I love ambiguity. This heading can be a short statement introducing my travel plans or a short version of “what the hell am I doing going to South America for a year on a motorbike”. Either way it’s time to start blog number one about my new adventure.

As many of you know it’s always been my plan to live at least one year on every continent. South America is the last continent on my list. Sitting neatly between North America and Antarctica. South America is the fourth largest continent with little Australia coming in last.

I’ve been planning this trip for many years. The basic premise, or short version of the heading is that I fly to South America. Buy a new motorbike. And circumnavigate the whole continent in an anti-clockwise direction. Much to the dismay of my daughters who think I should go clockwise (otherwise they’re not worried).

The longer version of the heading came about a few days ago when I had a sudden wave of nausea about the fact that I’m leaving very soon. It’s no longer a throw away line about travelling around South America on a bike. It’s here! I leave on Sunday.

The longer lead time has meant I have a lot of things sorted early. And there was a lot of things! Spending time in Antarctica was perfect for planning as well as being a great place to save for the trip. Also for learning another language. Not a necessity but a nicety. Picking a start date is a lot harder than you think. I ended going with May the 19th which is 3 days after my birth mums 90th birthday and also exactly 40 years after I set off on my first overseas trip. That was to spend a year hitch-hiking from South Africa to Egypt.

Unlike the astounding naivety of a 24 year old country boy, heading off with a second-hand backpack and a Lonely Planet guide book I would like to think I’m now well travelled and suitably prepared. But. Its a different world and different rules and I’m probably more scared now than I was way back then.

I’m hoping this blog can serve an informative journal for me to look back on but also as an opportunity for those of you who would love to do what I’m doing but for a myriad of reasons are unable to do so.

There’s so much I want to write about getting ready for a trip like this but I think it’s better just to get this first blog out and get myself in to a routine of adding to it each week. Next week I’ll try and add photos.

So far so good.