Are You Looking For Gap Year Expeditions? Part 2

Type into Google ‘gap year expeditions’ and you will see the following list appear (we have broken it down into specific companies and agencies) -

‘Specific companies’ are where you are thoroughly under their umbrella of care and all expedition planning, preparation, the project and your well being is covered 100% by the company and their staff – they include the following:

• Trekforce – gap year expeditions to a variety of countries, can be quite hardcore,  the usual places are covered in their itineraries – Belize, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Morocco, etc.  Trekforce Expeditions was once a non profit organisation ran by our very own MD, Rob.  They now are part of a larger chain of operators who offer various trips to suit all tastes.
• Greenforce – part of the same network as Trekforce, offering a more ‘grass roots’ conservational approach to their gap year expeditions.
• Raleigh International – this is where it all began. The original gap year expedition company, started life as Operation Raleigh (which I nearly signed up to as a boy/young man). They offer 10 week and 5 week gap year expeditions to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Borneo and India.
• Coral Cay Conservation- this company didn’t rank very well in the search engine but we will mention them because they do gap year expeditions underwater. They do marine conservation in Tobago, Philippines and Cambodia. They have also just finished work in the jungles of Papua New Guinea.
• World Challenge – normally offering more educational based expeditions to a large variety of countries, now branching out into the gap year expedition market.  Covering Borneo, Iceland, Morocco, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Borneo and Belize.

What you have next in the search engine results are many companies offering gap year expeditions and adventure travel for people having career breaks  but they are companies where they do all the planning and take care of bookings, then they have in-country operators, sometimes not part of their own company structure, taking the expedition into the field.  If you go with one of these companies (and we are NOT saying don’t go with them!) make sure you are aware of who will be running the trip, who is responsible for health and safety issues in-country, such as casualty evacuations, and see if a permanent member of the company staff will accompany you at all times on the expedition, especially if it is in multiple countries.

So, basically there are two options.  Go with companies like Trekforce, Greenforce, Raleigh International or Coral Cay Conservation where there is a definite umbrella of care and set staff and procedures or a companies that work through other operators – now that last option is by no means the worst, just look into the company who provides the groundwork and be happy you will receive the best trip possible.

Just Wait a Minute…… What Does S2Si do?

S2Si is similar in all respects to Trekforce, Greenforce, Raleigh International and Coral Cay Conservation. We provide gap year expeditions to Borneo, Papua New Guinea, Morocco, Chile (Patagonia), Russia, Bolivia, New Zealand, Canada… we will soon be adding Namibia, Botswana, Zambia to our list as we develop our in-country base there.

The only other issue is that many of the above companies offer “projects” where you are in one fixed position for the entire time (sometimes as much as 3 months!).  Which is ok for some but you may want something a little more active! At S2Si we specialise in more activity orientated projects which gives you a much more intense experience! Taking advantage of pre-existing skills that you may have in activities ike rock climbing, diving or sailing we will incorporate these activities into your gap year experience which will add a little bit more ‘spice’ than your average project!

We also do bespoke, custom made expeditions, so if you have an idea and a group of like-minded friends we can plan your expedition, we can lead the expedition or you can hand the whole thing over to us and we will give you a trip of a lifetime!

Now then, before you pack your bags and hop on a flight there are a few things to take into consideration before exploring Borneo and Papua New Guinea. Both Borneo and Papua New Guinea are tropical countries so there are health considerations.  Papua New Guinea is in a tropical cyclone area (Asian version of a hurricane).  Also, Borneo and Papua New Guinea are considered third world countries, so the in-country infrastructure will not be what you are used to at home.

Let’s look at some of the health issues you need to look into before setting off for an adventure holiday exploring Borneo and Papua New Guinea.

• Vaccinations – before setting off you will need to have a good chat with your doctor or, preferably, a specialised travel clinic where you can get a decent and well planned set of vaccinations.  It would be wrong of us on here to comment further on what jabs you need, please seek professional medical advice.
• First aid kit – always keep with you a decent first aid kit with everything in it waterproofed, sealed and in-date. There are many pre-made kits out there on the market, some of which we will review soon. For now please visit Nomad Travel to see their collection.
• Water – two things about water, one is that you’ll need to drink lot of it…. sorry, did I say a lot, I meant A LOT!!! So have a good water bottle (or two) and secondly, just as important, make sure the water you drink is of a good quality, so take along with you a means of water purification.  Iodine is good for short term emergencies.
• Food – read up on all the foods you should and shouldn’t eat.  Make sure food is cooked thoroughly, avoid salads if you think the food hasn’t been washed properly. It is very very important that you prepare yourself for the worst because it doesn’t matter how careful you are, you WILL get a dodgy tummy sooner or later, so make sure you know what to do when it happens.

Next …. picture the scene, you are deep in the jungle, exploring Papua new Guinea…. then you are told a typhoon is coming your way.  This will put a real downer on your trip I assure you.

