ipad apps while traveling in WA

Friends recently asked me for my comments on ipad travel apps while they are on holiday in WA later this month.

Well firstly, I assume you have a 3G capable ipad with a good plan - I think the 10Gb $150 plan from Telstra is the best... with greatest coverage. That being said, they'll be large tracts of land on which you'll have no mobile coverage... so look to download content and emails content when you pass through towns.

Secondly simply getting access to the web in an easy way is one of its greatest benefits.

It's also a great device for reading books - downloading as any whim takes your fancy. As far as I'm concerned in Australia... you can't beat Kindle for ebooks for range and price. However, if you're looking at reference books, indexing & table of contents isn't as good as it could be.

Getting more serious on travel apps.... there's plenty there but here are some of my favorites in no particular order.

Oh - and down't forget to get a car charger that supports the extra current required by the iPad and not just the iPhone.

Wikihood (free)
Shows you places of interest near your location. Makes it simple to access wikipedia content.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/wikihood-for-ipad/id378364975?mt=8

TripAdvisor (free)
Great to dip into to figure out what towns to visit and what to do when you are there - eat, sleep, see. Lots is user reviews.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tripadvisor-hotels-flights/id284876795?mt=8

Urbanspoon (free)

Restaurant reviews from around Australia. It certainly covers major  cities well... not sure how well it covers smaller towns in WA.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/urbanspoon-for-ipad/id369267453?mt=8

Pkt Weather  $1.99 (AUD)
Great weather app

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/pocket-weather-au-hd/id374504736?mt=8

Simplepedia
As you will often be out of mobile coverage range while traveling around Australia, a bit of simple planning on sites you will be passing through and saving their relevant wikipedia pages to an offline view can be very useful. Very educational to the kids - and the info is usually much better than info displayed at many of the sites!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simplepedia-for-ipad-simple/id364908410?mt=8


Discovr Music $1.99 (AUD)

You'll be hearing a lot of different music so trying to figure out more of the artist and related musicians can be made much easier with this.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/discovr-music-discover-new/id412768094?mt=8


Mud maps

I must admit that I still prefer my maps in physical books - Gregory's for WA... rather than on a screen. This came in handy to look at maps as they are already downloaded unlike google which relies on access to the internet.

I don't know too much about the VMS app for Australia and that might be worth investigating if you have the cash to spare...if we did another big trip we'd definitely be looking at it.

http://itunes.apple.com/app/id452180520?mt=8

Shonky Maps (free)
You can download maps that cover all of Australia from the following site:
http://shonkylogic.net/shonkymaps/

Bit Map

Once you have Shonky Maps (or others) you can use a program such as this one to upload them onto the ipad to view.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/bit-map/id337172542?mt=8

What I liked and disliked

		Liked	Disliked
Jasmine		Sitting in the back seat with Ben and playing with our toys Making and sitting around a fire Joining mum and dad in bed in the morning	Going to pit loos Setting/packing up the tent March flies
Jordan		Campfires Waking up and seeing something awesome during the day Having a long distance relationship with friends	Uncertainty of driving tracks Long driving days with the food bag at my feet Everyones mess in the car
Adam		Playing Imaginary Transformers anywhere in the bush Going to cool places like BIG things and Natural wonders No school work/homework	Taking siblings to the toilet Flipping the car seat Missing my friends
Ben		Going to all the BIG things Meeting lots of different people, especially the kids Eating yummy meals on the campfire – like pancakes and cakes	Taking Jordan to the shower Having to do times tables Having to collect firewood
Robyn		Having a real cup of coffee first thing in the morning in the peace and quiet of the bush with Vin Having the freedom to explore all the different wonders of this country Hanging out by the fire/playing uno with the whole family	Counting how many days we haven't had a shower Washing clothes in various caravan parks – especially through the rainy times Tripping over/packing up multiple guitars and other related items
Vin		Experiencing new adventures with my family Australia's people and natural wonders The quiet mornings, watching the sunrise and sunset	Taking kids to the loo in the middle of the night Fuel-bills Road-trains

A Journey Ends

The Ralh family makes its way home, a little older, grown a little wiser and a little closer.

We've travelled the length and breadth of this fair country,

And seen many wonders of the natural world and shared many an adventure.

We've caught up with old friends and made many new ones,

We've experienced the kindness of strangers in a way that reaffirms your belief in human nature.

From trial and error and help from others,

We've learnt many new skills:

From 4WD'ing, chopping wood, starting a fire and cooking bush-tucker.

We've got bogged, got lost, swarmed by mice, bitten by mozzies

and infected by hooks and some of us got hung-over.

We've swum on a reef, clambered through gorges and walked 'round Uluru,

We've slept under the stars and caught a barra.

The kids have toughened up a little, growing in confidence and stature,

Education on the road expanding their world,

Robyn has chilled she says, the nervous twitch hardly noticeable -

As the rest of us go days on end without bathing.

And I? I had the pleasure of sharing this journey.

And next? We've started planning our next adventure.