If you are planning to spend some time trekking and camping out in the wilderness, there will be some additional camping gear that you will need to take along with you. If your time away is going to be an extended hike through the great outdoors for several days and you plan on sleeping outdoors, there may be other additional items that you may want to consider adding to your backpack. Instead of rushing out and buying your camping gear at the last minute, plan your camping trip ahead and only purchase the camping gear that you will need. This will give you time to shop around for the best quality at the best price.

The amount of camping gear that you will need to take will depend on several factors

1. The length of time you will be away. If it is a short time such as a few days or over night then you will only need a small amount of food and clothing. Cooking can be kept to a minimum. For longer periods away you will have to take more food and better cooking equipment.

2. The time of year is an important consideration. If it is in the summer months then light clothing is all that is required. If it is in the cooler months then you will require heavier, warmer clothing and better rain wear. Remember to always take good quality rainwear regardless of the weather forecast.

3. Are you camping out in the wilderness or are you staying in hikers cabins. This will determine whether you need to carry a suitable tent. Always remember to share your camping gear between your hiking partners to balance the load.

The most important piece of camping gear that you will need is your backpack. This needs to be large enough to carry everything that you will need for your time away. Do not buy the cheapest backpack but look for the best one that will sit on your back comfortably. Make sure that it is light enough. Most camping store owners will show you how to adjust the backpack to balance the weight correctly. Another tip is to always use a waterproof pack liner. I have yet to find a pack that will not leak from consistent rain.

Take plenty of Food and Water

Never make the mistake of loading all of your food for your trek straight out of your pantry into your backpack, such as tinned items or food in a jar. The best food to take is dehydrated meals. Although these meals may not look too appetizing, they will sustain you and they can be a fraction of the weight. Also make sure you take plenty of water. This is important because you need to stay hydrated during your walk and when you camp there may not be any good quality drinking water.

Never take away large quantities of basic items such as sugar or salt. If you work out what quantity you need for each meal and then double it you will be surprised how little you need. Make sure that all of your camping gear is in water proof containers or plastic bags.

The most important thing is not to pack any unnecessary or heavy items of camping gear that you probably will not use, especially on a short trek away. For those weekend stays away in the wilderness, if you do find something that you left at home, then it doesn’t matter. It is only for a day or two and you can not take everything.

This article was written by Bob Taylor. Visit his site and learn more about preparing for camping excursions at http://www.campinggos.com

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Overseas travel can be fun and exciting, but it can also mean a heightened possibility of falling ill. No matter how much planning is done, unexpected situations might crop up during travel. Without visitor insurance, managing the illnesses and unforeseen events can cause a huge deficit in the travel budget.

Visitors insurance maintains most characteristics of a short-term insurance plan. Plan periods can be anywhere from five days to a year, with a possibility of extension at the end of the plan period. The terms and conditions of visitors insurance are similar to other short-term plans.

Along with medical benefits, plan holders can also purchase coverage for trip cancellation. Typically, purchasing visitors insurance is easy and can be done by anyone. It is important that visitors consider various factors before choosing an appropriate visitor insurance plan.

Visitors’ health insurance typically covers costs related to hospitalization and outpatient care, prescriptions (excluding regular medicines for pre-existing conditions), emergency medical evacuation, accidental death and dismemberment, and the sending of the mortal remains home in the case of death of the plan holder.

When buying visitors’ insurance, check if your policy features trip insurance. This covers common unforeseen non-medical issues during travel—for example, flight cancellation and delays, lost baggage, and lost items during travel. If the plan holder wishes, he/she can purchase additional hazardous sports coverage for activities like skiing and bungee jumping. Whatever be the plan, it is a good idea to find out all about the benefits a plan offers.

Your visitors’ insurance policy is designed as a short-term plan, and will exclude several conditions. Pre-existing conditions and the prescription drugs required for their management are also usually excluded, although some plans may offer limited benefits for the sudden onset of specific conditions. However, some plans offer limited coverage for the onset of specified previously existing conditions.

In the United States, reputed visitors’ insurance plans usually feature a large number of healthcare professionals within their network. This means that the plan holder can avail of cashless settlement, as the hospital directly bills the insurance company. Usually, you don’t have to get a medical exam before buying visitors insurance.

Visitors insurance is designed for visitors to the United States, as well as for visitors to other countries. The plans are underwritten by reputed companies such as Lloyds, AIG, and Nationwide. Purchasing visitor insurance enables the visitor and the host to enjoy a worry-free trip.

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Unbelievable snowboard accident!

Now is the season when many people head for the snowy slopes for some winter sports fun. While skiing and snowboarding are growing in popularity many people are unaware of the very real dangers that these sports present.

The rates of accidents for skiers and snowboarders are about the same. Many have said that reckless behaviour is the main cause of many collision related accidents. And reckless behaviour on the slopes is something that both skiers and snowboarders are guilty of. Both skiers and snowboarders can be equally reckless, putting others at risk.

One of the most common injuries that results from collisions is damage to the knee. But every season there are numerous incidents some of which are very serious indeed resulting in brain damage, paralysis and even death.

Here is a brief look at some of the most common forms of accidents on the slopes.

Collisions.

There is a skier responsibility code that snowboarders and skiers should be aware of as this indicates that people further down the slope always have right of way. Avoiding them is your responsibility. There are always people on the slopes who are oblivious to the code of skier responsibility or how to avoid collisions.

