Explorers Connect

Trans American Trail Motorcycle Tour

CommunityBelinda KirkComment

Hi, I am planning to do the TAT (Trans American Trail) in June/July 2015. I am a UK resident but will be exporting my own BMW G650GS Sertao motorcycle for the tour. I am looking to make a documentary about the tour and would be looking for a support rider/riders. No experience necessary just will and determination and your own adventure motorcycle will suffice. But if you have photographic/filming experience all the better.I will be prepping for my trip from a friends house in Massachusetts, before heading off to Tennessee, for navigation I will beusing GPS with maps from the TAT website. I expect the journey to take 4-6 weeks. I could go on, but this is the basic plan if you have any question please ask. This is an unpaid position and you will be expected to pay for accommodation/food/camping equipment and fuel yourself.

Polish Mountain Trek

Join a TeamBelinda KirkComment

Join Jacki Hill-Murphy (author of Adventuresses, Rediscovering daring Voyages into the Unknown} and a trained Polish guide/translator in a trek through the wonderful Tatra Mountains that will include the opportunity to improve your photography skills and learn about the local wild life. The scenery will be stunning and accommodation in mountain huts will guarantee a memorable and action packed trip. There are six places and the cost is 325 which includes full board and all transport (you buy your airfare to Krakow separately).

Please reply to Jacki at jikihm@hotmail.com.

Best options for solo trekking in South Africa?

CommunityBelinda KirkComment

Hello.

I'm going to South Africa from the UK in a few weeks and am trying to work out the best location for solo trekking where it is either permissible (or at least where I can get away with it) and with sleeping huts so I don't need to carry a tent. I'm looking for a challenging hike but one which is feasible solo, ideally with some form of trail marking but that's not a must. I don't want to use a guide or join a group if it can be avoided. Ill be travelling from JoBurg, where Ill be for work in the previous week. I've trekked solo in tons of places like Nepal, New Zealand, Peruvian Andes, Mont Blanc so I'm comfortable alone, but I'm not super hard core and I'm female so somewhere which is relatively safe in that respect is a must. I've trekked (with a guide) in the Drakensburg which was perfect but red tape says solo trekking isn't allowed. Has anyone done so anyway and is there anything stopping me other than lack of hut reservation? Trail possibilities I've looked at are Giants Cup (ideal but cant book as solo trekker - can I work around this?) Tsistikamma (I'm not keen on apparently lots of river crossings)and Amatola. Has anyone done any of these trails? Any guidance appreciated.

Thanks,

Yvette.

#ChapeauCycle across France

CommunityBelinda KirkComment

In 2014 I cycled 5,000 miles across Brazil to visit all 12 of the World Cup football stadiums before the tournament kicked off - it was an amazing way to explore and discover sucha diverse country as it prepared to host this huge event:http://smudgersambacycle.org/When it was over the obvious question became... whats next?Well, Id love to see more of Europe and particularly France, and the next European Championships is being held there (10 June to 10 July 2016), so Im gonna cycle to visit all 10 of the stadiums/cities during May 2016:http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-finals/hosts/france/Heres thebasic route map:http://www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view/Le_Tour_des_Stades/SocEntSycle

Wanna join me for some or all of it?The total distance (starting from London) will be about 1,000 miles, which at a steady pace(ie. touring not racing!)will take about a month, including 1-2 day stops in each host city to look around and visit the stadiums. I plan to camp as much as possible in order to keep costs down, but stay in hostels/BBs or maybe Couchsurf in the cities.I appreciate its probablytricky for peopleto commit to doing the whole thing, so maybe the London to Paris (via Lens and Lille) segment, or the Bordeaux to Nice (via Toulouse and Marseille) segment might appeal to come and join mefor part of the adventure.Ill be blogging via the#ChapeauCyclewebsite (not set up yet) and will be aiming to raise lots of money for a couple of charities(not chosen yet), so the more participants the better to spread the word and turn this into a great story that we can get into the media for coverage. Any ideas/suggestions on that front are very welcome.Allezallezallez!Cheers, Andy

Walk 4 PTSD

CommunityBelinda KirkComment

This walk is due to start on the 04th of May 2015 from Andover High Street and will end 4 months later on the 31st of August 2015.