Whilst on an expedition in Belize, Rob (the Managing Director of S2Si) who was at the time in-country manager, sent a messenger out to my expedition base camp with the news that Hurricane Mitch was coming! After a very swift but highly professional pitch-black, middle of the night, evacuation we got to the capital. The rest of our time in-country was spent in the British High Commission where we boarded up windows, secured doors, did night patrols to make sure looters didn’t come into the compound and watched the news as the Caribbean took a beating.  The normal season for the cyclones is November to May, but you would be wise to check recent updates on any fluctuations.

Borneo might escape the tropical revolving storms but it has a wet and dry season which can seriously affect roads, rivers and your enjoyment.

Lastly in our small but highly useful advice section for exploring Borneo and Papua New Guinea we cover the basic infrastructure problems that you need to be aware of before setting of.

• Electricity – in  smaller towns power cuts can be frequent and when you get off the beaten track you’ll be lucky to find electricity.  So a head torch and spare batteries are essential.
• Water – running water in places might be intermittent. Pack your wash kit with things like all-in-one  soap (good for clothes as well) or a shower gel. Learn how to improvise by making your own showers out of plastic water bottles or a water bag.
• Roads – poorly maintained roads can mean transport delays so keep an open mind regarding timings and schedules. Don’t plan a long bus journey right before your return flight home .
• Communications – you are going out there to get away from the modern world and back to basics, when you get away from civilization don’t expect all the phones to work, if they have an internet connection you can bet it will be a slow one.

There you have a few basic points to exploring Borneo and exploring Papua New Guinea – we should have called this article “Travel tips for exploring Borneo and Papua New Guinea – The tip of the iceberg!!!” as we have really just given you a taster of the adventure ahead of you.  Anyway, it wouldn’t be called exploring if we held your hand for you.

So get reading and send us a postcard!

You turn on the computer and head to your favourite search engine and type in ‘gap year expeditions’ – then all of a sudden (according to Google’s latest figures) you are presented with 1,160,000 results.  That is a HUGE amount of choice. So we here at S2Si have decided to help you decide where to go on your gap year. Expeditions can be run all over the world so you need to ‘see’ the entire world….. and here is my top tool, my very first gadget I use for my expedition planning……..  Google Earth.

This is arguably, without a doubt, the world’s finest free piece of internet software!

So, you are now sitting there zooming in and out of the world, images come and go – some even seem to spin upside down – and you think “Yes, this is cool, but I haven’t found any ideal gap year expeditions by doing this!”.

Let’s start now with a plan -

• Do you want jungle, desert, mountains, a certain country, a language or shall we just see how it goes?
• Have you heard of other ideas that sound vaguely cool?
• Are you into any hobbies, sports, outdoor adventures that might help narrow things down?

You now have some basic information down on paper and still wonder where this is going.  To take this further let’s get Google  Earth set up to find gap year expeditions!

Now you are all set for some serious virtual exploring – Google Earth has many other features but we will go into them another day.

After reading our site, looking through your list of interests, and watching the Discovery Channel you have decided to look for gap year expeditions in Papua New Guinea but would now like to check it out on our new cyber-travel buddy.

With all the right boxes ticked you zoom into Papua New Guinea.  As you get closer, little blue squares pop up.  When you click on these pictures you’ll see photos.  These are photos people have uploaded to Panoramio and linked to Google Earth.  Important!!!!!  Some people are not geographically 100% correct with the position of their photos, so always re-check from more reliable professional sources before you travel.

Another point to note whilst using Google Earth for planning gap year expeditions or any form of remote adventure travel, is that it would help you immensely if you knew what you were looking at.  The photo below obviously shows a river, some ox-bow lakes and forest.  To the top right are small white clouds and the orange/beige colours are swamp/grassland areas.

Ok guys, that’s it for now! We will have another feature on planning your gap year expeditions more in-depth and some more information on how to get the most out of google Earth.

Have fun!

Are you looking for a gap year expedition?  Are you a typical young, enthusiastic… but very poor student?  Would you like us to plan your very own gap year expedition free of charge?  If so…… please read on.

We here at S2Si believe that the success of every expedition begins at home, in the planning phase, well before you even leave your home country.  Many of you who are considering a gap year expedition, or just taking a year out to do some serious adventure traveling, want to have the best adventure possible, off the beaten track and for as little cost as possible.

Is it actually possible to have a fun, ‘off the beaten track’ adventure that wont put you more in debt?  Of course it is.  For example, I bought a £200 Nissan Micra, drove it across Russia, around Mongolia and then back home.  A two month hardcore adventure across the largest country in the world, then skirted the Gobi desert and returned home for just over £1000.

The problem you guys have when planning the ultimate gap year expedition is your lack of worldly travel knowledge….. but this is where we come in.

We are now holding a competition and the winner will have their own unique expedition planned for them to their own specifications.  So, “What must we do?”  I here you ask.

Please read the following instructions carefully.

