It’s pretty hard to top our 2016 travels………………but if anything can, it would be another African adventure.   Last year, I made plans and pretty much nailed it, but no time to rest on my laurels!   2017 will see what will probably be our last trip to Africa (unless we win Lotto) so we are going to make the most of it while we can!  Bring on the Godmother of All African Adventures!

2017 TRAVEL PLANS

After most airline miles programs devalued last year, I was worried that if we put off our long haul travel, we may not be able to make them happen.  Turns out I was right, Velocity devalued their partner awards on Etihad both in terms of mileage required and a shocking new surcharge.  United did away with their traditional stopovers and made their new Excursionist Perk program more restrictive in terms of regions and routings.  If I hadn’t booked when I did, we would have had to cough up more money, more points and travel in economy on Etihad instead of business class.  The itinerary targets all (except Niam-Niam) parrots in Africa that we haven’t seen yet and a few old friends like the African Grey (hopefully closer up), the Red-bellied Parrot and more!  So Africa here we come……………..and not a moment too soon!

Trip #1

Brisbane – Perth – Abu Dhabi, car to Dubai for a couple days.  Used AAdvantage on QF in Y and Velocity on Etihad J before devaluations happened.

Dubai – Nairobi – Entebbe.  Used Flying Blue on KQ in Y.

UGANDA:  Will be visiting birding hotspots like Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Mabamba Swamp, Mabira Forest & possibly Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary where African Grey Parrots rescued from poachers were released into the wild.  (FYI:  This will be my 2nd trip to Uganda and I have already visited the mountain gorillas in Bwindi and chimps in Kibale).  My main goal is to get African Grey Parrots closer up and possibly Meyers Parrots and some other cool birds like Shoebills and Turacos.

Entebbe – Addis Ababa – Lusaka – Windhoek.  Used United miles on Ethiopian & South African airlines in Y class.  This is a one region with a stop-over that technically wasn’t allowed before but sometimes slipped through.  It’s no longer possible with Excursionist Perks.

ETHIOPIA:  Will visit either or both of Wondo Genet & Lake Langano.  Originally we were going to stay at Bishangari Lodge but it was burned down by protesters in Oct 2016.  The new plan is to fly to Awassa, then make day trips from there.  Once back in Addis Ababa, we will stay at the Ghion Hotel (their grounds are a birding hotspot) and a day trip to Menagesha Forest.  I’m targeting 2 endemic parrots – Yellow-fronted Parrot & Black-winged Lovebird plus other species.

ZAMBIA:  Will hightail it out of Lusaka to Livingstone for Victoria Falls/Mosi-o-tunya NP and the Machile IBA for Black-cheeked Lovebirds.  Then it’s on to Mfuwe and South Luangwa NP which is a hotspot for Lillian’s Lovebirds.

NAMIBIA:  We’ll pick up a rental car and drive around Namibia chasing Ruppell’s Parrots & Peach (Rosy)-faced Lovebirds near Etosha NP, Kunene River, Huab Lodge area and around Omaruru.

Windhoek – Doha – Adelaide – Brisbane  Used AAdvantage miles on Qatar Airways & Qantas in J.  This was one devaluation I couldn’t avoid but at least we are getting our miles worth!

TRIP #2

Next year’s trip will be expensive both in miles & money so we will keep costs down on our road trip.  I’m thinking maybe a return visit to Bowra Station for “glamping” in the shearers’ quarters.

MILES AND POINTS GOALS

Much to my surprise, I am tracking pretty well.  2017 is booked.  I have enough miles for both a 2018 trip to South America & my solo trip to the World Parrot Conference at Loro Parque.  2019 is looking pretty good as both Qantas (Woolworths) and Virgin Velocity (Coles) are partnered with supermarkets and as long as they keep dishing out the bonus points, we are going to have enough for the South Pacific trip to Cook Islands, Samoa & Fiji from buying groceries & petrol.

