Czes and Pete's Great Big South African Adventure!: October 2008

Monday 13 October 2008

Day 12 - The boys are back in town

Landed safely, through passport control, bags collected and now sitting in a taxi on the way home! Now can I shave that beard off before Janet sees it?!!

Sunday 12 October 2008

Day 11 - Homeward bound

Pete gets on the plane!

Not sure how he managed it (without a passport) but Pete is on the plane to Blighty ... and doesn't he look pleased!

The Great Escape

Got through immigration at Joburgh thanks to the guys from the British Consulate! So a BIG thank you to Greg..

Long wait around!

We took a coach from Port Edward to Durban airport where the flight to Joburg has been delayed. At least I'm on this flight! Not sure about the next though!

what will the day bring?

Pete contemplates what the day has in store for him. How hard can it be to get home without a passport... on a Sunday when the offices of all that might help him are shut?

Monkey business

The place we are staying in seems to be overrun by monkeys!

About last night

We were treated to a Police escort and a traditional Zulu reception when we arrived yesterday afternoon. Everyone became very emotional as we all congratulated each other on completing the journey.

One of the stranger traditions of the tour is that a bike is ridden into the Hotel's pool - the picture shows the motorbike in the pool! Yes the headlights are still on ... and after a bit of gently tweaking, the bike restarted once out of the pool!

Saturday 11 October 2008

Day 10 - 200km

The last day of riding - what surprises will the team leaders spring? Everyone is a mixture of exhausted, injured, elated and definitely emotional.

Last day fever

Spirits are high as this is the last riding day... and no they are not having a crafty pee!

Only cloud on the horizon is Pete losing his passport! Watch this space for further updates!

Friday 10 October 2008

Day 9 - 200km

We started off with a visit to the hole in the wall and then stopped off at the beautiful Coffee Bay to watch schools of dolphins swim by and even a whale!

Later on in the morning, the more adventurous amongst us had a go at trying to wheelie in Kevin's Wheelie School - more falls to me I'm afraid!

Thursday 9 October 2008

Day 8 - 250km - Normal service is resumed!

We resumed riding today after our rest day. The riding is getting tougher; plenty of bruises but no broken bones yet!

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Day 7 - Rest day

No riding today, instead we visited a local school which is helped by Touch Africa and a small team of us spent all day putting up solar panels to power the school.

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Day 6 - The technical day

This is the day that everyone has been looking forward to / dreading as it will be the most technically challenging day so far!

Lunch break

Pete takes a quick nap at lunchtime!

When the going gets tough ....

Amazing day but really tough. not many miles covered but crossed rivers, up very steep hills, culminating in the Gorge! which was hard. lost count of the number of times I fell after the tenth fall!

Breakfast time at Morgans Bay

Beautiful start to what is likely to be the toughest day so far!

Monday 6 October 2008

Day 5 - 300km

We rode nearly 300 km today so very sore bottoms all round! starting from Katberg, we rode over the Hogsback to Morgans Bay. fall count now: Czes 3 : Pete 2.

Alternative found to the lager nonsense!

Fortunately I have managed to find an alternative to drinking lager - Castle Milk Stout!

Sunday 5 October 2008

Day 4 - 250km

Another long day in the saddle going through a couple of game reserves! Spotted a Rhino!

Health and Safety in SA

It is fair to say that the South Africans have a more relaxed attitude to health and safety as we have ridden through four game reserves on our bikes. advice was "Dont stop!"

The hill

Pete negotiated going down this hill last night but took the scenic route this morning going back up it!

Fall count now:
Czes 2
Pete 1.

Saturday 4 October 2008

Day 3

Introduced to our bikes (Honda CRF230) for the first time. A quick briefing on the do’s and don’ts of riding in Port Elizabeth and we're off on the first day's riding!

Game reserve

First day on the rough stuff! interesting experience! lunch was in a game reserve ... spot the lion.

Leaving the hotel for the first time

Big send off today, but it soon off to the beach for the first of many photo opportunities for the Gold team ... and the scene of my first tumble!

Morning makeup!

