any tips for travelling and kiting?

Just a school bag of clothes? I feel sorry for the bloke next to you on your long flights

Only 2 things you absolutely need to travel:

1. Your passport

2. A credit card - you can always buy clothes wherever you go. Get a couple of sets for next to nothing, wear them to death and buy some more a few weeks down the track.

Good luck! - it's hard enough work to backpack (rewarding though) without dealing with kite gear. My thoughts would be to choose a couple of locations where you would be happy to spend, say, a month at and just dedicate those months to kiting. Then arrange for your gear to be sent back to friends or family in Aus and then shipped on to you when you get nearer your next kiting destination. Some countries offer a "Poste Restant" service where you can have mail and parcels sent to a post office and you collect the mail from them when you arrive.

With respect to hiring equipment. I haven't seen any places that do, although maybe the really busy places like Tarifa in Spain or the Canary Islands might be good for hiring.

Depending on what time of year you start maybe an option is to do something like this: leave Melb, fly to Mauritius with your gear - spend 4-6 weeks there kiting it up then send your gear home. Mauritius is a good hub for Madagascar and Africa. You can also fly on to Europe from there.

Lots of planning for a year of travel!

if your kiting the uk in the summer or winter in europe youll need more than board shorts,spoke with a mate he kited the north sea in a rashie 5 3 wet suit with an 8 6 over the top booties gloves and hood hes a tough c**t and lasted 30 mins,if your travelling around europe use easy jet or ryan air simple and really cheap, we used to nip from liverpool uk to amsterdam,barcelona for about 30 quid plus taxes if you book early,if you need any info let me know

i know that checking in can be a pain sometimes but as Stamp said you will miss out on some of the best locations if you are relying on hiring.

If it was me going I'd be taking a couple of kites and a board, that way when you hear about a great spot you know you can go there. You probably will only get one chance to do this in a lifetime - dont regret not having your gear with you

With some careful packing you can fit your kites, harness and clothes into a single bag

Enjoy, sounds like a great trip

I hired a kite and board when in the Greek Islands, good kites and boards and it wasn't too expensive. I had to have a IKO card before they even thought about hiring. If you want to hire decide where you want to kite before you go, then search the net and contact a few places to see whats really required. If you rock up to a place that looks great and plenty of people are having a fun time kiting, it will really suck if the hire place wont even think about letting you have a go just because you haven't got the right card.

Only reason I went to the dark side from windsurfing was it is so easy to travel with.
Last trip up north took two boards, two kites, & harness, in one "coffin" surfboard bag, and never got stung for excess baggage. Little backpack for clothes for my carry-on, all set. I think travelling overseas would be a shame not to be able to go were ever you want with your own gear.

It's a pain to lug gear for a year, done that before and I wouldn't bother again. Better off spending (max ~$100 US per day) for a couple of days here and there, when you're in a great place and wind is cranking.

Otherwise try meeting locals via forums, asking if you can go along, asking people on kitebeach if they'd private hire gear to you (for a carton, say). Try couchsurfing with kiters, etc.

Re bag: This is the best bag ever for your type of trip. Small. Light. Tough. Wheels and also backpack straps that hide away. No straps hanging off all over to catch on conveyors like a ghey backpacker backpack. Zip off daypack, just the right (minimum) size. Carry on in 2 bits - main and daypack. Main goes in overhead, daypack under seat. Mine has been around the world many times, still going strong. Has been dragged up dirt roads in jungles, thrown on top of jeeps, etc.

www.luggagedirect.com.au/suitcases.html