But after that we will be miles-broke.  Who knows that the mileage programs will be doing by then or if they will devalue even worse so my goal for this year is to stockpile miles in flexible programs.  I have USA cards from Chase (Ultimate Rewards), Citibank (Thank You Points) and the Barclay’s AAviator card which gives an annual bonus of 10,000 miles plus 10% rebate on miles redeemed so virtually 20,000 effortless miles a year.  They often give spending challenges where you get bonus miles after achieving a goal to spend (for example) $1000 in 3 months.  I also have my Aussie Amex Platinum Edge to stockpile points that can be transfered to SPG (for now), VA, SQ, CX and a few others that I probably wouldn’t use.

SETTING MORE GOALS

In this I not only have to consider our finances & mileage accounts but also that we are not spring chickens and it is getting harder and harder to go on long walks and deal with the increasingly smaller seats in economy.  I’ve also had to do some re-shuffling of travel plans due to Venezuela’s ever-worsening situation and the Aussie dollar getting weaker making it harder to afford lodge packages in places like Tambopata which are sold in USD.  I haven’t really changed much from last year, just tweaked it a bit.

Prioritize trips to places that would otherwise be very expensive without miles such as South America.  These trips should be done as soon as the miles can be saved as they are vulnerable to devaluations.  Meanwhile, slot in a short haul trip during years we don’t have enough miles.

1.  2018 South America  & Loro Parque – Have miles ready.  The actual destinations in South America will be chosen from Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana (which has some but not all of Venezuela’s key species), Bonaire & Mexico.  When grouping them, I need to consider the weather, easiness of finding birds, costs/exchange rates and miles to get there.  As a member of Qantas, I have searched over a whole year and business class is virtually impossible to get, especially for 2 people so we will have to cross the Pacific in economy.  I think they are now selling upgrades to elites and other paying pax.
2.   TBD  South America – The Last Hurrah.  (Peru & Chile, Venezuela if they get their act together)  This trip requires a strong Aussie $ as birding packages in Peru are booked in USD.  We will be starting from scratch and it may take a few years to save enough miles.

Have a list of birding trips we can do using easy-to-get Velocity points or low-cost carriers.  These are completely flexible as to order and wouldn’t have to be booked 11 months in advance as the others would be. 

1.  2019 – Pacific Islands (Rarotonga, Fiji, Samoa).  Using supermarket points with Velocity & Qantas with any spare AA for intra-Fiji flights.
2.  2020 or 2021 Indonesia 1 (Sulawesi, Talaud & Halmahera) – using low cost carriers such as Air Asia,Garuda, Lion Air, etc.
3.   Indonesia 2 (Seram, Buru, Tanimbar & Bali)
4.   Philippines
5.   Pacific Islands  (Solomons, Vanuatu & New Caledonia)
6.   Papua New Guinea (might have to book an organized tour for safety).
7.   New Zealand
8.  Norfolk Island

Continue doing domestic Australian trips every year using “happy hour” deals, miles we don’t need for long hauls or road trips.

1.  Uluru & Red Centre
2.  Adelaide & Kangaroo Island
3.  Gluepot, South Australia
4.   Other NSW & Victoria TBD.
5.   More Outback Queensland – most likely this year.
   

CREDIT CARD & FINANCIAL GOALS

Not sure if there are any USA cards I can still get but I will be maximizing category bonuses with all cards.  I’ll also be on the lookout for any Aussie cards that I can qualify for although the best cards tend to be for high income earners only which lets me out.

There are a couple Aussie based survey sites that let you earn shopping vouchers with Coles, Woolies and other shops so I’ve been doing those.   Any money I can save on shopping goes into the travel budget!

Rewards Central

My Opinions

BLOG GOALS

I’ve already made one improvement by installing Disqus for comments.  I got side-tracked with personal/family things so didn’t get my Feathered and Free stuff migrated over although the archive on the forum will be going offline when the contract expires in a few days.  I’ve had it going in one form or another for the last 10 years but just can’t keep paying for the hosting on top of this blog.

I’d like to promote myself as a guest speaker for bird clubs and travel conventions a bit more and maybe start a travel planning service for people wanting to use miles and points for eco-tourism.

Coming up, I’ll be finishing my series on the Caribbean with St Vincent, Dominica & Puerto Rico, then doing a series about Australia’s Northern Territory (Top End).  Then I still have some historical trips I can blog about with updated how-to-get-there info, maybe I’ll start with the Philippines!

