Murray's Tour de Tuli 2009

• By: Murray Morrison
• Short URL: http://www.backabuddy.co.za/murray

Personal message

THE CHALLENGE

Last August, I took part in the Tour de Kruger, a mountain bike ride for charity which passed through a series of Big Five game reserves in Botswana and South Africa, ending in the Pafuri section of the Kruger National Park. This August, the event follows a different route through Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa and has been rebranded the "Tour de Tuli". We start and finish near the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers where the three countries meet. We have been exempted by their governments from using border posts and thus have a unique opportunity to ford the great rivers in a number of places as we follow ancient elephant paths and game trails in what is destined to become the Mapungubwe Trans Frontier Conservation Area (TFCA).

THE HIGHLIGHTS

For five days, we'll be cycling over rough terrain populated by vast herds of elephant and other members of the Big Five. South Africa has seven Unesco World Heritage Sites, one of which is the iron age Mapungubwe settlement. A thousand years ago, this was the centre of the largest kingdom in the subcontinent and home to a sophisticated people who are thought to have traded gold and ivory with China, India and Egypt. There are 200-million year old visible fossils, fever tree floodplains, three-meter high Ilala palm avenues, bushman paintings, a smattering of Boer War sites, relics from the time of Lobengula and Mzilikazi, a baobab tree into which Cecil John Rhodes carved his initials, land earmarked for Rhodes's Cape-to-Cairo railway line, the old Zederberg Coach route from Johannesburg to Bulawayo, the famous mission at Fort Tuli, and many more items of historical, cultural, zoological or botanical interest.

In short, it is the adventure of a lifetime!

THE BENEFICIARIES

The aim is to raise money for the non-profit organization Children in the Wilderness, an environmental and life skills educational programme that focuses on the next generation of rural decision makers. It is one of the few programmes aimed at bridging the divide that exists between communities and wildlife. Children in the Wilderness hosts vulnerable, rural children that live alongside the parks and reserves and teaches them the importance of conservation. The programme aims to develop environmental leaders who are inspired to care for their heritage so that they become the custodians of these areas in the future. Children in the Wilderness exposes children to their wildlife heritage, builds and strengthens their capabilities to cope with life's challenges and educates them with the life skills necessary to actualise their greatest potential. Further information is available on the website www.tourdewilderness.com.

DONATIONS OR SPONSORSHIPS

If you are willing and able to support this cause, I would much appreciate a lump-sum donation or a per kilometre sponsorship (total distance is 281 kms). The organisation has an 18a tax status so anyone sponsoring or donating more than R1000 can be issued with a tax certificate on request (please send me your personal or company tax number by email).

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to donate. All proceeds raised will go directly to Children in the Wilderness – I have paid my own entry fee for the Tour and my own travel costs for getting to and from the event. 

Many thanks for your support.

Murray