It just became real

For a long time, The Long Descent has been an idea.

I've talked about paddling the Orange from source to sea for years. I've thought about the route, the logistics, the boats, the time it would take, and all the reasons why it would be a great thing to do. But there is quite a difference between talking about an expedition and actually committing to one.

Launching this website feels like crossing that line.

Suddenly The Long Descent has a name, a website, a route, and a starting point on the calendar. We're aiming to put the kayaks on the water sometime in January 2027.

More importantly, we've started telling people that Ruben and I are actually going to do this.

Which makes it considerably harder to quietly change our minds!

There's still a huge amount to do. Equipment to finalise, logistics to sort out, training to do, things to test, and plenty of questions we don't have answers to yet. I'm sure some of our plans will change several times before we eventually put the kayaks on the water.

But I'm ridiculously excited about it.

For years, paddling the Orange from source to sea has been something I wanted to do one day.

It doesn't feel like one day anymore.

We're doing this.