Papua New Guinea - 1st 2009 Update

The Team arrived in Port Moresby to a celebrity style receptions with a number of journalsts and photographers wanting to find out more about this group of crazy Brits who were coming over to live in the Jungle for up to 4 months!

The group then took a spectacular flight across the central highlands to LAE airport where theywere met by Trekforce staff and transported to Jungle training in the remote village of Gabensis. The team were really thrown in the deep end and their first night in the Jungle will be one that many of them will never forget. The next two days involved both lectures and practical sessions from Adam and Alex in Jungle Survival. The team then trekked deeper into the Jungle with local Jungle Guru Sam where they established a camp to begin phase 2.

Sam was a real encyclopedia of knowledge and taught everybody alot about Jungle plants and wildlife and their practical uses. There were many encounters of the creepy crawly king including Stick insects a multitude of spiders, Catapillers and the ever annoying mosquitos. One trekker also had a close encounter with a wild pig whilst trying out the new jungle toilet!

With Jungle training completed the team have really bonded, we are now all heading by boat to the tropical paradise of Salamaua before trekking to our project site on friday.

Next update due in approx 3 weeks so watch this space!

Adam

Expedition Leader Training - Month 1!

The Welsh adventure of the expedition leadership course has been completed and we are about to depart to the polar opposite of extreme heat, humidity and all the hygienic unpleasaentries that ensue in such weather. It was somewhat surreal doing our Summer Mountain Leadership Training in 60-70 mph bitterly cold winds and the blizzards that have wreaked havoc upon on the rest of the country. We were not deterred by such trivialities and all successfully completed the intense one week course in the spectacular Snowdonia National Park. A variety of skills were leant, developed and put into practice over the week from macro/micro navigation, camp craft and rope work skills.

Our first 2 weeks prior to the training had been spent with the course instructor, Colin, or White Fang as he has been so endearingly been called. Colin ensured that we were up to scratch with our base skills by taking us into the mountains and doing his utter best to get us to pay attention long enough in a classroom environment. There has been a lot to learn and the realisation of the enormity of the responsibilities of an expedition leader encompasses has sunk in. One of the classes on the legalities of becoming a leader asked "is it worth it?" and the although the answer isn't a simplistic yes, it is certainly a resolute one and the enthusiasm that has been continually displayed by us all highlights our determination to become what we have set out to do.

A strong bond has developed between us all and I think we all shared some pre-training anxiety about those we would be spending an intimate amount of time with for the next 6 months. Luckily they were quickly dispelled with the first hand of cards in which abuse and banter was freely hurled around. Emma,the solo female in the group has coped very well in what is often a juvenile male environment and has bought radox and candles to compensate. Pictionary has become a new found favourite game though am still slightly bemused my Rob's and Henry's response to my picture of a tiger, Sri Lanka and men holding guns which they conjured up the answer of "Sri-Lankan tiger hunters"... the covert operations of the Tamil Tigers can be rest assured in their anominimity from the pair of them. But it has been a laugh a minute throughout the three weeks, but we have been suprisingly focused when the moment has required it... not sure Colin would entirely agree though... not that he hasn't joined in from time to time either!

So off we go to Belize. Crutch rot cream, bug spray and every other toiletry that will help with our comfort has been packed away. We're all excited about the next chapter of this course and what lays ahead, the new skills that will develop and I'm sure what will amount to an unforgettable experience.

Quick December Update - Belize

Today is the last day before 2 of the group leave us tomorrow and the rest of the group head on to Guatemala. It's been a fantastic project and very successful. In all we found 9 caves with evidence of Mayan use and some very interesting Mayan pottery. One piece in particular, a ceremonial vase is of extreme interest to the Institute of Archaeology and the Director Dr Jaime Awe has send the vase to the top experts on Mayan artifacts in Mexico to be fully restored and translated. It will then take pride of place in the museum in Belmopan... when it is built!! :) It is also from around 200AD, much earlier than all other artifacts found in the area we were surveying so it has changed ideas about the period that the Mayans were active in the area.

