Introduction
I think many people dream of going on an expedition to some remote, exotic place; however, few actually get past the dreaming stage. In my young days, inspiration came from reading book by the great explorers: Sir Wilfred Thesiger, Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Henry Walter Bates, etc. Today, I guess inspiration is more likely to come from watching TV programmes on Discovery Channel and National Geographic. I hope my writing here inspires some younger people to try their hand at organizing and running an expedition of their own. Hopefully, my experience will save them some time, money and heartache, because learning the hard way is a tough route to go, especially when there is so much to know. For some, an expedition is a scientific exploration, for others, the desire to cross oceans, travel waterways, climb mountains, explore caves, to experience new cultures, or just to go someplace they otherwise would not visit.

Wherever inspiration comes from, in some people there is a spark ignited that refuses to go away – the desire to explore. Fuelled by reading library books, my first expedition was a solo trip to the British Lake District at the age of thirteen (I told my mother I was going on an organized school trip, but went on my own). I roamed around on the high fells with my camping gear packed in an ex-Army Bergen, lived on baked beans cooked over a Tommy cooker, and summited Scafell Pike. Even after expeditions to the Amazon, the Andes, all over Africa and Asia in my later years, the thrill of that first adventure in the Lake District is never forgotten. The obsession that gripped me led to weeks of detailed planning, teaching myself new skills, such as, map reading and using a compass, trying out living under canvas in our back garden and breaking in new boots by tramping miles around the streets until my toes stopped blistering and my feet hardened. I read everything I could find on camping, climbing and the Lake District, and in the months leading up to the summer holidays, my school work slipped to abysmal levels. I was obsessed.

What my first boyish expedition taught me was an invaluable set of basics; you need a plan, you need to be equipped, you need to be able to fund the venture and you need the physical strength to make the journey. I should have added a crisis plan, but at thirteen, speculating on disaster doesn’t enter one’s mind. Fortunately, nothing went wrong!

If the spirit of adventure lives in you, I hope my book will inspire you to overcome all the difficulties and practical issues that surround organizing an expedition of your own, and help to turn your dream into a reality.

Starting point
All good planning starts with a pen and paper (or computer and word processing program); you probably have in mind some idea of where you want to go and why, if not, this becomes your starting point. Think about why you want to embark on your expedition. It may be linked to your own passion for outdoor activities, a hobby, such as, photography, or to practically further your training in, for example, art, social studies, geology, or archaeology. Whatever your personal reason, a thirst for adventure, a school field trip, a gap-year or a university research project, think about the activities you want to undertake and the field work you really would like to do. Perhaps you would like to do aid work in some remote area of the world.

Get realistic
Dreams lead to achieving things you would not otherwise do, but reality is key. Having decided where you would like to go and why, what the purpose of the expedition is, and if you plan to go alone or in a group, have a look at the costs involved. Cost can be the dream killer. You need to jot down the key expenses: equipment, travel, insurance, etc., and do the maths. If you can fund the project, then start the detailed planning. It is possible to find sponsorship but this is not an easy task and I will cover this in a future article. Only the lucky few find this form of funding, so don’t take it for granted in the initial stages. You also need to take into consideration the cost involved if things go wrong: medical attention, emergency travel home, replacing a broken or stolen vehicle, etc. Do your research well, freighting scientific equipment, for example, can be costly and time consuming, taking months. Airfreight is faster but very expensive.

Think about your level of physical and mental fitness; is it sufficient for the undertaking? By definition, an expedition is taking you out of your comfort zone and away from any personal support system. You need to be in good shape and medically fit. Start with a visit to your doctor and have a check up. If all is well, begin to build up your personal level of fitness. You have to be both physically and mentally fit enough to see your undertaking through or you risk potential disaster.

You have to investigate the cost of a sufficient level of insurance to cover a worst case scenario. Your normal medical policy isn’t sufficient and holiday insurance will not cover you. Talk to your insurance company and get a quote and be prepared for a shock. They may refuse to give you any sort of insurance cover at all; on the other hand, they may act as a sponsor.

You also need to think about the time the expedition will take. Bear in mind that expeditions do not always run like clockwork, so taking a month off work may not cut it. In remote regions especially, travel can become protracted and in certain areas weather can delay an expedition for days. You need an understanding boss who is supportive of your project. You need an understanding spouse too!

The world is a smaller, and more regulated place than in the days of the great explorers. Even in remote places you may need a visa to enter the country, permission from government departments for your expedition, local permits, and there are many remote places that are protected habitats requiring permission from wildlife officials and local rangers. A trip to the embassy of the country you plan to visit may help you establish some of the legalities involved in visiting their country, but be aware that consular officials may not know anything at all about local customs and permits. Be sure to ask about permission to film or take photos because not all countries are quick to agree to this. You also need advice on the stability of the region you plan to visit and the politics of the area. Having visited the embassy of your host country, visit your own embassy and cross-check all you have learned. If your own embassy advises you not to travel to a certain region, you would be foolish to ignore their advice.

• Have sufficient funds;
  
  
• are medically and physically fit and mentally strong;
  
  
• have the necessary skills;
  
  
• have the time;
  
  
• can secure all the necessary travel documents.
  

