Progress Report -100 days to go!

Our plan is to start the expedition on 1 June 2016, which gives us exactly one hundred days from now to prepare. As it’s a nice round number, this seems like the perfect opportunity to give an update on our situation:

Training

I can’t speak for Alfy, but I’ve not done much at this end! Being based in London, I have easy access to our famous Thames River, and have been in touch with a few kayak schools to organise some sessions. However, I am currently on a work trip to Botswana / Mozambique, so no chance to get going until I return on 7 March. My plan is to try and get out on the water at least six times between now and June. In addition to this, I’ll be doing some kayak-specific weights sessions in the gym, and maintaining (read: building back up!) my cardio through running and getting back into my MMA gym in Angel. Might have to go easy on the MMA side though, as injuries are a concern here. I also plan to load up my hiking gear and get out for some practice hikes with weight, to iron out any issues with my boots or more generally with the gear. The only issue I can foresee is my left shoulder. Had surgery on it a few years ago, and will need to see how it holds up under the added strain, especially while paddling.

Marketing

All is going well on the Twitter front. We hit our target of 500 followers earlier this month, and are well on track to over 1000 by end of March. Alfy and I have coordinated this quite effectively, and Hootsuite has been so useful! The webpage has undergone a number of different iterations, and seems to be working OK, although we need to update The HALO Trust’s text and link to the blog more effectively. Not much action on the Facebook front beyond mirroring what is going on on Twitter. Our main aim at the moment is to build up a core of engaged followers, which should help when we send out our call to action (either fundraising or sponsorship) later in the calendar.

Logistics

Not much to report from my end, but I think Alfy will be able to give a more accurate update. Main concern is (as always in Angola) getting permits! In terms of timings, we seem to be aiming to smash out the whole expedition in 30 days, which sounds pretty optimistic to me, but our visa situation is driving this ambitious schedule. We’ll just have to see how realistic this is closer to the time.

I think that’s it from me, but hopefully Alfy will be able to give us an update soon from in-country! I’ll be very keen to look back on this post when it’s all said and done and reflect on how realistic / unrealistic these views were!

Oscar