FAQ

Click on one of the topics below to find your question quickly. The questions are in alphabetical order according to the topics below and we are constantly adding to the list of Frequently Aked Questions.

Topics

Topics


Q. ACCOMMODATION

Where do you sleep?
We are able to camp where ever we happen to be at the time, but would at any stage be more than happy to take a bed from local people if they would take us into their homes. Part of our philosophy is to experience the different cultures and to live like and with the people we meet on the way.


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Q. CHARGE

What is the CHARGE syndrome or CHARGE?
Please click on CHARGE in our toolbar above
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What has CHARGE got to do with you?
About a year ago Cai was born (with the CHARGE Syndrome) to friends of ours, Ian and Kersten Wilcox. When we told them about our planned expedition, they approached us with the idea to walk for the awareness of CHARGE. Until Cai`s birth the CHARGE Syndrome was completely unknown to all of us as well as everyone we`ve asked until now. Naturally we connected our expedition to everyone affected by CHARGE.
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What do you do for CHARGE?
Our aim is to create awareness for the CHARGE Syndrome. By creating an awareness it should make it a bit easier to find support to finance further research in this field and ultimately start a base for the support of the children and their families affected by the CHARGE Syndrome.
We aim to create awareness through translating an explanation about CHARGE into all the different languages of the countries we’ll be walking through over two years. We are hoping to be interviewed and present in as many local newspapers and magazines as possible as well as having coverage on television.
By “being on the road” and followed by the public during our journey (through the media) over two years, we expect CHARGE to be “heard of” by thousands of people in Europe and around the world, creating a stepping stone for future development of support centres to also focus on CHARGE.


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Q. COST

How do you pay your trip/ do you have the money?
Please click on the SPONSOR button above. Any donations are gladly accepted
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What happens to my money if I give you a donation?
We use it to buy outstanding equipment needed for this expedition and to survive on the way (food and accommodation etc.). By doing this expedition, we are creating awareness for CHARGE as we’ve explained above.


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Q. DOG

Why with a dog?
Akela has been part of our life for the last seven years now and we do everything with her. She’s a great companion, quickly crawls into the hearts of total strangers and certainly makes the whole expedition more interesting (and obviously more difficult sometimes).
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Can the dog handle it?
Definately! She is a working dog from a sport breed and a 15km - 20km walk per day is no problem for Akela.


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Q. EQUIPMENT

How do you transport your luggage/ do you carry backpacks?
We are not planning on carrying backpacks. Our method of equipment transportation is the so called Pulka (A type of sled commonly used in Scandinavia and Alaska). During the summer or warmer periods we’ll be mounting the pulkas on a frame with wheels to be pulled on the road.
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How do you handle winter?
There’s a good phrase here: “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. We are prepared for temperatures well below zero degrees from our tent, sleeping bags down to our socks and shoes (including a special jacket and booties for the dog).


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Q. HELP

Is there anything I can do to help?
Help can come in so many different forms, and we’ll be lying if we say that we don’t need help. Please CONTACT us!


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Q. LANGUAGE

What about the different languages?
There is no way we can learn all the different languages needed for this expedition. We speak English, German, French and Afrikaans (the last 2 won’t help us much) and Tina is pretty good at drawing pictures . Somehow when you travel there is always a type of “Wordless International Language” and we’ll take basic phrases of all the different languages along with us to get us through.


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Q. MEDIA

What about media?
We’ll be covered by local newspapers and magazines as well hoping to get some air time on television.We are open for anything ... give us a call.

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Q. PLANNING

How do you get there and back?
Remember the question above if we need any help? We need to figure this one out still, but where there’s a will there’s a way!

What are you doing with your current belongings?
We keep the basics and sell or give away the rest.

What are you going to do after the expedition?
Do you have a sailboat that you’re not using? We don’t know yet, but the next expedition will most likely be planned on the way!

What about Visas?
If you have some contacts in the governments of the different countries, please let us know .This is probably one of the most difficult parts of the expedition to plan and organise. Although we are working on our permits well in advance, a lot of the negotiations and beaurocratic red tape will be handled as it occurs.

What happens in an emergency?
Call 911 , or my dad (he’s a doctor). We have basic first aid training, carry a substantial first aid kit with us and are affiliated with an international evacuation institution. If you happen to have a spare sattelite phone lying around at home ...

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Q. ROUTE

Why walking?
Is there a more natural way of travelling? We have feet, are healthy and able to walk and we do not want to rush through all the amazing places we’ll be travelling through.

How do you plan the route?
Ever heard of Google Earth? No, except for that, we use a program called “Brockhaus Atlas 3D”, topographical maps, ordinary road maps and the obviously the internet. We are also working out GPS coordinates for our planned route and try to stick to existing roads where possible. Because of the weight we’re pulling we are avoiding high mountain ranges.

Why Europe?
We currently live in Europe and since exploring the world is our ultimate dream, we might as well start where we are.


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