The Dressed to impress! (Okay, mostly for comfort.)

We'll be needing different clothing for different activities (from hiking and jet boats to art museums and fine dining) and so I need to find the balance between backpacker chic and dry clean only. In a country that proudly reminds tourists that you can experience "4 seasons in one day." I think I'm up for the challenge.

The first hurdle is the flight (and the transit to the airport!) It will be cold here in January, but very warm in New Zealand (one of the many reasons we chose to visit.) So we'll be wearing warm weather clothing on the plane. Having flown quite a bit in my career, and always in economy - I think I have a pretty good formula for flying outfits to get me from here to there. My key is layers that I can take off and carry (or repack) once I get to my destination. We'll be driving, so I would imagine that all of our truly warm weather stuff will hang in the car until the trip home.

First step? Pants! I have to wear pants. I have gone the jersey maxi skirt route and found it difficult to navigate restrooms and not quite warm enough. And I cannot do PJs. NO. So I like pants like these for flying. They are soft, have an elastic waist (I always feel bloated on planes) and stretch. They'll keep me cozy on the flight without looking like I just rolled out of bed.

Next is my tee. I'm going with a basic grey v neck, one of the 3 I own. (Fun fact - my husband had no idea that I owned three until very recently. He thought I just REALLY liked the one!) Grey is great, it hides dirt and goes well with my mostly black wardrobe (and everything not black, too!) Something like this is just a versatile wardrobe staple.

I have also got to have a cardigan on the plane. I wear them pretty infrequently otherwise but I need a big, cosy sweater that I can ball up or wear over my head. Whatever it takes, man! I like this one, it's my second favorite color. Navy! (Navy is like light black. Just as versatile.) As much as I like it, though, this one from Old Navy is just what I need. 

And I need shoes! I always wear the heaviest, bulkiest shoes I have on the plane. (Unless I'm working - I won't fly in steel toed boots, lol.) So this flight I'll be flying with my Ahnu Sugarpine hiking boots. I keep my Tevas in my carryon just in case my bags don't make it, though. Learned the hard way when I was stuck tromping around Salt Lake City (beautiful!) one July with hikers. I would have loved some lighter shoes. It was hot! The great thing about my Ahnu's is that they're pretty adorable so I won't feel too silly. 

And that's almost it! Almost because the one travel item I am never without (besides my headphones - those will be in my carry-on post) is a scarf. I keep one in my car, I wear a light one in summer in case I need some additional shade, I keep one tied to my pocketbook just in case. So versatile! Wearing a blanket scarf on to the plane is a lifesaver. Our little one had an airplane bathroom incident a few years back and I didn't have a change of clothes for her. She ended up wearing mama's scarf like a skirt for the rest of the trip. Worked great! Cashmere and merino are my favorites (so soft and light.) I have a wool pashmina that I bought overseas years ago. But I am LOVING this one from likemary. Such a great color! And I need it with my monotone wardrobe!

What do you wear on long haul flights? Did I miss anything?

Packing it all in.

I am mildly neurotic about packing. So much so that on our last family vacation (to Tokyo Disney Resort) I packed everyone in coordinating outfits. We did well, and somehow managed to not bring TOO much stuff, but I am the Queen of Overpacking. So this time, despite the 14 days away from home, I'm making a concerted effort to pack light.

The first thing I wanted to do, since I'm still working on a list of clothes (for me and the kiddos, the Mister is on his own) is figure out what non-clothing items we need to bring. I started with a small, backpacker style first aid kit. We'll be doing some hiking, and we're driving through a country known for it's wide open spaces and remote byways. So here's what I put together!

This is a simple little mesh and fabric pouch I picked up at a Daiso 100 Yen store (basically a Japanese Dollar Store. Only far superior.) I also picked up 15 of those little tags; I have labelled everything for quick recognition. It's about 6"x8" (15x20 cm) and weighs .22 kilos, just under 8oz. It will fit nicely in my day pack or in the boy's CamelBak.

In the front pocket, I have some of the smaller, flat packed items. Clockwise from top left I have: alcohol swabs, insect repellent, adhesive bandages in a few sizes, wrapped tissue and q-tips, a hairband (in case my daughter needs it,) some breathe right strips and Alka Seltzer cold tabs.

