I will be trekking up Mt. Kilimanjaro in March 2013, hoping to raise some money for charity while I'm about it!

Thursday 31 January 2013

Is it windy or what?!

Today was yet another busy day!

It started with a very early start taking my sister to the airport, I am most definitely not a morning person and any day starting before 6am takes a few coffees to get me going.

I then had to make my way to Jerbourg point to talk to the Guernsey Press and have my photograph taken in my gear, I must have looked interesting wrestling with a map at the top of the steps but hopefully people will think I meant to go for the windswept look (personally I'm just glad I didn't get blown off!)
Funnily enough I had a second run in with the press regarding the Neighbourhood Police's new Vespa which we sponsored, so look out for two photos in the press. I'll try and get a copy to post here for all the non-Guernsey readers :)

Nothing really to write about happened this afternoon but at least there was a little bit of action this morning.

I'll be sure to let you know if any other exciting things happen.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by,

Clinton

Tuesday 29 January 2013

It's been too long!

I'm sorry it's been a while since I last posted, I've been really busy with lots of different things and not really been able to dedicate a lot of time to blogging!

There have been a couple of things happening, I've been in contact with the tour operator and have booked a 7 day trek up the Machame route, he is arranging the climb and I may be in a group with four other climbers. It might help having people to speak to!

I am either doing a week at the Good Hope orphanage before my climb or the week after, in any case it's nice to have a few things actually booked. There is still nine days unaccounted for so I will be out in Tanzania with no plans at all, as long as I have enough money to get back to the airport I'll be okay.

My sister is off to Durban on Thursday where she will be meeting up with her boyfriend who went out a little earlier so I can get some news on South Africa before I jet off to the East. It's just over five weeks until I leave so I am just hoping I will be able to get everything prepared... Someone remind me to send my visa application off soon!

Hopefully now I have a little less on my plate I can carry on posting fairly regularly.

Usiku mwema,

Clinton

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Karibu

Today is my rest day so I thought I would make a short post about a couple of things.

Originally I thought it would be a good experience to go over with nothing booked and sort the climb and everything whilst I was there, my dad has since talked me into booking in advance to avoid any disappointments! I wouldn't want to travel all this way to find I couldn't climb the mountain.

I have been in contact with a Tanzanian company which works in conjunction with a local orphanage, the proceeds from the Kilimanjaro exhibitions the provide go towards funding a local orphanage.
I am now planning to spend a couple of days there to help out, I think it will be a huge learning experience for me, I don't know about you but I have been taking a lot for granted recently.



I'll keep updating if there is any news, for now asante sana for reading!

(As you can see I am still trying with the Swahili!)

Monday 21 January 2013

Habari za mchana

Hi everyone,

It's been a couple of days since I last posted, I've not been at my computer much and didn't have a lot to say earlier!

I've been trying to learn a bit of Swahili with little success, learning languages was never a strong point of mine so it is tough, especially when 'no' (hapana) sounds more positive than 'yes' (ndio).

Pronunciation is a little different to English, the vowels are sounded a little differently and every letter is pronounced. That is pretty simple with words like Rafiki (friend) but gets a little complicated with phrases like Kiswahili changu ni kibaya sana (My Swahili is terrible)!

I'm sure it's not too big a deal but I really like being able to speak at least enough to have a small conversation, it might make all the difference.

I've also been in communication with a tour operator about booking my climb but that's a story for a different post!

Hope you have a good Monday (Jumatatu)

Clinton

Thursday 17 January 2013

Training and preparation

So my weeks training has been going well so far, I have had a lot of advise from people all over the globe and found it all to be really helpful! The stairmaster is by far my favorite so far, I took my kindle to the gym and just read for the whole time I was there, it felt like a bit of a cheat but the time flew by and I still worked pretty hard!

I'll be buying some of my equipment in the next week, I will try to keep an updated list, so far I need to buy:


1 x Waterproof jacket with removable double lining

2 x Goretex hiking trousers

1 x Thermal top

1 x Thermal tights

1 x Pair of hiking boots

3 x Smartwool socks

2 x Pairs of gloves (1 x light running gloves & 1 x skiing)

1 x Pair of UV protection sunglasses

1 x Sunhat


There are more miscellaneous items that I will most likely forget until the last minute (mosquito net!) so hopefully putting them on here will help me remember everything!

If anyone has any recommendations feel free to comment here, I've been pricing everything up and it's scary how quick it mounts up.

It'd be quite fun having a slippery run in the snow tomorrow, I doubt it will happen but if it does I'll make sure to steer clear of the cliff paths.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Just a quick one

Hi everyone!

