The Journey Prep

In starting a journey you can just walk out of the door without taking even a handkerchief , Bilbo Baggins style, and just let the adventure overtake you. Trouble is without Gandalf and a host of elves you will come unstuck at the airport when they demand your passport. So no Prancing Pony for you!

Preparation is the key to a trouble-free journey, and with the pleasure of anticipation it adds to the whole experience. That I hope will not exclude those serendipity moments and casual arrangements that can so enhance an adventure, for at 70 years this is probably my last big one.

1. I’m off for a month leaving Heathrow at 2300 on 25th January 2016.
2. The flights and the hotels are booked to cut down on the high costs normally involved in last minute arrangements. Then they know they have you, and they charge accordingly.
3. Some things just have to be paid at top dollar, eg travel insurance, especially when you pass the 70 brink, so I bought the best I could with Top Dog Insurance. Likewise with car rental excess, I don’t anticipate that I will be hiring a car while out there, but just in case!
4. I’m travelling Heathrow to Sydney via Hong Kong courtesy of Cathay Pacific, and hoping to return to London leaving from Perth Western Australia on Sunday 21st February.
5. Itinerary is; Sydney, Port Douglas, Cairns, Darwin, Broome via Kununurra, then Perth, Busselton, back to Perth and home.
6. Personal security is vital, so I’ve copied my passport and credit cards to Evernote which is a secure app on my phone. One thing is for sure – I will not be making any solo excursions into the bush. Can’t imagine trying to live on “bush tucker”.