Long Haul Travel Tips

Your holiday time is precious so ensure you have the most comfortable and pleasant long haul flight so you arrive fresh and ready for fun. Here are a few top tips to make the plane journey better and help you to get over your jet lag quicker:

1) Try to ensure you are tired before you take your flight, have a good walk around the airport after your check in as you will be sitting down for 24hrs on the plane and it is good to get the blood flowing.

2) Take an empty water bottle with you on to the plane. Get this refilled by the airline staff once you are on the plane so you can drink plenty of water throughout the flight. Avoid alcohol - there will be plenty when you get to Australia!

3) Wear comfy clothes and ensure you have lots of layers so whether you are in a cold airport or hot plane you will have the right clothing. A spare bit of cosy socks to put on once you are on the plane will help you sleep.

4) Take a neck pillow to avoid those jerking head moments as you drift off and also pain in your neck when you wake up.

5) Take some sleeping tablets when you start the longest part of your flight. I use Ambien or Stillnox and take a couple of tablets when the flight takes off to ensure I get 8 hours sleep. Speak to your doctor before you go and they can prescribe something that suits.

6) Take a small washbag on the plane with deodorant, wet wipes, toothbrush, toothpaste etc so you can freshen up before you arrive.

7) Make sure you take a good book!

The Wedding Week

With so many international guests and also the fact we don't get to see our friends and family in Sydney so often, we have put together lots of activites for the week of the wedding.

We hope you can make it to some or all of the events as we would love to spend as much time with you as possible. We also want the Harrison family to get to know the Goes family and for all our friends to meet.

Please find our wedding week itinerary below:

Wedding Itinerary

3 Months & Counting

The invites went into the post today, so overseas guests you should be receiving your envelopes within a week or so. To help us with numbers and catering we have asked everyone to rsvp by December 1st. Ways you can respond:

email: pamharri@gmail.com

text: +61 457 888 668

We hope you can all make it!

Wedding Gifts

We are thrilled to have so many family and friends travelling from far and wide to join us on our wedding day. We are very happy to have your company and don't expect anything more.

For those people who have asked about purchasing a wedding gift please visit: www.notanothertoaster.com.au or for the UK folks www.notanothertoaster.co.uk

You need to enter the following codes to see our list:

Username: RHYZQN

Password: 277431

To avoid any additional fees, we suggest guests wishing to purchase a gift make a direct transfer via internet banking to Not Another Toaster so the transaction is completely free. If you use credit card or paypal they add 4%.

If you need any further assistance please don't hesitate to contact either of our parents.

1930's Flair

The dress code for the wedding is smart with 1930's flair - please don't let this worry you! There are heaps of outfits in the shops that already have a vintage look.

Alternatively some ideas for customising your existing outfit to give it some 1930's flair include wearing:

1930's style jewellery or hair pieces

a 1930's hat

carrying a fan or parasol

getting some 1930's style shoes

If you need any more inspiration we recommend watching the movie 'Easy Virtue' which has great costumes and is also very funny! Drop us a line if you need any more help.

Things to Bring

Please be aware that it is very hot in January in Australia and you need to have the right clothes to avoid sun burn and sun stroke. To assist you with your shopping/packing for the wedding here are a few essentials that you really need in Australia:
wide brim hat, long sleeved light weight shirt or top, sandals, swimmers, beach towel
sunglasses, sun cream (30+ get it over here), light weight jacket, jumper/cardigan, trainers
shorts & t.shirts, smart clothes for going out, wedding outfit!

I'm In The Mood For Dancing

If you have a song you love that always gets you up on the dance floor please let us know on this blog so we can include it in our wedding hit list!

Only 6 Months To Go!

Not too long now until the wedding. If you haven't already looked into booking flights and accommodation we strongly recommend you do so soon. January is a very busy holiday time in Sydney and we want you to have plenty of choice as to where you stay. We have included plenty of links on this blog to help you but if you need any additional info, please don't hesitate to contact me or Mark.

Going to the Chapel

We are getting married outside in beautiful McKell Park, Darling Point.

Guests are required to arrive at 3.30pm at McKell Park (located at the harbour end of Darling Point Rd). Full transport options are provided in the transport section.

Should we have wet weather, the ceremony will move to the Art Gallery at the reception venue in Mosman. A bus will be provided to transport guests if it is raining hard. We will contact all guests by SMS the morning of the ceremony and via this website to let them know if we need to change to Plan B. Please keep your fingers crossed for sunshine for us!

Reception

Our reception is to be held at the Mosman Art Gallery and Community Hall in Mosman. To make life easier, a free bus will be provided to transport guests from the ceremony to the reception venue.

The reception starts at 6.00pm and finishes at 11.00pm with the after party held at the Hotel Mosman just down the road.

Dress code is smart with a hint of 1930's flair.

The venue is located on the corner of Art Gallery Way and Myahgah Road, Mosman (very close to the Spit Junction) and is next to the Alan Border cricket oval. For those wishing to drive, there is plenty of street park outside the venue and around the park opposite. We encourage all guests to car pool where possible. Click here for a map.

In terms of getting home - there are numerous taxis and buses heading into the city from Mosman that depart from Military Road. The journey takes arund 15-20 minutes.

Travel On The Big Day

To reach the ceremony location - we suggest you catch public transport to reach McKell Park, Darling Point. That way you can enjoy numerous drinks and not need to worry about the car.

