Conclusion

So there was the trip and overall it had gone extremely well. I'd managed to ride 56 new roller coasters with less than half a dozen eluding me. More importantly I'd also had a great introduction to some amazing cities with Melbourne probably being my favourite; I will definitely be going back there.

Australia and New Zealand both left such an impact on us that we're already planning about returning. Next time it'll be at Easter when the fair scene is at their strongest and we'll be able to gain some extra ride counts that we weren't able to get on this trip.

For those interested in doing a similar trip here're some tips.

• Brits only need to arrange a visa for Australia in advance, and that can be done online. Indonesia is the other but you can get that during immigration, which you pay for on the way in. Ensure you've a couple of spare pages in your passport as the Indonesian visa needs to be stuck in and you'll get loads of stamps from the other countries.
• Both Australia and New Zealand are strict on immigration with regards to food. Just don't bother taking any in. If you have by mistake then there are bins just before the custom check where you can dump it.
• New Zealand also asks if you've been to any forests. I told them that I'd been to the Blue Mountains and they were cool with that, in fact asking me what they thought. Don't be scared about being honest.
• To get around Indonesia I used www.jakartaairportransfer.com dealing with a person called Yvonne Han. The itinerary and payment was sent through in advance and went pretty smoothly. We only missed one pickup where I think we'd been sent to the wrong airport following a delayed flight but apart from that they were brilliant. They have drivers in Jakarta and Surabaya, for the latter ask for Rudy as he was great. You pay for a full day or a half day with additional payments for overtime, tolls and filling the tank at each day.
• To get around Bangkok I used www.bangkokdriver.com dealing with Somchok Tanasung and a driver named Jumbo. Again he was excellent and really understood our peculiar hobby. They work in the same way as the Indonesian guys as you send the itinerary through in advance and pay up front. Again bring plenty of cash for tolls and petrol top ups. Petrol is very cheap in Thailand.
• Ensure your phone works abroad and when you've met your driver take his number down. Also bring a written list of the places you want to visit and their street address. Maps are only useful if they can be read. The BCL park in Bandung could have been found quicker had I brought the street address with me :)
• I got by on a budget of £60 per day for each country with no need for any ATM top ups. In hindsight I'd have a slightly higher rate for Australia and a lower one for Thailand.
• For drive times I used Google Maps and added 50% cushion onto each. This worked out perfect and got us where we needed to be with some contingency to deal with any issues. Had I not used this approach we would not have made the first wooden coaster in Jakarta.
• You have to pay airport tax for internal flights in Indonesia. This is not them ripping you off.
• For our flights I used STA Travel to get a good deal on a round the world ticket. Doing so got us the same flights for half the price. There were a couple of issues attempting to check-in online with the ticket for a couple of legs but the inconvenience was acceptable given the saving that had been made.
• Plan for flights to be delayed and if possible aim to land at the end of the day so that it's your sleep that gets inconvenienced, not the park time.
• If you're hiring a car in Australia check to see if you can pre-register for their tolls. They don't have pay booths, it's all online and can be easily forgotten.
• We got around the Bangkok parks in a single day, albeit a long one. The Pattaya park is a half day visit so there's contingency in that for any parks that might be missed.
• Thailand and Indonesia are both very humid. If you're not drinking water you should be looking for some.
• Malls are the best place to eat in Thailand and Indonesia. Western but much safer than a street vendor.
• Carry toilet paper on you, just in case you're caught short.
• Don't worry about the language. Their English is better than your attempts at speaking their language. If stuck take photos and point to what you want on the camera screen.