Detailed Trip Itinerary

2/5: Depart via plane! Cleveland to Chicago, Chicago to Los Angeles. Los Angeles to Auckland (12 hour flight). We leave L.A. at 11pm on 2/5 and arrive in Auckland at 9:30am on 2/7. We lose 2/6, Superbowl Sunday. Recovery day in Auckland, on New Zealand’s north island.
2/8: Rent a tandem kayak (Annie is lazy) for the day and paddle to Rangitoto Island, an extinct volcano. Hike to the top for a view of the city.
2/9: Depart Auckland with our rented car (guaranteed to be at least 8 years old per the rental website), and drive to Paihia. Stop at Whangarei Falls.
2/10-2/12: 3 day introductory scuba certifcation in Paihia. We’ve completed the online portion but need to do the actual diving.
2/13-2/14: Drive to Cape Reinga, the northernmost tip of New Zealand and the meeting point of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean. Drive through several kauri forests, where some trees have diameters exceeding 14 meters.
2/15: Scuba dive at Goat Island, and stay over at the Sawmill Cafe, a cafe and microbrewery with some private rooms and bunks in the back.
2/16-2/18: Explore the central part of the north island. Tubing in the glow-worm caves at Waitomo. Return to Auckland.
2/19-2/21: Fly to Queenstown, on New Zealand’s south island. Drive to Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park for a few days of hiking and exploration.
2/22-2/25: Drive south to Invercargill. Ferry to Stewart Island, which features unique flora and fauna due to its geographic isolation. Hike and fish for blue cod. Also, a good place to see the polar lights (Aurora australis) at the time we’ll be there.
2/26: Fly back to Auckland.
2/27: Fly to Bangkok. Surprisingly, it is another 12 hour flight.
2/28-3/2: Stay with our college friend, Gob, outside of Bangkok. Explore the city of 9 million people and maybe pick up a bit of Thai.
3/3: Fly north to Chiang Mai, the former capital of Thailand (founded in 1296).
3/4-3/6: Elephant training camp in Lampeng. We’ll work with rescued street elephants, ride them in the woods and through the river, and then put on a performance on the last day. Mahout (elephant trainer) costumes included.
3/7-3/8: Stay in Chiang Mai, near the walled city.
3/9-3/16: Fly to Phuket, southern Thailand. Take a bus to Krabi, another province full of southern Thai beaches. Stay at or near Railay beach and explore the ocean by kayak, snorkel and scuba.
3/17-3/18: Fly back to Bangkok, see Gob again.
3/19-4/2: Fly to New Delhi, India. Volunteer at an orphanage in or near Delhi. We’ll either sleep at the orphanage or stay with a family. We’ll work at the orphanage during the week and explore the city and surrounding areas on weekends. International Volunteer HQ.
4/3-4/11: GAP Adventures tour. We’ll go to Agra for a couple of days to see the Taj Mahal, then on to Abhaneri and Jaipur to see a selection of temples and other historical sites.
4/12-4/13: Fly to Johannesburg, South Africa (via Qatar). Spend two days exploring Jo-burg.
4/14-4/19: Fly to Capetown. We’ll meet Annie’s parents (Martha and Allen) and her Aunt Harriet. Stay near the city center and explore Table Mountain, the Victoria & Albert waterfront, and maybe Robben Island where Mandela was held for many years.
4/20-4/23: Fly back to Jo-burg with Annie’s family to visit the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ (where the oldest hominid fossils have been found) and a diamond or gold mine.
4/23-5/5: Safari. We’ll travel north through Botswana to visit the Okavango Delta, then further north to Zambia and Victoria Falls. Lots of wildlife viewing, some bush camping, canoeing the Zambezi, and seeing lots of the African countryside. Return to Jo-burg
5/6-5/9: Drive south to the Drakensburg (the ‘Dragon Mountains’) to hike and see the world’s 2nd tallest waterfall.
5/10: Fly to JFK via a stopover in Cairo, then onward to Cleveland.