Join me tomorrow as we visit St Vincent and the beautiful Vincie Parrot!

2015 has been a relatively quiet travel year as planned and we did need to take a break and get some things done around the house.  We have almost finished those projects so it’s time to look forward to an epic birding adventure around South America & the Caribbean!

TRAVEL PLANS

After US Airways merged to American, I had enough miles to book the long haul parts of the Brisbane to Ecuador & return from the USA to BNE flights.  The rest of the trip has been pieced together from random accounts.  Unfortunately it is pretty much impossible to get J on either trans Pacific long haul and it’s not worth wasting miles on J for short haul flights so this trip will be all in economy albeit with carefully chosen seats!  Top birds will be parrots (as usual), hummingbirds (love these little guys), quetzals, tanagers and anyone else who flies by!

Trip #1

Brisbane – Sydney – Santiago – Guayquil on Qantas & Lan.  Planned birding in Cerro Blanco, then buses to Copalinga & Umbrellabird Lodge.

Guayaquil – San Cristobal, Galapagos – Quito.  Birding on the island and surrounds.  I had to get the LAN Visa card JUST for this ticket as I couldn’t get the seats otherwise and this is an expensive route!  From Quito either rented car or public transport to the Tandayapa/Sacahtamia/Mindo area.

Quito – Coca, then we have a 3 night Napo Wildlife Centre package.  Then we take buses to Wildsumaco, San Isidro & Guango Lodge before returning to Quito.

Quito – Bogota – Santa Marta.  We overnight in Santa Marta at a hotel I got for free on Orbitz, then we have a few days in El Dorado & Minca for birding.

Santa Marta – Medellin (the last 3 flights using Lifemiles).  Bus to Jardin to hopefully see Yellow-eared Parrots, then more buses to Manizales for Rio Blanco & Nevado for more birding.

Peireira – Bogota (cheapo Avianca flight), then day trip to Chingaza.

Bogota – Panama – Trinidad.  Planned birding in Nariva Swamp, Yerette, Caroni, Aripo & Asa Wright.

Trinidad – St Lucia (nice 5th freedom award on BA).  We’ll be looking for St Lucia Parrots and any other birds.

St Lucia – St Vincent – Dominica – San Juan.  Chasing more endemic Amazon Parrots through the Caribbean if Liat doesn’t make us crazy first!

San Juan – USA (various award flights to visit family).

LAX – Brisbane on Qantas.

Trip #2

A quick fly-self drive trip to Darwin, Kakadu & Katherine Gorge area.  I was going to use AA or BA for this but might just wait for a “happy hour” special deal to come along.

MILES AND POINTS GOALS

Last year, I had some very specific goals to save up for and I had a certain order I wanted to do the trips.  However this past year has been a horror year for devaluations and Aussies now stand to lose our only method of collecting miles in the SPG partner programs which include AA, Flying Blue & Lan.  I am somewhat shielded by being a dual citizen who can also get USA cards but that is pretty much over as I have already had all the cards in the programs I can use.  All I can do is try to maximize 5x category bonuses to get as many miles as possible.

I think the next couple years, the major programs will sit tight and let the dust settle while they figure out what to do next with the programs.  United’s major devaluation came into effect in early 2014 and I feel reasonably safe it won’t devalue again before the end of 2016.  I don’t trust the current rates beyond 2017 though so I have decided to bring forward the “Godmother of All African Adventures” to 2017 replacing the Indonesia trip which can be done anytime using low-cost carriers such as Air Asia & Lion Air.  I should have enough United, Virgin, Singapore & Flying Blue to book the flights we need by the middle of the year.  I do need to concentrate on Ultimate Rewards, Thank You Points (for SQ) & Aussie Amex for Virgin so those cards get priority for spending.

American just devalued which takes effect March 2016.  I had to readjust the miles needed for 2018 trips to Mexico, Bolivia & Venezuela and I will probably be going to Loro Parque solo.  These trips will be booked in late 2017 and I don’t think AA will devalue again before that.  AA will probably stay the same until late 2018 while they crunch numbers on the new program.

