Flares and farewells

Oh yeah, now we're safe!

The pointy end of the planning process is starting to take a hold of our every movement as the time left before our departure is counting down in sleeps rather than weeks. Three o'clock in the morning seems to be the most active time for my overtired brain and the lists of tasks left to achieve, and gear left to organise is growing way faster than penicillin in a petrie dish.

Into the mix of trip planning, food dehydrating, gear preparation, house renos, and all the hundreds of little processes required to escape normal life for a year, there's also the heart-wrenching goodbyes to family and friends (and puppies!). We are recovering from a weekend of party games, water bombs, amazing food, and incredible company - a top quality send-off from our mates, who we know are supporting us all the way to Bali. 

Perhaps the most interesting donation to our expedition kitty over the weekend was a box of safety flares (cheers Soph!). Now, of course we weren't expecting to depart without critical safety equipment, however, this original 1970s box of marine flares would probably be better off in a museum than a kayak. Despite a little inebriation we decided it would be best not to release a flare into the car park of Joelene's pizza shop (or even in the wood-fired oven) - very good move.

It is certainly comforting to have the support and encouragement of such and awesome crew (the 2316 crew!). We'll miss you all like a Kingsley pizza fresh out of the oven!