In just a few days, Rainer Jenss and his family will set off for a year to travel the world. They'll be blogging about their adventures here at Intelligent Travel, and today Rainer offers up his itinerary for where they're headed.
Searching for Swaziland
When putting together an itinerary for an around-the-world trip with the help of an eight-year-old and an eleven-year-old, there are going to be some pretty interesting requests. Stefan (8) learned of Swaziland through a piece of a world map puzzle we worked on together to familiarize the kids with different countries. He said wanted to go there because he liked the name. I explained that we would not go there specifically, but we’d be really close by when we visit South Africa. Fortunately, he quickly learned that saying "Namibia," "Botswana," and "Tanzania" sounded pretty cool too.
As we prepare to head out next week, we‘ve come up with the following game plan, knowing that we’ll have to comply with our around-the-world airline ticket, weather considerations, transportation and lodging logistics, and of course, budget. Here's what we've worked out so far.
July – August, 2008: Drive across the U.S. and Canada
We figured we’d start on our home turf to ease into the trip; it will provide us with a good foundation for what lies ahead. But we do plan to get our first passport stamps while visiting Montreal and Quebec City.
September: China
Arriving in Beijing shortly after the Olympics, we’ll head on a two-week “Inside China” tour with National Geographic Expeditions. This should make watching the Games a little more interesting.
Sept/October: Japan
What boy wouldn’t want to visit the birthplace of Nintendo, Pokemon, and in the case of my guys, sushi? To do so within our budget, we visited the Japan National Tourist Organization, which helped put together an itinerary that provided us with unique access to the “real Japan.” We're looking forward to a professional Japanese baseball game between the SoftBank Hawks and Nippon Ham Fighters in Fukuoka. But who do we root for? Stefan wants to know. Good question.
Early October: Bhutan
We’ll be four of only about a few thousand visitors allowed into this Himalayan country each year. It’s rugged, beautiful, and very remote, and it measures success not with GNP, but by Gross National Happiness.
Late October: Thailand
We’ll take what we learn about
Gross National Happiness and apply it to life on the beaches and
jungles of Thailand. I'm looking forward to sampling authentic Thai
food.
November: New Zealand
We’ll be trading in the hotel rooms
for a camper van, where we’ll explore this beautiful country on the
road. With it comes adventure: bungee jumping, white-water rafting,
and an assortment of other thrills. It also seems like the ideal time
to kick back a little and spend some time focusing on our home
schooling, all while enjoying the spectacular scenery.
December: Australia
The kids are anxious to see the reef
and its marine life, not to mention the crocs, kangaroos, and Tasmanian
devils found on land. 2009 will be welcomed in with the fabulous fireworks over Sydney Harbour.
January – March, 2009: Africa
We’ll be joined by friends from the States in both South Africa and Tanzania, and we'll visit with Dr. Laurie Marker’s Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, whose work helps protect these endangered cats. We’ll then head to Kenya on a Micato safari,
which concludes with a visit to an orphanage in Nairobi, putting in
perspective what life is like for so many children on the African
continent. We finish off the continent with a National Geographic
Expedition down the Nile.
In typical Nat Geo fashion, we’ll have exclusive access to some of the
sites still being excavated and learn directly from Zahi Hawass,
Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
April – May: Europe
The goal here is to integrate into
the European lifestyle, and quite literally, do what the Romans do.
Because Europe is relatively easily navigated, we welcome the
opportunity to be more flexible and spontaneous with our scheduling.
June: Peru and Brazil
As our adventure winds down, we’ll join the 4th annual Hands-On Explorer Challenge
winners in Peru during their Nat Geo Kids Expedition. The trip to
Brazil will mark the first time I return to the country I lived in from
ages 2 to 5. My first childhood memories are of Rio,
so I want to help build my children’s own memories of this magnificent
city, with its beautiful beaches, landmarks, scenery, music and food.
July: Arctic Circle
To put the icing on the cake, quite literally, we’ll finish the journey by flying back to Europe to board a Lindblad Expedition
to the Arctic Circle to see the "Ice Bears". With global warming such
an important issue, particularly with the kids, seeing polar bears in
the wild should be a profound experience. And besides, we’ll
eventually have to readjust to wearing coats again, so why not start
here?
Keep up with the Jensses and their assorted stops along the way by bookmarking their column, here.
Awesome
Posted by: Adam | June 30, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Have fun my friend. See you next year.
Posted by: John Henry | June 30, 2008 at 03:23 PM
Rainer & Carol,
Bon Voyage, good luck on your journey. See you in Oz in Dec. Will keep a koala handy for Tyler and Stefan.
G'day, Dick & Liz Green
Wellington Point, QLD, Australia
Posted by: Dick and Liz Green | July 01, 2008 at 07:21 AM
I am quite jealous right now!...My father actually traveled to Swaziland on a couple of occasions when I was a kid. It's no wonder that I love to travel!
Anne
Posted by: Prêt à Voyager | July 02, 2008 at 01:12 PM
Bon voyage our beloved Jensses... We miss you greatly already, but we will read of and watch your adventures with great anticipation and excitement. If you can, please bring back something chocolate or one of those coconut bikini tops that they wear at luaus... With all of our love,
Dakota, Zippy, R & K
Posted by: The Londons | July 06, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Bon voyage our beloved Jensses... We miss you greatly already, but we will read of and watch your adventures with great anticipation and excitement. If you can, please bring back something chocolate or one of those coconut bikini tops that they wear at luaus... With all of our love,
Dakota, Zippy, R & K
Posted by: The Londons | July 06, 2008 at 11:01 PM
We look forward to reading Rainer's new blogs each time. They are so vivid & descriptive and I love the photos! (where can I see more!!). Continue to enjoy the incredible journey. Give the boys & Carol our best and tell the boys they're doing a great job with their blogs too. The kids & I love reading them.
donna
Posted by: donna | August 18, 2008 at 08:13 AM
So I guess right now you're about ready to leave Japan? You are one lucky man, how old are those kids? Do they post photos of their expedition around the world? If so, where can I find them. Thanks for the post!
Posted by: Van Diesel | October 01, 2008 at 04:56 PM