Junglerunner:
Expedition Team Contract
March 2001 – Jeff Willner
The goal of the Junglerunner Around-the-World trip is to successfully
drive through; Africa, Middle East, India, SE Asia, Australia, South
America, Central, and North America – and during this trip to email
weekly journals to the readership, and post trip reports to the www.junglerunner.com
website.
A flexible route will be maintained to deal with possible barriers or
setbacks encountered while on the road. The itinerary will be routed
to view and/or remain in interesting spots as determined by the team – insomuch
as these detours do not jeopardize the timetable of the trip. To finance
the trip, members of the expedition can raise sponsorships with corporations
using the existing Junglerunner concept/website.
Based on the itinerary of this trip, the team will have to cover approximately
6,000 km per month, or 1,400 km per week. At an average speed of 50 kph,
this may result in 30+ hours per week of driving! In order to stay sane
in such an environment, it is important that each crew member have clearly
defined roles and tasks that need to be carried out each day. These tasks
will probably be rotated on a weekly basis, and the allocation of work
and chores will be adjusted during the trip so that workload is fair.
The entire team will agree at the beginning of each week (or every other
week) on the; itinerary, driving schedule, assignment of duties, and
deadlines.
I. ITINERARY
The trip will be broken into two Stages:
Stage 1: Starts – July 15, 2001 from Cape Town, South Africa
North through Africa, (maybe through Sudan/possibly by ferry) to Egypt,
then through the Middle East to Pakistan and India, the vehicle will
be shipped to Thailand (or to Darwin, Australia depending on schedule)
we will backpack through SE Asia while vehicle is being shipped, drive
south down the middle of Australia
Ends – late December (before Christmas so we can all fly home),
vehicle will be shipped to Lima, Peru
Break: During the holiday break, individuals must obtain visas for the
second half of the trip
Stage 2: Starts – January 2002 from Lima, Peru
South into Bolivia, Chile, down to Tierra del Fuego, north through Argentina
to Buenos Aires, Uruguay, Paraguay, then Rio de Janeiro in Brazil,
inland through Patanal to Venezuela (or ship vehicle from Salvadore),
Venezuela, Columbia (ship to Panama), Central America, US, Canada
Ends – June 2002, Toronto
II. PREPARATION
Prior to the start of the trip, each team member will have to do quite
a bit of preparation work. The main items to be addressed are; visas,
personal biography, travel equipment, health/medicines, personal travel.
Visas (check on availability for your nationality):
? visa should be available at border, ? visa should be purchased prior
to start of trip
? Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania,
Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt
? Middle East: Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey (possibly Saudi
Arabia)
? Iran, Pakistan, India (also possible; Nepal, Tibet/China, Laos)
? SE Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia
You should also check on visa requirements for the South/North America
portion of the trip, and make sure they can be obtained during the short
holiday break.
1. Personal Biography
A brief background, some personal facts, and a good photograph are necessary
for the Team Profiles section of the website (see examples on website
under Team).
2. Travel Equipment
Personal luggage will be restricted to only one regular size backpack
(not the massive expedition pack). Storage space will be very limited
in the truck! You may want to pack a cold weather duffel with extra
clothes and leave it at home - someone can send it to you when we arrive
in the cold weather. Or, pack light and smart. Here is a brief list
of necessary items:
•
Backpack, boots, sandals, polypiline long underwear, non-cotton socks,
rough shirts, expedition pants (one skirt for women), fleece, rainproof
shell, hat, gloves, cold weather coat
•
Sub-zero sleeping bag, flashlight, medicines (including malaria), cosmetics,
alarm clock
•
Digital camera, laptop, palm pc (not necessary – but the vehicle
will be able to provide power)
•
Money belt/travel pouch, Passports/visas, Immunization records (International
Travel Immunization Record), List of emergency contact numbers/emails
plus copies of everything (leave copies at home)
“Smush” bags (I’m not sure what they are called outside
Canada) are vital to reducing the volume of your pack – put bulky
items in the bag, seal it, then sit on it to press all the air out – it
will greatly reduce the size!
