Australia/New Zealand or Africa

[Pibs]

We're starting to plan our next sabbatical trip but we're not sure where we want to go. We're thinking Australia/New Zealand or Africa but are open to other places other than England/Scotland/Wales/Irelands (we did those last time). We'll be going for about 10 weeks and we can go pretty much any time of year. We'd initally thought we'd do Europe, but we realized that maybe we should do the more outdoorsey/adventurous places before we get old.  

Where would you go if you could go for such a long trip? What places would you see and what would you do? Two adults, no kids, flexible budget

[mrsjrd23]

Hi! I'm so jealous!

I vote Australia/NZ though Africa sounds amazing too....but it's so BIG that I think narrowing it down to where to go would be hard. I have friends currently living in Uganda who also lived in Togo that I could ask for some recs if you have an idea of where in Africa you may like to go (my friend works for the state department). We spent 2.5 weeks on the south island of NZ and it was amazing. 10 weeks sounds glorious. You'll find the South Island to remind you a lot of the PNW complete with a wine country that is the same lattitude in the southern hemisphere as the Willamette Valley. I'd relocate to Queenstown in a heartbeat if I could.

If you do go to NZ, a heli hike to the glacier is a must and I'd highly recommend an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound. Oh and the glow worm caves are pretty cool. Also swimming with wild dolphins in the open water off the coast of Kaikoura was absolutely amazing and something I'll never forget. Send me a message if you want the full details of what we did.

[wanderingback]

If I had that much time I’d definitely do Africa, but I admittedly don’t know much about Australia or New Zealand.

When I lived overseas I had about 4.5 weeks and went to Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It’s definitely been my most memorable trip so far (Peru a close 2nd).

I’ve been to other countries in Africa, but if I had 10 weeks I’d start in Morocco then go to different regions of the continent. I’d do 2-3 countries in W Africa, 2-3 countries in E Africa and then 2-3 countries in Southern Africa. All the countries are so different and the regions are different so that’d be a great way to see all the differences and a variety of things to do.

[Pibs]

Apr 2, 2023 22:00:24 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

If I had that much time I’d definitely do Africa, but I admittedly don’t know much about Australia or New Zealand.

When I lived overseas I had about 4.5 weeks and went to Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It’s definitely been my most memorable trip so far (Peru a close 2nd).

I’ve been to other countries in Africa, but if I had 10 weeks I’d start in Morocco then go to different regions of the continent. I’d do 2-3 countries in W Africa, 2-3 countries in E Africa and then 2-3 countries in Southern Africa. All the countries are so different and the regions are different so that’d be a great way to see all the differences and a variety of things to do.

Africa is so big and intimidating, but I know it would be amazing to visit. The only things we've come up with for Africa would be Egypt, Morocco as well as South Africa and Namibia with my brother and SIL who totally intend to crash that part of our trip because they loved it so much. I like your idea of breaking it down to a couple of countries/regions. It makes it a little eaiser to wrap my head around.

Apr 2, 2023 21:45:44 GMT -5 mrsjrd23 said:

Hi! I'm so jealous!

I vote Australia/NZ though Africa sounds amazing too....but it's so BIG that I think narrowing it down to where to go would be hard. I have friends currently living in Uganda who also lived in Togo that I could ask for some recs if you have an idea of where in Africa you may like to go (my friend works for the state department). We spent 2.5 weeks on the south island of NZ and it was amazing. 10 weeks sounds glorious. You'll find the South Island to remind you a lot of the PNW complete with a wine country that is the same lattitude in the southern hemisphere as the Willamette Valley. I'd relocate to Queenstown in a heartbeat if I could.

If you do go to NZ, a heli hike to the glacier is a must and I'd highly recommend an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound. Oh and the glow worm caves are pretty cool. Also swimming with wild dolphins in the open water off the coast of Kaikoura was absolutely amazing and something I'll never forget. Send me a message if you want the full details of what we did.

Dude, we're so excited but none of them were really on our radar until we realized we might get old someday. Australia/NZ are my brother and SIL's rec -- they went there a few years ago and still rave about it. My brother came over to our old house and spent an evening playing with his camera in the theater with the star ceiling to prepare for the glow worm caves. I knew there was wine country, but I didn't realize it was so PNW-ish. You might have just sold me on swimming with dolphins in the wild, though. 

[Pibs]

Oh! And as far as our two initial ideas (Aus/NZ or Africa) -- which seems better for a long 10 week trip vs a shorter 4 week thing? We've got the option of the big sabbaticals every 7 years, or smaller ones every 4 years. We are so fortunate to have these long trip options, but they're overwhelming to plan.

[wanderingback]

Pibs yes you can definitely break things up by region and it won’t be that bad to plan!

When I lived there I was broke so I did all the planning on a budget. There’s pretty classic tourist routes that most people take in different regions so it really isn’t that bad to plan based on what others have done. Since you said budget isn’t a concern I’m sure you could also have a travel agent do it as well.

[jamaicam]

I would do Africa. I have only been to tunisia and malawi but would love to go back and have time to wander slowly.

My parents are goign to South Africa and Zambia this summer and I am super jealous. They are having a 10 day trip and have arranged it through tour guides (they are in their mid 70s so decided to go the hassle free route!).