Those taking part on the walk will be veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and in addition to this VIA are looking for 1,000 people to walk a short distance with the VIA Team.Please follow the link to the Walk 4 PTSD website www.walk4PTSD.org.uk. The idea for Walk 4 PTSD came from our previous long distance walk called World War 1 100 which was not completed due to an injury. Many things were learned from this previous walk and the first was in order to get people to walk with you on something this big it is better to have its own dedicated website which has been constructed. This website will give individuals or teams wishing to join the team the ability to choose where and when using the maps on the site.The aim of the walk is to walk around the coastline of mainland Britain using National Trails and tracks where possible taking in the fantastic countryside that Britain has to offer.The walk will be completed over 4 months with time set aside where the VIA Team will fund-raise in towns and cities on our route. Short walks will also be done into these towns where people will be invited to walk with the VIA Team and get sponsored a minimum of 100 and if we reach our target of 1,000 people throughout the walk we will raise 100k to help those who suffer.

Patagonia Kayaking

Adventure RevolutionBelinda KirkComment

Our mission was to sea kayak down the west coast of Chile. A distance of 800km which would take us 33 days, completely self-supported. From our start point to our finish point, there would be nothing but wilderness. Steep Mountains, Glaciers, Icebergs and some truly testing weather conditions. If you would like to see a film from this expeditions then make a cup of tea and put you feet up and enjoy 30 mins of adventure. For Film follow this link -http://palmequipmenteurope.com/blog/en/hidden-glaciers-patagonia

Trans-Siberian Expedition

CommunityBelinda KirkComment

The Trans-Siberian Expedition is the initiation of a larger project called Run Our Planet Expeditions.For me this will be unmatched in scale, dedication, willpower and grandeur.This series of expeditions will see me run solo/unsupported (mostly) all 7 continents, 40 countries and 30 000 miles in a quest to look at the relationship between Man, Planet, Transport and the Future of it all as well as contributing to good and valuable causes. The Trans Siberian Expedition is the first of these expeditions and will see me running solo/unsupported 8000 miles from Vladivostok (Russia) back to London while raising funds and awareness for the great work that the Youth Sport Trust does for our young people.

http://www.runourplanet-expeditions.com/

Walk Mongolia with Ash Dykes

Join a TeamBelinda KirkComment

Our latest expedition explores the rugged taiga landscape west of the blue pearl of Mongolia Lake Khovsgol the largest and deepest lake in the Central Asian region. As one of the worldsancient lakes, Lake Khovsgol is of significant scientific importance as well as being one of the worlds purest water sources.This 12 day 120km trek covers a region that is without doubt one of the most beautiful parts of Mongolia. Our route explores the western shore of the lake and the surrounding area magnificentviews and great hiking. The province of Khovsgol west of the Khoridol Saridag mountains is the cultural landscape of the Dukha reindeer people who will extend massive hospitality should we meet them. Trekking through forests and meadows, we will move through the home of wild sheep, ibex, bear, moose, and countless species of birds. We will be accompanied by professional guides and pack horses to carry our luggage and equipment.Young Adventurer of the Year 2015 nominee Ash Dykes became the first person to walk solo and unsupported across the width of Mongolia during the summer 2014. This is an incredible opportunity to explore one of the most stunningly beautiful and exciting corners of the world with a world class adventurer as your guide.2nd 15th August 2015Price is 2000 per personPrice includes: Domestic flights, airport transfers, all land transports involved in the itinerary, 2 nights hotel in UB, tent hire for the expedition, all meals in the countryside.Price excludes: International flights, travel insurance (mandatory), Mongolian visa fee (if required), any equipment you might require for the trek, tips for trek staff and drivers, food in Ulaanbaatar, miscellaneous expenses beer, souvenirs etc.

To join please email info@walkmongolia.com for a pre-sign up questionnaire.We are particularly keen to hear from members of the Explorers Connect community so please mention Explorers Connect in your questionnaire.Mongolia Expedition Services reserves the right to refuse sign-up to candidates that it feels would be unfit or unsuitable for this trek

Cycle2Conserve

CommunityBelinda KirkComment

 

On June 11th I shall be cycling around the world. I have wanted to travel the world since a very young ageand have been dreaming about distant lands and faraway adventures for a long time. Now it is time to act upon these dreams and start chasing.As a conservation graduate, I am also very fond of the environment and for me, the chance to raise money and awareness while travelling was a match made in heaven.

I will be stopping my cycle tour regularly, in order to volunteer for various NGOs and help them in their conservation work and to help raise awareness. I want my blog to not only be a personal account of a global cycle tour, but to act as a resource to any future volunteers looking for that perfect project.At this moment in time, I am trying to build up a following on my facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/cycle2conserve (and eventually a twitter account) in order to support my pursuit of equipment sponsorship. If anybody here would like to help me raise the profile of my journey, please like my page, share it with friends who might be interested in a nutter's musings or even better, sponsor me?If anyone would like any further details of my journey please don't hesitate to ask and I will get back to you.

This site rocks!

Darren