RE-PRIORITIZING GOALS

The end of loyalty programs as we know them is not quite here but it’s coming.  The programs themselves won’t go away, they will just become less profitable for us to use.  Already Australians can use low-cost carriers such as Air Asia to get to most of Asia for around the same cost as big airlines like Qantas & Singapore charge for the fuel surcharge on award tickets.  There is still value in redeeming business class awards – that is if you can find one!  If you read last year’s Goal Post, then you can see how my bucket list has changed slightly due to these devaluations and the lower Aussie dollar.  That’s why I keep a bucket list & you should too in case you need to swap trips around.  I have posts on how to do that HERE & HERE.

On my planned future trips, it is virtually impossible to get business class between Australia & South America.  Africa is possible mostly in Ethiopian which doesn’t have lie-flat seats on these routes so I don’t think it’s worth it.  So here is what I have to do.

Prioritize trips to places that would otherwise be very expensive without miles such as Africa & South America.  These trips should be done as soon as the miles can be saved as they are vulnerable to devaluations.  Meanwhile, slot in a short haul trip during years we don’t have enough miles.

1.   2017 Africa (Namibia, Zambia, Ethiopia, Uganda) – 80% OK, still need some UA & SQ.
2.   2018 South America (Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia) & Loro Parque – Have miles ready
3.   TBD  South America (Brazil)  This trip is better for when AUD is low as we can avoid USD and use local currency.
4.   TBD South America (Peru & Chile)  This trip requires a strong Aussie $ as birding packages are booked in USD.

Have a list of birding trips we can do using easy-to-get Velocity points or low-cost carriers.  These are completely flexible as to order and wouldn’t have to be booked 11 months in advance as the others would be. 

1.  Indonesia 1 (Sulawesi, Talaud & Halmahera)
2.  Indonesia 2 (Seram, Buru, Tanimbar & Bali)
3.   Philippines
4.   Pacific Islands (Rarotonga, Fiji, Samoa).  This one targeted for 2019, best done with Velocity & Qantas with any spare AA for Fiji flights.
5.   Pacific Islands  (Solomons, Vanuatu & New Caledonia)
6.   Papua New Guinea (might have to book an organized tour for safety).
7.   New Zealand
8.  Norfolk Island

Continue doing domestic Australian trips every year using “happy hour” deals, miles we don’t need for long hauls or road trips.

1.  Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine
2.  Uluru & Red Centre
3.  Adelaide & Kangaroo Island
4.  Gluepot, South Australia
5.   Other NSW & Victoria TBD.
6.   More Outback Queensland

CREDIT CARD GOALS

Last year I had to cancel a few cards due to annual fees and to free up “slots” to improve my chances for instant approvals.  Goodbye to Amex SPG, Chase Sapphire,  Citi AAdvantage, Club Carlson & Lifemiles Visa.  On a mini app-o-rama I said Hello to United Explorer (2nd time), Lan Visa (only way to get to Galapagos) & Citi Thank You Premier (For Flying Blue, Singapore, Qantas, Etihad & 3x on travel purchases.

This year I am not sure if I can get any more USA based cards considering all the cancelled cards plus I have 2 more on the chopping block.  I’d like to have the British Airways Visa again to get a nice stash of BA and a United business card but I don’t want to push Chase too far.  I do plan to maximize the 5x categories on the Ink & 3x on the Citi TYP.

We may go for some Aussie cards if the opportunity comes up.

BLOG GOALS

I am finally all caught up on blogging trips we did since I started this blog in Nov 2012.  Of course we did lots of travel before that so I will be catching up on historical birding trips with current information on how to do them.  I also plan to merge Feathered and Free to this platform but before I can do that, I need to transfer over the historical travel posts.

First up for January – tomorrow – the fabulous Pantanal of Brazil!

Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhyncus hyacinthius)

After a hectic but fulfilling 2014 in which I brought forward two trips I had originally earmarked for 2015; I now find myself with decimated mileage accounts and a need to rebuild.  I’d say that I not only met but I exceeded last year’s goals!  Those trips were also extremely stressful as you saw in my 2014 in Review post so I need a trip that won’t be mentally stressful.  I also need to pay off the credit cards which made it possible to bring those trips forward a whole year and do some home renovations so this year needs to be cheap & cheerful.

.