[keweenawlove]

An Instagram account I follow just did a 3 overland trip from Cape Town to Nairobi that looked so amazing. I'd love to do something like this if I could ever have that much time off. They've got a ton of pictures on their highlights. 

http://instagram.com/p/CjN6WnfLjqf

  

[RockNVoll]

I would probably pick Africa. With 10 weeks you could hit so many interesting spots across the continent. I've only really done safaris there, but love the experience so much I want to do it in like five other countries, LOL. Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, and Rwanda were all fantastic. I want to go to Morocco, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Botswana, Ethiopia...all the countries!

I also still need to get to NZ and Australia, but I feel like that's a better four-week option. Can't really go wrong no matter what choice you make though!

Also, add me to the insanely jealous club!

[Pibs]

OK, so I've been googling and I'm getting excited about Africa. Thinking about it, I feel like if we tried to do Africa as mini sabbaticals we'd try to cram in too much whereas Australia/NZ seems easier to break down into one mini trip or two separate trips.

So give me all of your favorite places to see, do, stay and eat anywhere in Africa! And if you have thoughts about how to break things down time-wise, that'd also be helpful. I feel like at this moment with minimal research I'm most interested in North Africa, husband is most interested in South, and we both feel like East & West are tied. So we could do 2.5 weeks in each place, or 3 weeks each in N&S, and 2 weeks in E&W. We love good food and wine, toursity and not touristy things are both great, we're not going to climb Mt Kiliminjaro or anything but we are pretty active, and we're OK with splurging on a couple of more special things (inner circle StoneHenge, Skellig Michael for example when we did our UK/Irelands trip).

[Pibs]

Apr 3, 2023 15:38:08 GMT -5 keweenawlove said:

An Instagram account I follow just did a 3 overland trip from Cape Town to Nairobi that looked so amazing. I'd love to do something like this if I could ever have that much time off. They've got a ton of pictures on their highlights. 

Thank you so much for this Instagram! Their trip looks incredible and they're local-ish to us so I don't feel bad about messaging them for suggestions and info like they said people can. 

[dutchgirl678]

Definitely Australia / NZ. I have never been to NZ but a friend of mine is living there for three months as she is there on a Fulbright scholarship and I have always wanted to go.

I have been to Australia three times and I can tell you all about it (even though the last time was about 25 years ago). I have been in WA to Perth and all the way north to Port Hedland via Monkey Mia and Rottnest Island, Fremantle, and south of there near Bunbury. I have also been to Sydney and the Blue mountains and driven north to Coffs Harbour.

And I’ve been to Tasmania which is absolutely a must, it is so beautiful. Anyway, feel free to shoot me a message and we can meet up IRL sometime if you would like.

[tvlmm]

I'm in the very early stages of planning Africa (just a couple of weeks though) for Summer 2024. I have a spreadsheet with the various tour operators I contacted if you'd like it. PM me your email and I'll share it with you. I usually plan my own trips, but Africa is my last continent and overwhelming, so I'm going the travel agent tour this time.

[keweenawlove]

Apr 3, 2023 20:37:39 GMT -5 Pibs said:

Thank you so much for this Instagram! Their trip looks incredible and they're local-ish to us so I don't feel bad about messaging them for suggestions and info like they said people can. 

This account is so great. It's really made me think about how I spend money in some of these areas. 

[mrsjrd23]

My friends currently living in Uganda right now are in Egypt as I type this and the pics are AMAZING. the pics of the pyramids make me swoon and cry with jealousy lol. So you'll have a great time no matter where you go. They have taken a lot of great trips in Africa and I'm sure would be willing to offer up awesome things. I can connect you via FB if you'd like, just let me know!

[majesty318]

Pibs, I am wondering if you work for the same company my sister does - she is about to get a 2 month sabbatical since she has been there 8 years and is going on a long cruise starting in Hawaii and ending in Australia. And then she gets a month sabbatical every 4 years. Is it an internet company starting with W?

[Pibs]

tvlmm I'm sending you a message! <3 

majesty318, nope! This is through my husband's employer -- he works for a tech company in the PNW. I'm trying to think of any of the other companies that he works with that start with a W that might have a similar thing but there aren't any that come to mind.

Y'all I'm so freakin' excited now that we've decided the general where that we'll be going. Thank you for suggestions, help, etc!

[dutchgirl678]

BTW I have also been to South Africa so I can give you tips about Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the Garden Route if you are interested. I didn't get to go on a safari unfortunately.

[Pibs]

Apr 5, 2023 19:40:20 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

BTW I have also been to South Africa so I can give you tips about Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the Garden Route if you are interested. I didn't get to go on a safari unfortunately.

Oh heck yeah! I'd love to hear about it. My brother and SIl went there a few years ago and rave about it, but I don't think I want to do exactly their itinerary. We already indavertenly end up copying each other too much as it is.

[wise_rita]

I am woefully late to the discussion, and it seems like you've decided on Africa, but I lived in Australia for nearly a decade so I'm going to bat for it.

Ten weeks would be a perfect amount of time to see the highlights of Australia and most of New Zealand (comparatively tiny). Six weeks Australia and 4 New Zealand would be a good breakdown, or 7/3 if you want to prioritize Australia.

Sydney, Great Barrier Reef and Uluru are my top Australia recommendations. I've only been to the south island of New Zealand but 100% agree with mrsjrd23 . Also Milford Sound is very accessible and worth a visit. (ETA: I was there when you could walk on the glacier so didn't require a $$ helicopter ride, and even without the crazy conveyance that was super cool.)

My #1 recommendation for Australia is to get out of the cities and into nature. Sure, Melbourne is a cool city but it is way down on my priority list as 1) cities are all over the world and 2) natural Australia is so much more unique and interesting.

What an amazing job benefit, and that you spend it traveling. Such a dream!