3. Health/Medical
You should see a doctor or travel clinic several months prior to starting
the trip. There are quite a few shots necessary and some must be done
six weeks prior to start of trip. Make sure everything is documented
on your International Travel Immunization booklet, Also, get prescriptions
for personal medicines.
Here is a list of things for your medical kit:
- Basic stuff (band aids, gauze, tape, first-aid cream, triple antibiotic
salve) – there will be a large First Aid kit packed with the main
expedition supplies
- Swiss army knife
- Small sewing kit, small scissors, tweezers, safety pins
- Moist toilettes (very handy when no shower available), Antibacterial
hand gel (very useful)
- Ziploc baggies (vital to keep little bits dry)
- Cold/flu medicine (caplets)
- Personal prescription medications (whatever you need)
- Pepto-bismol tablets!!! important - chewable (sometimes you don't have
water handy)
- Imodium A-D or other diarrhea medicine (you will get upset stomach
when eating such different food)
- Eye medicine (Neosporin eye drops)
- Tylenol, aspirin, Advil or other painkiller
- Mosquito repellent (DEET 35% concentration – DeetPlus, Repel
or Deep Woods, to spray on skin)
- Calamine lotion for bites, stings
- Sunscreen, aloe vera gel
- Iodine tablets to purify water (Globaline, Potable Agua, or Coghlan – emergency
only, usually bottled water is available for sale)
- Altitude pills are very helpful at high altitudes (Diamox), also Glucose
tablets (critical on mountain climbs)
- Vitamins
- Quick-drying camping towel
4. Personal Travel
You must figure out your airfare requirements. The expedition starts
in South Africa (we can pick you up in Johannesburg if that is easier
than Cape Town). You should budget for several flights (possibly over
Middle East?, India to Thailand, Indonesia to Australia, Australia
to home for holidays (if you wish), home to Peru to re-start trip,
Brazil to Venezuela?, Canada to home at end of trip). Check with a
travel agent or consolidator to figure out the best and cheapest way
to fly. You should NOT book airfare other than the trip to South Africa,
prior to the start of the trip. Our itinerary is flexible and we will
have to take unexpected detours!
The best (and cheapest) way to insure your personal effects while on
the road is under a renter’s insurance policy – pay insurance
on a rental apartment (a friend/parent’s address) and automatically
your personal gear will be covered while traveling! Health insurance
may be cheapest from your local auto club, or government sponsored. Make
sure you get a health insurance plan that will cover you even in the
remote sections of the trip! – to make sure you can be airlifted
to a good hospital if necessary. Health insurance is usually cheapest
if you buy a six month policy (get the second policy during the holiday
break).
III. EXPEDITION COSTS
Estimated expedition costs and allocations are broken down as follows
($US quoted). The Expedition Costs noted in this section are based
on a “best guess” right now – they also do not reflect
any sponsorship amounts or other income. In the Sponsorship section
there is a discussion of how sponsorship revenue is distributed and
how it could reduce the overall cost of the expedition. Also, some
expenses are based on a particular resale value (example $10,000 depreciation
cost for vehicles). If the resale value is higher, then the resulting
cost will be lower.
Vehicle Costs – Team (may be covered by sponsor – not confirmed
yet)
The expensed (depreciated) portion of the vehicle(s) that is used up during
the trip is paid for by the whole team (or by sponsors) and is included in
the expedition expenses. The up-front cost of the vehicle (ownership) will
be paid for by Jeff Willner.