In the "larger" pocket from upper left: OTC medicines (more to follow on those) scissors and tweezers, small containers of creams and ointments (more on those, too) and TheraFlu packs (we swear by this stuff. Tastes awful but it works!) Next there are some gauze pads, some feminine products, surgical tape and some small rolls of gauze.

PseudoEphedrine is illegal in New Zealand - I have made sure that all OTC medicines we take are allowed there. I don't have a lot of meds in here, and the point is not to last forever. I just want to make sure that if we have an illness or injury on the road or trail, that we can take care of ourselves until we can get to a drugstore or hospital. I have labelled all of the compartments with the names/dosages of all medicines. We are all "adult" sized for dosage purposes, so if you're traveling with little ones, take care. I have an anti-diarrheal, Tylenol, Tylenol Cold, Pepto, and Motrin. With the TheraFlu, that ought to cover everything.

Very last we come to my creams and ointments, all labelled. These little containers are really meant for soy sauces, but they work great for this. I have seen many storage methods (my favorite being straws) but these are cheap and disposable. The top left is a Triple Antibiotic Ointment, right is Hydrocortisone and on the bottom is some Anbesol. Hoping we have no need for any of this, but if we do I know we have it! Next item on my list is my laundry kit.

The plans have been laid.

We have an itinerary! First Light Travel (and Shelley) have been wonderful. We're only visiting the North Island of NZ this time, and I think we've managed to fit in everything we wanted to do. We'll be driving from Wellington to Auckland over 14 days, and staying in lovely hotels, motels and B&Bs on the way.

In Wellington, we'll be visiting Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum of New Zealand. They have a super cool looking exhibit on the history of contraception that I am completely jazzed about. It looks like a wonderful museum, so we're excited.

Then we get a LOTR locations tour! Cannot wait. So many Hobbit fans in our house. Leaving Wellington, we'll be heading to Tongariro national park to take the kids on some trail hikes (or "tramps," as the Kiwis call them) and hopefully getting some amazing landscape photos. Also Mt. Ngauruhoe - the mountain that played Mt Doom! Then on to lake Taupo for a jetboat ride and maybe some more hiking. I'm hoping to hit up Craters of the Moon Park. 

Hobbiton will be on the way to our next stop - Rotorua, where we'll be spending 3 days learning about the Maori culture, Kiwis (birds this time) and New Zealands geothermal landscapes. There's so great stuff for the kids here, too, like a luge ride with gorgeous views and the opportunity to Zorb down the mountainside. New Zealand is a haven for adventure travelers! Then on to Coromandel and a visit to Cathedral Cove and a glass bottom/snorkeling tour and some beach relaxing before we head to Auckland. We'll wind down here with some more marine sightseeing and a private tour of Waiheke Island (and wine tasting, which means wine buying for us!) before we head home to Tokyo. 

Two weeks is going to go by so quickly! I've started to think packing, so next up is my packing plan. How to take a family of four on a two week holiday with airline weight restrictions and making sure it all fits in the rental car trunk. Whew! We shall see!

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.

I have finally done it! I booked us the trip of a lifetime to see one of the places I have always wanted to go. Travel to New Zealand is always a long flight from pretty much anywhere as it is one of the most isolated countries in the world. But Air New Zealand flies direct from Tokyo, and I figured this would be the cheapest we'd ever see it. Getting to NZ from the States is a much taller order! (The same trip from San Antonio is twice as much and 26-29 hours of flying instead of the 11 hour direct flight we'll enjoy!)

I booked with First Light Travel, a NZ company specializing in Self Drive Tours. We'll be hiring a car (small SUV, really) and driving from Wellington to Auckland, stopping along the way to see the sights. Shelley at First Light has been wonderful. She'll book everything along the way and provide us with our itinerary, maps and travel guides to make our trip easy.  We just told her our must do's, our budget (the exchange rate is wonderful right now!) and where we wanted to go, and Shelley will handle the rest. I have a funny feeling Jason and I will be back another time to visit the South Island, as we only had two weeks this time, so we're sticking to the North.)

More to come as we get our itinerary figured out and I promise some of Jason's wonderful photography will be here when we go. I can't wait!