As usual, we've been pretty slack with our blog updates... but that doesn't mean we've been sitting on our hands.
Since the last update, we've been trawling through the to-do list.
We've just about collected all of the gear we'll need. This includes our tent, sleeping bags, clothing, first aid kit, solar panel, sat phone, GPS, EPIRB, tracking device, maps, food, video cameras etc...
Everything is yet to be piled in the one room, so we still don't know if it'll all fit in out 55L backpacks. Johnno is also devising a tricky system to split our inflatable kayak in two and strap it to our packs. The reason we're taking such small packs (relatively speaking) is because we know that no matter how big your pack, you always manage to fill it up. If we limit ourselves to the 55L packs, we'll be forced to bring only the bare essentials (and camera equipment). The last thing we want is to be lugging 90L packs through the jungle. The other reason for the small packs, is that we simply don't have the space for them on our inflatable kayak. Johnno is 6'7" and I'm 6'2" so between the two of us, there isn't exactly a lot of room. My pack already sits wedged at the very front of the kayak and Johnno's teeters precariously at the back. With some luck, we'll be able to get ourselves a dugout canoe with some more space to travel the remaining length of the river once the rapids in the headwaters ease.
Since we're making a documentary on the expedition, I've been slowly collecting all the gadgets needed to document the trip properly. I've decided to dive into the world of DSLR filming for this trip and boy oh boy is it a steep learning curve! Using a DSLR (Canon 7D) for video has its positives and negatives. You can get amazing images with a super-shallow depth of field, they perform brilliantly in low light situations and take amazing photographs. The downside though, is that the sound recording capabilities are crap and they are a big more awkward to handle than a regular video camera. To allow for the bad sound performance of the DSLR, I'll bring along a separate sound recording device (Zoom H4n). This little device will record high quality sound (in stereo). I'll also bring a Rode Videomic to use with the Zoom H4n when I need to eliminate some ambient noise for video diaries etc...
The plan is to then use a tricky little program to sync the video and sound up when I get back to Australia and begin the post-production process. All of this is a little more tedious than simply whipping out the handy-cam, but with a little luck (and a lot of effort) we'll come back with some amazing images.
Penrith white-water opens up again this week, so with only a few days to go before we fly to PNG, we'll finally get to test out our kayak in some rapids. Hopefully it goes off without a hitch!
So... on Monday, we'll fly to Port Moresby, where we'll meet up with my friend Meg. She's generously put her hand up to be our personal guide and driver and has even let us sleep at her place for the two days we're in Port Moresby. Whilst there, we'll need to stock up on last minute supplies and sort out the last of our ever growing to-do list. We'll fly from Port Moresby to Mt Hagen, where we'll stay the night before flying to Telefomin, and the start of our adventure. From Telefomin we'll hike to the source of the Sepik and well... PNG can decide the rest.
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