$10,000 – Depreciated amount ($20,000 cost -$10,000 end value
in Canada/US)
3 person/1 vehicle team: $2,000 per person
$1,000 - Satellite phone (also, GPS/Delorme ‘EARTHA Global Explorer’)
Internet cafes will be used when available – extremely limited use of
the satellite phone
$2,000 - Full vehicle kit, includes:
Camp gear - spare tent, chairs, tables, containers
Cooking equipment - plates, cutlery, containers, stove, pots/pans, fire starter
Safety equipment - flares, fire extinguishers, first-aid kits, snakebite serum,
medicine kit
Spares - full set of spare engine parts, filters, hoses, belts, oil, plus tool
kit
Road equipment - shovel/axe, 2 tarps, parachute silk, tow rope, bungee cords,
tie-down rope, road triangles, air compressor, tire seal spray, oil changer
wrench (etc), 2 spare tires
$13,000 – Expedition Total – estimate 3 person team
3 person/1 vehicle team: $4,333 per person
Travel Costs – Team (equal allocation)
$6,000 – Diesel Cost, 63,000km x 9litre/100km x $1/litre
$2,400 – Vehicle & Expedition gear Insurance
$4,000 – Maintenance/Repairs
$3,000 – Vehicle transport, customs fees
$3,500 – Vehicle shipping (Madras, India-Thailand?, Singapore to
Lima)
$6,000 – Camp food/supplies ($400 per month)
$800 – Satellite/Website updates (basic useage) $1.49/min, $19.99/mth
subscription
$25,700 – Expedition Total – estimate 3 person team
3 person/1 vehicle team: $8,567 per person
These costs are pretty generous and should provide some “buffer” in
the budget. However, there is a possibility that the expedition will
incur some large unexpected costs (blow an engine, wreck a truck, theft
or loss of gear, expensive detour). These challenges will require a team
decision whether or not to collectively add more money to the budget
or to cut out other parts of the trip to make up the difference. If the
costs of the trip are less than this budget, the difference will be adjusted
in the Stage 2 payment, and/or with the Deposit refund at the end of
the trip.
Personal Costs – Individual (per person)
$?? – Backpack, clothing, sleeping bag/mat, personal effects, digital
camera/video, laptop (palmtop), etc.
$4,200 – Airfare (Africa start, Intermediate trips, Holiday break,
South America start, Return home)
$1,200 – Visas (for individual countries)
$600 – Insurance (travel, health/medical, life, contents)
$3,000 – Hotels, restaurants (when team does not want to camp and
eat our own cooking)
$1,000 – Souvenirs, Gifts
$10,000 – Total estimate
These costs are a total estimate. It is solely up to the individual how
much he/she spends on personal expenses (although some airfare, visa,
insurance, and hotel costs will be unavoidable).
Total Individual Costs
If the estimates are reasonably correct, individual team member costs
would break down as follows:
Individual Trip Costs 3 person team Payment Schedule
Vehicle Cost $4,333 Deposit (refunded) $5,000
Travel Costs $8,567 Beginning Stage 1 $6,450
Personal Costs $10,000 Beginning Stage 2 $6,450
TOTAL INDV. COSTS $22,900 Refund* - $5,000
* Refund is returned when you leave the trip.
If other guests are invited to ride along and can contribute toward
the expedition costs – the money will be used to offset expedition
costs (or used on future hotel costs or something).
If you are confirmed on the team, you must send in your $5,000 deposit
to secure your place. Send to:
Jeff Willner
<address>
IV. SPONSORSHIPS
This is a way for you to cut down on your personal expenses. The website
has been set up to sell sponsorships prior to the start of the trip.
I have also already made deals with some online magazines to accept
articles from the crew as we are on the road (though articles don’t
pay very much). Your best way to cover your expedition costs is to
get a company to become a product sponsor ($15,000-$30,000). This will
pretty much cover the cost of your trip!
Junglerunner is a fantastic way for companies to sell to the young professional
audience. Several of the team members are recent MBA grads, and the core
of our email list are thousands of MBA students and alumni from the top
schools (Wharton, Harvard, Chicago, LBS, Tuck, Columbia, Northwestern,
etc). This is an affluent and dynamic target market – and would
really benefit a company that sells upscale products! Check out the Sponsor
section of the website for more information on how to sell sponsorships.
Sample emails are included in the appendix of this document for you to
email to people in companies that you would like to attract.
Sponsorship contracts must be approved by Jeff Willner (it will be a
problem if too many deliverables are promised, or if prices to different
sponsors are very different). When team members use the Junglerunner
concept/website to raise sponsorship, the deals should be structured
according to the sponsorship sheet on the website (though flexible deals
can be worked out if necessary).
If a team member raises more than the necessary amount of sponsorship
to pay for their entire trip, then the sponsorship amounts in excess
of their costs will be split with; 80% going toward general expedition
costs, and 20% remaining with the team member. Extra expedition money
will be used to cover vehicle costs. Additional money raised beyond these
amounts will be used to expand the scope of the trip (adventure activities) – and
add some luxury accommodations from time to time!
