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Hi Gail, hope you?re well. Just responding to your request on the website regarding feedback.
When I was organising us for our trip I visited all the websites to get info and see what we needed to do and buy. I?d just like to comment on your What You Need list:
For your consideration ?
Clothing: velcro rubber sandals rather than thongs ? more secure and better for river crossings
We bought a small towel (hand towel size, microfibre from a camping store) for wiping the sweat from our faces (stole this idea from another site ? rather than a sweatband) and attached them to the front of our day packs. Wouldn?t have been without them and when you got to rivers could rinse it out and wipe yourself off ? we even put them over our heads wet one day when it was particularly hot.
Your quantities threw us a bit ? why only 2 shirts but 3 shorts ? why 5 socks and 4 undies? Rather than cotton shirts ? we took 2 quick dry shirts and 2 quick dry shorts for trekking, and additional pair of cotton shorts and tee shirt for the end of the day.
Equipment List: we took both Gatorade and oral electrolyte. We took too much of both ? do you need both? I reckon adding a sachet (or whatever the recommended daily dose is) of Gatorade (or similar product) to the food packs is a good idea. Ensures everyone has the stuff.
You have water bottle (or water bag/kidney) on your list. I don?t believe a water bottle is sufficient. We took water bags (another purchase worth every cent) plus a bottle. 3litre bags for the boys and 2litres for the girls. We then made up our Gatorade in our bottles. Sufficient water is essential.
On one occasion we shared our water with another trekker and his son as they had run out! An absolute no no in those conditions. We personally believe this was a contributing factor to his demise. Lugging 3.1/2L of water at the start of the day to make sure he?s hydrated and some of the others just had one standard sized water bottle ? simply not enough. (We chose to treat our water which is why we loaded up at the beginning of the day ? with 4 of us we didn?t want to risk any of us becoming ill).
Why candles and plastic garbage bags?
Suggested optional extras:
Another thing I bought (for only a couple of dollars ? another idea taken from elsewhere) was a packet of cheap cotton gloves from the supermarket. Cut the fingertips out and saves the blisters that come from using a bush walking stick. Our children are most grateful for this purchase and were never without them! I, however, found my bought stick invaluable and worth the money ? maybe this can be added as an optional extra.
So there you have it Gail. As you know we thought the trip was fabulous and ran very smoothly. So really we just have some feedback on the What You Need list. Please don?t see it as criticism ? just food for thought.
Anyway, hope this is of some benefit to you.
Regards
Name withheld for privacy reasons but thought you might like to read the tips.
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