What to pack (again - sorry). Need help from former tour participants.
There have been a number of discussions on the forum about what to pack/wear on this tour and I apologize to resurrecting the topic.. I find Tauck's list of what to bring not exceedingly helpful. It still is a bit of a conundrum to me regarding what I should pack for this trip in early March ranging form hot and tropical in northern Australia to damp and cool in New Zealand - all into one suitcase less than 50 lbs.. I have found the following list for both men and women online and would appreciate any input from those who have been on this tour as to the helpfulness of this list (which strikes me as a pretty good list from which to start - and to edit a bit)
THE LIST:
Australia Packing List for Women
1 pair of flattering jeans - black, stonewash or dark denim
2 pairs of pants - for warmer months the lighter the better, and choose thicker fabrics for cooler months
1 skirt
1 dress - make it versatile, something you can wear sightseeing but also dress up to dine out in the evenings
3 plain tops - one in each of your favorite colors; opt for lightweight fabrics in warmer months, thicker ones when it's cold
2 casual tops - a shirt in your favorite color would work well here
1 evening top - choose something in your strongest color
Check that the colors of your pants, skirt and tops all co-ordinate[/i]
1 pair of comfy flats - check the inside of the shoe has some padding to make them easy to walk in
1 pair of killer heels - for evenings
Underwear - enough to last between bouts of laundry
Socks - consider the types of shoes you will be wearing
Sleepwear
Swimwear
A belt
A pashmina - take a wrap on the plane to keep you warm, then wear it to cover shoulders or create a stylish look in the evenings; a lighter color like taupe or white will create that movie star "I haven't bothered" look
Costume jewelry - never underestimate how a statement piece can transform an outfit
Sunglasses - these can make a great statement too, but check they have the right protection
A lightweight belted raincoat
A large canvas bag - with plenty of room for all your day trip essentials
A simple clutch bag - for evenings; a smart travel wallet can also double up as a clutch bag
An umbrella
For cooler months add in:
1 fleece - lightweight and not easily creased, this is a staple for cooler months
Hat
Scarf and gloves
Swap the lightweight belted raincoat above for a waterproof jacket or warm coat
For warmer months add in:
1 pair of shorts, cropped pants or Capri pants
1 pair of fabulous flip flops or sandals - jewelled are fun and look great with everything
1 cool kaftan
1 sarong - works well as a skirt and will also cover your shoulders if needed; check the color matches your swimwear
Sunhat[ - remember you may need to pack this in your case, so choose one that will fold or roll up
******************************************************
Australia Packing List for Men
1 pair of jeans – smart ones which are flexible for daytime or evenings
3 pairs of pants - two casual for daytime and one smarter for evenings; in warmer months include a pair with
detachable legs that convert into shorts, and opt for medium weight for the cooler months
4 casual shirts for daytime - lighter fabrics are best for warmer months
2 smarter shirts - for evenings
1 sweater
1 jacket
1 pair of comfortable shoes - for daytime walking
1 pair of smarter shoes - for evenings
Underwear - enough to last between bouts of laundry
Socks - consider the types of shoes you will be wearing
Sleepwear
Swimwear
A belt
A tie - just in case
Sunglasses - check they have the right protection
A light rucksack or day bag - with plenty of room for your sightseeing essentials
An umbrella
For cooler months add in:
1 fleece - lightweight and not easily creased, this is a staple for cooler months
Hat
Scarf and gloves
A waterproof jacket or warm coat - depending on the weather
For warmer months add in:
1 pair of tailored shorts
1 pair of summer shoes or sandals
Sunhat
As for men, it seems hardly anyone wears a jacket - which seems a somewhat extraneous piece of clothing for one or two evenings at receptions. And I know some pooh-pooh blue jeans, but they seems to me to be pretty good for things like traipsing through sheep farms in New Zealand (I can't wait).
Many thanks for any input here.
