This is us two...

This is a picture of us, taken in 2008, that I really like :-)

The route...

This is the flight route we booked through STA Travel, one of their "Miss World" packages... it is the 'Miss Demeanour' route. There were heaps to choose from - Miss Hap, Miss Adventure, Miss Guided, Miss Placed, Miss Behave... such funny names!

We are opting to do our route backwards from what is indicated on the map - e.g. starting in Fiji, and ending in Australia (before coming home to NZ). Our dates/flights are booked and confirmed, but we can change them at a later date if somethng changes our plans...

Comet xo

The prologue...

Hello friends and family! :-)

Well, it's just 6 weeks now until Karlos and I begin our "Legendary Adventure" - an adventure that we have already decided will be ~ epic! And so, the excitement of it all is now slowly beginning to trickle through my veins... Although, I have to say, the reality of the situation still hasn't quite hit either of us yet. As in - we can't believe we are actually/finally doing this!

~ 6 months of Round-The-World travel, and a total of 5, maybe 6 continents if we can manage it.

~

Karlos and I first decided to go on an OE together way back at the beginning of 2008, in the early weeks of our relationship. He had been toying with the idea for a while already, and was all set to put his house on the market, stash some cash, pack his backpack and head off into the unknown... but then I came along, and of course he fell hopelessly in love and all!, and so he decided to wait for me to finish my university degree, and then for us to go travelling together. I was already planning on returning to England for a while at the end of my studies anyway...

So, Karlos decided not to sell his house, and he patiently waited 18 months for me to finish my studies, and then another 6 months for me to get a job and scrounge some $$$ together... and on the Saturday 1st May, 2010 - (a little bit more than 2 years later) - we shall FINALLY be off; and our adventure together, shall begin...

~

Our travels will begin with a short stint in Fiji - and (so long as the cyclones of late disappear by the time we get there in May!) our plan is to spend a week relaxing in the tropical sun, eating tropical fruit, swimming in tropical waters, and easing ourselves into life as backpackers for the next 6 months...

After our Fiji stint we will then fly into the USA. Arriving in LA and leaving from New York, and having 2 months to make our way across the states between the two. Apart from a trip to Vegas (which we'll be making pretty quick smart on arrival! Oh yeah!)... our plans are unknown ;-) Come what may and all that! Campervan travel will likely be our method of getting around though... so if anyone has any advise/recommendations - to rent or to buy? - then please pass this on to us! xo

THEN, after we fly out from New York (WHICH, by the way, could seriously make me pee with excitement... I have wanted to go there for FAR too long now!) and before we fly into London - we head to a beautiful little country in the north Atlantic, motherland to some of my best friends... ICELAND!! We will have an entire week there, mid June, and have been advised that the entire week we are there will be DAYLIGHT. Oh yes - no night, just day, for a whole week!... this, needless to say, is a VERY exciting prospect. Oh the possibilities! And we even have our very own native, Karen, who will be there to show us around and get us all viking-like! Can't wait! Truly excited.

And then, after the wee Icelandic adventure - we fly into London, for two GLORIOUS months in Europe. This could seriously bring tears to my eyes just thinking about it. I have not been "home" now for almost 5 years, and it will be the very first time Karlos has been to England/Europe. I can't wait to see my family and friends again (especially Vicky), and for Karlos to meet them all. And for him to get a better understanding of me, where I am from, and my roots. This will be really bonding for us, I think.

We won't be spending the entire time in England though - Scotland always draws me (I am in love with that country and it's history) - and of course, the European continent. Heather and Reuben will hopefully have their own place in France by the time we get there... Spain, Karlos will just adore... there are friends to visit in Switzerland... wonderful, wonderful Italy... and eventually making my way to Greece... these are all on the agenda.

After Europe we eventually head to south-east Asia for a month... Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam (to wake up in Ho Chi Minh City and yell through my window: "Goooooooood mooooooooooorning Vietnaaaaaaaaaaaaam" - oh this shall be done!) - before we finally reach Sydney, Australia, for the final month of our trip.

Australian friends: fluff those couch cushions, we'll be crashing with ya very soon! We want to see as much of Australia as we can, in one month!

~

And so - if you're still awake, and still reading! - there it is. Our route and flights are planned and booked. It's just the meat in the sandwich yet to be determined... and we won't be planning much of anything until we get there...

~ Oh, the Freedom!

I will be blogging as I go, as often as I can - so to those of you back home, or those of you who reside in a destination at some point along our route... you can keep up with the Legendary Adventure alongside us. :-) Exciting times ahead...

Love and Peace to you all,

Hayley, aka Comet xo