Planning

When you're preparing a trip for a group it's important to have regular meetings with the participants. Divide the jobs at hand and put people in charge for certain aspects: a doctor or first aid specialist, an interpretor, a cook, a quartermaster, a mechanic for the vehicles, drivers, navigators, and on and on. Everyone should become familiar with the workings and use of equipment and supplies, such as radio's, first aid kit, firearms, signaling devices, winches and tackles and GPS systems.

Make plans for emergency procedures in case of transport trouble, illness or accidents. Remember to adjust the trip's route to accomodate for everyone. A trip that is too hard for too many people is a failure and can easily become dangerous for everyone. It's difficult-if-not-impossible to bring all the water, petrol and food supplies for an extended trip, so plan ahead where to position supply dumps or find out where supplies will be available. Create a time table (especially for foot treks) that is amply sufficient. A schedule that is too tight causes ternsion and exhaustion but also leads to hasty decisions, judgement errors and people taking too many and too big risks.

When all participants have agreed on the route to take, the time planning and other aspects, it's time to inform the home front, local police, rescue services and the embassies. Inform all these people on the route, details like departure and arrival times and places, phone numbers, addresses, medical details of the participants and any other information that might be vital in case of an emergency.


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Research

Knowledge is power. So, go out and do research on your destination. Talk to people who have been there before, or perhaps were even born there. Read travel logs or weblogs (check for instance the Dutch site Op Reis Naar...) and books. Ask your travel agent or airline company, too, for more information. The tourist office and the embassy of your destination country are often also very helpful. Study recent maps so you'll have a feeling for the size and shape and lay-out of the country before you visit it. Aquaint yourself with local taboos, norms and values. Ordering a hamburger in India, if they sell it anyway, is usually met with at least a few odd looks.

For true survival purposes also think about the weather and the climate(s) that you can expect, which medicinal plants grow where, which way the rivers flow, where you might encounter areas with sparse vegetation or water sources, and much more. The more detailed your knowledge, the better your chances for survival.


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