very good and interesting thread. Tembo I think you got a lot of information for your target market out of this.

If you can put confidence into a newbie, to manage the most difficult day of his journey ... the day leaving home ... then the amount of money that he spend on your course is well spend.

I have no idea what this three things are, but I know I dont need them.

mika

I wouldn't take it either, but that doesn't mean I don't think it could be beneficial to some, my gut reaction is that you may be looking to provide something specific to the overlander market which is already available generally...but..It could be tailored to suit, my opinion is that this kind of thing is for life not just travels in distant lands though so you will need to be clever in devising your curriculum to suit your target audience....and I think your prospective customers are well spread out so as markharf said, same time , same place and paying is going to be hard without being attached to some other event etc.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. Especially around the first aid ideas. I actually run remote first aid training as part of the NGO courses I run now. Mostly because the standard FA courses you get are aimed at keeping people alive until the ambulance arrives..which isn't going to happen in many parts of the world. All those tips for life saving with what you can carry or scavenge in remote areas.

I doubt I would run more than one or two courses a year if I do organize something. Not enough of a market and I already have a great day job. Agreed, it would take lots of lead time and promoting to get a group together and would make sense to link it to another gathering.

Ideally, what I would hope for is to get some of the experienced travellers here to share their tips with the next generation just planning their first big trip. There are threads here that would help but much better, and confidence building, to have a forum to discuss and ask questions.

Thanks again...

Tembo,

Depending on what your course would include, I think a comprehensive course would be valuable to everyone on this forum, whether they believe it or not.

There are obviously different kinds of obstacles and crimes which one could be exposed to on an adventure, some being petty theft, others resulting in death. I do not believe that having a happy smile and being friendly to the locals will benefit you in all situations. If one was a seasoned rider with 100 countries behind one, a tour guide with 50 years experience, someone riding a cheap bike, wearing scruffy clothes, tips or doesn't tip, it is impossible to see the real character and intention behind the smiles that you come across.

I'm speaking from experience. I was a hostage released from AQIM last year and it is incredible how quickly a beautiful adventure-filled day can turn into a nightmare with absolutely no warning signs.
What I speak of is obviously on one of the extremes of what can happen to one, but it does happen. Having lived it I can say that there are many things that I would liked to have been equipped with prior to being taken. Many things which we possibly see as not being important at the time and therefore overlook, things which have not even entered our minds, or other things which only happen to other people and are too outlandish to consider.

I too watched the Long-way Down and Round and thought that their hostage skit was ridiculous, laughable. In hindsight it probably was a bit ridiculous, but there are certainly things that one can take from it.

I think a course discussing how to prepare for a trip from a disaster point of view would be extremely beneficial. A discussion on what preventative measures one can take (besides a friendly smile) prior to heading off would be paramount. What to do the moment a problem arrives (ie: Long-way down skit etc....), Medical advice, Environmental survival advice, in my situation even weapon advice would have beneficial. Being able to understand the limitations of the human body from a hydration, hunger and physical exertion point of view. How far is 1 degree latitude and longitude in your particular place. There are even plenty of post event considerations that one should consider prior to heading off.

These are just a few examples of the things which would have benefited me. There are uncountable more which us travelers would actually enjoy to know because we enjoy the adventure.

Preparing for the trip from a mechanical point of view is one thing which one can take less seriously. In most places one can pop into a shop to fix a problem or else take a day or a week or just fly home. Not preparing from a disaster point of view is in fact incredibly selfish as this does not only affect you, it affects your family; wife; kids; friends and government.

Anyway, this is just what I've experienced.

^^^
Glad all is ok, and thx for sharing

Wayne

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A bit late following up here, I was in Jordan working. Some more great feedback and am glad to hear you survived your AQIM experience Trichelia! I would love to hear that story and any lessons learned you might have.

I have actually found myself already providing security advice to two groups planning trans-African trips lately. Just basis safety tips and route advice.

I think I will see if I can organize a pilot training. See how it goes. As everyone says, not aimed at the experienced traveller but more at the newby. But also not focusing on fear...more to show that trips are possible as long as you manage the risks well. Plus some remote area first aid practice.

Cheers

Me three!!! around the world and the ONLY place i had any trouble was in the UK!

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You did see that this thread had his age? But thanks for digging!

It would be very very interesting to read more about Trichelia`s experience!

Guess we know what would be helpful before our trip! Medical basics, survival hints (limited water at sample), krav maga fight training, basic mechanic education, wheeling update, beeing healthy and strong (more training) and so on.

Most of us did leave without, also when we know that some education never would hurt....

Most of us are completely busy with choosing the right vehicle, choosing the right gear and prepare the route (what to see, which way, safety on these roads, visa, vaccination, paperwork) and saving funds - all at the same time.

Most of us are not vanlifers who just choose to live an alernate living style (no normal work, living in a van) - as overlanders who are preparing an worldtrip we had to think about so many different things..

Also our preparation for "bad happenings" (documents & finance) arent that final we might think. Watch at my thoughs about: https://www.4x4tripping.com/2020/06/...e-fur-die.html the user comments did easily show the weak spots ;-)

If we really try to start prepared - we never will leave...

You can find many travel blogs, where these worldtrippers not even did a 2 week "how does it fit" tour - but did think so deeply through their setup, that it did work at the end...

Surfy

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About Overlanding, Travelogues, Equipment
Trans-Africa over the west coast

As I wrote in December 2017, for me such training as suggested by the OP, is of no use. However, judging by the plethora of people asking random (pointless?) questions on bike and travel related social media groups I occasionally browse, there could now well be a niche for training the worried/ worrying types.

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CURRENT RR WITH REGULAR UPDATES: The Wife Takes on Chlamydia: A South American Retrospective

I agree with Markharf - you need to establish links with established focal points; one more possible link is with the people who run desert driving training. Much of what I learned about security in this context (as opposed to simply picking up through exposure) was through a company running a mix of desert driving, remote first aid, and security. If you can link with one or more of these it would open some options.