Example:
Team member raises $72,900 in sponsorship on a 3 person team.
Exped. Share Member Share Result
First $22,900 $11,450 $11,450 Trip totally paid for!
Remaining $50,000 $40,000 $10,000 Member has an extra $10,000 spending money
V. LEAVING THE EXPEDITION
Note: If the team member leaves the expedition, 50% of their sponsorship
proceeds must remain with the expedition (since the sponsor is buying
advertising on the website/journals and the rest of the team must continue
to work to meet this obligation). The other half of the sponsorship
proceeds may be used by the team member for their own personal expenses
and may be taken with them if they leave the expedition.
Non-performance
This trip will be a success if the team can work well together and depend
on each other. In such a tight environment and spending so much time
together, if one member of the crew is not fulfilling their responsibilities
(or is not acting in a positive and pro-active manner) it will put
a serious strain on the rest of the team. It is very important on expeditions
like these to have open and constant communication between team members.
Clearly there is a financial incentive for the team to retain all members
(once the vehicles are purchased, the more members there are, the less
expensive it is for everyone). However, if one team member is not meeting
their responsibilities, there will be a system of dealing with this:
1. They will be given a private warning by the expedition leader
2. If there is no improvement, they will be given a further warning by
the expedition leader
3. If there is no improvement, they will be given a public warning in
a group meeting and be put on a 2 week probation
4. If there is no improvement, there will be an open discussion with
the group to determine what we want to do – if there is unanimous
agreement (not including the member in question) the team member may
be asked to leave the expedition at the next appropriate city
Asking a team member to leave is an extreme measure. It should be the
intent of the group to be flexible in the face of challenges and understanding
of each person’s individual challenges. If a team member is asked
to leave the expedition, they will be refunded their Deposit, the unused
portion of the expedition Travel costs, and a pro-rated amount of the
vehicle/equipment costs.
SUMMARY
This will be an amazing expedition – tough, challenging, sometimes
monotonous, but with a lifetime of experiences and adventures in store.
I believe that if we work hard, use our skills, and have a bit of luck,
we can create a dynamic internet adventure that will allow us to share
this adventure with a huge audience. And that the resulting popularity
of the expedition will open new opportunities for us all. But even
if the web broadcasts are not hugely successful, this is a great opportunity
for you to participate in an amazing trip with experienced leadership
and a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary. If you have any questions about
the Team Document
Jeff Willner – Expedition Leader
Appendix 1 - Waiver
I, ___________________________, in consideration of my participation
in the JungleRunner Around-the-World expedition, between the months
of July 2001 to June 2002 (or such time as the expedition remains on
the
road), intending to be legally bound for myself, my heirs, executors
and administrators, hereby waive and release, Jeff Willner, Junglerunner
Ltd., other Junglerunner team members, their successors, assigns, trustees,
officers, faculty, employees and agents, from any and all claims or
demands for damages or injuries arising out of or in any way connected
with my
participation in this trip including any event relating to traveling
to and from the expedition.
I understand that Jeff Willner, Junglerunner Ltd., other Junglerunner
team members, will take no responsibility for the cause of any injuries
that I may sustain. I acknowledge that I am participating in this activity
voluntarily and I agree to assume all risks associated with this activity.
I understand that the risks of injury may result from my own fault
or the fault of someone else and that the injuries that I may sustain
may
be serious and permanent. I understand that execution of this waiver
does not supercede any release/waiver or authorization required by
other tour companies involved in this expedition.
For a fuller understanding of the risks, I acknowledge that I know of
the web location of the U.S. State Department Travel Advisories for the
complete expedition itinerary: <http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html>.
I have read this form and fully understand its contents and by my signature
below acknowledge that I am signing it voluntarily.