• You are to put forward your ideal gap year expedition idea by filling the form out below (do not contact us by any other means please).
• The winning idea will be the one that is the gap year expedition that matches “Who we are” as a company.  The winner will be chosen by our board of directors.
• You must also show a basic understanding for what you are trying to achieve (for example – you want to visit the Masai tribe in Patagonia…. however the Masai live in Eastern Africa!).
• You must fully understand the basic financial implications of your adventure (for example – I want to cross the Sahara, North to South, in a brand new Range Rover but have £300).
• This advice for your gap year expedition is for the 2010 summer. Why? Because it takes a decent amount of time to be fully prepared for a major adventure.
• The competition closes at the end of November 2009.

The only thing that the winner of this free gap year expedition plan has to come up with is a post trip report.  A 500 word write up (or more if you are keen, or even trip updates for the site), and some photos of you guys having fun in bizarre locations with our T-shirts on.  We don’t think that is too much to ask for in what amounts to a gap year expedition planned for free by some of the world’s most experienced adventurers!

We are sure, as always, there will be questions.  If so, please leave them in the comments box below the article and that means when we answer them other people can see the questions and answers so we don’t get lots of duplicate issues.

Ok, people, get you thinking caps on.  Will it be the African west coast, the steaming jungles of South America, is there a remote village out in the middle of nowhere you saw on the Discovery Channel?

This is going to be fun!

Is it important to you to see new sites? Perhaps you would like to meet traveling companions and form lifelong friendships? Do you want to feel like you made the most of your gap year? If these are characteristics of your travel goals, than a pre planned expedition might be just the adventure for you.

An expedition will allow a traveler to enjoy multiple experiences during the travel period. You might find yourself trekking, kayaking, rafting and horse riding all in the same week. You might also choose a trip in which you are immersed in local culture working on a project. Either way, an expedition will allow you to participate in individual as well as group activities.

The staff here at S2Si are well traveled and experienced in expeditions.  Here are some of their gap year travel ideas:

• Teach English in a remote village somewhere.
• Become qualified in a sport or activity and stay on as an intern helping out but living for free.
• Do the usual, if money permits, round the world ‘see as much as you can’ trip.
• Join one of the many popular ‘buy a nasty car and drive it somewhere remote’ trips that are fun.
• If you have skills see if you can work abroad for various charities for a year.

The list of awesome gap year travel ideas is a large as you imagination.  You can see clearly what we have to offer you by looking at our main website and all those are absolutley top notch gap year travel ideas but not everyone likes the same kind of adventure.  In that case why not become the organiser of your own expedition.  you gather the group together and contact us to see how we can help you get out there into the big wide world and have as much fun before the gap year is over and you have to get to work.

If you choose an expedition we have planned for you it leaves out the guess work. Most travelers don’t want to spend days figuring out where they will camp, which activities they will participate in and how they will get to and from their destinations. A traveler will also want to consider personal safety. Going it alone in an unfamiliar area can put you at risk of physical injury, particularly if you are trying an activity that is new to you. A planned expedition ensures that you have properly trained guides who are experts in their field as well as top notch equipment to provide you with a secure and memorable experience. A well planned expedition will allow you the peace of mind of a reasonably solid itinerary. If going it alone you will still be in charge of what you do, but you will also know the when, how and where’s of your travel plan. If you want to do a working project based expedition, we can ensure that you are properly placed to receive the best experience possible.

Taking a gap year could well be the stepping stone to a new way of life. This is the time when you venture out and take on new challenges, and experience personal and possibly professional growth. It is important that as you begin to plan and write down your gap year travel ideas, you consider what you want from your travel experience. If you want to experience new worlds, new people and meet personal challenges then I think we may just have something for you!

If, after asking yourself this question, you suddenly find that you aren’t so sure you want to move from one battleground to another without some kind of breather in between, don’t fear, you’re not alone. There are plenty of young and vibrant folks just like you who have taken the opportunity to explore the world while they still had the chance. They realized that once they had a career, a home, children, bills, and all the rest, that with all these responsibilities, they wouldn’t be able to just up and break away from the daily grind into which they had ground themselves.

Finding any kind of extended period of free time in which you can do anything for yourself once you have begun a career is rare. Sure, there will be the holidays, the week long vacations, maybe even two weeks after you’ve put in five or ten years and got in good with the boss, but you will still have the halo of work related responsibilities hanging over your head. Those duties will be nagging at you, ever present in the back of your mind and you know that they will be waiting for you when you return.

So right now is the perfect time to break away and do something just for you. You have nothing to contain you, nothing to hold you back, nothing to gnaw at your conscience screaming, “The work is piling up on your desk. Your office inbox is about to explode!” And the best part about taking a gap year before you begin a career is the lack of a job gap. It isn’t as if you took a job and then stopped to go adventuring for a year or two. By getting your traveling in before starting a career, not only do you get it out of your system so you can focus more fully on making yourself a success in the workplace when you return, but taking a gap year and traveling before work is a common theme among young people, one that is highly accepted, sometimes even appreciated when applying for jobs.

So go for it on your gap year, have fun, travel, go on adventures, and have as many unique experiences as possible while you still can. Do it while you have the strength, energy, and time. You’ll be surprised how little opportunity there is for travel and adventure on your own terms once you have started your career.