Monday, February 2, 2009
The weather, part 1: how much does it impact your travel plans?
Do you check weather reports before you travel? And if you do and it's turned especially bad before you're due to travel, do you change your trip plans? I'm talking really nasty weather. Consistently dreadful, such as the snowfalls in the UK, the heaviest in 18 years, which have severely disrupted flights. Or the heatwave south-eastern Australia has endured over the last weeks which has caused power blackouts, transport disruptions, cancellation of outdoor events, and even deaths. Or the floods in Northern Queensland which in some areas have caused horrendous damage and led to the closure for several weeks of the Barkly Highway, the main route connecting Queensland to the Northern Territory. Do you adapt your plans at the last minute and change the destination or direction if you can? Or do you continue on and risk disruption to your itinerary, and possible disappointment? I've posted about this before on Best time to visit Australia? It may be summer, but don't head Down Under but it's something that continues to intrigue me. From what we've been observing on our travels in Australia, many people simply don't check weather reports in advance and continue with their original plans despite a change in weather. Some appear to be happy to go through the motions of being tourists, despite the miserable conditions, taking photos, doing tours, and, like the couple pictured in the distance of this photo, embarking on a long distance walk that would be far more enjoyable in better weather. What do you think? And how do you react to the onset of weather so terrible that it disrupts your travel plans? Or are you the type of traveller who tries to ensure you're not in that position in the first place? I'd love to know what you think and how you travel. And I'd love you to complete my poll (top right). Thanks.
Label:
Australia,
travel planning,
travel poll,
Victoria,
weather,
Wicked Camper