. . . LAND ROVER OVERLAND EXPEDITION

. . . PLANNING AN EXPEDITION
     
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Planning an Expedition
 

THE ROUTE
Africa
Rest of the World

THE CREW
Expedition Contract
Travel Resources

THE VEHICLE
Land Rover Specs
Vehicle Documents

THE GEAR
Packing List
Vendors and Links

THE FINANCES
Around-the-World Actuals
Panamerican Actuals

PROFESSIONAL HELP
Mikael Strandberg

 

 

VALUED SPONSOR
Kensington Tours can help you plan your own expedition anywhere in the world.
www.KensingtonTours.com

 

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>>

 

 

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