Thursday, 13 November 2008

Kinabalu Challenge, Borneo 2008 Itinerary

Kinabalu Itinerary - November 08 Challenge

DAY ONE (Friday 14th November)

Fly from London Heathrow.

DAY TWO (Saturday 15th November)

Arrive at Kota Kinabalu late afternoon. Kayak training and swim test (200m). Sundowners in the beach bar followed by staff introductions and overnight in a comfortable hotel near the city.

DAY THREE (Sunday 16th November)

Basic jungle training and practice in survival skills, general safety and briefings on the event and cultural issues. On the evening before the race starts, teams will prepare for an early departure the following morning, selecting their equipment and preparing their strategy for the challenge.

DAY FOUR (Monday 17th November)

The race starts. Teams leave the jungle training camp on a 4km run along the side of a jungle river. There will be a couple of river crossings along the way. The run finishes at a school where you will rendezvous with a helicopter and then be flown into the jungle. Met by jungle experts and local guides, there is a short trek before you set up camp for the night, building your own shelters and preparing your own meals.

DAY FIVE (Tuesday 18th November)

Early rise to pack up camp and trek out of the jungle (not a race) to the road to begin the first bike/run which is approx. 6km (two mountain bikes per team of four) down to the river where the support team will be waiting with your lunch followed by white water rafting race down the Kiulu river, a grade 2 descent back to the jungle camp.

DAY SIX (Wednesday 19th November)

Teams will be up at first light to travel downstream along the Kiulu River in team built bamboo rafts. This is followed by a 9km bike-run before lunch. In the afternoon teams will be given a two-man kayak for the kayak relay race, possibly the toughest part of the challenge. Teams will be met by minibus at the finish and taken to Mount Kinabalu base camp.

DAY SEVEN (Thursday 20th November)

Teams begin the ascent of Mount Kinabalu (4,100m), resting at nightfall at the Rest Camp, Laban Rata (three quarters of the way to the summit) where the race finishes.

DAY EIGHT (Friday 21st November)

At 2am we start for the final ascent to the summit for sunrise and the end of the Kinabalu Challenge. Descending the mountain, teams will be transferred to a luxury beach-side 5-star hotel for the awards ceremony and end of challenge party.


1 DAY TO GO!!!!!!! Team "PAIN IS TEMPORARY PRIDE LASTS FOREVER" goes to Borneo

Well I am leaving for the jungle tomorrow! I get on my double decker plane to Borneo tomorrow and am really excited now. I have never been so prepared for anything, however I did have a quick glance at the itinerary last night and it scared me! I realised that there was a lot of hard, hot, wet graft to be done next week and I guess when you think 'that's what I'm going to be doing NEXT WEEK' not next month etc, it seems very real and full on.

I CAN'T WAIT!!

Fundraising updates - our CHALLENGE SOPHIE party was a huge success, thanks to everyone who came and had fun with us, but thank you most to my amazing Mum who put a phenomenal amount of effort in to the party, by hosting, planning, and hours and hours of making the most delicious jam in the world that everyone bought and is subsequently putting more orders in for!

We raised an addition £276 which is fantastic, so thanks again and thanks for reading this.

It's never too late to sponsor me now and throughout the rest of the year so please do if you want to.

I look forward to my first post after the challenge, hope you do too