I'd just like to mention that I've officially booked my flights, I'll be leaving the island on the 7th of march and arriving into Tanzania at roughly 11am.

I'm really excited that this is seriously going ahead! Now all I have to do is train, organise my tourist visa, buy all my gear (shoes, socks, trousers, fleeces, jackets, sunglasses & hat) and book my flights to Gatwick. Probably going to get most of that when I next get paid!

For now I'm going to take a well earned break and have an early night.

Hope you're all having a good week.

Clinton

Sunday 13 January 2013

First weekend down

Yesterday was the first time I went out on the cliffs, I had planned to get a pair of boots from Millets but unfortunately they didn't have any in my size, I'll have to go back and get a pair when they get more in.
Instead I donned my running shoes and set off from the aquarium, the weather was nice for about half an hour and then it started to rain, it did that for what felt like an eternity but I carried on despite the slippery mud which had formed. I'd forgotten how lucky I was living on a beautiful island, when the sun broke through the clouds I was reminded of that.

My sister has given me the use of her camera for when I'm away so I should be able to take some really cool panoramic pictures from the top, my phones battery is not really up to the task of lasting a seven day hike!

I've done a bit of research and I will be adding a couple of hours on the stair machine at the gym into my routine a week seeing as I cant get out during the daylight hours, I'm hoping I can get up to scratch in time.


Today is the day, I'm booking my flights so I can confirm the exact dates on here when I do, it'll likely be the 8th of March departure. It's scary how quickly these months will go, I have so much to do!

Friday 11 January 2013

Jabs!

Today I decided to start sorting out all the vaccinations I will need to have before I leave.
These include Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Yellow Fever, Polio, Typhoid and Rabies. I will also have to go on a course of anti Malaria drugs in case any mosquitoes takes a fancy to my blood.

I am also going to look into a prescription of Diamox, a drug which can help prevent high altitude sickness and increase my chances of getting to the summit.

If you see me on the 16th you will probably notice the six punctures in my arm, I can't say I'm looking forward to it!

Tomorrow is my fist day off in a while so I will be getting up early and heading for town, hopefully I can pick up a nice pair of hiking boots and a day pack, once that's done it'll be time to hit the cliffs.
My training will focus around the south coast cliff path of the Island but I can only do this twice a week on Saturday and Sunday, for the rest of the week I plan to go on 6 - 10 km runs with two rest days.

I will need to get the boots and back pack well worn in to avoid any nasty injuries when I'm away. If possible I would like to come back with my feet intact, I've grown quite attached to them.

Wish me luck!

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Charities chosen

It's been a busy day today, I've spoken to the two charities which I will be donating all proceeds to and they have since been a pleasure to deal with!

Both parties have offered help in the promotion for my climb which is really great, it's getting more exciting by the minute.

I've had to decide on two charities in particular, they are MUG (Male Uprising Guernsey) and the well loved GSPCA.

I feel strongly about both of these causes, anyone who knows me will know that I am an animal lover, it is vital that there is a capable group to take care of all the pets which do not have homes and look after animals in need of help.

Some people may also know that I unfortunately lost my grandfather to prostate cancer in October of 2005, there is a great need for increased awareness of the male specific cancers and support for people suffering. Hopefully with more education people will be able to act much faster.


I'll be sure to keep you updated on anything going on!

Cheers,

Clinton

Tuesday 8 January 2013

So this is it!

The very first post, thanks for stopping by!

To start the new year I decided to plan an adventure, 13 is meant to be an unlucky number but I wont let that get in the way of my goal.

Safari was my initial choice. Seeing as I had already been to Cape town in 2008 I thought I'd go to the slightly more unknown, that led me 1600km northeast to Durban. I have people I can stay with there and while they couldn't chauffeur me around I could at least hire a car and explore by myself during the day, I started looking at safari's near Durban and Google, for some reason, came up with Kilimanjaro (about 4500km away so accuracy wasn't great on the search engines side!)

This looked AMAZING! I instantly knew it was what I had been looking for, a rewarding challenge in a foreign land with just the right amount of safety to keep my mum from worrying! I don't personally know anyone who has trekked up Kilimanjaro but I had heard stories of altitude sickness and the fitness needed to reach the summit, to my surprise I wasn't too put off by this and continued my planning.

Now I am a week off booking the flights and have decided that I should give my trip a purpose, for the next two months I will be trying to raise as much money as possible for two local charities. I've restarted my training after a break over Christmas and will hopefully be in good enough shape for March.
I will be using this blog to promote my climb and sponsors, if anyone is interested in helping out or joining me then just let me know :)

I'm sorry if my writing doesn't make sense, I'm tired and excited so I wanted to get this posted!

Thanks again for reading!