Create an overview of your expedition
Every expedition has some sort of objective, whether this is to gain personal experience or to contribute to scientific or artistic achievement. Some venture out for financial gain by making a documentary film or planning to sell the intellectual property rights of the photos, perhaps writing a book about the journey. Do not automatically expect to achieve any of these unless you are skilled in the areas and have arranged to sell your work before you go. I knew a person who returned from an exciting expedition, only to be told that her camcorder did not produce a film of the necessary quality to interest a TV company and on another occasion I knew a person who spent two years writing a book on his exciting Amazon adventure, only to fail in finding a publisher. The same applies to publishing scientific papers. You have to make these agreements before you go if your main objective is financial gain. There are many well-known scientists, film makers and authors out there doing this for a living and they get priority.

1. Write down a clear statement that defines the aim of the expedition.
   
   
2. Write down secondary objectives for the expedition.

Weight how important it is to achieve your secondary objectives; this has a great bearing on deciding the feasibility of your project. Secondary objectives are the things you would like to achieve if conditions, time and money permit. Make an honest appraisal of your primary aim and secondary objectives. Can you, or your team, really accomplish them? If you are not too sure, perhaps you should trim down your list or tackle a lesser challenge. It is important that the team all agree on the aim and secondary objectives of the expedition. If you have sponsors, or people backing you with publishing rights, they also have to agree. Get this right from the outset or it will lead to all sorts of problems and disappointments later.

3. Appoint your leadership

From the outset, it is vital to establish leadership. The expedition may have been your idea, and you may at this stage have done a lot of the ground work, but dig deep and decide if you are the best qualified person to take charge. If yours is a solo expedition, this is the time to consider if you should employ help in the form of local guides or even local security. It depends how well you know yourself, especially if you are young and inexperienced. Ask people who know you well if they think you can handle such responsibility; be prepared to hear a few home-truths.

• It is a common mistake to put in charge the person who contributes the largest amount of funding.
  
  
• It is also a common mistake to put in charge someone who is the most popular, the most educated or who has the highest perceived social standing in the group.
  
  
• It is a common mistake to put in charge someone who has been on other expeditions but has no experience in actually leading an expedition.
  
  
• It is a common mistake not to have a specific leader or leaders, rather to share the responsibility collectively. This does not work well if a tough decision has to be made like sending someone home and can easily lead to arguments and the whole team falling apart.
  
  
• It is a common mistake for one person to be responsible for everything.
  
  

Good leadership is critical to the success of the expedition. Consider using the skills-mix of your team wisely. The role of leader can shift from person to person at different stages of the project. For example, a person may be an excellent organizer. This person can take charge of the pre and post-expedition work, travel arrangements, etc., and then hand over to someone else. A person with medical training can be in charge of all things relating to health issues with the responsibility to decide if someone can stay or has to go home because of ill health. The moment the team leave for their destination, you should have one person in charge and a deputy to back up the role. The leader’s role will be looked at in more detail in a future article.

4. Expedition identity

5. Critical path analysis:

This detailed analysis if vital for a major expedition; it is very useful even for a minor expedition in one’s home country. As the number of headings is expanded to break things down into small detail, the priority actions become very evident and the dependencies are more obvious. For example, it can be very time-consuming to obtain necessary travel permits and local permits. Equipment selection, training and testing is a long process. Determining what needs to be done first saves embarrassment later and it is easier for the expedition leaders to assign responsibilities to team members and give them sufficient time to complete their allotted tasks.

Assessing the time and financial needs
Once the whole critical path is drawn out (can be a very large piece of paper!), assigning timescales will be a matter of using accurate information and intelligent guesswork. Always allow a good contingency because there are always setbacks and delays; things rarely run smoothly.

The critical path should also be used to control or develop a budget for the expedition. Every action has a cost and this should be reflected on your plan.

Look at each area you have selected and draw up a set of contingencies for each.

6. Risk assessment:

• Illness.
  
• Political instability, war, local insurrection.
  
• Threat of kidnapping, theft and other crime.
  
• Vehicle breakdowns, other transport issues.
  
• Adverse weather.
  
• Failure of equipment, especially communications equipment.
  
• Supplies not arriving.
  
• Problems with officials in host country.
  
• Sponsors backing out.
  
• Team members backing out.
  
  

Not pleasant in the high energy and excitement of planning an expedition, but you also need to think about what you will do if an expedition member is killed. You may be deep in the Amazon rainforest and getting a body back home may not be possible. Someone has to inform close relatives; you need to think about these things from the outset. For the same reason, have a lawyer draw up an agreement indemnifying the entire expedition, especially the leaders, from claims by grieving family members. Everyone has to accept and go on the expedition at their own risk. If someone is killed, this has a very depressing effect on the others, you should decide before you go how your team will try and handle this situation.

Summary:
The critical path and risk assessment forms the basis for the whole expedition plan and can be used to draw up individual and group briefing notes. It is also an excellent basis for a business plan if you intend to seek sponsorship. This it the language businesses, insurance companies and financial organizations understand, so a smart-looking, well worked-out, plan will go a long way to finding support.