Terra Incognita

Being totally self-sufficient means we need to carry all the material we may need during our trip. Unless we face an emergency situation, we are not going to purchase or receive delivery of anything during the trip. Only water and food will be sourced locally.

Our equipment is composed of clothes, camping equipment, orientation and safety material.

Also we will carry our video and photo equipment. This first part of the load weights approximately 35kg.

Our clothing, as per all our equipment has been selected according to its weight and technical performance, we only carry a full set of change as well as a thermal and rain protection. To camp, we chose a lightweight tent made of mosquito net, reinforced at its floor and roof to withstand the UV, elements and insects aggressions. Our only compromise on weight is 2 inflatable sleeping mattresses to take a better rest, because 9 months “on hard floor” would be an unnecessary and unproductive challenge.

Our cooking gear is composed of a multi fuel stove because we are not very likely to purchase gas cartridges in the Outback. The remaining elements are titanium saucepan and bowls, much lighter than their stainless steel counterparts. Our food should always be secured from animals in metallic sealed containers. A water filter with a 0.2 micron capacity will ensure we drink safe water, wherever it is coming from. (But it is advisable to infuse tea to mask strange tastes or colours…)

For orientation, a few maps to be updated according to our encounters with locals, a GPS and a compass will be embarked.

For security, a first aid and pharmacy kit as well as a satellite phone and IPIRB emergency beacon will complete our equipment.

For photo and video, we travel with 2 High Definition camcorders, including a telephoto lens, a tripod, external microphones and other accessories to ensure a qualitative realisation.

All this electrical equipment will be powered by flexible solar panels.

But this is nothing compared with the food and water we need to embark for some parts of our journey where we will not meet a soul or a waterhole for up to 14 days. This part could weights up to approximately 150Kg.

How are we going to carry so much weight? Even with a serious training, this is obviously not possible. We are going to carry all the necessary material along the way in 2 specially designed wheeled trolleys. These pull-along trolleys are fixed to a harness that allows transferring only a small percentage of the pack weight to the walker’s back.

These trolleys will allow us a large autonomy, particularly to carry large amounts of water during the crossing of the deserts.