Courtney Lohmann
Travel is embedded in my heart and soul. I think the more I travel, the more addicted to it I become. I know, this is a common problem! I think the best part about traveling is opening your eyes/mind to new experiences, people and outlooks on life. If you go into a country with an open heart and an open mind, you find a warmth in everything around you. In so many ways, the world is so similar and in so many ways, each place I've been is incredibly unique. Traveling has changed my approach to most things in my life. And with every trip I take, I look forward to the next that much more. My advice to travelers setting out for the first time...soak it all in! Don't be afraid to take your adventures to the next level and challenge yourself. Some of your best adventures will come from nothing more than the exchange of your first name and a handshake. Enjoy life and soak it all in! Courtney Jo
If you like my blogs, you can also now follow me at the following:
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Twitter @Broad_Abroad
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Travel Blog Posts
April 18th 2011
On Monday morning I got up and headed out on to K Rd for a good morning breakfast at my new favorite place. I've found this cafe/coffee shop that is strange and interesting and funky and plays great music. The food is excellent and the barista and staff are awesome. I'm greeted and order the porridge with a pot of tea. This is the first and last time I'll eat porridge. I think that's all I have to say about that. I settled in though and enjoyed my pot of tea and read my book. I left around 9:30 with plans to catch the bus down to the ferry terminal. My plan for the day was to head out to Waiheke Island. The ferry was at 10 am. The weather was rainy again and cold and ... read more
April 16th 2011
On Friday morning I woke up early and left on a bus bound for Auckland. It was a 10 hour bus ride and I have to say, by hour 8, I was extremelly antsy. That's a long time for me to sit still! The ride was really pretty for the the entire day. The bus was crowded and completely full for 1/2 of the day. We were able to see a steaming little volcano off of the shoreline at one point. The first half of the day bus driver was really funny. He gave all sorts of information as we pasted things. It was like having a tour guide! We stopped for a tea break in a small town. We stopped for lunch in Rotorua. We stopped for another break in Hamilton. About an hour away ... read more
Good morning world...good morning sun!
Published: April 14th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Gisborne
April 14th 2011
Well, on Wednesday morning I loaded the bus headed for Gisborne. I first went to Rotorua and had near 3 hour layover. not to worry...I found a cafe and ordered a flat white and an early lunch. I had gone more than a week without my flat white and I was jonesing for one. This is not good...what am I going to go when I get home. I now have a very serious afternoon coffee addiction. The coffee was excellent and the lunch was even better...lamb stew and there was a whole heap of it! Very tasty. I sat, ate, drank and read my book. I ended up there so long that I even induldged in desert - rhubarb crumb cake and a 2nd flat white. I'm seriously loosing it! Then, I headed back to the ... read more
April 12th 2011
I arrived in Taupo on Monday morning. This is one stop from my first trip to NZ that I really did not want to miss this time around. Taupo sits on a beautiful lake that is huge! I found out its the size of Signapore...are you kidding me! And Signapore has a larger population than NZ. Nice! Either way, its a town I always wanted to come visit and has a hike that I've been dying to do. When I arrived at 10 am, I quickly found a hostel to check in to. I choose Rainbow Lodge. Its ok as far as hostels go. Thus far its been quite quiet which is pretty much what I'm looking for at this point. I put myself into a 3 bed dorm and only one other girl was in, ... read more
Back to New Zealand, Back to Adrenaline!
