Made it (almost) to the start line

After catching up with Taz we undertook the trek to Dar. A small fortune spent in Dixons on go-pros and battery packs was shortly followed by a 7 hour flight to Dubai which provided a less than generous 30 minutes between us. 3 hours in Dubai followed by another 5 hours to Dar Es Salaam.

After a 2 hour wait for a visa during which our passports were taken off us for a worrying amount of time, taz found he couldn't take out any money before we were mugged off with a usd10 taxi ride for a 5 minute walk.

We checked into the transit motel on a "dangerous street" where the taxi driver wouldn't stay.... The same fella who had robbed us. Did the job for some decent food and a few bevs before 12 hours kip.

In the morning we made it to the domestic departures at Dar. The terminal made Ronaldsway look luxurious! After a coffee and tart we boarded the second dodgiest plane I've ever been on (citywing still holds number 1) on our way to Kilwa via mafia island.

On Kilwa we were met by a grass runway and a few rickshaw type bikes to take ourselves and the three gents from Fakawai to Kimilo Lodge.

Lazy afternoon by the beach and a few beers getting to know Mike, Mark and Wayne getting very excited to get going tomorrow!

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Leg one complete and a lot of waiting around!

So after a couple of s**t late nights in work (1am type late) and one rather annoyed girlfriend (thanks for putting up with me you'll get two weeks of peace and quiet now!) packing was started and completed late last night.

Anthony and I were up early for the first leg of our journey. After being dropped off at Ronaldsway to experience the longest queue the Isle of Man has ever seen for both bag drop and security. Experiencing funny looks due to the dry bags, buoyancy aids and general terrible clobber we made it onto the easyjet flight departing a little late to Gatwick.

All this after Anthony had already tried to torpedo the trip by leaving his passport on a seat in the departure lounge. This would have crippled our team as Admiral Anthony Gullan is the only one who can actually sail!

After picking up bags at 11.30am we realised the enormity of trying to kill the next 7 hours until our teammate joined and further 3 hours to our flight, oh the joys of living on a small island.

One large all day breakfast each later, Anthony and I got bored and have resorted to booking into a hotel until Taz gets here. Can't wait for that first beer so off to meet taz!.....