Here's a general outline of the trip plan. Nothing is set other than plane tickets, so the whole thing is "subject to change".
North America, July 10 to October 5:
Road trip in the Outback through the US and Canada. Highlights include: both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts (roughly San Francisco to Vancouver and Bar Harbor to Jacksonville); the Cascades and Sierra Nevada; the Idaho wilderness; Banff, Glacier, and Yoho in Canada; Tetons, Badlands, and Black Hills (including the Kadoka Truck Stop); Montreal; the Great Dismal Swamp; and the Smokies.
South America, October 6 to January 5ish:
Learn Spanish. Bus, train, and hike down the continent as the weather changes. Eat interesting animals. Avoid mosquitoes. Ecuador, Peru, and Chile are on the "very likely" list, with Bolivia and Argentina in the "maybe" column.
New Zealand, January to March/April:
Buy a crummy car and drive around both islands. Hike a lot, then hike some more. Sleep on the beach, swim in the fjords. Play with the parrots.
Return, Spring 2012:
Maybe fly straight back to California. Maybe stop a couple places along the way. Maybe get stuck in New Zealand?
That sounds fantastic, I'm so jealous! Of course I think you should add in Australia but that's because I'm an Aussie :-) NZ is a whole lot easier (smaller!) and probably equally beautiful. I will have to follow your trip!
ReplyDeleteIt does seem silly to not visit Australia. We'll see how it goes. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to post updates to the travel route as they come. Right now, we know we're headed for Humboldt Redwoods on Sunday.