Travel Plans

Rough notes on trips I'd like to do.

Europe

If we're going to be in Oxford for three years, European and North African/Middle-Eastern destinations become much more accessible.

• Switzerland and Germany
• Morocco and North Africa
• Egypt, Jordan, Syria
• Greece and Turkey

Rest of the World

East Africa

Wildlife, mountains, lakes, etc. ... Best times of year January/February, or September/October.

• IntoAfrica tour operator

Antarctica

Camilla has always been keen to go to Antarctica. The most interesting tour option seems to be to visit the Falklands and South Georgia as well as the Antarctic Peninsula.

Japan

• Walk Japan (tour operator)
• Japan in Winter (Dinets)

Iceland

Two weeks in South Iceland just whetted my appetite. It's a long way to go, so next time I'd want to have at least a month, so I could visit Snæfellsness, the Westfjords, Akureyri, Mývatn, etc. then get the bus across the interior to Landmannalaugar and do the walk from there to Þorsmörk.

The best time for birds is late May to June.

• Látrabjarg photography

The Silk Road

The trip to Pakistan and Sinkiang in 1999 was frustrating, giving us just one day in Kashgar. Istanbul to Beijing would be the ideal, but a shorter option would be maybe Tehran to Urumchi.

I think I'd want to have at least part of the trip organised by a tour operator (how to find a good one?), but I'd prefer to travel with people I know: Ronni, Anna and David, Cosma, and Adrienne might be candidates, as well as Camilla of course.

Bali + East Indonesian Volcanoes

Camilla has never been to Bali! And despite three trips there myself, I've never climbed Gunung Agung.

Then there's Rinjani on Lombok and Tambora on Sumbawa (the site of the biggest volcanic eruption in recorded history, in 1814). And there are plenty of other peaks in the Nusa Tenggara. And Camilla wants to see Komodo dragons... This could be combined with a visit to East Timor.

Java

It would be great to visit Solo with the gamelan group, especially if Vi King or Thom were there to help us.

New Zealand

I've done four trips to New Zealand in the last five years, but there's plenty more to see. A shorter trip to Auckland, Northland, and Great Barrier Island is one option; another is a longer trip to Wellington and southern/eastern North Island.

the Pacific

New Caledonia, Fiji, ... there are several options for short trips here.

Australian Trips

• Tasmania - the Overland Track, or walking around Walls of Jerusalem
• Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and western New South Wales
• Lord Howe Island
• Alice Springs, Darwin and Kakadu