13,000 Miles With 2 Kids: Inside One Family’s Adventure Around the World

Yahoo Parenting
The Kirkbys—mom Christine, dad Bruce, and sons Bodi and Taj—spent 96 days trekking through 12 time zones, sleeping in one tent, and having the time of their lives. Here they’re in India at a remote monastery. (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)
The Kirkbys—mom Christine, dad Bruce, and sons Bodi and Taj—spent 96 days trekking through 12 time zones, sleeping in one tent, and having the time of their lives. Here they’re in India at a remote monastery. (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)

For most families, going on an adventure means an overnight camping trip or an outing at a water park. But Bruce Kirkby, a travel writer and photographer, and wife Christine Pitkanen, a psychologist, are passionate travelers, and they take adventure to the extreme.

So along with their two sons, Bodi, 7, and Taj, 3, they set off on a three-month journey from their home in British Columbia halfway across the world to the Himalayas. The family moved through 12 time zones, braving freezing cold and tropical heat, and sleeping packed like sardines in one tent, all without ever stepping aboard an airplane.

STORY: The Best Way to Travel With Kids, According to Flight Attendants

Now, they’re sharing their love of exploration and travel with the entire world. Their new show, Big Crazy Family Adventure, premiered Sunday night on the Travel Channel. Over eight episodes and 13,000 miles, the cameras follow the Kirkbys as they canoe to the coast of Canada then set sail on a container ship to South Korea.

Taj, Christine, and Bodi show off the henna tattoos they got in a market in New Delhi, India. “The boys enjoyed that,” says Christine. “We thought it would be cool to get henna, but it only stays on for 30 minutes.” (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)
Taj, Christine, and Bodi show off the henna tattoos they got in a market in New Delhi, India. “The boys enjoyed that,” says Christine. “We thought it would be cool to get henna, but it only stays on for 30 minutes.” (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)

From there they take a series of trains, boats, and even rickshaws to the Great Wall of China, Nepal, and then a Buddhist monastery in a remote part of India.

On the Friendship Highway in Tibet, the family visited a monastery and sat with monks drinking sweet tea. “They were amazed to see our boys there,” says Bruce. “In so many cultures, the elders and the youth are seen as treasures of society. The boys sensed that.” (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)
On the Friendship Highway in Tibet, the family visited a monastery and sat with monks drinking sweet tea. “They were amazed to see our boys there,” says Bruce. “In so many cultures, the elders and the youth are seen as treasures of society. The boys sensed that.” (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)

Carrying nothing but clothes and disconnected from electronic devices, the boys made toys out of anything they found and learned to venture outside their comfort zones—which was especially beneficial for Bodi, who is on the autism spectrum.

“We traveled a ton before we had kids, and we didn’t want to stop,” Bruce tells Yahoo Parenting. “For most people, traveling with kids is something to be endured or avoided, but there’s something joyous about leaving home with your family.” Their favorite moments: watching pilgrims pay their respects at a temple in Tibet, and seeing the glaciers in the Himalayas.

On the last leg of the trip, the Kirkbys (l-r: Bruce, Christine, and Bodi) hiked to the Himalyas and rode horses there. “It gave Bodi confidence,” says Christine. (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)
On the last leg of the trip, the Kirkbys (l-r: Bruce, Christine, and Bodi) hiked to the Himalyas and rode horses there. “It gave Bodi confidence,” says Christine. (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)

That’s not to say they didn’t have some crises. After a month, the boys had a bout with homesickness, and it took time to acclimate to not having a toilet or hot shower. “You adapt,” Christine tells Yahoo Parenting. A boat they took across the Ganges River in India ended up having no air conditioning and was crowded with insects.

STORY: These Three Kids Are Going Blind, but First They Want to See the World

While driving to Kathmandu, Nepal, the Kirkbys stopped to get water and food at a roadside stand, and Taj shared a piece of apple with the kids of local shepherds. “They shared no language, but Taj can say hello in any place,” says Bruce. (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)
While driving to Kathmandu, Nepal, the Kirkbys stopped to get water and food at a roadside stand, and Taj shared a piece of apple with the kids of local shepherds. “They shared no language, but Taj can say hello in any place,” says Bruce. (Photo: Bruce Kirkby/Travel Channel)

But the family says they wouldn’t trade their adventure for anything, and that it helped them bond as a family. “We were together … 24/7,” says Christine. “The boys became best friends and developed so much confidence in themselves. That would not have happened if we didn’t take the trip.”

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