Physical Preparation
Before i booked even my first flight i was well aware that taking 2 young kids and myself on such a trip was going to be logistically very difficult.
I mean, i always travel light anyway but for 10 weeks i would have to travel ultra light, since what we took we would have to carry.
Long before i decided what we would be taking i had to make sure the kids were prepared.
I do a lot of mountaineering so already have a good rucksack, I bought my son one, and decided that my petite little girl would have to take a day sack.
I live about 1 mile from the countryside so it was easy to simply drive a mile – park up – then go walking.
The first time we went out we left the bags at home and i walked a measured mile with them. No rushing, just a steady walk. It took us 20 minutes, which meant i had a bench mark to work from. Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t athletes and this trip is not for a gold medal, so there will be minimal rushing about. But all the same, i need to know that if we have an hour to get say 2 miles – That we can do it.
Obviously the introduction of bags was imminent, I would fill the kids bags with bottles of water ensuring they were as heavy as they could manage. Then we would walk measured distances, the most we walked was 10 miles. Which i felt was sufficient.
When it rained we carried on, and when it was warm we wore thick jumpers with coats on to prepare the kids for the heat they will have to do this in.
When i got the impression Abi (who is only 4) was starting to get a bit bored of the walks i changed them so that we would have a goal. For example we would walk 5 miles to an Ice Cream Parlour, or a Children’s Play area, then walk the 5 miles back. A favourite was playing Golf – Al 18 holes as quick as we could. This seemed to work very well.
Now, 2 weeks before we go i feel confident that the kids are ready, but we are still training.
Medical Preparation
A trip to the Doc’s could not be avoided. Even though my kids have had all their childhood immunisations –
The injections we needed were:
Charlie & Abi
Tetanus & Hep A Both on same day
Me
Typhoid, Hep A & Tetanus/Diptheria/Polio 2 on one day, then my final one in about an hour!
Side effects suffered were as follows:
Charlie – He said his arm was aching, one of the injection sites had a huge bruise around it.
Abi – None
Me – (so far i have had only 2, i have my other shortly at the Docs) But the most noticeable was my arm aching, it ached so much i couldn’t use it to drive.
There was one other immunisation that was discussed but i was told i wouldn’t need it since i wasn’t visiting Urban areas – Japanese encephalitis. If you do think you need this injection bear in mind its a course of injections – Not just a single shot like the others.