John & Robby summit Mt. Everest!...UPDATE

On top of the world! Here are the personal accounts of John and Robby:

21. May at 7.15am local time: I (John) climbed to the top of the world and summitted Mt Everest at 8850m. I promise to post a full story soon, but I just got back to BC safely a few hours ago after a torturous descent. I am well and have all my fingers and toes intact. I am tired, stiff, sore, dehydrated, hungry and sleepy. Every fibre of my body is fatigued and painful, but my mind is dancing.

23. May at 9.40am local time: Hi all, breaking news, Robby climbed the highest mountain in the world, and is now on his way back to camp 4.

25. May: just to let everyone know that Robby is now safely back in BC, exhausted but elated. He has done exceptionally well. It is now snowing heavily in BC and everything is under thick snow.

Portable Solar Goes Around Madagascar...UPDATE

UPDATE: Riaan has successfully rounded Cap St Marie, Madagascar's most southerly point. That means he's done East, North, West and South. He will shortly reach the 3/4 mark and then turn almost due north for the final push to the finish line.

See full story in March 2009 archive.

Row Rhino Row!

Never before has the survival of the endangered Black Rhino been more under threat than today.

Starting in early June 2009 Jamie Manuel , James Reid and Riley Travers will be canoeing down the mighty Zambezi River in an effort to raise awareness for the plight of the Black Rhino in Zimbabwe.

The 2500km epic journey starts from the source of the Zambezi river in the north west corner of Zambia. Through unexplored and dangerous territory of Angola and into the Caprivi straights that borders Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Entering the great Kariba dam, before heading down the lower Zambezi and into Mozambique. Through a maze of islands that may take weeks to cover, they will finally arrive at the mouth of the Zambezi river at the Indian Ocean 4 months later.

With less than 450 black and white rhino left in Zimbabwe because of the increasing demand for rhino horn from Far East, this is all in the name of saving the last of Zimbabwe’s rhinos and their ecosystems.

All the funds raised from this project will go towards the protection of the Black Rhino both in conservancies as well as private breeding programs.

The Kayaks are equipped with various electronic equipment: laptop, GPS, tracking device, cameras (still and video), satellite phone. Flexopower has designed and supplied the correctly sized portable solar solution.