An early end...

We come bearing very bad news. Over the past week or two, since finishing our exams, we have been going through our plans for kayaking up Lake Malawi and have realised that we are not going to be able to do it.

Everyone that we speak to seems to confirm our fears about the weather – August is the worst month for a kayaking trip because of substantial waves caused by the high winds.  This would not be such an issue if we were experienced kayakers, but we are simply not good enough at kayaking; we are both almost complete beginners. We were planning to undergo some training in the UK before setting off but because of our third year exams, graduation and other personal circumstances, we have not had enough time to undergo the necessary training to get up to the standard required to do the trip safely. The added dangers of hippos, crocodiles, a high malaria risk and other things make this simply seem like too ambitious a trip for us to carry out safely.

We would like to thank everyone who has given their support to the trip, whether it has been financial or simply an encouraging pat on the back – you have all made a difference.  This has been a very disappointing message to write as we were both hugely looking forward to the trip but we seriously underestimated the amount of work needed to make this sort of expedition work. 

We send our deepest apologies for the bad news and thank you again for all your support.

If you have any questions or would like further information about why we are not doing the trip, please feel free to get in touch.

Sponsorship is GO!

The last few weeks have been tough ones for Will and I as our third year university exams have been forever approaching.  Will now has the joy of being able to say "I am finished" and I can now say "I begin tomorrow" - oh the injustices of exam timetabling.

Anyway, scattered in between our revision, eternal procrastination, revision breaks, sleeping and the other necessities, we have managed to compile our Sponsorship Pack for this summer's expedition.  It has now been sent to Concern Universal, who are helping us to market the trip, and over the coming couple of weeks it will be distributed around the business of Durham, family contacts, friends and anyone else who we can think of.  We hope that this will mark the start of our proper advertising campaign and that this will begin the awareness of a cause that can truly make a difference to peoples' lives.

Indeed, if you are the recipient of our Sponsorship Pack, then thank you very much for coming to visit our blog!  We hope that you enjoy the site, find all of the information that you are looking for and are inspired enough to make a small contribution to our cause.

120 days time

From opposite ends of the world, planning is under way. A bigger Kayaking team is coming together, and we are juggling revision for final exams with tweets, emails and calls to potential sponsors and donors. If you are in a position to help or think you might be, have a look at the "how you can help us" section and get in touch! 

We will be posting daily on twitter, and in the preparation stages we’ll keep this blog updated every few days, aiming to Blog every day from the lake – internet dependent. 

Our Justgiving page has reached 1% - £49,470 to go! Help it along: http://www.justgiving.com/kayakmalawi 

Chasing Mavericks is a fun film that I watched recently, which reminded me how much is possible with a little bit of determination. On that note: we are starting training regimes to get set for some serious paddling in 120 days time.  Watch the Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YYc3jRoua8

Contact with Mike Lamb

This weekend I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike Lamb who embarked on a similar expedition to what we are planning in 2009.  Somehow, he managed to ease my concerns about the daunting (and dangerous) nature of the trip - maybe this was the story that a local Malawian hadn't seen a crocodile for 20 years.  Although great for my safety, the new-found eager photographer in me was slightly disappointed by this fact.  It was great to hear about many aspects of the trip from someone with first hand experience, including the kayaks themselves, clothing, camping, wildlife, weather, kit and much more. 

I'd like to publicly thank him for his advice and for putting up with my endless questions.

Let the preparations begin!

Hello and welcome to our Kayak Malawi blog!  

We hope that this site gives you all the relevant information about our expedition up the West Coast of Lake Malawi.  We will regularly be updating it to give you the most accurate information on our progress in all areas of our preparation so keep one eye on this site!

Please take the time to browse the site and read about the cause we are supporting - the prevention of malaria in Malawi - the charity helping us to achieve this, Concern Universal, and other information on our route, equipment and team.

This is the beginning of a huge journey for both Will and myself: not only will we be kayaking one of the world's longest lakes, but we will need to put in months of preparation, training and hard work to make this trip possible and to achieve our ambitious fundraising target of £50,000.

I hope you enjoy our site and if you have any questions about the trip or the cause, please feel free to get in touch!

If you are in any way moved or inspired by what we are doing, please contribute to our efforts by donating here: http://www.justgiving.com/kayakmalawi

Thanks,


David and Will