Driving London to Cape Town in a record 11 days

With access to a far wider variety of information than ever before, I find it ironic that the main online media portals have become so selective and repetitive in the articles they choose to show. Whilst amateur opinions lacking deep thought or knowledge make it to the sport pages on a daily basis, an incredible record-breaking feat such as driving from London to Cape Town in 11 days almost went unnoticed.

Driving from London to Cape town as quickly as possible is nothing new, having started at the turn of the last century. There's more technology available today and cars are arguably better prepared for the ride but the participants still had to average 870 miles per day on a mixture of road conditions completing over 10,000 miles.

This particular expedition came endorsed by Ranulph Fiennes charity Help For Heroes, Mac from Max Adventures worked closely with Ralph on his ROTW attempt and had nothing but positive things to say about him, Mac has been a constant member of his team since.

Whilst people are keen to heap praise on the average sportsman at any minor achievment, adventurers seem to be unfairly overlooked today with exploration to conquere and claim no longer required, true travellers and oddballs with innovative ideas seem to get cast aside. In a blog post last year Mac mentioned that the UK doesn't really get what he's trying to do.



Often wrongly seen as rich kids realising their dreams in the name of charity, characters like Mac are the kind that deserve more attention. Having failed to be an RAF pilot as a young man due to a mixture of suspected heart illness and government cuts, he worked as an expedition leader and mechanic for a travel company specialising in Overland Africa trips. Later he became an off-road driivng instructor and took part in various long-distance driving journeys and a humanitarian mission to Albania during the Kosovan war.

One of his other projects is something that caught my eye, it involved travelling around The Downs by Land Rover collecting abandoned vehicles, typical companies that do this do not venture off-road meaning that the British countryside remains littered with burnt out vehicles and rusting wrecks. The project was succesful and popular in the nearby countryside, unfortunately it was put on hold due to a lack of sponsorship funding but it is still a brilliant idea.

Read more about it on their website

A Solo Trans-Atlantic Kayak Expedition by Aleksander Doba

Pokaż Transatlantic Kayak Expedition na większej mapie

It never ceases to amaze me when spectacular achievements go unnoticed by today's media, it seems that half the population of the UK knows Jordan's most recent bust size and the day to day habits of relatively talentless characters are documented for all to see yet a solo kayak journey across the Atlantic by a 65 year old man isn't brought to the attention of anyone!

The 65 year old Pole, created the rather strange looking kayak in Szczecin and transported it to Senegal where he set off across the Atlantic Ocean on the 26.10.2010, arriving in the Brazilian fishing village of Acarau just over 3 months later on the 02.02.2010.

Samuel Hearne - An English explorer ahead of his time

Samuel Hearne made history by being the first European to walk from Hudson Bay to the Arctic Ocean, unlike his contemporaries Hearne soon realised that the best way to succeed was to do what the locals do.

Today there are few if any places in the world that haven't been explored which doesn't necessary make our feats less outstanding but it's easier to copy the pioneers and fortunately Samuel Hearne wrote in great detail about his journey, the customs of the native population, bushcraft and a bloody battle at the massacre of Bloody Falls.

Long out of copyright, this outstanding read is freely available:

Hearne, Samuel - A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort ... to the Northern Ocean (1795)

Rickshaw Run - Highs and Lows

I put forward a few questions to the maker of the Poonhill Express Movie about the Rickshaw Run and I'm sure the answers will prove interesting for future participants.

What was the best single moment on the trip?

Driving through the mountains in Nepal. After the relentless noise and bustle of India it was such a dramatic change crossing the border and entering the peace and beautiful emptiness of Nepal.

On a personal note the moment I managed to make a spark plug out of two broken ones which got us the last 500km was about the manliest thing I've ever done.

What was the hardest part of the trip?

Realising that it wasn't a tourist trip. Before we went we had so many grand plans about all the things in India we wanted to see. The reality was that there was far too much driving for all that, sometimes up to 14 hours a day. However, we got to see things and places and meet people we would never have any been able to any other way.


What was your favourite place during the journey and why?

We took a morning to visit the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad. They are a series of 30+ temples carved into the hillside. It was a truly amazing place to be and something I'll never forget.




Rickshaws look easy to nick, were you not worried you'd wake up to find it gone in the morning or is rickshaw theft punishable by hanging in India?

