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Detour on the Dragon
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15 June 2012
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I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the speed at
which the weeks are disappearing! I wish time would slow down
enough for me to at least post regular updates! But alas it isn't
and I may just have to devise a time machine for this sole purpose!
In the meantime here's the latest dirt on what we've been up
to.
Last time I revealed our exciting plans for the big adventure we
have pegged for later this year, our Detour on the
Dragon. It's proving to be a very interesting journey and
we haven't even set foot on the trail yet! I had a vague idea that
this would entail a lot of planning and preparation but WOW I'm
truly amazed at what goes into organising such an expedition! Two
things I've learnt so far that is true of life, is one, it's not
what you know but who you know and two, you won't get anywhere
without the help of others.
But before I start waxing lyrical, I think it's about time I
introduced the 3 nutty adventurers who'll be taking on this
challenge. They are in their unique ways equally nutty; you'd have
to be to ride 3500km across South
Africa!
Rohan Surridge, who some of you may know and who
I have the misfortune of knowing well, is the instigator of the
pack, his bright idea has led us down this road. A white skinned
African who speaks 3 indigenous languages and only learnt to speak
English when he went to school. By virtue of his formative years in
the old Transkei, he's pre-disposed to adventuring and between an
early corporate career and a successful stint of entrepreneuring,
has paddled most rivers in SA, climbed a few mountains
(Kilimanjaro, Himalayas) and has ridden his mountain bike in every
stage race and explored almost every corner of SA.
Craig Mackrory, the beach bum of the team who
grew up surfing on the East Coast. Craig joined SAAF and trained to
fly jets. He has ended up as a chopper pilot, (some say taxi
driver) ferrying pilots to-and-from their ships. Despite gaining
the passion for riding bicycles and adventuring through SA, Craig
is still a surfer dude at heart and has '23 various surfboards and
surf craft lovingly stacked in the garage.
And last but certainly not least, Danie Nel, the
enigma of the team, high powered businessman in a very technical
field when he gets around to working, court jester and story teller
socially (where fact and fiction merge) and passionate about the
obscure in sport. Danie has paddled rivers backwards, ridden his
bike through every ----stan country (Pakistan, Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, etc.), dived every good reef in the world and much
more.
This interesting mix of adventurers will be setting off along with
me, Sarah Sawers, the wandering artist, hobby
photographer and daydreamer. I'll be behind the scenes offering
support and back up as well as keeping you up to date with all the
escapades and detours we'll be taking. The detours may be more from
my side admittedly as I am a kak navigator; okay maybe that's a bit
harsh, let's call me inexperienced; but I like it that way, it
takes me down roads which I might have ordinarily missed and leads
me on my own little adventures.
Next week I'll reveal the charity we're super excited to be
partnering with.
Sarah Sawyers
Detour Trails
Cell: 072 685 2268 -
Email: sarah@detourtrails.co.za
- Web: www.detourtrails.co.za