Collisions can result in minor injuries but, unfortunately, are often very serious with head to head contact resulting in broken noses, teeth knocked out and even fractured skulls. The most common injury on the slopes as a result of collisions is damage to the legs.

And remember that collisions are not only between people. Snowboarders and skiers often run into stationary objects like trees, buildings and maintenance vehicles. Running into a stationary object when skiing or snowboarding can result in very serious injuries.

Falling.

Falling over is all part of what skiing and snowboarding are about. Falling over is another way that many skiers damage their knees.

Avalanches.

Luckily very few recreational skiers ever encounter an avalanche. As long as you stay within the designated skiing areas you should be safe.

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If you are headed for some winters sports fun this season make certain that you have some good ski insurance or adventure travel insurance that will cover you in the event that you suffer injury on the slopes. Travel insurance should be at the top of your travel essentials list wherever you are going.

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And so the holidays are here again. Several different holiday research companies have announced that vacation bookings have already risen since last year by 1.6%. This booking amount, although a minor number is a positive amount, and shows that we could begin to pull out of the recession.

A retail firm in New York has released information that they predict an increase in holiday sales next year to be even more. Shopper Trak is a Retail research company that has estimated rises in holiday bookings in the next holiday season. Bookings for Christmas have been quite high, and very prosperous, but booking for holidays next year have also been high. Bookings for some holidays this year have been very low, so Tour operators are hopeful there will be an increase. Tropical holidays and holidays to North America have been on the rise, more specifically the Caribbean has seen a rise.

Consumers and customers, are more willing to go on holidays abroad than ever before, and fewer are holidaying at home. What is good to know is that we must be getting money to go on more holidays, so this money in flux could be pulling us out of the recession.

The most popular holidays are; Egypt holidays, America holidays, and strangely Cuba holidays. There are many bookings each year for holidays, and these three get a mass amount of enquiries. In England more than 160,000 people a month (Albeit some the same each month) enquire only about Egypt holidays.

When looking at some of the holidays being booked it becomes clear that Caribbean holidays, Indian Ocean holidays and Africa holidays are going to be among the most popular in the future. These holidays may seem like strange ones to be so popular, but they do receive a lot of enquiries. Other Tour Operators have speculated that the Dominican Republic will be the place to holiday, probably due to the refurbishment of the islands image that the Government is attempting to clean up.There will probably be mass bookings across the entire planet, lets hope that this continues.

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I was delighted to have the opportunity to join my couses at their holiday flat in Nice. After meeting my cousins at Grenoble (Lyon) the plan was to head down to Nice by car.

I was welcomed by my cousins and their dog Tuppy as my flight from Stansted arrived without any problems. On the way to Nice, we stopped at Orange to view the ancient Roman Theatre and the size of the semi-circular theatre backing on to the hillside is impressive. An awesome sigh was colossal statue of the Emperor Auguste which was housed in a niche in the stage wall.

Our destination was Avignon; the sun shone on the old golden sandy coloured buildings. We opted to take the train tour through the vasted gardens of the Palace of the Popes. The alleyways were extremely narrow and cars were often parked haphazardly! 22 arches of this famous bridge used to span the two arms of the Rhone but today all that remains are the four arches with a small chapel on the second pier. Tuppy was more interested in a paddle in the river than the amazing Roman aqueduct with its triple tiers that we saw at Pont du Gard.

As we continued to Marseille, we again found lovely old golden buildings along the coast road and the harbour. The old fort and the church on the hilltop reminded me of Malta. Heavy rain marred the latter part of the journey to Nice and again the following morning. We visit the Russian Cathedral of St Nicholas in the afternoon which is the largest Russian church outside Russia. The nearby chapel is built on the site of the Villa Bermond where the Crown Prince Ncholas Alexandrovich died in 1865. I had not realised that the Cote d’Azur had been visited by the Romanovs since 1856. Queen Victoria used to stay at the palatial hilltop hotel where we stopped for lunch !! Today, the building has been converted to flats and a statue of Queen Victoria and several angels can be found at the bottom of the hill. Blue Skies and sunshine tempted us out to visit the Roman Monument, La Turbie, in memory of the Emperor Augustus. The people of the Alps were finally subjugated between 25BC and 14BC. This paved the way for the Roman advance up the Rhone Valley and along the Rhine and ultimately to England.

We moved on to Monaco; wonderful views along the Corniche roads. I would NOT drive along any of them; such horrendous sharp bends! It was a Yachting Week and two very large cruise ships were in the vicinity. Traffic was horrendous but eventually we found an underground car park. We visit the Cathedral where Grace Kelly is buried and Prince Rainier lies alongside her grave; her grave is covered with masses of flowers. Jacques Cousteau was Director at the Oceanographic Museum for many years which were saw along with the Casino.

Our expedition up the hill to visit the Matisses Chapel was in vain as it was closed. We moved on to Vence, a lovely old city with narrow paved passageways, cafes and craft shops. In the town centre there is a very large statue of a wounded dove, i.e. Wounded Peace. This bishopric is the smallest in France and there have been bishops here since 374AD.

On my last day, we headed for the Market. New streamlined trams run through the streets and stretches of grass between the tracks give a countrified air to his part of the city. One could broswe the large market for hours on end with stalls offering vast quantities of fruit and veg, pottery and herb mills, African animals and table linen. I returned from Nice with many happy memories of my first trip to the area.

You can book trip trip to Nice online with Explorer Travel on their website (http://www.explorerdirect.co.uk)

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