Packing, unpacking, repacking.

Well, that's it everyone. No more worrying. No more counting down the days. Tonight is the night.

I am sitting at Dree's after taking everything out of my bag and then, after fifteen careful minutes of looking through it all, putting it all back in exactly the same way. Then repeating the process.

Earlier on I couldn't see my bedroom floor. This afternoon it was covered with a ridiculous amount of travel items - mosquito spray, sun cream, guide books, shorts, deodorant, toothbrush, travel towel, flip flops, wet wipes, penknife, gaffa tape, malaria tablets, camera, wind-up head torch, insurance documents, Euros, padlock, plasters, clothes....

It's a green carpet, I'm sure. Or is it? Too late now. I'll email Dad to check.

We have brought a lot of strange things between us - I have got the world's largest daypack with my camera inside, Barney has six pairs of shorts and Dree has the world's largest bottle of antiseptic handwash as it was reduced.

But don't worry everyone, all is well. Bags are packed, passports in date, photocopies photocopied. Burchy has very kindly offered to drive us down to Heathrow at 10pm (after filling up his tyres with petrol, according to his girlfriend), and Barney's just nipped down the road to Tesco's to get those bargain reduced items.

Will let you know how the next 24 hours pans out. If everything goes to plan, we should be relaxing in our hotel in Dakar. Nerves, excitement, sleep deprivation to come before that. Can't wait.