Getting things done

A lot has happened since the last time we updated this. For starters, we are only twelve days away from departure! This is not a drill people, this is the real deal. Less than two weeks from now we'll be on a plane headed to the other side of the world. It's both terribly exciting and a little scary. We're on our game though, and have been getting prepared:

• We booked seats on a group bus tour in New Zealand!
  
  More specifically, we booked the New Zealand Discovery tour on the Magic Travellers Network (aka a bus), a 14 stop tour of both the North and South islands. They arrange for hostel accommodation each night and there's a ton to do each day along the way.


• We booked hotels for the first couple of nights.
  
  Turns out getting to Auckland from Tulsa takes a while, especially when the direct LA to Auckland flight is booked up. As such, it will take nearly 24 hours of flight time over 2 days to get there. We decided to be kind to ourselves and book hotels for the first two nights while we overcome jetlag.
  
  BK's Pioneer Motor Lodge fits the bill for the first night. It's five minutes away from the airport, has a free 24 hour shuttle service (handy since we don't arrive until 11PM), and the room has a whirlpool tub. We chose the Auckland City Hotel downtown for the second night, giving us the second day to make our way into and around town.


• We booked a flight out of New Zealand.
  
  Christchurch to Sydney is the route. Our bus tour finishes in Christchurch, and we're planning on living in Sydney for our first few months in Australia. We found a cheap fare on Virgin Blue through http://www.airninja.com/, which I kept wanting to call Fare Ninja.

• We bought travel insurance. Yeehaw.
  
  Atlas is their name, travel insurance is their game. Our policy includes $500k in medical coverage for the duration of the trip plus 45 days after we get back. It also covers things like lost bags or an emergency flight home if necessary.

• I opened a new checking account (I live an exciting life).
  
  I heard from numerous sources that I needed to get a myAccess checking account from Bank of America. You can use their ATM card for no fee internationally and you get a competitive exchange rate. They are somehow related to Westpac, a large Australian bank, meaning if you have accounts at both places, you can move money back and forth between the two. Very convenient. There's no monthly fee or anything else if you open it online.

Aside from working both jobs and trying to save as much as possible before we go, that's what has been keeping us busy for the past couple of weeks. We're doing a packing dry run soon to see how much we can realistically fit in our packs, so stay tuned.

Flight confirmed!

We booked our flights!  The route is more than a little circuitous, going through Australia to get to New Zealand, but we booked using my mom's AA Advantage Miles, so you won't hear me complaining!

If you can't quite make out the image, here's our route from Tulsa, OK to Auckland, NZ:

Tulsa to St Louis (1h10m flight, 2h layover)

St Louis to Los Angeles (4h5m flight, 2h35m layover)

Los Angeles to Brisbane (13h55m flight, 7h30m layover)

Brisbane to Sydney (1h30m flight, 1h5m layover)

Sydney to Auckland (3h flight)

Only 23 hours and 40 minutse of flight time! Oh yeah!