My husband Riemer and I have just returned from an amazing eight month overland expedition through Africa, our aim was to drive our Land cruiser from Cape Town, South Africa to London, U.K. Why? Because we wanted to see if God was calling us to work somewhere in the vast continent of Africa and we fancied an adventure!
We volunteered in Lesotho, Zimbabwe,Mozambique and Kenya and toured six other African nations. Not all our plans came to be due to security and visa issues, but we have learnt some valuable lessons which we hope can be of use to any type of gap year you might be planning for.
Let me now dispense some tips for people taking gap years:
Communication
If you are not very good at writing emails/letters to friends and families and you know you will have internet access at least once a month, it is worthwhile keeping a blog. There are some decent free sites out there which are easy to navigate eg wordpress.org or if you fancy paying a little for something more attractive try squarespace.com . We also sent postcards once a month to family to show them where we had been, the plus of this is you don't have to write too much!
Insurance and safety
Make sure you have got good travel insurance that covers you for any crazy sports you might want to do like white water rafting or bunji jumping. Check to see if it covers mobile phones (they often don't) and see what the maximum amount you are covered for under the 'valuables' section - if all your valuables were stolen in one night, would you be able to claim for them? In hindsight I would not have brought some of my valuables and sentimental items that I have since lost on the trip.
If you are travelling in countries where there are security risks, will your insurance pay out if you needed medical aid etc - your insurance will often not help you at all if your countries Foreign Office advise is against 'all but essential travel' or against 'all travel' to an area. From experience I have learnt that the Foreign Office advise can change from day to day, so make sure you keep informed before deciding to visit or travel through an area declared unsafe by your government.
Contacts list and backups
Before we left UK we compiled a list of all our important phone numbers eg family, projects we would be staying at etc. We also included our insurance policey details and copies of our passports. We then emailed this list to ourselves and to our family members for emergencies. We did end up having to refer to this on our trip.
Clothing
Pack as few clothes as possible, especially if you are going to a hot climate where you can wash your clothes and they can easily get dried. Girls especially I know this can be difficult but trust me you will find some amazing local clothes which will be even better for the climate/culture of that area and you will have more space to pack presents etc you pick up on your travels, when you return home.
Be culturally sensitive in your dress whereever you go even if others eg tourists are dressing immodestly as this can cause offence to locals and is so easily avoided. If you are ever in doubt ask your hosts advise and avoid embaressment. As a general rule for women wear skirts/trousers which cover the knee and tops that cover your shoulders, men wear t-shirts with sleeves (ie no sleeveless) and in Muslim countries and some conservative cultures wear trousers only.
Laundry
A bar of 'Vanish' soap works miracles if you are handwashing your clothes, and lasts months.
Photos
It's worth investing in a decent camera but balance this with what will be most practical and discreet for you to carry around with you. We had two cameras with us, a small pocket sized one which we used on a day to day basis and a larger camera with a good zoom lense for wildlife and people shots.
Books and entertainment
Make the most of your time abroad and do some research on what you can do and see while you are there, perhaps even learn some of the language. I would highly recommend the Bradt travel guides and if you are specifically doing an overland trip, Bradts 'Africa Overland' which we refered to almost daily.
Bring novals to read, as entertainment may be scarce. We really enjoyed books written about the countries we were travelling through eg 'Into Africa' by Martin Dugard and 'The no. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' by Alexander McCall Smith.
Bring a pack of cards and a small book on different card games, trust me you'll be waiting at a bus stop for hours one day and need something to pass the time!
De-brief
When we returned to the UK it was very important for us to speak to a few close friends in more detail about our experiences, particulalry about some of the more traumatic times we'd had (we were robbed twice at gun point). Talking your experiences through, enables you to process them and if need be take action eg pray through situations.
Enjoy yourselves!
Make the most of the year you have - make friends with the locals and accept invitations to their homes, get to know the local area and explore it. As a Christian use the time to build on your relationship with God and activley seek him about your future and what he wants you to do on your return to your home country.
