It’s exactly 7 days to go until the official start of ‘Peak to Peak 2013’. The final few days before any expedition are always frantic times. Packing, last-minute equipment preparations and acquisitions, tidying up with work related things so I still have a job when I return (thanks boss for the leave:-)) and spending time with Stephanie.
The one thing you cannot jam pack into the last few days is your physical conditioning. We all have been training hard for some months now and I had a pre-expedition burn-out last weekend with a 110km cycle and a 36km paddle in the Divorce Machine (our Sea Eagle Fast Track inflatable kayak). The paddle was an adventure in itself as we almost got arrested by the marine police for paddling to close to the Changi Naval Base and ended up with a 45 minute armed ‘escort’ ‘ away from the area! It was however a good confidence boost to get through these two back-to-back sessions with plenty of gas left in the tank.
For followers of ‘Peak to Peak 2013’ we have a super cool REAL TIME MAP DISPLAY where you can track our journey. See a screen snap of this below. This will display our position overlaid on a map of your choice in the background. You can change the map type in the top left (Choices include Google maps, Google earth, NZ topo maps and more). And of course you can zoom in/out and pan around. If you use the google earth map you, can even tilt the map and see our position in a 3D terrain model (click and drag the centre mouse button). During the expedition this map will update at 10 minute intervals, when we are on the move.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those people who are supporting us on our journey including:
SWORKE – who have supplied my expedition sunglasses since Everest days.
To my team mates, wives and partners, mothers and fathers, cousins and friends who will all help out in some form along the journey, with a bed to sleep in, shuttling a bike or a kayak here or there or making a shepherd’s pie to feed the troops on the first evening of the expedition (Thanks Mum!).
So the final word of the day goes to Mum’s. We all love Mum’s. Mum’s are the most beautiful, reliable, generous and supportive people in the world. Here is a favorite photo of my mother and I on top of Singapore highest peak – Bukit Timah. I can’t wait to see her again at the end of Peak to Peak 2013.
Grant 'Axe' Rawlinson 
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