TRAVEL PLANS

This year, we need to be more economical but I don’t want to give up on travel for birding altogether.  I used the last of my United miles (with an infusion from Ultimate Rewards) to book a fantastic itinerary that will allow some fantastic birding in Thailand & Malaysia and a week in Rarotonga so my husband can visit friends and family.  This 4 week trip is already booked for the first half of 2015.

Trip #1

Brisbane – Bangkok – Chiang Mai on Thai Y class:  Birding in Doi Inthanon & Doi Lang

Chiang Mai – Bangkok (morning birding in Khao Yai) – Koh Samui:  A couple days for R&R

Koh Samui – Surat Thani by boat, then to Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia since I found a super-cheap flight during their birthday sale last month.  Then bus to Taiping.  Birding in Taiping Lake Gardens.

Taiping – Cameron Highlands – Taman Negara by bus or taxi:  Birding in Taman Negara.

Taman Negara – Kuala Lumpur by bus:  Visit KL Bird Park.

Kuala Lumpur – Bangkok – Shanghai on Thai; layover for a quickie peek at Shanghai.

Shanghai – Auckland – Rarotonga:  R&R for me, family visits for my husband.

Rarotonga – Auckland – Brisbane on Virgin Australia

This will be a much more relaxed trip than the frantic pace of especially the Europe and Africa trips of last year.  It will also be a lot cheaper!  We will be looking for some great Asiatic bird species in the parks highlighted.

Trip #2

I also want to start doing at least one annual domestic birding trip to start building my expertise with Australian species.  This year (bearing in mind our budget) it will be a road trip to Lake Coolmunda.  I saw an article on the Birdlife Australia Warbler e-mag and it looks amazing!  We may stop off at Girraween for a day or two on the way back.  This trip will probably be in Sept or Oct-ish.

.

MILES & POINTS GOALS

You can’t really set your goals unless you have a bucket list of some sort.  I have a couple of posts on how to do that HERE & HERE.  So what’s on my bucket list?  And how do I prioritize it?

Since I met some goals early by bringing the French Polynesia & Africa trips forward, I had to redo the bucket list.

A – NEXT 3 TRIPS

2016 – Peru, Bolivia, Puerto Rico & USA

2017 – Indonesia, probably Seram, Buru, Tanimbar, Bali for R&R

2018 – Next World Parrot conference in Loro Parque.  Maybe a day stop-over or layover in Dubai for shopping enroute then fly to Tenerife for conference, then fly to Caracas Venezuela for birding, maybe also some Caribbean Islands such as Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent, then home via Chile.

We also plan for one domestic Aussie trip per year which can either be a road trip from Brisbane or fly somewhere using Avios, Qantas, Virgin or AA miles.

B – OTHER POTENTIAL SHORT-HAUL FROM AUSTRALIA

It would be easy to get the miles using our Aussie credit cards for trips to these places.  Even cash fares can be cheap if there is a good promo running.  In the case of PNG, we will need to save a fair amount of cash as it is expensive to travel there.  Princess has cruises to some PNG places from Brisbane so that’s another option.

• Papua New Guinea
• Fiji & Samoa
• Vanuatu
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand & Norfolk Island
• Indonesia – Halmahera, Sulawesi, Sangihe
• Rarotonga every 3 or 4 years

C – OTHER POTENTIAL LONG-HAUL FROM AUSTRALIA

This is where I REALLY start dreaming!  Most of these won’t be possible unless we win Lotto or have some kind of windfall.  MAYBE I can get enough miles for one of these trips with 4 years of saving and that’s IF mileage programs continue in their present form.  But since you never know when dreams may come true it doesn’t hurt to have SOMETHING prepared!

• 1.  Brazil – Lears Macaws, other birding areas in Eastern Brazil
• 2.  Colombia & Ecuador
• 3.  Mexico (paired with a visit to the USA)
• 4.  Africa – Namibia, Zambia, Congo, Ethiopia (depending on political and safety situations)

PRIORITIZING THE NEXT 3 TRIPS

In 2016 I want to do a major trip to Peru (Manu & Heath River), Bolivia (Blue-throated Macaws, Red-fronted Macaws) and Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot), then visit family in the USA.  Here’s what I need:

• 1.  Brisbane to Cuzco (where the Manu trip begins).  I have enough AA miles to do this using Oneworld airlines such as LAN or Qantas.  CHECK!
• 2.  Puerto Maldonado to La Paz or Santa Cruz, Bolivia (after the Heath River trip).  Can be done on either Avianca using Lifemiles or LAN using Avios and I have enough miles for either one.  CHECK!
• 3.  La Paz or Santa Cruz to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Best done on COPA using either United or Avianca Lifeliles.  CHECK!
• 4.  San Juan to Vegas.  Oddly enough, this will be the hardest one since my practice runs indicate availability can be an issue no matter which airline I use.  I would have enough miles for United or American but can I get the flights?  I am toying with using SouthWest for this leg.  I can source Ultimate Rewards or get the credit card.  Not ready to give this leg a CHECK yet.
• 5.  Rental car Vegas – Mom’s house – LAX, no problem to get deals online.  CHECK!
• 6.  LAX to Brisbane.  I have enough AA miles to do this in economy but I would prefer business as we will be doing major shopping in the USA.  Qantas can be stingy with award seats, might need to look at Fiji, Hawaiian or Air Tahiti Nui as options.  But I do have the miles so CHECK!

In 2017 we will do another birding trip to Indonesia.  We have loads of options and plenty of miles in Qantas & Virgin for the short-haul to DPS.  We can then use Aussie Amex to SPG to Flying Blue for domestic Garuda flights.  I have sufficient points banked so this is a CHECK!

In 2018 we have:

• Brisbane to Dubai, preferably on Emirates, Etihad or Qatar in business class.  Or if we have to do it in economy then preferably a day flight so Emirates is the only option.  Need to build up Aussie Amex points.
• Dubai to Tenerife will have to be OneWorld with Iberia on the final legs.  Need AA miles, Avios or SPG.
• Tenerife to Caracas can be done on Iberia so once again need AA, Avios or SPG.
• Caracas to Caribbean will probably have to be cash flights on small airlines like LIAT.
• Trinidad to Santiago is probably easiest on COPA so need either Lifemiles or United/Ultimate Rewards.
• Santiago to Puerto Montt is best done using Avios on LAN.
• Santiago – Sydney – Brisbane needs to be LAN or Qantas best booked on AA.

So now I can see what the priorities are.  I need to concentrate on Ultimate Rewards and SPG (via my Aussie Amex).  I also need to find the best option from Brisbane to Dubai and start saving for it.

.

CREDIT CARD GOALS

I am running out of cards I can get for bonuses although maybe my Chase cards can be churned in a year or two.  I already have a Freedom, CSP and Ink.  I could try for a United business card or wait until 2016 and try for a repeat bonus on the United Explorer.

I could get a SouthWest card if the bonus is good, that would cover the SJU – LAS leg with leftover points.  But what do I do with the leftovers when I live in Australia?  Here is what I think I will do.

1.  Wait for CSP annual 7% bonus posts, then apply for either SouthWest or United Business card.  Use CSP as leverage if needed, then cancel it so I can try to get it again in 2017.

2.  Apply for either SPG business or AMEX BRG if there is a good bonus.  I can use USA AMEX points for Flying Blue or Avios.  Cancel current SPG personal as it doesn’t have any category bonuses I can use.

3.  LAN Visa from US Bank only if they have a good bonus deal.

4.  Grab any Aussie credit card that has a good bonus and annual fee waived for both myself and my husband.

.

BLOG GOALS

1.  Do technical upgrades I have been putting off as I didn’t want to deal with any potential issues coming up while I was traveling.

2.  Finish blogging all trips that we have done since this blog began in 2012.  Still to do:  Africa, Queensland.

3.  Start blogging trips we did prior to opening the blog:  Pantanal, Cristalino, Philippines, Singapore, Cruise ship Birding

4.  Merge Feathered and Free to this site and get rid of GoDaddy site which I never update anymore as I hate their platform.  Feathered and Free will remain focused on conservation and worthy causes that involve birds.

.

Whew, that’s a lot of goals!  Maybe I should re-think the “Rest” part of this post’s subject!  What are YOUR travel-related and birding goals for this year?