Elisabeth Easther: Help, I'm going on holiday!

Arriving in Quito, Ecuador, at 2am with an 11-year-old in tow - what could go wrong? Photo / 123RF

A school assignment on Ecuador becomes a lesson in do-it-yourself travel planning for Elisabeth Easther

I blame the teacher. I would've been perfectly happy to spend these school holidays sleeping in, going to the occasional movie and doing a few day trips to west coast beaches.

Perhaps even a jaunt as far as Hamilton. But then Mr Brown set my son that seemingly innocuous piece of homework:

Do a short investigation into any country you like in Asia or South America.

All Theo needed to do was draw a map of the place, an approximation of the flag and then write a page on things like language, rituals, imports and exports, sports, geography, wildlife, that sort of thing.

I've no idea why Theo chose Ecuador - but he did and over the course of that page he made the place sound so exciting, I just couldn't help myself and, in a fit of carpe diem, I decided we should go there.

And so we are.

Though I am terribly excited, I'm also equally daunted. As a travel writer, my travel arrangements are generally handled (or at least assisted) by other people. They often pay for everything and I don't have to do the thinking. I know: I've been spoiled.

This time, while booking the flights - quite the novelty - through Expedia (which was not cheap) the airline charged my credit card twice. As I cleared the matter up I spent a short time imagining I'd gotten it wrong, and the airfares were $4000 each, not in total.

Happily this was not the case but getting the money back took a fair amount of emailing and several phone calls. My credit card was stretched to its limits and I couldn't book anything else till it was sorted.

Then there's the business of arriving in a place at 2am - which is just fine when you're on your own, footloose and fancy free, but not so simple when you've got a potentially tired 11-year-old in tow.

And you're about to discover whether one or other of you is troubled by altitude sickness - in case you didn't know, Quito, the capital of Ecuador is wrapped around the side of a volcano and sits at about 3000m above sea level.

Marine iguana in the Galapagos Islands. Photo / Jim Eagles

So arrangements are made for collection and a middle-of-the-night hotel check in.
Thank heavens for the internet.

And then the guidebooks arrive from the library. I love reading about the Galapagos Islands and the Amazon but I also learn that there are diseases we need to avoid, specifically in the jungle where we'll be spending a few days. So off to the travel quack for some shots. Yellow Fever is essential; ditto the anti malarials and the special bug spray.

Theo was also shot for Hep A for good measure. Charming doctor, clearly she loves her job dealing with happy people going on holiday but that peace of mind set us back close to $400. I thought about buying the pricey anti malarials for Theo and getting the cheaper ones (the ones that can give you crazy dreams) for me. But the crazy-dream pills have to be taken a few weeks before arriving and a month after leaving the affected area and I knew I'd forget at least one pill over that period and then, apparently, you might as well not have taken any.

And while I am full of enthusiasm to be heading off on such a pie-in-the-sky sort of adventure ... I'm also feeling slightly whacked by all the planning - have I bitten off more than I can chew?

Guinea pigs on the spit in San Bartolome, Ecuador. Photo / Jim Eagles

But slowly, slowly, bit-by-bit, we're getting closer to our departure date and I'm trying really hard to keep my nerves in check.

Yes, a fair bit of money is being spent - more than the usual Hamilton-and-a-movie type of vacation, but it really will be the trip of a lifetime, if a little batty. So while I was out running this morning - packing in my head while wondering what guinea pig (cuy) will taste like - I realised I needed to stop freaking out and start counting down the days.

And next time Mr Brown sets his class a research topic, who knows where we'll end up?