to Sydney, and then to Tokyo. It’s a one hour flight to Sydney with a 2.5 hour layover. Our 8 hour overnight flight arrived in Haneda early the next morning. Like 5:30am early.

Tokyo Haneda Airport Japan Itinerary
Planes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

We flew into Haneda Airport, which is definitely the preferred airport for easy access to the city. Arrivals took a long time. We had to wait in a few different lines and fill out forms for each one after we got to the terminal. It took at least an hour to do that, and then we needed to buy Suica cards, for use on all Japanese transport. Then we took the train to Tokyo.

When We Visited

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A Week in South Australia

We spent a few months waiting for approvals to fix our boat, so we used that time to visit places we wouldn’t take the boat. After flying to Melbourne and driving the Great Ocean Road trip, we crossed into South Australia. During a week in South Australia we stopped in Adelaide, its adjacent wine regions, and found some other gems.

Travelling Around Australia

One thing we’ve noticed is travelling around Australia is easy. Flying in Australia is much less of an ordeal than back in North America. It may not be cheap, but flights are priced better than in Canada.

Flights are usually on time, and you don’t even need ID to get into the airport or on board. Plus, people are respectful when boarding planes. We’ve flown several times within the country and have yet to see passengers try to board outside of their group. It’s a nice place to travel by plane.

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Tasmania Highlights

If you like nature, wildlife, and delicious food, add Tasmania to your list of places to visit. Our Tasmania road trip featured all that and more. I had previously envisioned Tassie as a mini New Zealand, but the state stands out as it’s own place with it’s own slow pace and friendly personality. Australia is a casual country, where even in Sydney, its biggest city, you’ll often see barefoot surfers waiting for the bus. Tasmania, with the world’s cleanest air and loads of natural scenery, is even more relaxed. If you have months, take them to explore this beautiful state. We had too little time and jammed it with these Tasmania highlights.

Tasmanian Islands

The state of Tasmania is made up of 334 islands. The two we visited, Bruny and Maria (pronounced Mariah, as in Carey) islands, were easily among our Tasmania highlights.

BRUNY ISLAND

Located south of Hobart and a twenty minute ferry ride across the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Bruny Island is known for its natural beauty and fresh and delicious food.

Bruny Island neck
Beautiful view from our tour of Bruny Island, Tasmania
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