end of 2007

Under 7 months to go until the adventure begins.

On July 27th, Brent and I will be embarking on quite the journey, one I've been planning for in my head for many years. Over the Christmas holidays, Brent shared all the news with his family - and they are very excited for him. He needs a break. And I just want the adventure.

Where am I at? Well, with time off to enjoy some rest and planning, I'm overwhelming myself with information. Which can become like a giant step in the wrong direction. I have to remember I have almost a week off still before I start my new show.

My knees are doing better. I guess that's good since I'll probably have to stop going to physio with this new job starting on the 7th.

GPS vs PLB. This has been an ongoing debate for me for several months now - really once my Decode pal Clem suggested that I get a GPS unit for my trip. A GPS mapping system has its pros/cons and so does a Personal Locator Beacon. The login was swaying from one side to the next - but the GPS one the fight. Both units are very pricey - I think the PLB is more expensive though - cause we would have to buy it in New Zealand to ensure it is on the right frequency.

Why drop the idea of a PLB - and what is a PLB? I bet most people might not know what it is. A PLB (or a distress radiobeacon) is a type of tracking transmitter which helps in locating a person in distress. Basically this unit has a magic button - and if you activate the unit, it transmits a radio signal that satellites register, and your location information is used to aid in rescue efforts. If you find yourself in a bad situation (injury, avalanche, personal safety concern, etc), and you activate the unit - you will be found/rescued within 24 hours. An amazing piece of emergency/rescue equipment - which has helped to save many lives since their introduction. Initially, as I was planning this trip on my own, the PLB was the best idea for me - as a safety in any situation where I found myself hiking alone. Not advisable.

So - the GPS is our new friend. We will rent a PLB when we travel down to Stewart Island for a 10 day tramp (it's advised) - but that might be the only time we rent a PLB. If we run into situations where the mountain tramps we do are questionable due to heavy rain fall in the forecast - it would probably be advisable to invest in another rental of a PLB.

I purchased the GARMIN GPS-Map 60CSx. It's a fine piece of equipment with some of the best features available for a hand held unit. We have not yet purchased a map for the unit - because believe it or not, finding a topographic map of New Zealand in Canada - is impossible.

I have been in contact with a store in New Zealand called Map World (a store in Christchurch - from this one picture of the store, it looks like I would be in heaven in MapWorld) - they sell the FreshMap collection of New Zealand maps - which offer topographic and street maps of the country. If you go to FreshMap's webpage, they direct you to this store in Christchurch. So I emailed the company and heard back from them (yay!). On their website there was no indication of international shipping - they only listed a handful of stores in New Zealand that sell the FreshMap collection. This wonderful person from the company emailed me and indicated all of the information that we need to do an international purchase. And the best part of it is - it's in NZ dollars. The Canadian dollar is worth more - so this won't be as expensive as originally thought. The map comes on a MicroSD card - so you insert it right into your GPS unit and away you go! $345 NZ plus 20$ shipping = $278.12 Canadian. Not terrible. We will then take the map information - and we can include our own itinerary. So any information from DOC trails can be added as points of reference (such as a hut - which would be a daily goal on the NZ tramps).

So - this new Christmas toy (thank you mom & dad & grammy & grampy) will arrive in the mail in 2-5 business days. The map - I haven't ordered it yet - but I'll have that purchase in by the end of the next week or two. :)

MEC. We did a shopping tour of Europe Bound and MEC yesterday (and another Europe Bound on Friday). *sigh* I've got to say - it is becoming more painful to shop at MEC these days. It's become like a popular spot for so many different people - it's insanely crowded all the time. We're going back this Thursday/Friday once people are back at work - cause yesterday was just painful.

Some sad news - the Gemini tent is on Back Order. Out of the blue - it's no where to be seen in the store. The tent, the footprint...no trace. One sales rep told us they should be seeing new ones in February/March. Ugh. That sucked.

We're making a shopping list over the next day or two to start with the piddly shopping - and start our kitchen purchases.

Things get so heavy, so quickly.

First Aid/CPR. So, been doing research in that realm too. And despite the allure of just joining the YMCA's training or even St. John's Ambulance and Heart 2 Heart's courses...I think we're taking a financial hit with an outdoor adventure company. There are a few courses posted on MEC.ca. And the unfortunate part is the cost (one at $170.00 the other at $175+GST). But - we have to be realistic about what kind of a trip we are doing. This isn't your 'let's go see Europe but stay in the major cities' type of adventure. The goal with NZ is not to see the cities - but the land and nature. We have to focus on a course that will train us in First Aid considering that we could be a two days' hike from help. This requires a specialized training. A lot of first aid courses available in the city present more 'patch work' first aid - what to do before you can call help or if help is 30 minutes away. Or how to stabilize someone before you put them in a car destined for the hospital. We need to be trained to assist an injured party that might have to be left behind while another person hikes to a ranger station half a day away to seek help. All that to explain why we might have to dish out $350.00 to ensure that we are properly trained to save one another's life in the worst case situation - or help someone we cross paths with in NZ. I would like to say that to me - Brent's life is worth the money. And the possibility to help a stranger is just as important. Bonus - we do get CPR training (level C) with the $175+GST course.

What else can I say about life prepping for NZ? Travel doctor's first appointment should be this thursday/friday. Ooooo - we bought a solar panel charger. It's the 6.5W foldable eliminator from Canadian Tire. It was on sale for $99.99. I still have to test it out - AND we need to buy a power inverter to allow us to charge our 120V friends - the camera battery charger, the iPod charger, and the rechargeable batteries for the GPS charger... There are not many options for portable chargers. I looked into the Solio chargers - nice and compact, but TERRIBLE reviews. Not worth the time I don't think. I'll let you know how this unit treats us once we get the power inverter.

Brent's still searching for a sleeping bag. It sucks being allergic to feathers - that eliminates most of the sleeping bags in the backpacking department (i think there is one -12 option at MEC for him, otherwise he has to look into +5 and up). Our thinking is to keep the bag in the -12 range due to the altitude changes we'll see every night. If it's hot - sleep on the bag...but if its cold - you need the rating in your bag.

I guess these are the big things so far.

Oh - I scored at Christmas in the NZ prep department. My brother bought me a crank-charge LED flashlight (a nice/light one). And he gave me my first stash of NZ money - for emergencies only. And two wine glasses made out of stainless steel. :) My parents got me a pocket sewing kit (perfect), a timex watch with two time zones and velcro band to actually fit my measily wrists...and financial provision to buy some goodies a la MEC. Got me a canadian flag zipper-clip and a travel angel pin too. :) Oh - and a golden bear bell. Not that there are any bears in NZ - but I might keep it on my pack for good luck. :)

And - we began building our medical first aid kit. The lovely supplies - so wonderful. :)

Did you know that the only native land mammal in NZ is a small bat? Weird eh? Most people think sheep are native to the country - especially since NZ is known for their sheep - but sheep were introduced to the country.

More to tell after our shopping trip. And more research to tents (as we need to look at a possible alternative to the Gemini *sigh*), fleece, kitchens and more.