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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2014 12:01:15 GMT
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2014 12:04:46 GMT
Chenonceau and Sacre-Coeur in France.
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Post by chech on Oct 23, 2014 13:01:33 GMT
That bottom one in Turkey is really nice! Great perspective. And you're brave! As adventurous as I am, balloon rides is the one thing I won't do.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2014 13:19:08 GMT
That bottom one in Turkey is really nice! Great perspective. And you're brave! As adventurous as I am, balloon rides is the one thing I won't do. The balloon ride was the highlight of the trip for me, and I’m afraid of heights! I don’t let that get in the way of doing the things I want though. Over half our group did it, and a few others tried to sign up at the last minute, but there was no space left.
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Post by chech on Oct 23, 2014 13:27:26 GMT
LOL....did they offer helicopter rides?
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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2014 14:20:21 GMT
We were not offered a helicopter ride. In fact, Trafalgar no longer offers the balloon ride due to liability issues, but a few of us asked our tour director if he could arrange it for us anyway. He arranged for the balloon company to come to our hotel in Cappadocia, and we had to sign up directly with them. If you do go on this tour, you could always ask your tour director if he could set up a helicopter ride.
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Post by californian on Oct 23, 2014 15:52:19 GMT
Always wanted to do the balloon ride over the Loire Valley, don't think is in the cards though...close to home they have rides in Sedona, Arizona, maybe some day...
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Post by chech on Oct 23, 2014 16:43:21 GMT
We were not offered a helicopter ride. In fact, Trafalgar no longer offers the balloon ride due to liability issues, but a few of us asked our tour director if he could arrange it for us anyway. He arranged for the balloon company to come to our hotel in Cappadocia, and we had to sign up directly with them. If you do go on this tour, you could always ask your tour director if he could set up a helicopter ride. Cool. Nice to know it's available. Thx.
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Post by chech on Oct 23, 2014 16:46:27 GMT
My favorite helicopter ride was to White Island off New Zealand - an active volcano. We got to spend two hours walking around inside the crater.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2014 16:47:29 GMT
We were not offered a helicopter ride. In fact, Trafalgar no longer offers the balloon ride due to liability issues, but a few of us asked our tour director if he could arrange it for us anyway. He arranged for the balloon company to come to our hotel in Cappadocia, and we had to sign up directly with them. If you do go on this tour, you could always ask your tour director if he could set up a helicopter ride. Cool. Nice to know it's available. Thx. I’m not sure if a helicopter ride is available, as no one from our tour asked for it, but you can always ask the tour director and see what he/she says.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 23, 2014 16:50:48 GMT
My favorite helicopter ride was to White Island off New Zealand - an active volcano. We got to spend two hours walking around inside the crater.
That would be a great experience! I hope to make it to New Zealand someday, and would love to do something like that.
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Post by chech on Oct 23, 2014 19:11:32 GMT
In New Zealand, the optionals were not planned. The TD would suggest what we could do but said that we could check out the wall of pamphlets at the hotels and if we saw something we wanted to do, she would arrange it....everything from bungie jumping and sky diving to white water rafting, scenic drives and Lord of the Ring's related stuff. We would pay the provider directly. The White Island optional was, by far, the most expensive one I've ever done....roughly $600. But worth every single nickel.
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Post by Tonnet on Oct 23, 2014 20:28:53 GMT
Trafalgar's Scenic Parks Explorer 2011
A very happy group!
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Post by Tonnet on Oct 23, 2014 20:41:58 GMT
Mt Yosur, Tana Island, Vanuatu
This volcano is in continuous eruption. In the last five years several tourists have been killed by falling rocks. You must keep on eye on the molten lava in order to dodge where it will fall. Often pieces are the size of a small car and tourist vehicles have often been crushed in the carpark.
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Post by Boop on Oct 23, 2014 21:02:23 GMT
Trafalgar's Scenic Parks Explorer 2011
A very happy group!
I see you Tony...........
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Post by Tonnet on Oct 23, 2014 21:20:09 GMT
Trafalgar's Scenic Parks Explorer 2011
A very happy group!
I see you Tony........... Pretty hard to miss those Aussie bucket hats!
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Post by Tonnet on Oct 23, 2014 21:30:57 GMT
Fourth and fifth from the left, front row are John and Anne. We made a great connection with them and subsequently they came and stayed with us in Bundaberg. This year they visited me in Perth and I also stayed with them for a few days in my Odyssey East earlier this year.
Next June I will be joining them to cruise from Fremantle (Perth's port) to Sydney via Lombok, Darwin and other points north - about 18 days.
It is marvellous how people can connect on tour and make friends for life!
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Post by chech on Oct 24, 2014 13:04:39 GMT
Canyonlands National Park, Utah.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2014 13:56:10 GMT
In New Zealand, the optionals were not planned. The TD would suggest what we could do but said that we could check out the wall of pamphlets at the hotels and if we saw something we wanted to do, she would arrange it....everything from bungie jumping and sky diving to white water rafting, scenic drives and Lord of the Ring's related stuff. We would pay the provider directly. The White Island optional was, by far, the most expensive one I've ever done....roughly $600. But worth every single nickel. This is expensive, but I would probably pay it as well. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and who knows if you’ll ever go back again. Did you go to New Zealand with Trafalgar?
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Post by chech on Oct 24, 2014 14:05:21 GMT
Exactly. It's one of those experiences that just can't be replicated. Sometimes, it's so worth the bucks. NZ was the most expensive of all the tours I did by a mile....something like $15000 for everything. Half that was for internet access...LOL Yes..it was TT's New Zealand Discoverer with the Bay of Islands extension. They have changed the name but it was the longest NZ one they had...cause, yes...if I'm going to go that far, I was going to do the one that saw the most.
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2014 14:14:08 GMT
Exactly. It's one of those experiences that just can't be replicated. Sometimes, it's so worth the bucks. NZ was the most expensive of all the tours I did by a mile....something like $15000 for everything. Half that was for internet access...LOL Yes..it was TT's New Zealand Discoverer with the Bay of Islands extension. They have changed the name but it was the longest NZ one they had...cause, yes...if I'm going to go that far, I was going to do the one that saw the most. I hope to go to New Zealand in the next 5 to 6 years, and I’ll look into this tour when I do. $15,000 seems like a lot of money though. I may have to take a year off from travelling to save for this one. Like you said, it’s worth it though.
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Post by chech on Oct 24, 2014 14:19:07 GMT
Yeah, the full cost caught me abit by surprise, but my previous two tours were relatively cheap compared to this one...so it worked out. I know Australia will likely run me that much too, so I've got that in the back of my mind for when I decide to tackle the Land of Oz. That tour will be a toss up between TT and Globus. (Tours are very similar, but Globus goes to Tasmania and takes The Ghan train whereas TT doesn't).
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2014 14:40:43 GMT
I just checked out the 20 day tour of New Zealand which includes the Bay of Islands (the longest one offered), and it’s over $6,000. Hopefully my friend will come with me on this one when I’m ready to go, so I won’t have to pay the signal supplement!
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Post by chech on Oct 24, 2014 15:46:48 GMT
I just looked it up in the brochure. Pretty well identical with Bay of Islands included rather than an extension. And it stays in Christchurch whereas we had to stay on a resort outside the city because of the earthquake damage and that added the cost. It really has a range of prices depending on when you go...from $6600 to $7600 but the SS doesn't vary much...$2000-$2300. You could probably keep it under $10k if you had someone to go with...and spend the SS on the optionals! I went in Feb which was peak and with the SS, just the tour alone was almost $10k. Being farther west than I am means you'll save a little on airfare. I didn't want to fly from here to NZ without a stop, so I stopped in San Francisco and Vancouver en route for the night. You might be able to avoid that. So, just tour and flights ran me about $13k. Add in the optionals (3 sightseeing flights, 1 rafting, 1 jet boat plus couple others) and that puts it close to $14500. Would you believe internet costs probably ran me $200! LOL Oh my....now that I look at the breakdown...it's definitely time to start putting aside my nickels for Australia! LOL
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Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2014 17:36:23 GMT
I just looked it up in the brochure. Pretty well identical with Bay of Islands included rather than an extension. And it stays in Christchurch whereas we had to stay on a resort outside the city because of the earthquake damage and that added the cost. It really has a range of prices depending on when you go...from $6600 to $7600 but the SS doesn't vary much...$2000-$2300. You could probably keep it under $10k if you had someone to go with...and spend the SS on the optionals! I went in Feb which was peak and with the SS, just the tour alone was almost $10k. Being farther west than I am means you'll save a little on airfare. I didn't want to fly from here to NZ without a stop, so I stopped in San Francisco and Vancouver en route for the night. You might be able to avoid that. So, just tour and flights ran me about $13k. Add in the optionals (3 sightseeing flights, 1 rafting, 1 jet boat plus couple others) and that puts it close to $14500. Would you believe internet costs probably ran me $200! LOL Oh my....now that I look at the breakdown...it's definitely time to start putting aside my nickels for Australia! LOL Did you write a tour tale for this trip? I'd love to read it some time.
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Post by chech on Oct 24, 2014 19:58:36 GMT
Yup. I've been working through all my tales...putting them up like the Greece one, so it will follow. At this point, I'll probably get to it after I get back from Panama. Then again....I have 8 hours to burn in the Bogota airport...
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Post by chech on Oct 25, 2014 13:44:57 GMT
My buddy from South Africa...
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Post by solaria on Oct 25, 2014 19:43:39 GMT
Its Labour weekend here in NZ and Spring has finally really settled in! Here is a photo of oyr next door neighbours.
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Post by Boop on Oct 25, 2014 20:23:06 GMT
Its Labour weekend here in NZ and Spring has finally really settled in! Here is a photo of oyr next door neighbours. Oh, are they ever cute!! Wish I had neighbours like that!!
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Post by chech on Oct 25, 2014 22:21:55 GMT
Hey....I think I met some of those guys....
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