of the trip is essential, taking into account all the worst case scenarios and the actions that will be taken should the worst actually happen.
• Critical to this ‘risk assessment’ is an evacuation plan, listing how you would get someone to a suitably equipped, first-class hospital at any point on the expedition and how long it would take. If in the territory of dangerous snakes, for example, you will generally need to ensure that you are no more than four hours from a hospital with anti-venom.
• Local expert guides are indispensable.
• Fully charged satellite phones should be carried by key members of the expedition at all times, along with GPS satellite handsets to pinpoint location. Don’t forget spare batteries.
• A number of two way VHF radios (walkie talkies) may greatly help communication between key expedition members.
• If going to very remote areas consider taking an EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon), which will transmit your position to the rescue services in case of dire emergency.
• Employ the buddy system, in which expedition members are paired up for the duration of the trip. The aim is that each looks out for the other at all times: they should always know where their ‘buddy’ is to ensure they don’t get lost. The pair should regularly inspect each other to check for frostbite, leeches, rashes and so on.
• Each member of the expedition should carry their emergency kit at all times (see Essential Kit).
• A medic should ideally accompany the expedition with full emergency medical kit to stabilise casualties. If this is not possible, ensure at least one member of the party is trained in first aid, and bring a medical kit appropriate to the region as advised by a good travel clinic.
• Take out full medical and evacuation insurance to cover local hospital treatment and repatriation.
• Check out travel advice for the country you are travelling to on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at www.fco.gov.uk
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Fill in this checklist (where relevant) before you go, to make sure you have all the necessary numbers in case of an emergency.
Nearest embassy or consulate
Local helicopter/plane evacuation
Insurance company for evacuation/medical emergency
Local hospital
Emergency mobile
Telemedicine service
Expedition Satellite Phones
Local charity partner
UK emergency contacts
EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon)
Safety training exercises during the Serious Amazon expedition
IN AN EMERGENCY
Before going on a trip, make your own emergency card reminding you of what to do should anything go wrong. The Serious Expedition team emergency card read as follows:
Lost or Separated?
Don’t Panic
Conserve/Ration Water & Food
S.O.S. Signal (noise or light):
3 short + 3 long + 3 short
OR 6 blasts/bangs/light per minute
(Reply – 3 blasts)
DO NOT MOVE LOCATION
We will find you
STAY COOL
STAY POSITIVE
HOW DO YOU avoid jet-lag travelling across the world?
Jet-lag is caused by travelling across time zones, which messes up your internal body clock, disrupts sleep patterns and leaves you exhausted. It can’t be avoided and its effects are exacerbated by arrival in a hot, humid environment, so it’s wise to do all you can to minimise the effects.
At the start of the journey it often helps to set your watch to the local time at your destination and eat and sleep accordingly. Even if you can’t actually sleep on a plane, cat naps will pay dividends.
Don’t go charging off on expedition the moment you arrive. If possible allow several very light days on arrival to recover from jet-lag and to acclimatise.
TRAVEL TIPS
• Long plane journeys leave you dehydrated. Drink lots of water, avoid alcohol, and get up regularly and walk around the cabin.
• The journey from the airport is potentially one of the most dangerous things you’ll do all trip. Invest in reliable, safe transport from the airport with a reputable company (colourful local forms of transport such as three-wheeler motorbike taxis can be death-traps).
• As soon as you arrive in a tropical country drink only purified water. That means avoiding drinking or brushing your teeth in tapwater, and being meticulous about not eating anything that may have been washed in tapwater, for example delicious-looking salads. Particularly tempting in a hot environment is to have ice cubes in your drinks, but sadly you should refuse unless you know for sure that the ice has been made from filtered water.
• Always clean your hands before eating, using alcohol gel rather than the local water.
• Don’t eat any food, especially meat, unless you are sure it has just been cooked. Give the mouthwatering platter of cold meats a miss – how long has it been sitting there?
• Don’t automatically trust the global hotel chains. Their hygiene standards may be woefully short of their counterparts in more developed countries. Many is the time folk have successfully completed the most extreme trip, only to get food poisoning at the last minute after celebrating with a blowout at a ‘luxury’ hotel before their flight out.
• Do your research into local customs. For example, will taking photos of local people offend them? Learning a few basic words such as ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ in the local language will go a long way.
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