Frantic last couple of weeks of prep and we will soon be off on our great adventure.
As many of you know, I am taking a sabbatical after 15 years running the farm and have decided to take my boys (Toby age 8 and Mikey age 7) off for a year away. We are spending 5 months in Africa and 5 months in New Zealand getting back in time for next harvest. I plan to post a blog each week with some insights into the experience we are having. So what is our plan:
The plan!
Ghana
Our adventure starts in Ghana where we will be living in my mud hut in a village in the far North for 3 months. This will be quite an experience for the children as they try to settle into such a different culture and way of life. It is hot and dusty, you have to collect water from the village pump and they will attend the local village school.
South Africa
Just before Christmas we head down to South Africa for a holiday where we will have ample opportunity to see lots of animals on safari and spend time on the beach.
Zambia
After Christmas we will travel up to Zambia to stay for 6 weeks with friends on a commercial farm. There they will be home educated with our hosts two daughters, but otherwise they will officially go feral and spend their time roaring around the farm on bikes and going fishing and swimming and so on.
New Zealand
In February we head via a few days in Sydney to New Zealand. We spend 10 weeks travelling through New Zealand from South to North visiting different farms, eco projects and friends. I have already been asked to help out on a couple of farms that are still seriously effected by Storm Gabrielle in Feb. One still has 3 foot of mud in their front room!
We end up in Northland where the boys are enrolled in the primary school and will have a term in a school opposite a marina (my dream is to live for a bit by the sea!)
Once term ends we will drive back through New Zealand to Queens town for a week of skiing before we come home
Personally, I would like to spend the year seeing loads of farms, sustainable farming and eco projects, but my priority will be to shepherd the boys through this experience. It will be fascinating to see, at such a young age, how they react to the various cultures and experiences they will face. It will also be interesting to see what challenges arise for me to deal with as a parent and how I react to that.
The bags are semi packed, visas acquired, malaria pills on order and 1st nights hotel booking completed. What could possibly go wrong
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