Airport Blues!

The Australians departed the party to make the journey back to KK to catch their flight very early on the morning of the 10th December.

Unsuprisingly a there were a few tears shed, but once they arrived at the airport, memento's were exchanded and a combination of tiredness and excitement filled the very empty departure lounge as they prepared to make their way home with some fantastic memories and some amazing new friends.

Later that day a similar journey was made with the reamining participants, and again the tears were flowing - mainly courtesy of Josh, Jo, Suzie and Carly, but it wasn't long before the staff joined in!

It was an absolutely awesome expedition, and every tear was a reminder of some brilliant memories, leaving fantastic new friends and the experience of living here in Sabah for the last 10 weeks.

Well done guys - you survived!!!

Beach Party Madness!

Buzzing from the previous nights closing ceremony, the staff and participants made their final journey across Sabah, to the stunning beach resort of Bukit Naga for the end of expedition party! They spent the afternoon chilling by the sea, playing the Alpha group games, and waiting for the barbeque and 'Pimps & Ho's' beach party to begin.

Fun was definatley had by all in the afternoon! And as the evening drew near everyone dispersed to get their kit on (and in some cases off!) for the barbeque and 'Pimp's and Ho's' party - and what a sight it was!

The group then parted into the wee hours of the morining before having to say their fond farewells to the Austrailian participants who had to leave at 2 am to catch their 6am flight!

Tears & Laughter Officialy Bring Autumn To A Close!

The teams returned to Borneo Paradise on the 7th full of stories and 10 weeks of Raleigh rations - the teams were tired, but thrilled to be meeting up with all their friends again, and for the last time! As kit was being cleaned and packed away, the excitement was mounting as the big expedition event (the closing ceremony) loomed in less than 24 hours. The dancers were getting nervous, the organisers were getting worried, and everyone else was starting to feel a little sad as the end of the expedition was getting closer!

The closing ceremony was a brilliant event and everyone had a great time, and not just because it was being held at the 5* Pacific Sutera Hotel! The staff and participant dancers were absolutely brilliant performing the Samuza and the Mangutip (even more so because they had only had that day to practice!) and the slide show went down a storm - with everyone singing along to the music and most people shedding a tear or two!

The men of the Bamboo Dance - in full costume were Dom, Dave, Aaron, Joe, Ryan and Vincent.

Nick, Tom, Jon and Josh accompany Veronica, , Laura and Hen in the Samuza

Amy, Suzie, Bev, Jade and Ee Laine performing the ladies part of the bamboo dance.

Friz, John and Ronnie all gave touching speeches at the closing ceremony, along with the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Youth & Sport) Datu Rosmadi, and of course Rory, and Rory and Laura were presented with gifts to thank them for all their hard work done in their time here with Raleigh in Sabah.

The photogrpahy exhibition was also a big hit, with the 5 competition winners, James, Nick, Ee Laine, Jon and Joe's photographs all proving extremely popular. The exhibition also showcased Raleigh's work in Malaysia, highlighting some of the projects completed over the last 3 years, and the difference the projects make to the communities and the participants and staff.

Everyone one had a brilliant night, and made their way back to Borneo Paradise tp prepare for the beach party the following night!

The Last Loop of the Year

It was that time again as Bravo 2 rolled out of the Fieldbase gates for the last time this expedition to embark on the perilous journey those Raleigh folk know as Loop!

The 3 intrepid explorers Tom, Mia and Kev, otherwise known as Santa’s little postman, departed into the unknown early on Sunday morning on the longest post round the world had ever known!
First stop was Imbak Canyon where our team were confronted with the dulcet tones of Suzanne Rooney as she sung us the script of the murder mystery we were to solve! Star turns by Tiri McCorriston and Rob Tomlinson helped the team to one of the most original welcomes I have ever seen on a loop! Cheers guys!

Time being of the essence the loop team had to beat a hasty retreat in the early hours of Monday 26th Nov, where they made their steady way on their trusty steed, Bravo 2!

After an early start (06:00 for goodness sake!!), Santa’s little postmen (and woman), made their way through the dust and heat to one of the most isolated project sites on the books this expedition, Danum Valley where our posties were met by a tired looking bunch who had been moonlighting as builders! Fresh from cementing posts into the ground we were welcomed into the fold just so long as we came bearing fresh fruit, sweets and post!!Thanks to our cooks for the evening BBQ, Joe, Ryan and Paul, who cooked up a storm for Carly and Chris’ birthday! 19 and 20 respectively! Happy Birthday guys!

A good feed had by all, especially Francesca and the other girls who decided to wear more of the cake than eat it, but definitely needed after the long day on the road for the fearless postmen!
Post safely delivered to Imbak and Danum, our fearless team made a more relaxed escape and started to make their way to Batu Puteh where a certain Project Manager by the name of Amy Gaulton was due to celebrate her birthday the following day. No mentions of how old hey, Amy!!
The best reception of the loop so far was lying in store for our road weary adventurers! Cheers and applause greeted us-just what we needed after 3 long days on the road, closely followed by a bucket of water over the head, first for Mia, then Tom and I’m sure Kev got wet somewhere down the line too!!

A big party was in store for us that night although I’m sorry to say some of the loopers were the first to bed after a hectic few days!

It was an early start again on Wednesday but this time a boat ride down the Kinabatangan river awaited us! We saw monkeys by the score, more Hornbills than we care to mention and after asking Jungle girl Bev to supply us with a crocodile, 2 appeared to satisfy out appitites! Cheers guys!
And then it was time to go home, all post safely in the hands of it’s rightful owners! The dream was over, and the postmobile Bravo 2 crept gently home towards Fieldbase . . . . .

