This Family Goes On An Epic 10-Month Journey Across Africa and South America!

Traveling is always a valuable experience, even more so when we travel with our significant other. However, for some couples, having kids deters them from exploring the world. Though it might be generally inconvenient to travel with children and infants, and that leaving kids behind when going outdoors is considered a responsible choice, this adventurous family believes otherwise.

Meet the Six en Piste.

Thomas, 35, and Marie, 34, have decided to bring their kids, namely: Louison, 7; Leontine, 5; Oscar, 3; and, Achille, 1, on a 10-month journey across Africa and South America. The adventurous couple brought their kids along with them to make other families see that it is possible for them to step outside the comforts of their home and explore the beauty of the world.

“We would like to show other families it’s something they can do. We’re about to live one of our dreams, and we would love to share that experience with others,”  they said. The parents, both travelers at heart, fell in love with the beauty of South Africa when they settled in Cape Town and became drawn to towards four-wheel drive touring, which is a new form of travel.

Initially, the couple took short trips, which soon evolved to longer treks around South Africa, including Lesotho and Swaziland. Not long after, they decided that they needed to quench their thirst for travel, so Thomas decided to take an unpaid leave and that was when they worked out the plan.

Traversing the wild coast of South Africa with their trusty Fortuner.

Encounter with a niala in their, uhm, backyard.

Traveling across Richtersveld, a mountanious desert landscape located in Northern Cape province.

Enjoying Richtersveld.

Meeting the warriors of Swaziland

Thomas and Marie got hold of a Toyota Fortuner and a Metallian Midi trailer, which holds most of their stuff during their travel. And after several test trips, the family is all set to go.

The family’s itinerary can be summed up as follows:

1. Head north to Namibia, where they plan to spend time in Damaraland and Kaokoland and search for wild elephants
2. Botswana, the Okavango Delta, Chobe nature reserve, the salt pans, and then stop by Victoria Falls
3. Zambia and Tanzania, then head south to Mozambique
4. Arrive in Durban, South Africa in July and have their car shipped to Uruguay
5. Upon arrival in South America, travel to Argentina, Chili, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru (and Colombia and, well, the Equator).

“Our itinerary isn’t completely settled yet as it will depend on safety issues, weather… and what we like and don’t like! The whole idea of this trip is to be free (as free as you can be with 4 kids), and only one thing is certain: we want to travel through remote areas, on less travelled tracks!”

Marie will be homeschooling the kids throughout the trip. And boy, what an awesome way to learn, for the kids will be seeing and experiencing geography, history, and nature firsthand!

The family, enjoying the campfire.

Thomas also serves as the mechanic.

Exploring the Namibia sand dunes.

Splashing around Namaqualand.

Another encounter with a niala.

“We know it’s going to be tough sometimes. No modern comfort, camping with 4 kids no matter the weather, the cold… but, we’ll have the best experience of our life!”

Watch the video of their trip:

Seeing this family, we have come to believe that exposing children to nature and the rough outdoors early in life will teach the kids valuable lessons that they’ll never learn inside the classroom.

Follow the family’s trip on their website, and Facebook and Vimeo accounts.