My Conclusion.

Ever since I saw my first Tarzan movie at the age of 7 my passion has always been to travel and I am lucky that I have had the opportunity to do so. Having travelled (mostly) solo which is great having all that freedom, and having travelled with friends and family too, nothing beats travelling with your children. It is without doubt the most amazing and magical times ever; watching your children grow and learn whilst enjoying all the things that you do.

I think back to some of the most amazing experience I have had or seen, the Migration is the Masaii Mara, The Ganges, Temples and Jungles in Asia and even good old Disney Land in Florida, doing all that stuff with Kieran made it all the more special, and as much as I really enjoyed going to Vietnam last summer on my own, it would have been enhanced by having him there and I don't think I would travel now without him.

In nearly 6 weeks we have had just one grumpy moment which we put down to tiredness, and considering we have lived in each others pockets for all that time, I don't think that has been bad. Of course, I nag about the campervan being left untidy and dirty socks left lying around, and there were several occasions when say, I would be trying to prepare dinner after a long days driving, the fire needs making, we need to fetch water from somewhere etc etc and Dan would come along and start playing his guitar, and there were occasions when that guitar was nearly rammed up his...... but both lads quietly ignored my traits of OCD ness and all potentially stressful moments were very rare and quickly diffused.

Doing all the stuff we did wouldn't be easy if it weren't that both boys have huge levels of tolerance. Natalie, the girl we met back in Cape Town wrote in Kieran's scrap book that we were 3 guys facing each challenge with a mere shrug of the shoulders.

Well, there were loads of challenges that were testing. Cold showers on a frosty morning, insect bites and stings, sea sickness, the odd tummy upset, cooking and eating in the dark, not quite sure what that last crunchy bit was! (that might have explained the odd tummy upset) the long, dusty, bumpy drives, the early morning get ups, sometimes at 5:00am, occassionally having to hang about, blisters on your feet as we embarked yet another 10km hike up a mountain, the various injuries that we acquired, the heat, the cold, the wind, the dust, the rain, the dirt, I think our longest without a wash was about 5 days, but smelly boys don't mind that! All that and more, and not once did either boy whinge or complain. ( I know many adults that would have!). They took everything that was thrown at them and they treated each obstacle as a challenge to overcome. They spent the entire 6 weeks (early mornings an exception) with a smile on their faces, and if they weren't smiling they were laughing!

I am incredibly proud of them both and hope there are many more trips to be had!