Working out how to carry everything I need for my forthcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand has been a bit of a headache. I did have the use of an Army kitbag which was not only roomy but was also fitted with straps so it could be carried like a backpack. Unfortunately it was not roomy enough for youngest son who crammed it full of beer and brought it back severely damaged from Leeds Festival.
This led me to buy a conventional backpack, which got me around Africa ok but soon seems to get full. The opposite of a Tardis, it looks roomy from the outside but 2 pairs of underpants, a T shirt and a towel and it's full. This poses problems for both Wainwright and me.
Although he is barely 12" tall, my travelling companion does take up a fair bit of space and causes me to discard other items to accommodate him. From his point of view all this travelling is taking its toll and he has developed some serious weaknesses, as we discovered when we went for the Weakest Link audition.
Personally, I blame Angelina and Lynn for Wainwright's condition. He' s never been the same since they engaged in a three-way clinch with him in Turkey.
But as you can see from the picture, Wainwright has found a solution. I bought a special backpack for this trip that will safely store my camera equipment and which I can keep close by at all times as hand luggage. Luckily it came equipped with a Wainwright-sized hole at its core which he has cleverly snuck into. I have also re-stocked my first aid kit with super-strong glue, just in case.
With less than 2 weeks to go until I set off, it is hard to describe just how excited I am about this next trip. It's amazing to think that a year ago I wasn't even contemplating the journey. It only came about when I decided to abandon a long held wish to follow England around South Africa during the World Cup as it looked like being very expensive and difficult to organise.
It soon made more sense to spend my budget on a trip to New Zealand and then Australia followed on the basis of 'while you're down there you might as well....'
I envisaged New Zealand in particular as a quiet kind of trip - touring round by car or camper van, seeing the sights and getting in the odd walk. But it has evolved into something far more challenging and is far more in line with the activities I undertook in Turkey and Africa than with my sedate journey around Tuscany.
Take white water rafting for example. I doubt that it will be any more challenging in New Zealand than it was on the Nile, but the trip we are booked on culminates in a 21 foot waterfall. Now, according to my calculations that is the equivalent of placing a raft on the roof of my house, sitting in it and hoping to be in one piece by the time we reach the garden. I've seen pictures of it and they are all the same - a flimsy raft in a vertical position, plunging into some very turbulent water. There are no pictures of the same raft, full of happy, smiling people, emerging triumphant from the fall!
Later in the trip we venture on to a river once more. This time it is by means of a river board - a sort of short surf board that you cling to whilst negotiating white water. Fortunately there are no 21 foot drops, but there is the Dead Cow. Here is how the website describes it:
This rapid got its name from some kayakers who found a dead cow stuck on a rock. The cow is not there anymore but the name of the rapid has stuck. Dead Cow is the best place on the river to try some squirting (flying under water)- take a ride on the “Elevator to hell.” This squirt takes you down a couple of metres into the darkness before shooting you back up to daylight, all in a matter of seconds!
I had to ring my insurers to check on that one!
I don't regard myself as an adrenalin junkie and considering that we will visit the site of the world's first and biggest bungee jump I will be staying well away from it. But I do think that travel has taken on an unexpected twist and the urge to 'do' things rather than just see things has become irresistible. When I was in Africa there wasn't a day where I wanted to stay in bed as I knew each one held some form of adventure.
That same tingle of excitement is back now as I contemplate my latest, and biggest, awfully big adventure. I can't wait to sling my backpack on my shoulders, strap Wainwright to my chest and set out on a journey that will be well over 25,000 miles by the time I've finished.
Live long and prosper.
This led me to buy a conventional backpack, which got me around Africa ok but soon seems to get full. The opposite of a Tardis, it looks roomy from the outside but 2 pairs of underpants, a T shirt and a towel and it's full. This poses problems for both Wainwright and me.
Although he is barely 12" tall, my travelling companion does take up a fair bit of space and causes me to discard other items to accommodate him. From his point of view all this travelling is taking its toll and he has developed some serious weaknesses, as we discovered when we went for the Weakest Link audition.
Personally, I blame Angelina and Lynn for Wainwright's condition. He' s never been the same since they engaged in a three-way clinch with him in Turkey.
But as you can see from the picture, Wainwright has found a solution. I bought a special backpack for this trip that will safely store my camera equipment and which I can keep close by at all times as hand luggage. Luckily it came equipped with a Wainwright-sized hole at its core which he has cleverly snuck into. I have also re-stocked my first aid kit with super-strong glue, just in case.
With less than 2 weeks to go until I set off, it is hard to describe just how excited I am about this next trip. It's amazing to think that a year ago I wasn't even contemplating the journey. It only came about when I decided to abandon a long held wish to follow England around South Africa during the World Cup as it looked like being very expensive and difficult to organise.
It soon made more sense to spend my budget on a trip to New Zealand and then Australia followed on the basis of 'while you're down there you might as well....'
I envisaged New Zealand in particular as a quiet kind of trip - touring round by car or camper van, seeing the sights and getting in the odd walk. But it has evolved into something far more challenging and is far more in line with the activities I undertook in Turkey and Africa than with my sedate journey around Tuscany.
Take white water rafting for example. I doubt that it will be any more challenging in New Zealand than it was on the Nile, but the trip we are booked on culminates in a 21 foot waterfall. Now, according to my calculations that is the equivalent of placing a raft on the roof of my house, sitting in it and hoping to be in one piece by the time we reach the garden. I've seen pictures of it and they are all the same - a flimsy raft in a vertical position, plunging into some very turbulent water. There are no pictures of the same raft, full of happy, smiling people, emerging triumphant from the fall!
Later in the trip we venture on to a river once more. This time it is by means of a river board - a sort of short surf board that you cling to whilst negotiating white water. Fortunately there are no 21 foot drops, but there is the Dead Cow. Here is how the website describes it:
This rapid got its name from some kayakers who found a dead cow stuck on a rock. The cow is not there anymore but the name of the rapid has stuck. Dead Cow is the best place on the river to try some squirting (flying under water)- take a ride on the “Elevator to hell.” This squirt takes you down a couple of metres into the darkness before shooting you back up to daylight, all in a matter of seconds!
I had to ring my insurers to check on that one!
I don't regard myself as an adrenalin junkie and considering that we will visit the site of the world's first and biggest bungee jump I will be staying well away from it. But I do think that travel has taken on an unexpected twist and the urge to 'do' things rather than just see things has become irresistible. When I was in Africa there wasn't a day where I wanted to stay in bed as I knew each one held some form of adventure.
That same tingle of excitement is back now as I contemplate my latest, and biggest, awfully big adventure. I can't wait to sling my backpack on my shoulders, strap Wainwright to my chest and set out on a journey that will be well over 25,000 miles by the time I've finished.
Live long and prosper.
I'm convinced that one day, an over zealous customs inspector will want to do a very personal intrusive internal examination of Wainwright. I hope the little fellow has a sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteThat's the title of the book perhaps, 'Wainwright's Big Adventure?'
Kindest regards
RLS