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I would have to say take the laptop.

Easy for me to say I know, but you could sort them as you go, every couple of nights or so, sit up for an extra half hour or so, sort through the last few days photos, and then bed

External Hard Drive is a must though, backup all the photos onto a 120-200 (250gb now?) 2.5inch drive, since most don't need an AC power source, its fine with just the laptop, mine for example just uses a dual USB, 1 USB-B connection, then 2 USB connections to the laptop. Transfer rate of around 20-30MBps, so thats 2-3 RAW files a second, not blistering, but its only a 5400rpm drive I have, so maybe if you grabed a 7,200rpm one it would be better.

Anyway, whatever you take, hopefully it doesn't get stolen. I had my bag jacked with my external hard drive in it that had loads of web design work, fonts, stock images and stuff that I had on it since I was wiping my pc, and had yet to copy a lot of the stuff back onto it and that was near my school never mind a forgin country! (although in all honesty I left my bag outside ASDA (wallmart basically) because I cba carrying it - not a wise decision, especially in the area my school is in.)

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Thanks for the links/info. I'm still debating whether to take a laptop with me.

This raises another question about insurance; I'm having a really hard time finding any kind insurance policy that will cover my DSLR, let alone a laptop. I've found insurers that will cover my DSLR for world-wide, all-risk but they only seem to cover for individual trips for no more than 90 days at a time.

There must be a policy out there that covers my gear for the duration of my trip.... or am I being unrealistic?

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Be prepared for the possibility that if theft could happen, you will lose both camera and laptop. But if for me, i would take laptop along still, otherwise it will be very boring during the trip.

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Well, my itinerary is sorted [size=small](Nepal > Tibet > Thailand > Laos > Vietnam > Cambodia > back into Thailand > Singapore > Bali > New Zealand > Bolivia > Peru > Columbia > Berlize > Back home)[/size], I'm looking for recommendations for things to do in these places, particularly photo opportunities.

Gordon, you mentioned a good 4WD trip in Bolivia? (Halong Bay in Vietnam is already on our radar). We're also going to try and take a boat trip down the Mekong river in Laos and maybe again in Vietnam. Did you do this? Was it relatively easy to arrange? Any tips?

In NZ we've got 6 weeks and will be travelling through Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown so any recommendations around these areas would be most welcome. We've already had some things suggested; Route Burn 3 day hike, Wanaka puzzleworld and a day trek up a glacier somewhere.

I seriously can't wait!

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For storage, I'd buy a whack of memory cards and not bring a laptop. Find the card-price that gives you the most GB/dollar and load up on them. Then, maybe bring a lightweight card-reader and whenever you hit a place with decent internet speed, upload all the files to a file-hosting network such as rapidshare.

You can still view the pics on your camera and throw out the bad shots.

Alternately, you can send home your memory cards in the mail - packed carefully of course.

...just a thought, you want to travel light and spread the risk.

Sounds like a trip of a lifetime!

Cheers

Hi Telexstar, I'll prepare some stuff on the Bolivian 4WD tour for you soon..!

As for NZ, I'm obviously biased on the Queenstown area!

Here's some tips around the QT area I posted earlier:

http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=242

The Routeburn is a great hike, and one of the neatest things they don't tell you is it's dead easy to catch a bus taking 1hr to Milford Sound at the end of the Routeburn trek - thereby saving a lot of time and getting you there in time for a later afternoon cruise when all the crowds have gone...

If you're interested in this, I can give you further logistics! And if you're a good hiker, you can do the RB in 2 days, staying at Mackenzie Hut.

As for other natural must-sees in NZ, the following are my favourites:

1: The one day Tongariro Crossing is awesome (so long as its clear!)

2: Abel Tasman is lovely, but the Queen Charlotte is also nice and quieter

3: For me, Coromandel was nicer than the Bay of Islands

4: Fjordland is fantastic and if you have time the Doubtful Sound overnighter is a highlight.

5: The hiking areas around Glenorchy are some of my favourite places on Earth! (and less than an hour's drive from Cameralabs HQ!)

6: Kaikora is a nice spot and good for whale spotting

7: For penguins and albatross, check out the Dunedin peninsula

And I haven't even mentioned Rotorua... there really is so much to see in this country, and such variety!

And probably the best tip I can give for anyone travelling through NZ on a budget are the BBH hostels - most are really nice and cost about $60 NZ a night. If you like the sound of them, I can recommend ones in certain locations...

Hi again Telexstar, I've written a bit about the Bolivian Altiplano in this post:

http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=20650

Gordon

Thanks for the NZ tips! We're staying with friends in Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown but we haven't worked out exactly what we're doing from day to day so anything could happen. Recommendations for good hostels would be really useful.

Also, I'd be really interested in the Routeburn details you mentioned!

Thanks again.

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Just remembered: you can now get mobile SD card backup solutions that does not require a computer.

Essentially it looks like a CD walkman from the old days, but it has a card-reader slot.

You stick the card in, and it will burn either DVD's or CD's with your files, thus allowing you to free up your card for another go.

Hi Telexstar, I'm sure I mentioned this is in another post ages back, but whenever I've been travelling, I've seen lots of people go into cybercafes (which are everywhere in backpacker destinations) and burn CDs or their memory cards for backup - the truly dedicated then post these back home. A low tech, but effective means of backup...

As for the Routeburn, I won't bore everyone here too much - and I'd be happy to PM with you on the finer details - but basically if you're a reasonable hiker, you should be able to get from the Glenorchy start to Mackenzie hut in less than 6 hours (a good march will get you to the saddle in 3.5hrs). So if you start by 9ish, you'll still get to Mackenzie hut mid afternoon with plenty of time to bag a bunk and relax. Then with an early start the next day you'll easily get to The Divide by lunchtime.

Some people even do the Routeburn in a day, but I'd say to Mackenzie Hut is quite do-able if you're a regular hiker. Spending two nights is a bit excessive unless you take it very slow.

Then the great thing is almost every bus from every tour company can be pre-booked to stop and collect you at the Divide en-route to Milford Sound, getting you there by mid-afternoon without having to spend a night in Te Anau first.

Then you can easily make, say, a 4pm cruise when the crowds have packed up and gone. There's also a backpacker within walking distance of Milford Sound where you can spend the night. We then kayaked in the morning and caught a bus back to QT (or to Manapouri for Doubtful Sound) that afternoon.

Worth a thought!

Gordon

Thanks Gordon. I'll be dropping by the forum from time to time anyway to catch up on news so I may PM you closer the time if I've forgotten any details!

As for backups. I think I'm going to go with the solution of taking a few SD cards and burning CD's on the way.

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these are very interesting for storage......

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08011502jobopma08.asp

Hi Big Pix, did you know dpreview actively blocks links to Cameralabs?

We don't believe in blocking or censorship, but if you're talking about a product I'd prefer you linked to the manufacturer's page instead!

I'll do it for you this time here!

http://www.jobo.com/web/index.php?id=125

Gordon

no, pity though...... they could learn so much

Love those Bolivian pictures Gordon. I went there 4 years ago and must agree, the altiplano is spectacular, unlike anywhere else I've seen on earth.

I'm planning some more travelling at the end of this year too and would be interested in lens recommendations for a Canon user. I wouldn't mind taking 2 lenses and have been thinking for a while of getting a telephoto as my next lens, this in tandem with my 17-55 would keep me covered quite well. As far as I know, there's no Canon equivalent to the Nikon 18-200VR is there, however, so a single lens trip seems unlikely.

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