Trip in 2007

Jay and Miranda took a 7 month adventure in 2007 that set the ground work for our larger family adventure.  The adventure was documented on the now defunct turkeynose.com website.  Below are the details of our travels.

Detailed Itinerary

Leave New York (January 31, 2007)

Cook Islands (February 1 – 10)
– Rarotonga
– Aitutaki

New Zealand (February 11 – March 8)
North Island
– Coromandel Peninsula, Hahei
– Rotorua
– Tongariro National Park (with a stop in Taupo)
– Auckland
South Island
– Arrowtown (near Queenstown)
– Te Anau (with trips to Milford and Doubtful Sounds)
– Fox Glacier
– Punakaiki
– Nelson
– Kaikoura (with a stop in Blenheim)
– Christchurch

Australia (March 8 – May 17)
New South Wales
– Sydney
– Blue Mountains, Katoomba
Tasmania
– Hobart
– Freycinet National Park
– Bay of FIres
– Cradle Mountain National Park (with stop in Launceston)
– Side trips to Strahan and Lake St. Clair National Park
Victoria
– Melbourne (side trip to Yarra Valley)
– Philip Island (visit to Dandenong Park)
– Great Ocean Road (staying in Airey Inlet and Glenaire)
– The Grampians (staying in Wartook Valley)
– Mildura (side trip to Mungo National Park)
South Australia
– Burra
– Flinders Ranges (Wilpena Pound & Parachilna)
– Adelaide
Northern Territory
– Alice Springs
– Kings Canyon
– Yulara (Uluru and Kata Tjata)
Western Australia (Part 1)
– Perth
– Pinnacles Desert
– Kalbarri (overnight in Port Gregory)
– Monkey Mia
– Coral Bay
– Karijini National Park (staying in Tom Price)
– Point Samson
– Eighty Mile Beach
– Broome (Celebrate Jay’s 30th birthday!!!)
Western Australia (Part 2)
– Gibb River Road (Mornington Wilderness Camp, Mt. Elizabeth Station, El Questro)
– Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles)
– Kununurra
Northern Territory
– Katherine National Park
– Litchfield National Park
– Darwin
Queensland
– Port Douglas
– Brisbane

Japan (May 17 – June 2)
– Kyoto (Nara)
– Hiroshima
– Koya-san
– Takayama
– Tokyo

Thailand (June 2 – June 29)
– SITCA Cooking School
– Koh Samui
– Bangkok

Cambodia (June 29 – July 1)
– Siem Reap (visiting the Angkor Temple Complex)

Vietnam (July 1 – July 11)
– Hanoi
– Hoi An

Malaysia (July 11 – July 19)
– Langkawi
– Kuala Lumpur

New York (July 20, 2007)

Wow! We did it!

We are posting the details of our journey, our impressions and ratings of the places we stay, eat and visit. There is nothing more annoying than forgetting the name of a fantastic place you want to recommend it to someone heading that way. This will help us avoid that problem and maybe it will even inspire you to head to one of these places!

How are we rating each place?
We are using a 4 star system, although we are cheating because we are using half stars too… And we don’t actually have a star graphic, so the drama of a high star rating loses some of its pizzaz.

How would we recommend using the ratings?
0-1.5 stars – avoid going there pretty much at all costs. we assume there is a better alternative.
2 stars – go if you have to, but we wouldn’t really encourage it
2.5 stars – if it works with your plans, it is a good choice
3 stars- Try to make an effort to seek it out
3.5 stars – Definitely recommend finding a way to this place
4 stars – so fabulous we never even doled one out

Are these joint ratings?
Yes, Jay and I are each participating in the rating, sometimes after substantial discussion, we come to consensus. Where there is a disagreement, the person holding the pen gets to write it in the notebook. Needless to say, I am normally holding the pen 😉

Why are some categories missing in certain areas?
We are basically including everywhere we go – good or bad – so the absence of a category is most likely because we only stopped in the place briefly, perhaps just the afternoon. As far as restaurants, we are preparing our own food for most meals, making our restaurant experiences quite limited in some areas.