Photographs

I have setup a folder on Flickr which we will use for our photos. At the moment it is showing a random selection of the latest ones

Preparations Continued

We've been mulling things over and decided to change our route. Originally coming back via Perth and Singapore and now via Sydney and Hong Kong. This saves us about £400 each on the airfare.

We can also fly directly from Hawaii to Auckland overnight (and lose a day in the process)

Booked RTW tickets on Monday and finished work yesterday.

Booked internal flights in Hawaii and our accommodation and reserved a car. We're spending 10 days in Hawaii overall with one night in Honolulu/Waikiki and the rest near Kona (home of coffee) on the Big Island.
Chris found a great place www.silveroaksranch.com and the owner is a keen diver so he will be able to point us towards some of the best dive sites.

Australia has changed the visa rules. It is no longer an ETA but an eVisitor visa which is free and valid for multiple visits up to a year. Saves a few dollars. Applied for (and received) this one together with the ESTA for the USA which is valid for two years. Again the ESTA is free.

Preparations

Well we liked it so much we've decided to do it again - go round the world that is. Almost exactly two years to the day we will be setting off for California on our first stop on a three month trip around the world.

First stop is the Sonoma Valley to visit Chris's brother Zac and his family, then Hawaii and overnight to Auckland New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and then finally back to England.

Looking at flights we'll be flying with different airlines this time as the flights from Hawaii to Fiji are not available on Air New Zealand. The Discoverer ticket uses British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and a few others. We also need an ESTA for the USA which wasn't a requirement previously. And an ETA for Australia which is only $20 dollars.