Thanks Tom!

The final countdown - the teams revelaed!

Alpha One - up at Kg Ambong with PM's Nick, Zoe, Claire and Nikki
Amanda Macadam, Zhi Yong, Nick Moffatt, Josh Bailey, James Robinson, Katie Mack, Kellie May, Rebekah Lindo, Matt Morgan, and Dom Desmond

Alpha Two - over at Batu Puteh with PM's Bev and Amy
Joanne Loveridge, Pang Yen Jun, Ben Vicarey, Zoe Sweeney, Gilles Louwerens, Stu Tinner, Friz Rung, Ibrahim McKenzie, John Shearman and Max Bin Mitter

Alpha Three - up in Imbak with PM's Kerry, Lou and Ben
Tiri McCorriston, Robert Tomlinson, Tom Jackson, Rob Humphrey, Kirsti Harrison, Suzanne Rooney, Alison Gowland, Ronnie and Suzie Pike

Alpha Four - over in Danum Valley with PM's Jon, Tom and Debs
David Bywaters, Chris Mowatt, Thomas Dixon, Ryan Nutt, Joseph Kingston-Lee, Juliet Hermansky, Jessica Haberley, Carly Wallace, Paul Smith, Veronica Waldthausen and Francesca Jackson

Alpha Five - down in Long Pa Sia trekking first with PM's Aaron and Matt
William Muir, El Laine Lim, Robert Aked, Hannah Parker, Laurence Pidgeon, Chloe Bird, Ishen Amara, Madeleine Jacobs, Palmer de Peyster and Vaughn Edwards

Alpha Six - over on Mamutik Island diving first with PM's Miranda, Hen and Ange
Charlene Robinson, India Sparshatt, Yousif Adnan, Jade Yates, Vincent, Joshua Pearson, Lois Allen, Thomas Rhodes and Rob Sibley

The Adventurers (including fieldbase!)

Alpha 5 were the first to trek into Long Pa Sia this phase, and despite a quick KFC stop on the journey down have spent their time in the jungle living off Raleigh rations and the food the jungle has to offer. They have reported spending their time trekking, sweating, complaining about trekking and complaining about sweating – but are all having the time of their lives in the jungles of Long Pa Sia. They have however learnt a harsh lesson on jungle food when they collected and cooked up some mushrooms one morning for breakfast before setting out to Maga Falls – which they never reached due to the mushrooms getting their own back!

They completed their trekking with no further incidents, and more importantly no injuries, and have moved over to Mamutik Island this weekend to start their open water diving qualification – where I imagine they will dive and relax until they have to climb Mt Kinabalu with Alpha 6 at the end of the week.

Alpha 6 had the pleasure of diving first this phase and looked to be spending their first night in the idyllic island setting, it had been a beautiful day whilst they had been doing their classroom theory but as they made their way over to the island on the boat the heavens opened – in quite spectacular fashion. They were able to settle in for the night, and the next day completed the essential repairs to their sleeping area, as well as their first dive’s in the waters around Mamutik.
Everyone loved island life, and they all passed their open water and advanced diving exams before they had to leave for their trekking down in Long Pa Sia, where they have trekked to Maga Falls, and are preparing to join Alpha 5 at the end of this week for the Mt. Kinabalu climb.

Some of the fieldbase team have also had their fair share of excitement this phase. The loop vehicle, affectionately known to us as Bravo 2, is now the official Raleigh International Rescue (RIR) vehicle upon their return from the loop visit. Not only did the loop manage to visit Alpha’s 4 and 2 at Danum and Batu Puteh (and were fed with some top class tucker!) but they finally made it in to Imbak after days of heavy rain that almost prevented the team from getting to Alpha 3. Their excitement didn’t stop with the crossing of the Imbak river, the loop teams rescuing adventures started on their way to Ranau when they were first on the scene of an accident involving a family whose vehicle had gone off the roadway and down an embankment! -miraculously no one was injured, and the newly refurbished Bravo 2 medical kit contained everything they required to lend their assistance. They then made their way home along the Ranau-Kundasang road where the 2nd of the days incidents took place – a tyre blow out! The team quickly made the tyre change and were back on their way when they came across another road traffic accident – the team again sprung into action, assisting with general first aid helping where needed, before they unbelievably made it home without further incident – and just in time for tea!

The Environmentail Projects

The team of Alpha 3 spent a couple of days trekking in their equipment and setting up their home at the BBC Camp, and have started moving sand, cement and cables for the bridge foundations. They have had some set backs with the river halting the progress at the work site, but they have worked like demons when possible to dig the anchor holes for the bridge foundations, collect the pebbles for the cement, and cleaning lots of tar from the cables ready for them to be set into the foundations. They have also been relaxing with swims in the river, and trekking in and around the canyon area.

The Alpha 4 group have been making improvements to the boardwalk around the site and moved water tanks, as well as trail clearing and preparing for the 2 day trek to the Raleigh Cabin to clear the helicopter landing site and the area ready for the work to begin there when the materials and plans are approved by the field centre management. They have also had a lot of fun down in Danum, and have done tubing on the Segama River, been swimming as well as organising Halloween and Guy Fawkes themed evenings and making some rather scrummy do-nuts that the loop particularly enjoyed!

While the majority of the groups trekked off into the jungle to the cabin site under the call-sign of Zulu 4, those that have stayed in camp have seem orang-utans, hornbills and various species of monkey in and around the site. They have also arranged a trip with the scientists out to a tree planting site, and a talk on the work the scientists are doing in the area.