Planning Stage

---

The countdown is on.. In approx 6 weeks Christmas will be over and it will be time to hurriedly pack and take off for our next adventure..

The boys have had it reasonably easy with regard to travel in the past but this one will be different. They have been lucky enough (kids these days!) to travel to some amazing places - Australia wide, USA (LA, Vegas, Phoenix, SF, SD), Fiji, Maldives, Hawaii (Oahu, Maui, Big Island), Singapore and do some amazing things.. BUT.. we have been hanging to take them somewhere where it's completely different to home - where they can gain a sense of "difference" in the world.. They both have a love of animals and we as youngsters backpacked South Africa so the decision was made that the Bridgeys would tackle that for our 2017 adventure.

We want to teach them a bit more about travel this trip and so have started getting them planning - they will have a carry-on bag each and it's up to them to pack and be responsible for it throughout the journey. They've been told that if they arrive in Johannesburg with a suitcase full of teddies and only the clothes on their back then they will need to be washing every day OR spend their allocated funds on clothes - yes, we are not having a free-for-all as far as money is concerned either - the exchange rate for the South African Rand is not a 1:1 situation so they will have allocated money for the trip which they will need to exchange and then budget out for all their little "I want that" moments throughout the trip. We have also let them know (having traveled to RSA before) that this is not the place to race off from Mum and Dad, you WILL do what you are told (you know what 10 & 12 year old boys are like) or you will put yourself in danger - regardless of if it's a bad part of town or a hippo!

We have booked accommodation for the entire stay - starting off in Johannesburg, moving on to Jeffrey's Bay then traveling by car down the Garden Route to Cape Town before flying North for 5 days safari.. Should be awesome.

---