Island Life - tech gear

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MY LITTLE ISLAND HOME

Island Life - tech gear

This is the first in a series of posts called Island Life about the gear, techniques and tips I use to happily continue living on a small island, off Lombok in rural Indonesia.

Travelling long term, whether in one location or many presents a few challenges for the wanting to remain connected and sharing content.

Prior to heading off on this trip, I knew there would be a number of things I wanted to achieve that a tablet only setup would not be either best suited for or not convenient - such as video and photo editing. Possible, just not convenient. 

Computer
 

The Apple MacBook Air 11in with the TP-Link wifi adapter attached.

I resolved to retain my 2012 MacBook Air (MBA) as it had performed well since I purchased it, however, I more than tripled the onboard SSD to allow me to move my Photo Library on board, where previously I had managed it via external USB. 

Additionally, I added a higher sensitivity USB Wifi antenna, the TP- LINK TL-WN822N, mounting it using velcro dots onto the back of the MacBook Air Screen. This has been invaluable for 2 reasons:

1. it does receive more wifi access points than the internal MBA wifi chip owing to its two folding antennas and
2. it allows me to rebroadcast or retransmit the internet connection of the TPLINK via the internal wifi chip creating a hotspot for my phone to connect to an internet connection that the phone its self could not previously receive. I do this daily in my rented bungalow as I can not receive a wifi connection without the TPLINK adapter.

Photo & Video Quick View

Ursa loving our deep dive

Another challenge I needed to overcome is quick download and display of photos and videos. Often I am showing customers unedited pictures I just took of fish, turtles or them, on the dive we just came back on. Using the Lightning to SD card attachment on my iPhone 7plus has been a godsend. However In hindsight, I would have purchased a decent android tablet, with 4G and microSD / OTG capability for this very purpose along with quick sharing to customers emails etc.

Photo & Video Workflow

After each dive I download all new photos shot on my Olympus TG 4 tough camera using the method I described above, however for videos that I shoot on my permanently rolling GOPRO 3 Black, I use my laptop to pull all the videos off and store for later editing and including in any youtube content I am making. When I return to my bungalow each night I download the day's photos that I now have on my iPhone7Plus to the laptop and do a backup using an external USB Drive.

The major downside of this workflow is the quick sharing without using a 4G or wifi connection is cumbersome. As Apple does not have an OTG capability yet, I can not simply put the day's pictures and videos onto a customers’ SD or USB Drive. I do however have a SANDISK iXpand 64Gb USB and Lightning Drive that makes moving larger files easier between iDevices and USB and then onto customers devices.

Cameras

THE ENTIRE UNDERWATER CAMERA PACKAGED, OLYMPUS TG4 CAMERA, PT056 UNDERWATER CASE, GOPRO3 BLACK, KNOG LIGHT, RED FILTER

The heart and soul of my land based picture and video work are the great cameras of the iPhone7Plus. Whether hand held or on a selfie stick - it is never far from me and ready at moments notice to snap a great picture.

EDIT: I wanted to also give a highly honourble mention to LifeProof for their iPhone7plus case. It has taken multiple drops from my pocket while riding my bike, been splashed with fresh and salt water (I'm a diver, always near water) as well as generally added grip to the normally slick iPhone7plus.  I did have a lifeproof on my 6plus in the past and it was horrendous - the design flaws of the locking clasp for the charging door have thankfully been overcome  

However underwater, the two superstars are:

1. Olympus TG4 Tough Camera - without the PT-056 underwater case it can happily go down to 15 meters, with the PT056 it will chug away down to 40m. Taking simultaneously 16mb JPEG and RAW images as well as 1080p video - I love this camera. I want to get a strobe for it eventually too.
2. GoPro 3 Black  - with a side mounted Znog Sports light in the ‘cold shoe’ mount on top of the PT056. The GoPro generally is running from the entry until the battery dies (only 45 min.. this is terrible for me). I also use a red filter to compensate for the loss of the colour red at depth. Recently the hard GoPro Case has started leaking slightly during dives. Without the use of toilet paper in the bottom of the case I don't know if it will be remaining in the underwater set up for much longer.

PROTIP: Do not use devices with hard to source or proprietary cables. If they break (and they will) they can be hard to get. My Olympus is one such device. I purchased two cables on ebay before I left - first broke week 4.

Battery banks

Living on an island where the power goes off a number of times a week, I like carrying a full USB battery at all times, whether it is to charge my iPad, my iPhone, my cameras or even my Bluetooth keyboard. Currently, I carry one and leave one on charge swapping on a daily basis. Alternating between a no name, 2 USB port 10,000mAh or a large 20,000mAh quick charge capable no name brand white brick. There is always one in my bag. Having the ability to charge everything and not slow down has been fantastic. I now only plug into mains power at night - mainly to charge the batteries.

Sharing &  staying connected  

While wifi is available in almost every eating or sleeping venue on the islands, wifi doesn't crack more than than about 3mbs shared across all the other users in each hotel. This lead me to investigate the large data packages available for 4G that is accessible on the islands. I stumbled across a 48gig package (Aug2017) by XL for 270,000rp for 30 days. This has been my lifeblood connection - uploading daily for instagram, emails and normal web browsing. I often tether my laptop to my phone as the 4G is more stable than the wifi.  

DiveMaster life - post graduation

It has now been a couple weeks since I graduated as a DiveMaster here on Gili Air, Lombok, Indonesia.

I was able to spend a week in Bali last week at Mum & Dad’s house using all of their WIFI and hot water - things that are sorely lacking on Gili Air.

Now I am back on the Island, my days have been filled with helping out in the shop as well as tagging along as qualified DM to assist Instructors with students who require assistance as well as taking photos and videos to share with you!

I will be posting a series of blog posts in the coming weeks about Island Life and things that people should be aware of when traveling / living long term on Gili Air, Indonesia.

Dive Master Week 5 - Gili Air - Indonesia

Wow time is flying fast now I can’t believe it is now 5 weeks since I started the DMT.

Local Dive Master Soni with one of our local turtles on Hans Reef

I have ticked over 100 dives - and no the 100th dive was not naked as is usual convention because I was with clients.

This week I have had a number of firsts - seems to be happening a lot:

• First UV night dive - Half the dive is using normal white light and then we switch to a blue light that simulates UV light which coupled with a yellow mask filter creates awesome reactions from coral - only a tiny proportion of fish react with UV light so they mostly appear black.
• This week also saw me brief and guide 2 customers on a local fun dive. We went in search of sleeping white tip reef sharks on a site that they are regularly seen - Sunset Reef. Sadly they were not spotted, however we saw a school of 5 line snapper torpedoing as well as a hawksbill turtle munching on the coral. When I told the customers after the dive that it was my first - they said they were very impressed.
• I am really starting to enjoy my assisting role while assisting Discover Scuba Diving programs. I seem to have developed a knack with divers that are struggling to equalise and risk ending their dive. I manage to calm them, and show them - underwater - techniques to relax and equalise their ears.

Ramadan has come to an end so shops are returning to their normal opening hours and dive masters who were not diving during ramadan are returning so I am looking forward to learning from more of the local DMs

As now been in Indonesia for almost 6 weeks including staying my parents prior to commencing DMT I am now at a point I need to extend my visa so that process starts soon too.

Dive Master Week 3 - Gili Air - Indonesia

To recap week 2 my physical learning pack arrives, I made a start on a few of my assignments - site mapping and emergency procedures, as well as some pool time working on my demonstration skills for underwater teaching.  

This week I have been able to assist our two in house instructors on their courses. In particular my role is starting to form on Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) programs. A DSD is not an actual course more a program that give a first time diver enough skills in the pool to be taken out under guidance onto a 12m deep reef and, as the name suggests, discover scuba diving. Many go on to undertake the PADI Open Water qualification - the first of many steps on the diving ladder.  My role is the provision of an overwatch / safety role to assist the instructor in keeping the group safe while exploring the site

Also during week 3 I undertook 3 of my assessment tasks:

1. Timed 800m Snorkel swim (no hands used, head not leaving the water)  in the picture below that equates to 8 laps with a slight current one way: 3/5
2. 15 minute tread / float in water too deep to stand, with hands out of the water in the last 2 minutes 5/5
3. Perform the role of dive master on our dive boat during a fun dive - provide the boat briefing, outlining the safety and comfort features, introduce the crew and dive professional staff as well as monitor the air and time both prior and post for each diver. 5/5

Also this week I was able to accompany qualified divers on ‘fun dives’ with some of our local guides to see often overlooked areas of local sites. It is from these local guides I can learn to hone the craft of fish and marine life spotting, group management and guiding around under water sites including the wreck of the tugboat Nusa Glenn seen in the pictures here (my new fav site)

Dive Master Week 1 - Gili Air - Indonesia

I have not been online much this week - as you will see I have been too busy!

I arrived after a boat delay, late on Monday afternoon. After making my way to the dive center by horse cart I met the staff and crew. 

Later that night I viewed a number of available homestay type rooms. Bedroom with bathroom and outdoor shared kitchen. 

I have also purchased a bicycle - the main form of transport on the island. For the cost of 6 weeks rental I purchased one - a massive investment of $70AUD. 

Oh. And I think my bed has bed bugs. So next task is destroying them- all 

This week I have also done 10+ dives, following dive groups, observed regulator servicing, learnt how to use the refrigerated (air dryer) compressor to fill tanks and been working on my underwater marker deployment (DSMB). 

The journey begins!

It has been months in the planning, with daily countdowns starting well into the 80s.

With my dive gear is packed, my drone and filmmaking gear and clothes tapped out my 20kg baggage allowance to jamming all my stuff in my bag has been a challenge in itself. 

Just to remind you about the purpose of this trip - After 10 years with my employer, i am now eligible for 3 months paid leave, with the option of taking that at 1/2 pay.  I am using my allowance in one whack and heading to the Island of Gili Air, Indonesia to "study" for my PADI DiveMaster qualification. This can be done in as short at 6-12 weeks.  Obviously I am in no rush to get the qualification, so will work with my instructor. There is a possibility of also moving on to do my Instructor qualification. 

For those that don't know, Gili Air is a tiny island off the coast of Bali, Indonesia. The island is so small there is no motorised land transport, instead of get around on foot, bicycle or small horse drawn carts. 

Ep01. Starting the journey to PADI DiveMaster in Indonesia

A view from my classroom

As a first in the of a new YouTube series I am hoping to share the process and excitement of not only moving and living on Gili Air as well as becoming a PADI DiveMaster.  

The count down is on for May 2017.

Subscribe to keep up to date with the process! 

 In coming weeks there will be episodes covering what I am packing, where I am staying (and living) as well as the study side of a Dive Master course 

TRAVEL: Our taster cruise for 3 days on P&O

Frankie convinced me to try a cruise up the east coast of Australia for 3 days departing from Sydney. 

I have to say the good (apart from the on board 5 start booked restaurant) the food left a lot to be desired. 

Anyway. Check out the video. Let me know what you think  

TRAVEL: Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

 

Flying east from Bali, Indonesia across tiny islands ringed in gold and turquoise, over fishing villages and mountains you come in to land over yet another cluster of islands into Labuan Bajo airport, new, white and shiny. Soak it in. It's the newest building in 'Bajo! 

Straight away I noticed the striking difference in the faces of the Flores people compared to the Balinese and Javanese. They look almost exactly like the Timorese - Big wide smiles. Slightly curly hair. It felt so comforting. Reminding me of my time in East Timor in 2008. 

'Bajo is a growing port town and also the gateway to the Komodo National Park. The national park is a magnet for divers and adventurers alike. 

We specifically went to Bajo to do two things. See the famed Komodo dragons and to dive. We spent 7 days in Bajo, diving almost every second day.  A boat trip to most dive sites is around 1-2 hours. Our longest day included a guided walk within the National Park on the island of Rinka, a neighbour to Komodo. On the small island is a ranger station where the rangers live and base from - they have two main roles. Act as walking guides and to show the dragons The Rinka dragons are about 1/3 smaller than Komodo's due to evolution. Rinka's giant lizards are still 2-3m long. Our guide cheerfully informed us that they climb trees until they are too big then just hunt on the ground for small deer, birds and other Frankie sized prey. 

A day trip to Rinka can still fit in two dives later in the day however a trip to Komodo is about 5 hours one way from 'Bajo. With time not on our side as well as a hunger to dive in one of Asia's greatest sites - Rinka it was. 

Diving:

I can't talk about 'Bajo without talking about the diving. The best way I can describe the life around the national park - Prolific and Jurassic Park-like. Every fish, every Turtle, every Nudi was bigger, brighter and totally amazing.

We stayed with Blue Marlin in Komodo - can not recommend them as a dive company and lodging more highly. Loved it. 5 stars for me.

Check out my other travel posts : Here

Perhentian Islands, Malaysia

Getting there 

 

The Perhentian Islands are approx 25km off the north east coast of Malaysia, just south of the Thai border.

Flights are multiple times per day from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Biru, the nearest mainland airport. Then it is a 60km drive to the coast with any one of the friendly local taxi drivers. Before you depart KL, it is advisable to call your accomodation on Perhentian and confirm boats are operating to the island that day, particularly early in the season. We were caught out a bad weather front swept through as we arrived and no boats were operating.

Boats are either booked by your accomodation or tickets purchased at one of the local Kuala Besut ticket agents.

The boat ride from Kuala Besut to Perhentian is approx and hour. If the sea is rough be prepared for a bumpy ride.

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Where to stay

We stayed on the ‘big Island’ Perhantian Besar at Abdul’s Chalets. Abdul’s afforded the best mix of location, privacy and quality.

Abdul’s has its own ‘home reef’ located within a roped section for snorkelling away from boats. Many other shallow reefs are within a 15 min walk of your front door.

Large parts of the big island are accessible only by boat and the hotel is more than happy to organise for you.

What to do

Anything in the water!

Perhentian is set up for watersports, be it scuba diving, snorkelling, turtle spotting, or relaxing on a beach.

Highlights

Calm water frontage

Lowlights

Not being told by our hotel that there was no boats operating, leaving us stranded in Kuala Besut - check with your hotel (particularly in shoulder season) about access.

Don’t forget to bring

Sunscreen and a towel

Quick update on the Van

It has been a busy few months working on the van.  The interior is almost up to scratch with the covers for the mattress being the only roadblock before its first test.  

The front windscreen that was cracked from left to right because of a rust bubble has been removed and repaired.  

Brand new windscreen! 

The last piece that I am looking for to make it perfect is a side awning that does not require roof racks. This is proving to be more ellisive than I had imagined.   Any ideas?

Side awning needed  

Introducing our new project - a 1998 VW Transporter T4 - I guess we are joining #VANLIFE

A while ago I wrote about #projectsailboat. This was a desire to learn more about the “systems” of a boat prior to purchase. Such as a means of producing power (solar), storage options in limited space etc. Greater discussions with my partner led us to move away from the idea of a boat - we simply would not get the use of it, being some 150km from the ocean. The next option was a camper - we enjoy camping and exploring but due to weather this limits our options. A camper would extend the 'season' as well as offer a support vehicle for scuba diving. After much searching we settled on a relatively old 1998 VW camper van. It had been roughly converted - allowing us to add many of our own touches. The video below gives you a look at the van after we have had it for only 2 weeks.

Check out the video and don't forget to like, comment or subscribe.

PROTIP: Why having mobile data can ruin a holiday

No coverage 1

I know it is an agreement that most people would assume is 180degrees from my normal position, but here it is - Having a mobile internet connection definitely negatively impacted on our holiday.

This trip was very different to the 2013. During our time in Myanmar in 2013, there was 1 mobile provider with expensive access (a sim card alone cost $100 AUD). However this time, there were at least 3 providers with relatively cheap - including sim and 5gb for approx $30 AUD.

How did it negatively impact the trip? I hear you ask. It was not until we were in Myanmar, after having travelled to Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur and Genting Highlands in Malaysia that I realised I was spending a lot of time looking down (at my phone) and not up and out.

Maybe it is just me, but I suspect it is a wider concern for people around my age, especially in the west. We have almost instant access to anything we want online, usually via the screens of our mobiles. This post is not meant to be a mobile bashing piece, but I did want to highlight what I missed out on.

I know within myself that if I am going some where that has no connection at all, that is totally fine, I prepare. I lived in East Timor for 6 months in 2008 which when you said you had ‘good internet’ meant that you did not have to share the dialup connection with 4 others. Also mobile data was unheard of. I can cope with that - for a period at least. My issue is when there is a hint of connection, a fleeting blip of connection, I become obsessed with getting the news, Twitter and Facebook on that tiny connection.

This was the case during the 250km, 5 hour car ride from Yangon, Myanmar to the very west coast at Ngwe Saung Beach.

Looking back, it was an issue totally of my making. I was excited to test out one of Myanmar’s new carriers along with staying connected.

I missed out on bonding with my fellow travellers, along with seeing the countryside change as we moved from the lush Irrawaddy Delta into the dryer west coast. Seeing villages that have never had mains power connected, yet use 150w solar panels on top of their palm-fron roofs to power lighting and in some cases a 12v TV to watch football.

IMG_5030

Tips for offline travelling

These are some if the things I have done in the past that have helped me enjoy travelling with while remaining offline

• PODCASTS

If you haven’t already gotten into podcasts, you are missing out! Podcasts are downloadable audio clips. Usually radio segments or audio blogposts. For travelling I prefer things that won’t date. So I don’t listen so much to my nightly news podcast from home, rather I listen to a science or history podcast.

iOS has a podcast app built in, however I prefer DOWNCAST and have set it to only grab new episodes while connected to wifi.

Some suggested long form or serial type podcasts include

SERIAL

FINISHING LINE

STUFF YOU MISSED IN HISTORY CLASS

• EXTERNAL POWER

We have all seen them, those zombie like creatures that are huddled around the one or two powerpoints in airports and bus stations. Don’t be one of them, seriously just don’t.

Fortunately I was travelling through Asia, with its huge electronics markets and picked myself up a 20,000mAh external battery, The size of a small shoe can be a downside, however I can steer clear of a powerpoint for days. A 5,000mAh would do most people, I am not most people :D. You can read more about my battery obsession here.

• OFFLINE READING

I am always seeing videos, news articles or blog posts that I think “I would love to open that, but I just don’t have time at the moment to watch or read it now”

Well that was before Pocket came into my life. it downloads all the text from a post along with the embedded pictures for offline reading. I smash this every time I am flying or laying on a beach reading.

Coupled with free services like IFTTT you can even set up rules for social media such as “ Every time I fav a tweet with a link, I would like you to save it to pocket for reading later” which is a personal favourite of mine. As for videos, you still need to be online for those, however you will not lose them.

• REMEMBER YOUR PHONE IS MORE THAN AN INTERNET PORTAL

There are so many undervalues apps and features that work fine offline and are a lifesaver for travellers. Whether it is offline google maps for Android, or HERE offline mapping in iOS, your camera with geotagging, watching movies that you have pre transferred.

With a little planning ahead there is no need for mobile data and no need for mobile data to eat into your holiday

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Thailand: Scuba Diving Koh Phi Phi from 3 angles

During our recent visit to Thailand I was fortunate enough to dive some of the most amazing places. Funnily enough they all centred around Koh Phi Phi Don in the middle of the Andaman Sea

I did not know this at the time, but the dives from Phuket and Ao Naung both required 2 hours of travel each way by boat. Not as horrible as it sounds as both trips were fully catered!

Having learnt to dive in the cooler waters off South East NSW, the 30 degree tropical waters were a real shock. All the dive guides could not believe ever diving in the cold temps of 18-24 that I dove here.

I will let the images speak for themselves. I will however add - I did not take them. The local dive guides thankfully have far better skills than I and provided them either for free or at a small cost.

The dive shops I dived with, I could not recommend highly enough. There were some shocking reviews on trip advisor about some shonky operators, particularly on Phi Phi Island.

I dove with:

The Dive, Ao Naung

Phi Phi Diving, Koh Phi Phi AKA Phi Phi Island

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Langkawi, Malaysia

Langkawi has the best of both worlds - fantastic rainforests and amazing beaches and watersports. A huge proportion of the island is rightfully protected as a GeoPark ensuring protection and eco management. 

 

How we got there

Langkawi was our first destination after flying overnight Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. A quick transfer to the new KLIA2 AirAsia terminal saw us on our way for a quick 1 hour flight to the beautiful and relaxed island of Koh Langkawi

Things we saw or did

Here are some of the AMAZING activities we go up to:

Day sailing on a 40ft Catamaran with Rampant sailing that included laying about in their jacuzzi net behind the boat or laying in a hammock suspended between the hulls while anchored in a protected cove for lunch. Not to mention the open bar on board. Itis not hard to see why these guys are rated as the Number 1 thing to do in Langkawi by TripAdvisor

½ Day kayak tour of the mangroves within the GeoPark including a visit to limestone caves and the fish ‘farm’ located at the base.

A not to be missed trip up into the rainforest on the Langkawi Cable Car giving you a spectacular view over the beaches and islands.

A visit to the state symbol at Eagle Square featuring a huge Brahminy Kite statue.

How we got around

We quickly compared the prices of hire cars versus a scooter for the duration of our trip. The scooter was the easy option as I was licensed internationally and had ridden a fair amount before. Also it allowed us the ability to park just about any where.

Amusingly while refuelling I did manage to lock our only set of keys for the scooter under the seat. Before full panic over took the situation a young local service station attendant with particularly small hands managed to get his hand under the seat and retrieve the keys. A lesson was had and in future scooter keys will be on a lanyard!

Food we ate

As with most South East Asian countries, I highly recommend eating in small local cafes or tea houses and street food where ever possible. This ensures your tourist dollars stay in the local community as well as would provide you with fresh good local food. Being Malaysia, I could not pass up fresh hand made Roti, the local hotplate cooked bread that is eaten with many meals. Langkawi also has a strong middle eastern population so there is no shortage of abab stands as well.

How we got connected

As with most connected travellers, if there is a connection available at a reasonable speed and reasonable price we will connect. Because we have little need for calling while in Malaysia we chose a prepaid provider that would offer us the maximum data available. We used Internet of Xpax that is a user of the Celcom network within Malaysia. One of the benefits was that should be go over our included data we were provided 3 30min windows a day to access as much data as we could use.

I would always suggest buying local sim in each country as it is astronomical the chargers providers from home charge to roam - much less use data. The website below is full of crowd sourced information relating to costs and access in each country.

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com

Interesting facts

The entire island of Langkawi is tax free. There is no tax on luxury cars, alcohol, chocolate etc. Think a whole island duty free. Frankie was able to purchase 1lt of Vodka for the equivalent of AUD$10.00

Trailing a new posting style for AsiaTrip2015

As promised, I will be still posting about this trip through Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. However I wanted to trial a new style. While other bloggers talk about things to do and see, I will write about the things we have done, places we ate - these are not things written in a guidebook that some one has regurgitated - we actually tried them so can talk honestly about them.

I will be using these main themes with others being used on a place by place basis. Let me know what you thing.

In the mean time head to Facebook, instagram or twitter and search #asiatrip2015 and you will see some of our live postings on those sites.

24 hours with Lifeproof's new iPhone 6 plus waterproof case - the "Nuud"

After many months of waiting finally LifeProof has released a limited number of their waterproof iPhone 6 plus case line.

I was lucky to snap one up and express shipped it from the US. It arrived today.

After a few hours use, I made a shocking discovery. LifeProof have made the charging port hideously small. My former iPhone 5’s LifeProof had a somewhat limited size hole but I found a number of cables that fit and made my entire EDC kit around that.

However the iPhone 6 plus LifeProof case will only accept cables “that are originally provided with the product” i.e. the original white cable. I rarely use these cables. They break to often and are too long for my every day needs.  I am now left with a plethora of lightning cables that are only usable for my iPad.

Hmm the hunt is not on for a 10cm narrow cable. Preferably before 27 March as we depart Australia.

UPDATE: on day 3 the two very tiny clips that keep the waterproof door closed over the charging port completely snapped off and were found on my bedroom floor. I super glued them back on, however I no longer have confidence on the waterproof nature of the door. I have requested a replacement from LifeProof.

Count down on for Asian holiday 2015

I have been looking forward to this trip for about 18 months. 

This trip will take us to the following amazing places:

• Langkowi - Malaysia
• Kuala Lumpour - Malaysia
• Yangon - Myanmar 
• Bangkok - Thailand
• Phuket - Thailand 
• Krabi - Thailand 
• Chiang Mai - Thailand
  

Do you have any places you suggest we "must check out" while we are there ?? 

Gear: BadElf 2200 3 axis bluetooth GPS

I recently picked up this tiny 3 axis Bluetooth tracker from eBay for $147.00 AUD.

There are two primary uses that I will be putting the BadElf 2200 to. Unlike my phone, this device can happily chug along all day turning out a highly accurate GPS track all day and night on a single charge. Not only does this allow us to see where we have been but it helps with the the geo location of photos (more that later).

The 2200 is equipped with Bluetooth which mans that it only can you transfer the created track files back to your phone or iPad it can actually supplement the inbuilt GPS (or supply full GPS in the case of a wifi only iPad) both on and off wifi connection.

This is incredibly helpful. As I discovered while hiking through the hills of Myanmar last year - your iPhone's GPS is deactivated when the phone is set to flight mode. I found no way of turning the GPS only on without taking the phone out of flight mode and draining the battery as it constantly searches for a signal.

Another use I am keen to put the 2200 to is to assist. With geo tagging our hundreds (and thousands) of photos we take while travelling.

With some software wizardry, I can time match the time of the photo taken with an exact location. Regardless of which camera or device I used to take the photo. One of the hardest things to do after coming back from Myanmar was the reconciliation of 6000 photos with which temple or holy site the photo matched. Using freely available software I can import the track file and have the photos located by the time they were shot.

NB - all of your devices should be set to the same Timezone otherwise you will need to do some time correcting.

If you have a lot of travel across multiple countries, I would suggest using GMT or Zulu time and adding the appropriate corrections in segments. There are any number of applications, some web based, who will take the tracking file (usually gpx) and geo code your photos. Simple search geo code photos using gpx track.

I have been using the 2200 on longer road trips and found. That after 6 hours of constant tracking less than 5% battery and 10% memory used. This includes over 20000 individual tracking point