Sir Ernest Shackleton

Though Amundsen and Scott are great stories of exploration, it was not the story that amazed me most and gave me a new hero. How I did not know of the Story of Shackleton!? It is beyond me, but thanks to the lectures and conversations with Bob Burton (Polar Historian) and reading a couple of books, His amazing journey is now etched into my memory.
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100 Years Since The Great Race

I have always had an interest in the great explorers and adventurers and in my aCairdmic years studying history I have often read and learnt about these great people. As a child in Britain learning about the great explorers and adventurers of the Polar Regions is that it was always the Scott vs. Amundsen great race to the South Pole that took precedence over any other expedition.
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Antarctica

It was with great anticipation and excitement that we set off from Buenos Aires on our way down to Ushuaia. Ushuaia is the southern most city in the world, this is where we would board our ship that would carry us to the white continent. La Boreal was our charter a fine 200 berth specially designed ice class ship.
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For the Fans

Now running a blog, we have learnt after 7 months since we set it up, is no easy task. Having a blog that actually gets readers and an audience is even harder. Having a blog that keeps and attracts more and more in audience numbers is even harder. But the priceless part of it all is feedback and also a sense of pride through some of the messages we write about and we see action through these messages from you our audience.
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Africa’s Top 10 – Saying Farewell

Leaving Africa was full of mixed emotions. Over the past two and a half months we have traveled through 12 countries on this incredible continent and to think we have only scratched the surface is unbelievable. Africa is a place that when you visit it captures your spirit and your soul! Before we traveled to Africa I had heard many people say “once you have experienced Africa, the ‘Africa Bug’ will always be with you”, and they couldn’t’ be more accurate. No matter where else I travel in the world or what I do in life a small part of me will always be in Africa and a big piece of Africa will always be with me! I will forever feel connected to this addictive land.
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On the trail of Mandela

This is more of a short essay than a blog, and more of a reflection of my time and experience of a country born from turmoil and colonialisation. On reaching South Africa there is one subject you cannot avoid and are drawn into learning about, that is Apartheid. A theme that is inextricably linked with Apartheid is the life story of Nelson Mandela. As much as South Africa is a fantastic country with a beautiful and varied backdrop and amazing people it still has the workings of a country divided in a common democracy.
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Truck Life

Here is a thought for you, we spend all our waking hours around the people we are traveling with and also as far as Dana and Mark are concerned we will have spent approximately 1450 hours with them by the time we arrive in Cape Town at the end of the 3rd leg of our journey.
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San ‘Fran’ Bushman

A while ago Steph and I visited Philadelphia for a weekend and happen upon an exhibition about the origins of man and race. In this exhibition it showed evidence and gave argument to the origins of man (Homo Erectus) coming out from Africa and migrating across the rest of the continents. One of the tribes that it is argued are the link back to these origins of man are the Bushmen of Africa and in particular the San Bushmen.
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The Real Deal Impromptu Bush Camp

Our truck Imani runs with 6 tires, two at front and four at the back (two either side). The day we arrived in Sesreim we had two flat tires; we only have two spare tires. I asked Matt (the Driver) what happens if we’re to get more before we can get the tires patched or replaced the next day? He replied we can last if we lose two more at the back and if we lost one at the front then we would need to swap with one at the back. I continued, what if we lose 3 tires, he replied “we’re screwed!”.
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Skeleton Coast

I have known about the Skeleton Coast in Namibia for some years. I came across an article about it whilst researching a photography project. It is one of the most inhospitable places on earth with the northern section only accessible by small airplane. It is a desolate and barren desert landscape that has killed or wrecked most of what has touched its shores. Once I had read about it and saw some of the photographs coming from there I was sold, it was on my list of places to go (This is a random list not for your typical vacation!).
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Illegally in Angola

Now its not often you get an offer to illegally cross into another country and in most parts of the world its pretty impossible, but in parts of Africa where the borders were carved up by the European powers in the 20th Century, it becomes a little easier as there are lots of natural boundaries such as rivers used to demarcate the borders.
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