__________________ _________________ _____________
Signature Print Date
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Emergency Contact (Name, Phone, Email)
Appendix 2 - Rights & Limitations
1. The full rights of the Junglerunner name, website, and collateral
remain solely the property of Jeff Willner
2. Final edit of journals and material posted to the Junglerunner site
are at the discretion of Jeff Willner
3. Team members may publish their own journal materials after the trip
subject to approval by any and all others whose materials they use
4. Team members are responsible for their own personal insurance to cover;
health/medical, property, trip changes, life, etc
Expedition Leader
1. Maintain overall responsibility for the success of the expedition
and the Junglerunner brand
2. Co-exist amicably with the rest of the team, and contribute to a positive
working environment
3. Write and edit all journals/pictures/video into a weekly; Yahoo Groups
summary journal, and a full size journal to be posted on the website
4. Share equally; driving responsibilities and expedition work
5. Actively solicit sponsors (to try and reduce overall cost of the trip
and increase visibility in the press)
6. Approve any sponsorship deals if they involve the Junglerunner brand/website
7. Primary press contact
8. If there is disagreement on the team, we will put issues to a fair
vote (all passengers who are paying their fair share of expenses have
a vote) – if we are still deadlocked, I will have the deciding
vote.
9. In certain circumstances, if I feel a decision will unduly jeapordize
the expedition success, the vehicle, or the whole team – based
on my previous expedition experience and ownership of the vehicle and
concept, I may overrule the group
It is my intention to publish a book after the expedition (and possibly
develop the expedition experiences into a movie). In addition, this expedition
will be used to further develop the strength of the Junglerunner brand
so that more extensive sponsorships can be secured to undertake other
ambitious expeditions in the future. Therefore, because of these future
goals and because I have already invested a considerable amount of time,
money, and energies to date, it is important to me that I maintain complete
ownership of the Junglerunner brand/website, and any collateral materials
that are a direct result of this expedition.
Team Members
A member of the Junglerunner team must be able to perform the following
roles:
1. Co-exist amicably with the rest of the team, and contribute to a positive
working environment
2. Write and submit one “personal perspective” journal (250-500
words) each month
3. Share equally the driving responsibilities of the expedition vehicle(s)
4. Assume responsibility for specific tasks for; planning prior to the
trip, and for the conduct of the expedition while on the road
5. Team members will probably want to take side trips (and meet up with
the expedition at a later point) – however, there must be general
agreement and the workload needs to be shared out fairly
6. Actively solicit sponsors (to try and reduce overall cost of the trip
and increase visibility in the press)
7. Fulfill the requirements of personal sponsors (if deliverables are
required in addition to journal/website advertising)
8. During the expedition, each team member will have equal rights, responsibilities,
and work – and one vote when decisions need to be made
Appendix 3 – Sample Sponsorship Pitch
Sponsor Pitch Email – send this to senior management in potential
sponsor companies:
From July'01-June'02, a group of young professionals will set off on
a one year, 60,000km trip through 44 countries by Land Rover. Most of
us are recent MBA grads and we are documenting our progress via weekly
journals to an expedition website; www.junglerunner.com
Of course I've been a long-time <<product>> user. <<state
reason why you think the company would be a great sponsor>>. Given
our audience of 20,000+ MBAs (Wharton, Harvard, Chicago, LBS, etc. -
a great target market) plus press coverage, would your company be interested
in sponsoring the expedition? We believe we are an excellent demographic
to test out your company’s latest range of upmarket products. A
great many of our classmates will be going into consulting and banking,
and many will be following the progress of our trip with interest. We
think that given our personal connections to this prestigious readership
list, our sponsors will have excellent visibility!
A brief email, with recent digital pictures and highlights of the week’s
adventures, will be sent directly to our readership list (starting at
5,000 and growing to 40,000 by the end of the trip). This email will
invite users to click through to the expedition website for more details
on the progress of the expedition - and will include ads from our sponsors.
We expect to attract a significant number of new readers to signup on
the distribution list as they are pulled in via forwarded email. In addition,
we expect to generate increasing press as the trip continues, “Young
Professionals drive around the world”, etc – through which
our sponsors would receive even more coverage.
We hope that you can see the possibilities in this trip, and look forward
to developing a strategy with you. If I should be working with someone
else on this issue - would you mind forwarding this message. Thank you.
Best regards,
<<
your name>>
Africa
1999