Meet other travellers : Katy and family – around the world in 10 months!

Meet other travellers : Katy and family – around the world in 10 months!

When we anounced we were leaving, many times, people would tell us “this is my dream but I can’t…”; “Great for you but I can’t because I have 3 children/a dog/a house…”; “I would love to do this but I can’t afford this”

In this series “Meet other travellers” we have interviewed other travellers that we have met during our trip. The purpose of this is to show you that if you set your mind to something and fix clear objectives, it IS possible!

All these families have different compositions, ages, ways of travelling, etc BUT they all have one thing in common: they did everything to turn their dream a reality!

Tell me about yourselves

We are Katy and James from the UK, who are travelling with our two children: a girl aged 9 and boy aged 7. James is an archaeologist and I run an environmental education centre in Engand so we’re very into history and wildlife. The children have grown up being dragged around churches and so have a high patience level (though unfortunately also a high volume).

We are documenting our trip on instagram as @kate_4564

Looking for Elephants at Mole National Park, Ghana

How are you travelling? How long? Where?

We are taking 10 months to travel in Europe, Africa and the Americas.

We loaded up our Toyota Verso with a tent and some boxes for 12 weeks camping in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania. Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and France before leaving it in the UK to fly to Ghana for a fortnight. From Ghana we head to Uganda to rent a 4×4 with rooftop tents for a month. In 2023 we are going to disneyworld, Belize, Costa Rica, Peru and to some U.S. national parks in the four corners area. We hope to do the last bit renting a camper but prices just seem crazy.

What made you take that decision?

James and I were never interested in taking a gap year or anything like that when we were younger, yet we loved travel. When kids came along that didn’t change, taking them to Cambodia, Vietnam, amongst other places. My son technically first visited Africa when he was just 6 weeks old.

As the kids got older we realised that so few of the best times of year to visit places we wanted to go actually lined up with school holidays. We also realised that most of our travel budget goes on the flights, so it would make sense to get more done whilst we are in a particular part of the world.

We thought it would be easiest once the kids were old enough to enjoy reading independently but before they apply for secondary school and so we planned to go when they were in years 2 & 4. Covid prevented that but this year we were able to go for it. We made a list of places we wanted to see and the months that are best to see them and a plan was formed.

What is your worst memory?

The bill from a car crash we were involved in, in Hungary.

What is your best memory?

A cuddly Olm from postoinja caves in Slovenia. Though we did get some lovely little bits from Tumi women’s empowerment ( https://www.tumighana.org/ ) in Ghana.

Toy Olm at Postojna Caves, Slovenia

What are your travel essentials?

The app “Libby.” This is an online version of our library card. I think most public libraries in the UK use it. Want some fiction for bed time – they’ve got it. Want a travel guide for where you’re going – they’ve got it. Want a book to help with school, the latest copy of a magazine/newspaper or an audio book for a long journey? You can borrow anything and download it to read offline for 3 weeks.

What do you miss from home?

The kids like their cereal for breakfast, which is a very british thing. Finding reasonably priced cereal that isnt just chocolate is a challenge. So they miss granola. Multipacks of crisps are another thing other countries don’t seem to do and I miss them. We treated ourselves to a multipack of flavoured hula hoops as soon as we got back to the UK to apply for our Ghanaian visa.

What was your biggest difficulty?

Our children do not have a volume switch, so it is quite stressful constantly telling them not to be so loud. My other problem is packing light. I think I’m doing really well and then something happens and I just suddenly have so much stuff.

Kintampo Falls, Ghana

How do you manage financially?

When we sold our first house we knew we wanted to do this one day so we put some money aside in a fixed term account and then we just saved. I was going to work a little on the road (national assessor for zookeepers) but decided it was just not worth the hassle. I am however heading home for a couple of weeks at Christmas as I am part of the management team of a large Christmas event, so I will cram in lots of shifts then. We are also renting out our house.

The falling value of the pound coupled with rising costs meant we had to change our plans from a year out to 10 months and we are pretty good at travelling frugally.

Any regrets?

None whatsoever. Though I wish we had spent a bit longer in Romania.

What is happiness for you?

Adventures, yummy food and good company.

What would you say to somebody who is scared to take the leap?

Well I would say to make a list of the things they were scared of, how it could be mitigated and what the consequences were likely to be. It’s a big investment to be unhappy. Only do it if you want to.

Something you would like to add? (Story, tip…)

Tip: Always pack snacks! It’s amazing how many stressful or grumpy situations can be solved by a seat in the shade and a tupperware full of something or other.