It’s Sunday, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I don’t have work on Monday. In fact, I don’t have work on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday for that matter, and that’s me done now until potentially October/November time. It feels truly bloody marvellous!
I’m also now the proud over of a both a Tanzanian and Malawian visa, so progress is being made. That said, the lovely folk in the Malawi High Commission spelt my name wrong so had to take a biro to my beloved passport and will hope for the best at the border …..
Friday was the day I left my job after 9 years (which for my age, within the same organisation is quite an achievement in my view) and what a week its been. I’m finally recovering from the festivities of Friday (and Thursday courtesy of McDonalds). To say Friday was a messy evening would probably be an understatement. Things could have been worse though and I take comfort in the fact I wasn’t the lady in the bar with the red polka dot dress who continuously found it amusing to flash her knickers at the security staff, climb on our table nearly taking out our Magnum of Whispering Angel, before being swiftly ejected from the venue. This was all before 8pm…… (for anyone wondering, I can categorically confirm I genuinely was NOT the lady in the red dress). If however, you’re London based and have yet to make it to Archer Street in Soho, get yourself down there as its really a top night out.
I finally got confirmation on Wednesday that I’d exchanged on my flat, which until now, was pretty up in the air. On the basis I’d handed my notice in on my current tenancy, it was nice knowing I’d have somewhere to live upon my return from Africa. Because I never seem to do things the simple way, I’ve cut my logistics fine at both ends. The movers will literally be packing up my stuff before I whizz off to Heathrow, and then on the day I land (at 6am), I’m heading straight to collect my keys, and they’re delivering my belongings that afternoon. God help me if my flight is delayed….or them on the basis they’re going to have to use their initiative if I’m not present…..!
I’ve had a pretty productive week so far… largely consisting of tying up loose ends as I prepare to skip off into the sunset. I’ve also been sorting out my trip equipment. I’m going to share a few links in case anyone ever needs to buy similar gear (outdoor equipment is not my forte).
What has become abundantly clear, is that I’m excellent at spending money….. I thought I could ‘get away’ with some of the stuff from my backpacking trip 12 years ago but so much has changed since then, and shiny new products are just too hard to resist…..
When I think of camping, it reminds me of a little trip I did with a couple of friends to the Hunter Valley when I was backpacking in Australia many years ago. To say we were ill equipped was an understatement. After an exceptionally boozy day on the ‘wine rover’ which was a dirt cheap tour of the vineyards with enough free wine to send us into a coma, we had to pitch a tent. It was then we realised that aside from a tent and sleeping bags, we failed to acquire any other equipment, hence ending up using piles of clothes to sleep on. Add to this extreme weather conditions in the form of thunder, lightning and torrential rain, we woke up (after minimal sleep) pretty much floating. Needless to say we abandoned the camping equipment and decided we’d be safer (and less of a danger to others) in hostels.
As a result, I decided that on this occasion, bearing in mind that 80% of my trip to Africa is camping, I’d do well to get myself some decent equipment.
Sleeping Bags & Liners
Easy………..or so I thought. Surely a quick trip to Ellis Brigham would result in my being in possession of a snazzy new sleeping bag, appropriate for all weather conditions (you know, like those metal bottles that keep your drinks hot when you want them hot, or cool when you want them cold right?).
Decisions had to be made between synthetic versus down fillings (down packs down much smaller, but is not as good as the synthetic bags in wet conditions). Apparently (if you identify as female of course) its better to buy a female specific bag as it provides “more insulation in key areas’. Now I’m not sure how they’re defining ‘key areas’ but I’m very clear on which of my areas are ‘key’ and I worry somewhat we may not be aligned on this opinion (probably best to leave that there). There are also so many different shapes and sizes, but in the end, I’ve gone for one which will essentially make me look like I belong in some kind of ancient Egyptian burial chamber, minus the gold and jewels of course.
There are also multiple ‘seasons’ in sleeping bag lingo depending on your usage requirements. I went for a season 3 Marmot Angel Fire Bag which should hopefully ensure I don’t die of hypothermia when in Argentina on my subsequent trip (as I’d imagine the chances of that in Africa are pretty low). Lets hope this isn’t naivety on my part…..
As for liners, I had a cotton life venture one but now, the silk liners pack down so much smaller and with luggage restrictions on the overland truck, compact is key. As a result, this Rab one looks like it will the trick.
Camping Mats
Another bloody conundrum as far as I’m concerned. I had assumed that a simple roll out mat would suffice, but having spotted self inflating mats that have an in-built pillow, I couldn’t resist on the basis I’d get major camping envy if others on my trip appear to be a damn sight more comfortable than me. I can think of nothing worse than lying straight as a poker while your fellow campers are snuggled up looking so comfy they may as well be back in the womb. As a result, I went for a Trail Outdoor mat, which self inflates and packs down really small. Now lets just hope the flipping thing does what it says and self inflates…they’ve already sent me a lovely email with instructions so I’m feeling optimistic.
Head Torches
I’ll be honest, the idea of feeling your way around a campsite, trying to find your way in the dark from your tent to the toilet block really doesn’t appeal to me and is probably the one thing I dislike the most about camping. That, coupled with the fact the critters in East Africa will probably be somewhat more life threatening than those you’d find in Devon suggest that being able to see where I’m going will probably be a bonus. I went for this rechargeable torch from Amazon – seems a good little gadget if you ask me but I’ll report back on that at a later date.
I’m currently trying to determine how the toilet situation when camping in East Africa, will compare to the arrangement I had to endure when doing a three day trek up Mount Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia. For three days, each night at camp, we had to dig a hole in the ground, using only a windbreaker to help protect our privacy and hope those bastard monkeys didn’t nick your toilet roll overnight. On one occasion, one particularly over excitable primate decided to decorate the entire campsite with the loo roll which was a sight to behold first thing in the morning, when emerging groggy, and cold from your tent.
Anyway, obviously there is a fair bit more kit I need, but I won’t bore everyone with that in this particular entry. Next week is a busy one, thankfully with no more injections scheduled until the week after. Malaria tablets have now also arrived and its all feeling very real, and equally exciting.
I’ll post the itinerary and route at some point too so you can have a nose at where I’ll be going…..
Enough for now, hope you all enjoy your week at work (sorry, couldn’t resist) and catch you soon.
Luci x
Finding Freedom 