Published: April 11th 2011Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua
April 9th 2011
I can't get over how good it feels to be back in New Zealand!!!! I'm SOOOOO happy right now! Its been 6 years since I was here last and I think I assumed that the country would never live up to the memories I have. Well, it does and continues to make me smile with all of its charms! But let's back up...my flight out of Sydney was good. Easy to navigate the airport and all that. I realized while sitting at the airport that I saw quite a few airports in the country. So let's sum up...I flew in/out of 6 airports, took 3 trains and was in 6 out of 8 States/Territories...all in 5 weeks. No wonder I was tired! I boarded my flight and was happy to have some quite time and perhaps ... read more
April 6th 2011
I rolled into Sydney tired and irritated. And even from when I left the US, I didn't think I'd like Sydney that much. I mean, you hear about it all the time. People mention Australia and then immediately mention Sydney. I didn't want to like it. I definitely didn't want to fall in love with it, but with an hour, there I was...completely mezmorized by her charm. For those of you afraid that I wouldn't come home...be happy I didn't start my journey in Sydney. I started off on Tuesday with needing to get food and coffee. I was so sleepy from my trip in that morning and asked the lady at the hostel reg desk for a recommendation. She sent me across the street to this teeny tiny cafe. I met the owner, I quirky ... read more
April 5th 2011
Its going to be hard for me to write this blog...for the first time ever, I think I'm going to record disappointment. I decided to leave Alice on Saturday. Just as the weather was perfect. Sunny days with a great breeze, cool nights and lots left that I could have explored. I really wanted to get in a snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef, so even though the weather has been really unpredictable in Cairns and Queensland in general, I had checked and it seemed good so I went ahead and went. As I said in my last blog, I arrived to cloudy skies and apparently, worse weather to come. Even though I was dead tired, I booked the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling trip for Sunday morning. At 6:30 am I was out of bed, got ... read more
Green is the new Red
Published: April 4th 2011Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Alice Springs
April 2nd 2011
5:45 am came really early! I actually got up at 5:15 and was all ready to go by 5:45. Our hostel was the first stop for pick ups. This made me really happy because no one would be sitting in the front seat. We were greeted by Dan...our tour guide and quickly loaded up. It was quite cold in the morning...and I was bundled up in my sweatshirt (or jumper as they call it here) and blue jeans. I got on the bus with Karen - same girl from Adelaide hostel and the train and then David - 20 yr old German. When Dan got in the van, I asked if I could sit in the front seat. He said, yes...please. Awesome! This trip was 3 days and lots of driving and the last thing I ... read more
March 28th 2011
I slept like a log on Friday night and woke on Saturday morning feeling really refreshed! I got up around 8:30 am and immediately started sorting laundry. As it turns out, the washing machines were too small and I had to do 2 loads. Slightly annoying, but either way, I was abou to have clean clothes and much needed clean clothes! I had some of the free breakkie - hot tea and toast with jam and peanut butter. Today was a catch up day for me. I did the laundry and then caught up on blogs and then headed out to the market. I had heard from a couple of people that the Adelaide market was the best and the owner of the hostel said it was better to go in the afternoon, so I went ... read more
The island and all its mates
Published: March 28th 2011Oceania » Australia » South Australia » Kangaroo Island
March 26th 2011
On Thursday morning I got up at 5:45 am and I'm not going to lie, I had a bit of a wine induced hangover. I had to move quickly though to get my bags over to the storage area and get ready for my next trip. Today I was headed out with the Groovy Grape folks again, this time for a 2 day, 1 night tour of Kangaroo Island. I had read an article in Budget Travel mag years ago called, the 10 best islands you've never heard of and Kangaroo Island was on the list. I tore out the page and saved it until now. As it turns out, plenty of people have heard about this island, but that does nothing to diminish its reputation. I was super excited to be seeing part it! I ... read more
Courtney Jo
| Joined | November 13th 2005 | Trips | 7 |
| Last Login | March 1st 2012 | Followers | 1 |
| Status | BLOGGER | Follows | 0 |
| Blogs | 58 | Guestbook | 190 |
| Photos | 300 | Forum Posts | 2 |
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Countries Visited
Map Legend: 5%, 14 of 263 Territories
Maroon 
Trips
Back Packing New Zealand
November 15th 2005 -» December 15th 2005
Cape Town, South Africa
September 10th 2008 -» September 19th 2008
Oktoberfest 2009
September 17th 2009 -» September 28th 2009
Mom and I's Costa Rican Adventure
February 2nd 2010 -» February 7th 2010
Volunteering for the soul in the Fiji Islands
February 3rd 2011 -» March 7th 2011
The Adventures Downunder!
March 8th 2011 -» April 8th 2011
Back to New Zealand and the land of adventure
April 9th 2011 -» April 20th 2011
November 15th 2005 -» December 15th 2005
Cape Town, South Africa
September 10th 2008 -» September 19th 2008
Oktoberfest 2009
September 17th 2009 -» September 28th 2009
Mom and I's Costa Rican Adventure
February 2nd 2010 -» February 7th 2010
Volunteering for the soul in the Fiji Islands
February 3rd 2011 -» March 7th 2011
The Adventures Downunder!
March 8th 2011 -» April 8th 2011
Back to New Zealand and the land of adventure
April 9th 2011 -» April 20th 2011
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