If you've followed my blog either here or on wicked local.com, you know I almost always prefer organized guided tours to planning my own trip. Some of it is laziness, I admit. Planning, reviewing, and booking take a lot of work. So does carrying a suitcase. Some of it is a reluctance to drive in unfamiliar territory.
You also probably know that I write from the comfort of my home, using journals, notes, and pictures I've taken while traveling. Since some of my trips are not very recent, I do additional research before posting to make sure my information is current.
Having given you that background, I have to say that my first trip to Australia was not a guided tour. It was a trip I planned with considerable help from my friend Kate, who lives in the Melbourne area. And every place I called for reservations helped me plan how I could get to see the sights in the area. Since I generally stayed in hotels, there were usually people on staff who would work with a local agency to make sure I got on a tour to Uluru, a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef, a day trip to the Blue Mountains.... you get the idea. So ultimately, I did end up on tours, but it was up to me to choose where and when those excursions would occur.
It was a lot of work, but it was a great trip to a wonderful and varied country.
If you follow my blog on any of the wicked local.com newspaper sites that regularly host current posts, you might know that the blog has just ended a trip to Ireland and is now focused on posts about group travel (i.e. organized tours). There will also be some guest blog posts on planning your own trip coming shortly (vs taking an organized tour, as I usually do).
Visit http://lexington.wickedlocal.com/section/blogs01?taxid=1963 for current posts.
and now
back to Australia.
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