Leavin' on a jet plane....

Now that the powers-that-be are fully informed, I finally get to tell my super duper exciting news.

In the first week in September, I get on a plane.

What's so exciting about that I hear you ask?

Well, I don't return to the country for 4 - count 'em; one, two, three, four - months :-D

For starters I head off for a 4 week trek in the Ladakh region in northern India which is kinda, sorta, up near Kashmir & Tibet. The Ladakh region is known as "Little Tibet" due to the influence of the massive numbers of Tibetans who have migrated over the years (centuries). Really excited about my first visit to the eastern Himalayas.

Then I head back to my beloved Nepal for a month, this time to climb Mera Peak and Island Peak, both of which are over 6000m - my first two Himalayan summits!

In early November, I leave Nepal and head to Cairo (what a contrast!) where I am catching up with my folks for a 3 week tour of Egypt & Jordan. My mum chose this trip & let's just say, her requisite level of comfort when travelling is somewhat higher than mine. The 4-5 star hotels will be a nice change after spending 8 weeks in a tent :-)

In Jordan, I leave my folks & head for Tanzania. After a few days lounging by a hotel pool, I head for the island of Zanzibar which has an incredible history as both a trading port for goods & slaves. Then its back to the mainland to climb Mt Meru - the second highest mountain in Tanzania - and then Mt Kilimanjaro - my first of the seven ;-)

After a day or two of rest, I head out for a short safari before flying to Canada to spend Christmas & New Years with my brother & his g/f. Very excited about seeing my brother again. I have also placed an order for snow so that I can experience my first white Christmas :-)

Then in early January, I come home - only for 3 weeks to recharge the batteries, see my family and family-to-be, get some of mum's cooking into me & do some training before heading in late January to Argentina and Aconcagua.

And then finally at the end of February I head for home & to get ready to go back to work in early March - and of course finalise plans for our wedding in the Cook Islands & honeymoon in the Philippines in November :-)

So in total, I'm o/s for just over 5 months :-) This trip has been in the pipeline since the day I stepped onto a plane in Kathmandu to leave Nepal in May last year. Thankfully my folks, wonderful fiance & family-to-be have been incredibly supportive of my plans. Writing this post makes it finally seem real if that makes sense. While I will be sad to leave my loved ones, to say I am oh so excited doesn't quite cut it.

13 weeks, 4 days to go :-)