Trip preparation

http://www.climatecare.org/
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Offsets = Each time we heat our homes, take a flight or drive the car, CO2 is added into the atmosphere. Climate Care offsets CO2 by funding projects around the world. These can be in:

• Renewable energy – this replaces non-renewable fuel such as coal
• Energy efficiency – this reduces the amount of fuel needed
• Forest restoration – this absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere as the trees grow

before we left......

We have used Climate Care to calculate our flight emissions and have made a donation to offset this. Find out more at

http://www.climatecare.org

Ticket = Star Alliance booked through Val at RoyCox travel. We wanted to go for a (much cheaper) Grand Escapade fare but there are no direct routes to Canada with this ticket (and merely transferring planes in the US means that the 90day allowance on tourist visas starts)

http://www.staralliance.com/en/travellers/fare_products/round_the_world_fare.html

Insurance = was a bit of a challenge as we are wanting to ski for prolonged periods of time. The British Mountaineering Council Policy covers all we want to do at a much better price than others

http://www.bmcinsurance.co.uk

Kit = One of the questions asked most of all about our trip to date is "how are you going to carry all your stuff?"! With temperatures between -50 and +40 deg celsius, it's going to be a challenge. We have bought Osprey Soujourn bags which are max 80l but have compression straps to less than 30l. At only 3kg it's one of the lightest on the market, with the advantage of both proper rucksack straps and also offroad wheels. We shall see if it works.... Snowboards etc we will take to Canada/Alaska then make a call on whether they're send to NZ or we buy/hire kit there.

We bought the rucksacks at Taunton Leisure who were really helpful..

http://www.tauntonleisure.com/product_detail.php?item=8434

Injections = being the organised sort we only just thought about these. Ideally we should have been thinking about jabs 6 months before you travel! But luckily the local GP and Nomad travel clinics have been very helpful.

http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk