Joburg Oct 2013

Kevin Davie has taken his bike to the wildest and remotest places in South Africa.
He has completed the 2300km Freedom Challenge, ridden the Drakensberg 1800km end-to-end and is the first to ride off-road from Beit Bridge to the Cape, 3,500km in 30 days. These rides are included in his book, ‘Freedom Rider: 10,000km by mountain bike across South Africa’, published by Jacana. [more]

After climbing Kilimanjaro in 2002, the bug bit and Karen decided to climb to the top of the highest mountain in each of Africa’s 54 countries (including the islands). Over the past decade she has travelled to more than 30 countries, standing on top of their tallest mountains. These journeys are about more than hills and mountains. Karen is exploring the countries of Africa, venturing into remote areas rarely visited by foreigners. She’s learning about the history of country, meeting villagers and encountering more friendliness than animosity. [more]

Husband-and-wife pair, Gavin Moffat and Ingrid Lotze, are trimix technical divers – the ones that travel to places like Egypt not to see the pyramids but to descend 103-metres into the watery depths of the ‘Blue Hole’ at Dahab, on the Red Sea coast. Their journey from recreational scuba to 103-metres down took a couple of years. And this all came about because of a tv programme. [more]

Back in 2004, David took 42-days to run the 2,300-kilometre distance between Paarl to Pietermaritzburg. Sandwiched between the Two Oceans Marathon and Comrades, David had plenty of time to think. He decided that the route would be more feasible by bike and thus the Freedom Trail, an expedition mountain biking route, was created. Where the Freedom Challenge is an event held during winter, the Trail can be toured at any time of year. In his spare time David farms outside Wellington and he organises the Freedom Challenge, a race he founded. [more]

We first heard of Richard ‘Ricky’ Goodhead back in late-2010, when he undertook an expedition run from Cape Agulhas to Mt Kilimanjaro. He covered the 6,000-kilometre journey in five months, pushing his belongings, food and water in a baby jogger. For me, what was remarkable about Ricky’s run is that he very often covered upwards of 60-kilometres (even up to 80km!) day-after-day – through mud, up hills and in conditions of sweltering heat and bone-chilling cold. [more]

After years of planning, Dave Joyce and Marco Broccardo – with teammate Alex Harris – successfully crossed the Empty Quarter from Oman to Dubai in January 2013. Strapped to their +350-kilogram cart, they hauled over dunes and through sinking in soft sand, pulling for at least eight hours a day. The elements too were against them as they suffered in ‘winter’ temperatures that exceeded 45C – in the shade! Dave and Marco tell of their adventure across this virtually uninhabited and largely unexplored desert. [more]