THE LIST:
Australia Packing List for Women
1 pair of flattering jeans - black, stonewash or dark denim
2 pairs of pants - for warmer months the lighter the better, and choose thicker fabrics for cooler months
1 skirt
1 dress - make it versatile, something you can wear sightseeing but also dress up to dine out in the evenings
3 plain tops - one in each of your favorite colors; opt for lightweight fabrics in warmer months, thicker ones when it's cold
2 casual tops - a shirt in your favorite color would work well here
1 evening top - choose something in your strongest color
Check that the colors of your pants, skirt and tops all co-ordinate[/i]
1 pair of comfy flats - check the inside of the shoe has some padding to make them easy to walk in
1 pair of killer heels - for evenings
Underwear - enough to last between bouts of laundry
Socks - consider the types of shoes you will be wearing
Sleepwear
Swimwear
A belt
A pashmina - take a wrap on the plane to keep you warm, then wear it to cover shoulders or create a stylish look in the evenings; a lighter color like taupe or white will create that movie star "I haven't bothered" look
Costume jewelry - never underestimate how a statement piece can transform an outfit
Sunglasses - these can make a great statement too, but check they have the right protection
A lightweight belted raincoat
A large canvas bag - with plenty of room for all your day trip essentials
A simple clutch bag - for evenings; a smart travel wallet can also double up as a clutch bag
An umbrella
For cooler months add in:
1 fleece - lightweight and not easily creased, this is a staple for cooler months
Hat
Scarf and gloves
Swap the lightweight belted raincoat above for a waterproof jacket or warm coat
For warmer months add in:
1 pair of shorts, cropped pants or Capri pants
1 pair of fabulous flip flops or sandals - jewelled are fun and look great with everything
1 cool kaftan
1 sarong - works well as a skirt and will also cover your shoulders if needed; check the color matches your swimwear
Sunhat[ - remember you may need to pack this in your case, so choose one that will fold or roll up
******************************************************
Australia Packing List for Men
1 pair of jeans – smart ones which are flexible for daytime or evenings
3 pairs of pants - two casual for daytime and one smarter for evenings; in warmer months include a pair with
detachable legs that convert into shorts, and opt for medium weight for the cooler months
4 casual shirts for daytime - lighter fabrics are best for warmer months
2 smarter shirts - for evenings
1 sweater
1 jacket
1 pair of comfortable shoes - for daytime walking
1 pair of smarter shoes - for evenings
Underwear - enough to last between bouts of laundry
Socks - consider the types of shoes you will be wearing
Sleepwear
Swimwear
A belt
A tie - just in case
Sunglasses - check they have the right protection
A light rucksack or day bag - with plenty of room for your sightseeing essentials
An umbrella
For cooler months add in:
1 fleece - lightweight and not easily creased, this is a staple for cooler months
Hat
Scarf and gloves
A waterproof jacket or warm coat - depending on the weather
For warmer months add in:
1 pair of tailored shorts
1 pair of summer shoes or sandals
Sunhat
As for men, it seems hardly anyone wears a jacket - which seems a somewhat extraneous piece of clothing for one or two evenings at receptions. And I know some pooh-pooh blue jeans, but they seems to me to be pretty good for things like traipsing through sheep farms in New Zealand (I can't wait).
Many thanks for any input here.
0
Comments
I went in November.
You have more than one chance to wash clothes. In Sydney inexpensive laundry right near hotel and several hotels have washer/dryer.
Since that trip I travel light. 21 inch with carry-on. The suitcase pretty much around 35 pounds.
I'm a local. I haven't taken this trip and wouldn't ... because I'm a local. But I have taken plenty of trips to the opposite hemisphere and had to deal with just the issues you raise.
Can I suggest some lateral thinking? And possibly some layerly thinking, too, for just the problems you raise. Can I also suggest you have a look at this website: http://www.hedrena.com.au/shop/ , not to advertise this brand particularly but to wholeheartedly recommend the fabric. I'm sure if you search you will find other brands. This particular brand has a really boring web site, which tells you they spend the dollars on the products not the advertising. And this one ships. I'm sure there are others.
The thing about fine micron pure wool is that it breathes. It is cool in summer (anything up to about 35C in short or sleeveless styles) and warm in winter. One long sleeved garment will layer over multiple short sleeved ones! You roll them to pack and they remain pretty much unwrinkled. Hand wash with shampoo in your bathroom and wring in a towel, then hand to dry while you are on the road. (At home they are machine washable & you might celebrate with an occasional warm to hotish iron.) Because it's such a light weight fabric is takes up very little space. Because you never know what type of bathroom you will have along the road, I would suggest at least 3 garments. One on, one off and another in-between ... just in case you strike a non-drying bathroom!
