10 weeks to go!

So….I went to the briefing day for the trip on Saturday. It was so weird going into London at a weekend. Everyone was chatting and talking on the train – normally there is complete silence on the 7.10am during the week. And then there was the engineering works on the underground –so it was impossible to get anywhere directly or quickly – so I walked to the venue! I just couldn’t get over the number of tourists and tour parties – the week day commute was a piece of cake in comparison!

However, the aim of the day was to find out more about the trip and meet some of the others going on the project. There was lots of other briefings going on that afternoon, but the fact that ours was the best attended (14 out of 18 of us turned up) bodes well for a good trip. There was a really nice vibe about the group and our exped leader was there to give us the briefing personally. We were told more about the project, although as a group we will need to assess exactly the scope and what we want to achieve when we get to the project site. This will be very much dependant upon the skills of the group. It also sounds like it’s going to be a challenge to get anything done due to the attention the kids will pay us! Apparently they come from miles around and just want to talk and play. We were also warned that we would get very hot, sweaty, dirty and probably covered in lots of paint! Furthermore – there is no water in camp – so no showers for a week. Back to the old military wet wipe wash!

We are also briefed on the local wildlife. On the last trip, the camp was visited one evening by over 20 Namib elephants! It sounded like the game drive wouldn’t be the only opportunity to see lots of animals. I’m so excited!

However, the most scary element was hearing just how much some of the others had raised. One had raised £25k in one event; the group of 4 ladies from Cambridge have collectively raised £20k – all makes my £500 look a little weak – so more focus needed here in the next few weeks!!

But in summary – it was a lovely day and I can’t wait for 2nd October to come!