It was definitely a concern but, much like the terror of driving in India, it subsided after a day or two. There wasn't really much choice but to trust that the Rickshaw would be there the next day. They are pretty recognisable when you put one against a proper working rickshaw and they aren't worth a lot so it probably wasn't worth nicking anyway. After about 1500km the exhaust started dropping off and after we got bored of fixing it properly it was held on by coathangers which made the rickshaw incredibly loud so anyone who started it would know it definitely wasn't worth the risk.

Were there any teams that either didn't make it due to bad luck or couldn't stand it, had a tiff, packed up and went back home and bought a Bentley?

I heard that one team immediately loaded their rickshaw on to a train because they wanted to spend extra time in North Western India and apparently when they got off the train at the other end the rickshaw was nowhere to be seen. Another team rolled their rickshaw on the last day but got it going again, less a few bits of glazing and bodywork, and made it to the finish anyway.

What happens at the end of the race, is there a base where participants wait for other teams to come in, what's it like and what's the atmosphere there?

There was a board at one of the hotels, which had been declared the finish line. When teams arrived they were put up on the board and then everyone met up for the finishing parade, football match and party. The atmosphere was fantastic, spending a few days exchanging stories, drinking, dancing, eating and finally getting to stay still for a bit was just a great and unforgettable experience.

What was the locals reaction to seeing foreigners in rickshaws?

Everywhere we went everyone wanted to talk to us about what we were doing and why. We never really managed to explain why we were making the trip in a rickshaw but it was a great ice breaker and definitely drew a crowd in big cities and small villages alike.
When we broke down, wherever we were, we were instantly surrounded by people who genuinely just wanted to help and that alone was a great part of the experience.


Was this the first time you participated in an eccentric charity event? If not, what was your first?

I've not done anything like this before. I've been involved in working with charities in the UK and abroad. I have to confess the motivation was much more about having an adventure. Raising money for charity was just an added bonus really. However, in Nepal we had a chance to meet people from one of the charities involved and it really changed my perspective on things. If/When I do something like this again the fund raising is likely to take much greater priority.


Do you have any entries to events by The Adventurists or something similar planned in the future?

Myself and a friend are hopefully planning to do the Mototaxi Junket this year. It seems to me it's like the Rickshaw Run but with much more danger of death which quite frankly is exactly what I'm looking for.

The Adventurists Rickshaw Run in India

The Adventurists' Rickshaw Run is in its 3rd year now, unlike the majority of their charity races, the rickshaw run takes place 3 times a year and the waiting list is usually pretty lengthy. The Winter 2012 entrants will be named soon on January 1st 2011, so that pretty much speaks volumes for the popularity of the event.

Entrance Fee (in 2010):
£1095 per team - this includes all required documents for the rickshaw except the Indian visa which costs about £50.

There is also a £1000 deposit for the rickshaw which is paid back unless you completely write it off or lose it.

Each entrant is encouraged to raise upwards of £1000 which is donated to one or two selected charities mentioned on the sign up page.

Charities:

Depending on the time of year the Rickshaw Run takes place, different charities have benefited from it.

Maiti Nepal (www.maitinepal.org) - An organisation that helps protect against and rehabilitate women and girls who have suffered child labour, sex trafficking, child prostitution, prostitution, domestic violence and women and children with HIV and Hepatitis.

Frank Water (www.frankwater.com) - A British charity that focuses on bringing clean water to people, FrankWater claim that from the donations raised from a single Rickshaw Run event, they were able to bring clean water to 40,000 people.

International Rescue Corps (www.intrescue.org) - A UK based charity that specialise in search and rescue, qualified volunteers assist at the scenes of earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Social Change and Development (www.scad.org.in) - An Indian charity that helps educate and train people practically in rural regions.

The Race:

http://rickshawrun.theadventurists.com/index.php

Depending on the time of year, they seem to run different start and finish points, these being:
Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Cochin in Kerala
Cochin in Kerala to Shillong in Meghalaya
Shillong in Meghalaya to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan

There's no set routes and no assistance, it's an adventure and if the wild animals in the jungles won't get you, then the Indian drivers might just!
Here's an enjoyable blog we found detailing the journey: 
http://asthecrowfliesindia.blogspot.com/

One participant went as far as creating his own film about the adventure: