6 Month Countdown!

6 Month Countdown!

In 6 months time we will be boarding a plane to Atlanta, Georgia, USA and starting a 14/15 month journey  - an 'Adventure of a Lifetime'.

Not just any old journey or adventure.... 

.... a 4000+ mile walking adventure!

What a fantastic way to explore and learn about different countries of the world.

We have set up this blog to tell our story so our family and friends and anyone else who's interested can follow our journey.

Our first 6 months will be spent walking (thru hiking) in the USA. 

From Atlanta we will head 80 miles north to Amicalola Falls  - the starting point for an 8½ mile 'Approach Trail' to 'The Appalachian National Scenic Trail', Appalachian Trail or simply AT for short.  It will be here on 28 February 2014 our first big walking adventure begins.     

The AT is a 2186 mile (3500km) trail starting from Springer Mountain, Georgia.  Heading north it passes through 14 American states: Georgia; North Carolina; Tennessee; Virginia; West Virginia; Maryland; Pennsylvania; New Jersey; New York; Connecticut; Massachusetts; Vermont; New Hampshire and finishes on top of Mount Katahdin in Maine.  We envisage it taking us 5 - 5½ months to complete.  We will only have 6 months in the USA due to visa limits, but if we finish early we would like to spend a bit of time afterwards resting our legs and doing a bit of canoeing in Maine instead.

No mean feat - a physical and mental challenge, definitely a full on adventure, a routine to be treated more like a job - can't really call it a holiday - walking for 5 months, day after day, carrying everything we need on our backs. More on that in a later blog.

AT completed -  we will then fly to South America.  Starting in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, we will set off on an amazing 3 month South American Adventure holiday!

Yes, definitely a holiday this time, for us anyway - probably not what most people would class as a holiday! 

We will travel overland through Brazil from Rio through Amazonia to Cusco, Peru, The land of the Incas, visit Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail then continue to Lima. From there we head north to Quito, Ecuador.  Of course we can't visit Ecuador without a trip to the Galapagos Islands too.  From Quito a flight to the southernmost city of the world, Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina.  From here we head back north overland through Patagonia to Santiago, Chile.

After that amazing trip, hopefully our bodies (and minds!) will be rested, relaxed and recovered from the AT and ready for our next Long Walk! 

From Santiago we will fly to Auckland, New Zealand.

Here we plan to walk (thru hike) New Zealand's recently opened National Trail - The Te Araroa (TA for short).

A 1865 mile (3000km) trail spanning the whole of New Zealand from Cape Reinga in the north to Bluff in the South, travelling through 10 regions of New Zealand.  On North Island the trail goes through Northland; Auckland; Waikato/King Country; Manawatu/Whanganui and Wellington and on South Island the trail goes through Nelson; Marlborough; Canterbury; Otago and Southland.  Again no mean feat but we should be quite experienced thru hikers by then!

Slightly shorter than the AT, we envisage the TA taking us about 4½/5 months.  Depending on how much time and money we have left once finishing the hike, we may do a bit more exploring of New Zealand - Queenstown area, Fiordland for some kayaking or Stuart Island maybe?  There is a walk/tramp around Stewart Island that is supposed to be spectacular that that isn't included as part of the Te Araroa trail - if we still have some walking legs left by then!

Finally - fly back home!

This is our first blog post of many hopefully.  With only 6 months to go there is an awful lot of planning required for this trip.  We will be posting our thoughts about our planning and preparations for the trip, such things as gear required, visa issues, medical insurance issues, what about the house, bills and the dog etc. and of course once we're 'On Route' we will update you regularly with our progress.

C & N xxx