Activity Level

Michael Adams

Re-posting this on this forum. Am interested in comments from those who have taken the tour. I have read the activity levels.
How much walking is involved on this tour? And are their significant stairs and such. My wife and I are in our m9d-70s and our health is declining - but want to make a few more trips. Planning on Sept. 2017.
Thanks

AlanS

You'll have to wait for someone who has been on this trip to tell you about their experiences, but typical Tauck tours often involve a fair amount of walking and if you can't handle it, you will miss out on a lot of the experience. In addition to the Activity Levels I hope you have read what it says in the "Before You Go" tab under the "Health and Activity sub tab. It states in part,

"You should be in good health and able to walk moderate to significant distances over varied terrain. Some of the most memorable sightseeing can only be accomplished on foot. Pack sturdy, comfortable walking shoes that have already been broken-in in order to appreciate fully the challenging terrain of the beaches, rainforests and outback."

Without knowing what you mean by "our health is declining" it will be hard for anyone to adequately advise you.

Last, but not least, according to the "Price & Availabilty" listing, all departures between 20 February and 30 October 2017 are Sold Out. There are openings in November and December. This is a very popular tour and departures can sell out a year or more in advance.

joycesw

Although we took this tour ten years ago, and the itinerary has changed a bit, we thought this tour was pretty strenuous, and we were ten years younger then! While the actual physical part of the tour can be somewhat modified, the amount of travel is still the same. There is a lot of territory covered, and one needs to be pretty intrepid to get the most out of the tour. By the way...a great trip and one of our favorites.

British

Another thought, you are choosing a very long tour and long flights--- despite flight compression socks, my legs remained very swollen for the whole of my Australia tour because the long flight clearly messed with my BP meds. I agree with Alan that you need to be more specific about 'declining health issues' and probably your doctor should have some input. I took this tour by taking Australia first and then New Zealand a few years apart, two reasons, first, we could not take a long trip like this because my husband is not retired, and second, we did not want to go to Australia in their summer, it would be too hot for us, that alone can be a challenge for anyone who has declining health that makes them vulnerable to ailments in extreme weather. Then likewise, we did not want to go to New Zealand and risk an encounter with cold weather and snow. I really don't remember either being challenging so far as terain is comcerned. And, Uluru, which can be very hot if you chose the wrong time of year, was perfect when we went. I have certainly been on other Tauck tours that are more challenging when it comes to walking on rocks and sloppy mud and things like that. We find we are tired when we get back from tours, and never been on one lasting more than two weeks. Jet lag and getting up so very early every day on some of the journeys. I still don't think Tauck do a good job on explaining the challenges of each tour, the guidelines Ken and Alan mention are very generic and they are right there for just about every tour they have, not always relevant to every tour. And of course, if you have not booked your tour yet, it sounds as if you will be out of luck and yet another year older before you can go.