There are several transport options:
Water Taxi from Circular Quay to Darling Point Wharf - cost is a little more than a standard taxi
Bus number 327 from Circular Quay via Edgecliff Station (use your travel card)
Train from city to Edgecliff Station followed by short walk or 327 bus (use your travel card)
Share a taxi with some of the other guests you will meet during the wedding week!

We are providing a FREE bus to take take wedding guests from the ceremony to the reception. Let us know when your RSVP for the wedding if you require this option.

If you do decide to drive, there is ample street parking directly outside McKell Park.

Useful Links

For your stay in Sydney, we thought these links might be useful:

http://www.visitnsw.com/

http://www.sydney.com/

www.whatsoninsydney.com.au/sydney/sydney_tourism.htm

http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/

Or for an extended trip, try these links:

http://www.visitaustralia.com/

http://www.newzealand.com/

Visas

You need to have a short term tourist visa to visit Australia. Either ask your travel agent to do this whilst making your booking or visit:

Before & After

We are planning a few events for family and friends the couple of days prior to the wedding so everyone can get over their jet lag and get to know each other before the big day. We really hope you can make it to Sydney for these events but understand if you are tight on time. More info will be provided closer to the time. Any queries, please let us know before you book flights.

Wedneday 19th January

Join us for a sunset sail around Sydney harbour whilst getting to know the other wedding guests. We will meet at 5.30pm at the wharf in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay. The cruise will last 2 hours followed by a girls night out and boys pub crawl in The Rocks. Costs are $25 per person (paid in cash when boarding boat) and this includes food, drink & the cruise. The wharf is a short walk from the Circular Quay train station, bus stop and ferry terminal. The cruise will finish at 8pm in the same place we boarded. Let us know if you can join us.

Thursday 20th January

Enjoy an afternoon of Barefoot bowling in Balmain. This is the perfect sport, as you need no level of fitness, no training and you can drink whilst participating! Bowling will commence at 4pm so try to arrive around 3.45pm sonwe can get teams organised. Cost is $10 per head. Drinks & food are v.cheap here!

The address is: Balmain Bowling Club, 156 Darling St, Balmain. Click here for a map. Ferry & bus stops are close by.

Following the bowls comptetition we will head to the Harrison family house (also in Balmain) for some drinks & canapes from 5.30pm - 8pm.

Saturday 22nd January
The day after the night before we are planning to attend the Symphony in the Domain organised as part of the Sydney Festival with our wedding guests. More here:
http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2010/Music/Wonderful-Town/

This is always a great free night which will allow everyone to see Sydney at its best. Simply bring along a picnic and something to drink (BYO alcohol permitted). Alternatively you can buy food from a wide variety of gourmet stalls at the Domain for around $10 per meal and there is also a bar where you can purchase boutique beer and wine.

Seats can be hired for $8 if you are getting old and sitting on the ground is too low to go!! We will meet everyone at 5pm at the main Domain Entrance (opposite the Sydney Eye Hospital) and lead you to our picnic area. Kids and friends are most welcome – the more the merrier!

Sunday 23rd January - All the international & out of town guests are invited to join us for a wedding after party at the Goes family home. Starting at 12pm we will be relaxing in the garden over lunch and drinks. The address is 9 Aberfoyle Place, Grasmere, Camden if you get lost call 02 4655 7437. Please note this location is an hour our of Sydney heading South West, please let us know if you would like assistance with transport. Click here for a map.

Temperature

The weather in January is typically hot and humid with occasional thunderstorms and showers. Don’t get caught out by downpour and ensure you bring a lightweight waterproof jacket with you.

Think carefully when selecting your wedding day clothing as it can be 40 degrees during January. Please remember to bring a hat, good sunglasses and suncream (plenty available to buy over here and not expensive).

Getting Around

Sydney has an excellent public transport system of ferries, buses and trains so unless you are planning to travel further afield you won’t need a hire car during your stay.

For maps and timetable information you can visit: www.131500.com.au/

A couple of good phone numbers to add to your mobile contacts are:

Taxi's Combined - 133 300 (to order a taxi to your door)

Travel Info Line - 131 500 (to find out the next train, bus or ferry)

Staying in Sydney

For accommodation in Sydney we recommend using http://www.stayz.com.au/ where there are a range of pricing and apartment/holiday home options.

Sydney City, Darling Harbour or The Rocks are the most central areas but you may wish to be next to the beach in which case there are plenty of other options (Bronte, Watson’s Bay, Rose Bay etc).

To see a selection of hotels and their prices then visit www.wotif.com.au

Leaving On A Jet Plane

The earlier you book your flights in advance the cheaper they will be, it is worth checking around for the best deals at this site:

http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/

We recommend that you should then contact the carrier directly to get an even cheaper fare as you won’t be paying fees to a third party. Flights are always cheaper when booked from the UK rather than from Australia.

We know Australia is a very long way to come and hope that you can take this opportunity to make a holiday to remember out of a wedding visit. Stopovers in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia & Singapore allow you to enjoy a relatively inexpensive holiday either before or after the wedding and also help to avoid bad jet lag.

In the beginning....

With so many close friends and family based overseas, we decided that setting up a blog was a good way to keep everyone involved with the wedding and to share useful information.

The idea is that we will put updates on this page every month so you can get the latest info about the wedding & visiting Sydney in one easy place.

There will be plenty of posts regarding travel, accommodation options and activities for when guests arrive.

Hope it will be useful and feel free to make comments.