Belize - November Update!!

Jungle training

Jungle training began at Gracie Rock with learning essential survival skills such as Basha building, first aid and casevac training, dangerous flora and fauna, jungle navigation, belt kit packing and use, machete issue, use and sharpening. Team building exercises and jungle night walks also helped us acclimatise to jungle conditions and develop into a solid team.

We then trekked into deeper jungle to set up our jungle training camp. Here, Al, Adam and Javier (our ex-Belize Defence Force jungle warfare instructor / laughing jungle ghost cat) led us through a wide range advanced bush craft skills including planning and building jungle camps (with all the mod cons of a long drop, fire and slops pit, water collection and washing points), shelter, fire and trap building, cooking (including chicken killing and skinning). Training culminated in ‘solo night’ - an opportunity for each team member to individually put their skills to the test by each being given an isolated spot and surviving for an afternoon and night alone.

Everyone survived the night and we celebrated the completion of training with a night of apparent luxury (and debauchery) at our very own ‘Jungle Jim’s’ bar at Gracie Rock.

Project

With training complete, we headed to San Ignacio for our project briefing from Dr Jamie Awe - Director of the Archaeological Research Institute of Belize. Dr Awe galvanised the group with his explanation and images of Mayan history, spirituality, geological characteristics of Belize, past and current archaeological projects and the nature of caves and Mayan artefacts often found within. We were set the challenge of surveying the Peccary Hills area of Belize for any possible limestone caves - an area that is currently unexplored.

We immediately headed to the Peccary Hills, trekked into the project area and began of week of building one of the best jungle camps ever made. Once all basha’s, Pallapa’s, trails and camp mod cons had been built we began our project in earnest. This essentially involved selecting areas to investigate, trekking into those area’s and hunting for any possible cave entrances.

Within the first week we had discovered three separate and enormous cave systems. These have since been GPS marked, entered, explored, mapped and documented. These caves typically have small entrances requiring crawling on our stomachs through tight tunnels before they open out into huge cavernous linked cave systems. It seems the Peccary Hills are so riddled with caves they are almost completely hollow. Full documentation of the nature, geomorphology, characteristics of the caves and possible indications of Mayan inhabitation was made each night and has so far included a numerous animal bones, a possible Mayan cooking area parts of a possible Mayan necklace.

The group now has one more week on project to find any further caves in the area before setting off on Trek.

More news soon!

Trek Completed, Now Time for Some Well Deserved Rest and Relaxation

Trek has been around the Chiquibul National Park and despite being in the middle of the rainy season, the group only had 1 night of rain! The dry weather meant that water was a little harder to find, so the route was changed slightly, but the guys still made it to Caracol on last day of trek to see the fantastic Maya ruins there.




This week the group has said goodbye to James, Kelly and Rich who have completed their expedition, but the rest of the guys are all headed to Caye Caulker for a weeks diving in the warm, crystal clear waters and a few cold beers!!

One of the water sources along the way.

Aching legs don't stop the team racing to the top of the ruins!!

Project Completed, Now onto Trek!!

After 2 weeks of hard work by all the group we have completed all of the projects at Elijio Panti. We a new super-duper long drop. New steps down to the water fall and a changing room at the bottom of the steps for swimming in the waterfall. This really improves the facilities at the park and means that they can push for tourism to make money to support the protection of the park. Well done guys!!!

Team Gets Stuck Into Project

The Team have thrown themselves into their project in the Elijio Panti National Park. On arrival special incense was burnt as an offering to the Jungle Spirits.

The Team digging the longdrop dug 5ft in one day;

Another group of trekkers started constructing the frame for a fire shelter;


















Whilst another group was working on maintaining the steps which take you down to a beautiful waterfall;


















As all this was going on the admin team whipped up a delicious lunch of tortilla and hummous!

The Team will spend a further 6 days at the waterfall site. They will then move up to the Cave site, where they will be making the steps that take you up to the Cave, an old Mayan offering site.

After that it is off on a six day trek through the rainforest...