Leaving for Airport now!

Hello, for all email subscribers, please see www.adventure4aid.com for the project details and how much we’ve raised so far!

Hi all,

Hoping you’ll forgive us for not writing! I’m (Jiji) leaving for the airport in 10 minutes and I haven’t been able to update this blog as I’d like. I would have liked to put up the post and pics of our camping trip- first time the entire team (5 of us) got together & did a really hard walk, then camped at Mt. Solitary in the Blue Mountains, then did a really hard walk back out the next day.

Also, when we return, we’ll put up photos of the Fundraising Dinner that was such a huge success, as you can see from our TWO fundraising thermometers now! We’re well on our way for 2 Mobile Clinics thanks to your generous support!

Well, I’m here to say goodbye on behalf of the team. Frank & I are leaving today, Sheena, Mic, & Julia are leaving next Sunday. Frank & I are doing some volunteer work in an orphanage and teaching English in a high school while the rest arrive halfway through and acclimatise to the altitude of Xining (the capital city 2,200m).

We’ll meet as a team on the 3rd Oct, then do a training climb hopefully, with Philip from LOVEQTRA (who’s organisation we are raising money for), and his friend Carl.

We are supposed to start the climb on the 5th and Summit Day is supposed to be the 8th!

We’ll relay information to friends who will update this blog for us, even if it’s just via sms.

Thanks for reading & log in often! www.adventure4aid.com

Signing off,

Jiji

Hike: Perry’s Lookdown – Sat3rdJuly & 4thSep

Email Blog Subscribers: Read more on our Rural Mobile Clinic Project and how much we’ve raised at www.adventure4aid.com

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I’ve been really behind in our our training and hiking blog, but be assured, we HAVE been training. We’ve done 6-8 hikes since the last blog entry, and our own training, but I’ll just post the major hikes.

We’ve done Perry’s Lookdown twice now. This walk is about 700 vertical metres descent or ascent (depending which way you do it). From the lookout it takes you straight down (or up) the cliff-face to the bottom of the valley- great training for downhill- it’s a killer for your quads and your knees!… and fantastic uphill training- the lack of control of my calves the next day speaks for itself!

The first time, we walked along the valley floor which comes to a beautiful open section called Blue Gum, then along the river to Acacia Flats, then turn around and look forward to the 700m vertical ascent- which is tough and ugly!

The second time we did the whole circuit. We started at Govett’s Leap lookout, straight down to the valley, which was slightly less steep than Perry’s, then along the winding river to Acacia Flats, Blue Gum Forest (which would be fantastic to camp o/n), then braced ourselved for the 700 vertical metre ascent of Perry’s.

The encouraging thing was that second time round it was easier, but still tough.

After the gruelling Perry’s we thought it was pretty much over, but then we had to walk 3 hours back to our car at Govetts Leap- this was the plan, but psychologically tough cos we took the end of Perry’s as the end of our hike!

Tip- get to the Mountains early enough to stop off at this amaaazing bakery in Wentworth falls. Can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s up from the public toilets and across the road, in a little pack of shops with their own carpark. The bakery is facing the street, the last shop in this little centre. It has the best steak & mushroom pie & cherry danish I’ve ever had. The hazelnut danish or log is good too- Julia & Sheena liked that more. Regrettably we don’t have pics of these paper bags of goodness !

Sheena even bought an icepack for her glass-bottle coke which she bought at this amaaaaazing bakery, with which she rewarded herself after the climb.

Yesterday, the circuit from Govett’s Leap was so pleasant, winding along the river & rainforest-type vegetation that I really felt like I was in Hawai’i! Julia, Sheena, Darjee and I really enjoyed Perry’s both times!