Preparing to Leave

Now, I get the whole “packing light” thing. I travel a lot and I’ve managed to get the technique pretty  down pat. However, throw in the added curve balls of trying to think of a year’s worth of needs to pack and the limitation of having a couple of bikes that already take up about 40kg of our allocated baggage allowance and you can see that the packing exercise becomes that little bit more challenging. So I invented the amazing disappearing wardrobe. Now you see it…

Now you don’t!

I’ve whittled things down to the essentials, while all the time knowing I’m going to be cold because I’m a sook and feel the cold, so I’ve taken a range of thermals, puffer jacket and windproof vest, but managed to keep it lean enough to pack it all into those three little parcels. I guess one of the few advantages to being a short person is that clothes are smaller so don’t take up too much room. So clothes were taken care of. Now…luxury items! Is there room for that packet of tea? Being someone who drinks about 8 mugs of tea a day and likes a particular sort of Australian tea, if at all possible I’d like to take that little bit of familiarity along with me. Since I’m a vegan (choice) and gluten free (not by choice) I’m just a teensy bit high-maintenance in the dietary department, so I always plan ahead and carry something with me for those times when it’s just too much drama to try and find friendly food. So my first attempt at packing included my go-to snacks that would see me through long plane flights, lengthy waits in airports and the time and energy taken to put two dismantled bikes back together on arrival. But..weight, they were adding a lot to that very precious and tight baggage weight allowance! Could Steve take his luxury fancy schmancy inflatable pillow and packet of Uno, that was to see us through the nightly rounds of the international Uno tournament? Would the weight allow it? The short answer – No. Our packing found us 10kg overweight, so with the help of bathroom scales and kitchen scales (yes, we were weighing things down to the last gram!) we began taking things out and being even more ruthless about what was a necessity and what was a luxury item and what we could possibly leave behind and buy again on arrival. We are now just a smidge overweight, but prepared to take some things back out again if we end up on the receiving end of a stern word from the fella checking us in at the airport. Steve has decided to wear half his wardrobe onto the plane in an effort to keep baggage weight down (his clothes are huge so weigh a lot more) and we’ll see how we go.

So we are pretty much all set. The only thing left to do is worry a bit (it’s what I do best) and try not to think of all the things I’m going to miss – family, friends and our little dog Rosie. All will be missed terribly. So I will try hard to suppress my natural instinct as a worrier and scaredy-cat and go bravely into the unknown.