So tomorrow is departure day!

I will be leaving Guernsey in just under 11 hours and then make my way from Gatwick to Heathrow, from there I will take a relaxing 9 hour flight to Dar Es Salaam and then a measly hour to Kilimanjaro!

I honestly can't believe the time has come so quickly! I was on the radio this morning which you can listen to here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p015514f

I will do my best to keep you updated, if I can't get any internet access I will get my sister to make a post of two :)

I need to get some sleep now so I'll speak to you guys in Tanzania!

It's been a busy couple of weeks

There has been a few things to do before I leave but I'll soon be able to say that everything is done and ready!

In just over a week's time I'll be on a plane heading to Tanzania, I am more than excited at the moment I really can't wait.

I've had a lot of generous people giving donations recently and I'd like to thank you all for being so kind, I had never expected to raise much more than £80 but now almost ten times that amount has been donated.

I'll try my best to keep you all updated, I've had a pretty hard time getting to the computer the past couple of days so I've decided to see how posting off my phone goes. Six day working weeks are killing me but it's all going to be worth it in the end!

17 days and counting

It's almost two weeks until I leave, I can't believe it has come so quickly! I know I only booked the flights last month but it's still crept up quickly. I healed up quickly from the jabs only suffering from a bruise, my mums friend had a yellow fever injection on the same day and had a fever and pretty bad headache so I got off lightly.

I set up an annual travel insurance policy so if there is any problem I should be covered, I managed to get a policy that allowed climbing up to 6000 meters without an increased premium which I am pretty happy about.

Yesterday I dragged my mum and dad around the cliffs which was really cool, even though it wasn't necessarily warm it was sunny which made a big difference from the rain we've been dealing with recently. I think I probably looked a little silly in my full kit with them but it doesn't matter as it was good to have a clean walk, apart from my dad, who fell over trying to navigate around a muddy puddle..

I took another delivery on Friday which I'd been looking forward to for a while, socks. Yes socks, they are really nice though, I went for a couple pairs of Bridgedale hiking socks with liners too, I wore them to work with my boots and my feet felt amazing, I didn't think socks would make that much of a difference but I was wrong. So far I really can't recommend them enough, I'll let you know how they do on the mountain though, that'll be the true test to see if the merino wool was worth it!

Hope you've all had a good weekend,

Clinton

Finally making some progress

So I went and had a couple of injections today, I had Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A and Typhoid. A nice little cocktail swimming in my left arm, it was feeling a bit heavy this afternoon at work but that could have had something to do with the circuit training my mum dragged me along to yesterday - I thought I was pretty fit but it was killing me after an hour! Fortunately I wont have to do anything like that up Kilimanjaro!

The to-do list is reducing slowly but surely, as well as the vaccinations I had two parcels waiting for me when I got home; my returned passport (with travel visa included!) and a bottle of DEET100 mosquito spray. I booked my Aurigny flight on Monday, I still have a couple of things to get sorted but the two major things is to decide which anti-malarial medicine I want to take and to get some dollars for the trip.

It's now 21 days until I leave, the total of donations I've received so far is £550 which is amazing! I'd like to say a special thank you to everyone who has given so generously, I'll have to make sure I get to the top for you.

Just over 3 weeks to go!

Hi all,

I've had to slow down on posting but I will bring you all up to speed now.

I've put a photocopy of the press below where you can see my photogenic side.. well maybe not so. I've also officially booked my climb! I had some cautious looks from the attendant at Lloyds when I said I wanted to wire money to Tanzania but the company has multiple good reviews on Tripadvisor and my friend Doug from New York assured me they looked after him on his ascent.

I've also been busy buying things from my ever increasing list, the nurses at my mums work put together a first aid kit which was nice but hopefully unnecessary - better safe than sorry though!

I had to sent off my Visa application along with my passport and two passport photos (which, with no photo-booths on the island, were a nightmare to get.) I hope that it returns to be safe and with an accepted application! I'd be pretty sad if for some reason it was rejected!!

My boots are officially worn in and now very comfortable, I hope they are up to the task of keeping my feet dry though, not that there has been any lack of rain the past week. I tried out a pair of my hiking trousers on Sunday in a torrential downpour and was surprised to see the water actually bouncing off, I hope they can handle snow too.

I've not heard too much from my sister in Durban but from what I can gather it is very hot! The other night I looked at the weather in Arusha where I will be staying and it was 20 degrees.. at 2am! It is currently 23 degrees and the local time is 11.21pm, I'm very likely to melt, I am far more adapted to the cold and my pasty skin usually burns even in the shade (I think I came up with the activity shadebathing in Cape Town when the rest of my family were in the sun a few years ago!) If anyone spots a 6 foot lobster coming off the plane in April don't be alarmed. Hopefully I wont be too afflicted as I have stocked up on SPF 50+, the sun wont even see my skin.

The countdown has already started and it is now just 24 days until I leave, I have to be honest, I'm getting a little bit excited!

Thank you all for keeping up with me, it's been hard work this past week without a day off or lunch hour to write anything. I'm trying to prioritise a bit better :)

Hope you've all had a good week!

Clinton

 P.S. If anyone from the press is reading and it's not okay for me to post the scan just let me know and I'll take it down, I wasn't sure if it was allowed or not, if not I'm sorry!

Amazing reception

I've had a really nice couple of days, the article in the Press didn't look too bad, I could have done with a haircut but that's more my problem than the photographers!

The article has been quite good in getting people to hear about what I'm doing, first thing Monday morning I received a phone call from a lady called Anne who came into my work today and kindly donated some gear for the ascent! If you're reading, thank you so much! It is such an expense getting all the equipment and now I can cross about six things off my list.

I'd also like to thank John who came into my work today to give me a donation, it was really kind of you and I hope you're resting well!

I'll see if I can get a photo/copy on the blog for people who missed it, my spot on Saturday was put up on the This Is Guernsey website so you can view that by clicking here.

The next thing I'm going to need to take over is the radio, I'll see how that goes!

Clinton

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

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

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!)

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