I have worn this stuff everywhere from the sub-Antarctic (where it's always "winter") to Arizona in summer. With some creative thinking and accessorising, these types of garments can take you from breakfast to a smart restaurant for dinner. (We do actually have smart, fine dining restaurants in Australia, particularly in Melbourne. You are on holiday! You can have junk food at home!) And trust me, your Australian trip is not a safari, so there's no need to dress for one. But it will be quite an adventure.
Cheers,
Jan
I found when I visited Australia in their winter that I barely needed a light jacket for most of the time. I rarely wear fleeces. Anything I wear is lightweight and can be layered. I like the final layer to be a garment that opens at the front, so you have a half option to open if it is not quite warm enough to take it off. Denim jeans are heavy and bulky and take a long time to dry if they get wet. Same with a canvas bag. If it gets wet it will be a mess. This must be a very old fashioned list, where did you find it? I have never seen any woman in a dress during the day or a belted raincoat and a kaftan, is it still the seventies! Yikes, I hardly take half of what is on that list, killer heels, skirts, sleepwear, none of those, comfy 'flats' have little support and so on. I think it is good to create a stash of travel clothing over the years if you do a fair amount of travel, I am not talking specialist travel clothing here, but versatile, lightweight, adaptable for day or evening, casual but smart for the days when you get back from a tour and it is too late to change for dinner, color will work with several others and so on.
Once you have nailed down WHEN your tour will be, it will be easier to decide what to pack because you can encounter anything from very very hot in the Australian summer to snow in the New Zealand winter.
We toured the two countries on separate occasions, firstly because the tour is too long for those Americans who still work and have to deal with meager vacation time, secondly to visit each country at the optimum times of year for the type of weather that we prefer to hope for, that is certainly not the Australian summer or the possible snow in the New Zealand winter. It makes it easier to pack and it means you can add days on to the front and end of each of the tours to explore the beginning and end cities a little more because there is not enough time in any of them to do them justice.
We're going on our trip in early March - as I indicated in the original post. I've looked at the weather averages for that time of year and as said above - it ranges from hot in Cairns to wet and cool in Southern New Zealand, particularly around Milford Sound.
The list I posted isn't particularly ancient. It comes from Lonely Planet, not exactly a Neanderthal outfit. The list itself is posted at:
http://www.whattowearonvacation.com/us/destinations/australasia-pacific/australia/59-what-to-wear-in-australia.php
What I'm trying figure is how to balance wardrobe needs against the somewhat upscale tour group we'll be with. If I were doing this on my own, I'd probably bring two pairs of jeans (wearing one on the plane) and two pair of shorts - and be done with it. I've worn jeans all over the world - Europe, Asia, Middle-East, Africa, Canada (I started with "Europe on Five Dollars a Day"). So if my jeans get soaked (that would be a very unusual occurrence), they get wet and I live with them until they're dry. I like jeans :-) And.. as I mentioned above, jeans seem very apropos to things like the New Zealand sheep farm.
As for dresses, the following is from Tauck's list of what to pack:
"This itinerary includes accommodations in award-winning hotels and meals in many fine restaurants. For the welcome and farewell dinners, you may wish to dress more formally. On all other nights resort wear is suggested." Outfits like TravelSmith feature easy to pack, well-wearing dresses which some women may prefer for those nights where "you may wish to dress more formally." Anyway - that's why we'd like input from those who've been on this tour - top see what "dress more formally" actually means.
We've experts at layering. We really need guidance on how formal or dressy people actually go.
As for the different temps. You want to layer up. And make sure you have a water proof jacket. I did the same for Norway and Scotland.
Sorry to give you such useless advice. You will mostly be travelling with Americans within a "firm" Tauck bubble. Unless you activity seek it, you are not likely to interact with travellers of other nationalities or many locals aside from those involved in your tourism experience. The Tauck product may indeed be upscale but that's where your concern can, in all practical sense, end. In my experience of many years of constant travel, with and without Tauck, Americans who fit the Tauck demographic do not generally "dress up". (Yes, I know one shouldn't generalise, but this is my experience.) There is no necessity to pack for the highest or median common denominator. Wear whatever you want ... wherever and whenever you want. Everyone else will.
Cheers,
Jan
Do not get too excited about the sheep farm, you walk across a beautiful lawn surrounded by gorgeous flower beds to a building where there is a sheep shearing demo and then you walk a few yards to a fence where you watch some sheep dogs rounding up a small group of sheep. Very enjoyable but no need for heavy shoes or jeans. March will be a lovely time for you to do this tour, wish I could go back there soon.