I’m reluctant to leave but I have no real excuse to stay. My pack is heavy but comfortable as we head off on our long trip. There’s an air of excitement amongst my group, as being the most gung-ho we’re travelling the furthest, confident we’ll achieve our goal of getting to Devil’s Thumb, the tallest peak on the local maps. We’ve packed sensibly, leaving excess gear at base camp. We’ve bundled the gear we need for the mangrove sojourn and it’s ready to be driven to meet us there. We’ve planned well and are confident of success. Well, the rest of the group is. Our days fall into a routine—we walk all day. The topographic maps we’re using for navigation are inaccurate once in the dense rainforest. Created from aerial surveys they must never have been ground-truthed. Some days we walk all day and, according to the maps, traverse four kilometres. In actual fact we have walked up and down about eight or ten hills; hills that aren’t marked on the map, masked by larger hills overshadowing what lies below.
What do You think about The Virginity Mission (2013)?