Very important to look your best

Friday 3 October 2008

Day 2

Arrived Johannesburg and then caught a connecting flight to Port Elizabeth. Freshened up, had a few beers and were then given the first of the daily briefings.

Arriving in SA

A camera shy Pete leaving the plane at Joburg and enjoying his first cigarette for 15 hours!

Thursday 2 October 2008

Day One

Depart from Heathrow at 15.00.
Today is the big day! Some last minute preparations to be completed and then we'll be off to the airport!

First beer of the trip!

Just negotiated check in and security.. Cling filming the bags was interesting and not cheap!

Special message to my brother-in-law

Happy 50th Birthday Bill!

Love from the

Guildford Four!

Wednesday 1 October 2008

1 day to go

The SA Weather Service forecast Fine weather for our arrival in Johannesburg with temperatures ranging from a minimum of 13C to a maximum of 31C (thats 55F to 88F in real money).

UNICEF - Born free from HIV

Every minute of every day, a baby is born with HIV, passed on by his or her mother during pregnancy, labour or upon delivery. For babies with HIV in the world’s poorer countries being born with HIV is often tantamount to a death sentence. The harsh truth is that without treatment, half of all HIV-positive babies will not live long enough to see their second birthday; and a third will not even live beyond a year.

The good news is that we can prevent babies getting HIV from their mothers. The Born Free from HIV phase of the campaign aims to ensure that all pregnant women with HIV receive the right medicine and care to prevent them passing HIV onto their baby. Given this medicine and care, the chance that a mother with HIV will pass the virus to her baby drops to less than 1 in 50.

For 60 years UNICEF has been the world's leader for children, working on the ground in 156 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. UNICEF helps children receive the support, health care and education they need to cope with the threats of childhood poverty - such as preventable disease or malnutrition - and grow up to become healthy adults.

Sentebale

Sentebale is a dynamic new charity with a mission to transform the lives of Lesotho's orphans and vulnerable children. The name Sentebale means “forget me not” which is also the charity’s call to action. It was founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso in memory of their campaigning mothers to help the forgotten victims of poverty and of the HIV/Aids epidemic ravaging this small mountain kingdom.
Enduro Africa is supporting Sentebale’s aim to target particular support to the most vulnerable of vulnerable children – the abandoned, abused, neglected, orphaned, disabled, and ill. In Lesotho today life expectancy has plummeted to a shocking 35 years of age. The country has the third highest rate of AIDs in the world – with nearly one third of the population infected. Generations of adults have simply been wiped out by the combined scourges of poverty and HIV/Aids – leaving behind hundreds of thousands of orphans to fend for themselves. Between one third and half the school-age population is either a single or double orphan and in a situation where the extended family has almost ceased to exist schools have had to become virtual orphanages. To add to the kingdom’s problems Lesotho has declared a national food emergency. Years of drought and multiple crop failures have resulted in a countrywide crisis with its vulnerable children left even more vulnerable.
Sentebale works by committing long term funding to local community based organizations in Lesotho who have the capability to make a real difference. By investing strategically - not just granting generously – Sentebale helps them increase their impact on the lives of the children they serve. Sentebale is building stronger, more effective organizations serving more children better by combining thoughtful aid giving with effective businesslike methods.
The charity funds projects ranging from residential care for vulnerable children through to community crop growing projects which feed local child-headed households. Sentebale funds directly at grassroots level and it measures and monitors improvements in children's lives on an individual basis, not just on what they receive.
By supporting Enduro Africa you will be responsible for helping Sentebale give thousands of children a better chance of growing into healthy, productive adults.

Nelson Mandela Children's Fund

We were driving back to the Presidency in Cape Town one cold winter’s evening, when I saw a group of street children and stopped to talk to them. The children asked me why I love them. This astounded me and I asked them why they ask this and they said that because every time I get money from overseas, I share it with them”.
Nelson R. Mandela
© Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund

The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund was founded by Mr Mandela in 1994. He committed one-third of his annual Presidential salary to found and perpetuate the Fund – R150,000 each year for five years.Mr Mandela’s vision was to protect, nurture and develop the next generation of South Africans, to ensure a better life for them and a stronger future for the country he loved.By participating in or supporting Enduro Africa you will be both sharing his commitment and helping The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund to improve the lives of children and young people in South Africa.They face many challenges, and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, a development agency run by committed and expert South Africans, has developed creative and culturally sensitive programmes to help them overcome many obstacles to lead healthy, productive and fulfilled lives.We work with disabled children, their families and communities to encourage their equal treatment, particularly with a view to them attending mainstream school and so having the same opportunities as non-disabled children. Fanana is 9 years old, and was unable to walk from birth. She lives in a township outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, and is now attending a local school. A local community based organisation, funded by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, undertook to negotiate with the school and Fanana’s mother, who are now united in their commitment to Fanana’s education and future well-being.Developing leadership potential and skills amongst young people is another key aim of NMCF. Sport, arts and volunteering are used as the means to engage with youth, help them to recognise and take pride in their own abilities and potential, and in many cases, become a role model for others.Greater self awareness and pride also help to steer young people away from anti- social behaviour and risky life choices and so ensure that they remain healthy and able to contribute to their communities. Zwai, a young man from Springs, outside Johannesburg, is a prime example of this approach. The project he started, YCo, which aimed to steer his peers away from dangerous lifestyle choices and encourage their creativity self esteem and skills, has been so successful that with the support of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, he is helping others to establish projects like his.There is so much that NMCF still wants to do to continue to improve the lives of young South Africans, and we are very grateful to all who participate in and support Enduro Africa, as the funds you raise help us to make Mr Mandela’s vision a reality.

Touch Africa - Making a difference

The Eastern Cape of South Africa, home to Enduro Africa, is historically the poorest and most impoverished area of the country. It has been named as one of the ten worst places to grow up as a child.

What is Touch Africa?
Touch Africa is a Section 21 Company (2007/024885/08) which is sustainable and accountable to all stakeholders.
The Touch Africa initiative was started by Mike Glover, owner of Eastern Cape based Red Cherry Adventures. The concept was borne out of Enduro Africa. Seeing the enormous need in the areas through which the Enduro Africa ride took place, Touch Africa was established to address some of the many problems encountered by the local community en route.Touch Africa specifically targets the health and education sectors, with particular reference to rehabilitation of facilities.The focus of our energies is on children and the scope of our work includes but is not limited to the:
a) rehabilitation of schools, clinics and crèches
b) provision of basic education equipment
c) rehabilitation of community halls
d) rehabilitation and/or provision of school transport
e) provision of technology

The requests from the rural villages are simple, they usually ask for clean toilets, gym equipment, sporting equipment, a soccer pitch, a fresh coat of paint and a happy place to learn. It is with your contribution, that we are able to make these dreams become reality.

Current Projects
Technilamp
One of the most serious issues facing our country is the transmission of air-borne diseases, primarily Tuberculosis (TB), in over-crowded, poorly ventilated clinics and clinic waiting rooms.Since there is no treatment available for Extreme Drug Resistant TB, containment and prevention remains the only way to combat this disease at present.The Medical Research Council and Council for Disease Control has approved a device called Technilamp, developed by a South African manufacturer. This is an ultra violet TB infection control lamp, which when placed in clinics protects against the spread of air-borne viruses and bacterial infections, thus protecting those working in and attending the clinic.

Lifestraw
“Life Straws” are an inexpensive personal water filtration device that can remove contaminants from approximately 700 litres of water.The schools in the Western Koukamma region have been earmarked as recipients of the “life straw” project. Early in 2008, a rapid increase in cases of diarrhoea was reported in this area. 343 cases were reported at Cacadu Clinics, of which 15 had to be hospitalized.Friday Flik
For most of us a trip to the local cinema is easy. However many people in South Africa have never been to the cinema or seen a movie.Due to the lack of infrastructure and ready cash in rural and urban areas, many children turn to crime and unsavoury ways of passing the time over a weekend. Project Friday Flik was launched to provide a “movie house” in community centres, run by the local communities, who raise funds through this project to assist with community needs.

Adopt A School
Our simple aim is to make school a better place than home. This will ensure migration to their place of learning. We do this by fixing the simple things. Jungle Gyms, Desks, Sporting Fields and equipment and providing nutrition through container kitchens.