What does the preparation for travelling include? What should you not forget, what choices do you have to make, where do you go, where will you definitely not go, and above all: for how long?

The answers to these questions are relatively easy when your travels are relatively short. But if the travels are at least a couple of months long it starts to get more complicated. And if it will last some years complications are numerous.

In June 2002 we left for a trip of 2,5 years in total. This adventure brought us to Africa, North-America, Central America, South America, Oceania and even, though short, Asia. All information with regard to our preparations of this trip you will find here.

We used airplanes, trains, cars, buses, boats, donkeys and our own legs to travel in about 30 countries. We thought: travelling will bring us other landscapes, nature, culture, people, animals, plants but would also learn about ourselves. We would go and see and experience how other people would live and survive which would learn us to appreciate our lives in Holland more. It would also put our own lives into perspective. So we thought. But was all this true? Were all our expectations met?

Our trip was all about freedom. Freedom of choice where to go, when to go, how to go. Nothing was pre-arranged. Of course, in Holland we left everything behind as well as we could but the trip was supposed to be very flexible. We bought an one-way ticket to Zanzibar and would see how things would develop. But of course we had a rough plan?

Everything regarding our planning, the route and choices we made you can find under itinerary resp. preparations. In Africa we started with our own landrover; read about it under our car. We planned to go to South-East Africa, South-East Asia, New-Zealand and the Pacific, Canada, Central America and the northwest of South America. But also this planning was supposed to be very flexible?

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