Challenges, Inspiration

Veteran Charity Challenge Team Leader Trevor Gibbs writes about the thrill of Morocco’s Fez Sacred Music festival

June 8, 2012

Morocco is one of North Africa’s most popular destinations and Fez is probably one of its most fascinating cities. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest of Morocco’s imperial strongholds, Fez bears the distinction of being the country’s cultural and spiritual capital. This is a city whose rich history is liberally sprinkled with tales of murder and intrigue and whose bustling souks have echoed to the sounds of trade for centuries. What better place then to hold one of the world’s most widely acclaimed musical festivals.

Held in June each year, the Fez Sacred Music Festival is a coming together of some of the world’s most accomplished artists; a place where you can hear Moroccan Sufi chants, Pakistani qawwali and Egyptian madhi poems, set against the backdrop of one of the most complete medieval cities left in the Arab world. Bringing together a rich diversity of musical talent, the festival perfectly encapsulates the long traditions of art, knowledge and spirituality that have been the mainstay of this city for generations. This is the 18th year that the city has held the festival and its theme is ‘Re-enchanting the World’ and pays special tribute to the great Persian poet, Omar Khayyam.

During the eight days of celebration, Fez takes on a carnival atmosphere, offering up free concerts in the expansive setting of the city’s Boujloud Square, as well as ‘Sufi Nights’ in the more spiritual surroundings of the Dar Tazi Gardens, in the centre of the ancient medina. In addition there are also a number of exhibitions to be found throughout the city, highlighting the unique fusion of art and knowledge that has distinguished Fez as one of the Muslim world’s most spiritual settings since the beginning of its golden period during the latter years of the 11th century.

In conjunction with its musical performances, the festival also runs a number of educational and artistic programmes, for adults and children alike.

This year’s festival runs from the 9th-16th June.

charity Challenge currently run 3 challenges based in Morcocco, The Sahara Desert Trek, Atlas Mountain Bike challenge and the High Atlas Summit Trek. If you want to learn more about our these challenges and much more, you can visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com. To keep up to date on all Charity Challenge news, please enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.
And for more of Trevor’s view on the world, check out his blog at:

http://alizardwandering.wordpress.com/

Challenges, Inspiration

Last days in the Rainforest – Leading the Sumatran Jungle Trek, by Operations Manager Jo, part 5

June 7, 2012

The day started with a well-earned lazy morning, giving us the chance to sit back and really soak in our surroundings. We bathed in the river, giving ourselves a good scrubbing with dirty brown t-shirts which slowly turned back into the crisp white Charity Challenge t-shirt given to us at the airport.

For breakfast, the guides serve us pancakes with hundreds and thousands on. Yum! The next part of our journey is all about trekking down the river in search of Jungle fern and learning the tricks of the jungle – how to build fish traps, how to make delicious curry out of  banana plant, how to bind up scratches and deal with bites and travel sickness with medicines picked from right under our noses. Essentially the day was all about realising just what it takes to survive in this prime rainforest. This day was one of mine, and one of the groups, favourites times in the jungle, as not only did we learn lots about living in this amazing ecosystem, we got to have a much appreciated break before our longest and toughest day began.

Trekking in the deeps of the Jungle to Alur Perak….

We woke up early, ready for the long day ahead, excited to be back on the trail but also a little apprehensive. As we set off into the jungle, we were faced with steep narrow climbs, and trails that were barely visible. We made our way downstream to meet the Bohorok River, where we were reunited with the other groups, who had been doubtlessly spending their days thinking and wandering how their experiences have been compared with ours.

Excited to be together again, we sat sharing stories and sipping at our morning coffee, watching as Eddy’s Group came marching upstream, bright eyed and rearing to go! We set off again, as one, and more determined than ever before! With Iwans group leading the charge we trekked upstream, heading deeper still into the heart of the Sumatra Rainforest!

At first, the coolness of the river was rejuvenating, and we trekked and chatted, but after 30 minutes or so we came to a halt. Our guides set us up on the river bank, and advised “river shoes off, boots on!!” One of the guides started to chop away at some foliage, uncovering for us a hidden trail that would lead us back into the world of the underbrush! Our joyous laughter and energised spirit soon turned into balls of sweat as we pulled ourselves up and onwards with jungle vines and roots, and navigated through the steepest sections of the jungle we had ever climbed through. Luckily, we had eaten our way through the weeks worth of food and our guides were carrying a lighter load and had the energy and spirit to keep us going, offering a hand here or a pull up there!

When we finally reached a clearing, bags were off and we crashed out for a five minute break. Things got very exciting as we caught a glimpse ‘wild Orangutans’ swinging through the trees, a rarity here in the depths of the rainforest. We were exhilarated to be able to sit and watch with amazement and wonder as they swung nimbly through the canopy. It occurs to me that if you ask any of the guides in Gunung Leuser National park what are the two most popular words used here in the jungle, it would be “wow!” and “amazing!” You don’t realise it at the time but you just can’t help yourselves as there are so little words, or maybe too many, that can possibly be used to describe the sensations of what we experienced in the prime, ‘remote’ Sumatran Rainforest.

We somewhere tore ourselves away from the wondrous site of the wild Orangutans and trekked on. We stopped at what must be the biggest tree I have ever seen, that acted as gatekeeper to a scarily deep descent on its other side. When Benny threw a safety rope down and asked us to turn around and use the tree roots and safety rope to guide us down. For a second we thought he must be joking, but when we caught sight of Hilary and Christine cruising down the slope unaided, we were inspired and knew we could do it too!

It felt like the descent was never ending, holding onto tree roots while looking down between our feet to see where to manoeuvre each foot. Each step was accompanied by a rush of exhilaration, it was exciting but mentally and physically very draining

The afternoon continued with steep climbs and a gruelling descent to a magnificent waterfall, where we proceeded to shuffle our way down on large slippery rocks. The final hour’s trek through the waterfall and down a long muddy river proved the most testing of all, which is saying something! The rain had fallen hard last night for many hours, so the water was deep and had been churned up so that the visibility underfoot was barely there, and we had to be on our guard against the multitude of hidden slippery boulders. When we finally made it to the last campground of the trek we were beyond jubilant! The bamboo canopy’s were up and a team of guides who had trekked upstream with the 27 Rubber tyres that we were  to tube down the river the following day were waiting for us, there were hugs and tears all round from us!

We feasted the evening away with traditional Indonesian barbequed chicken, and rice that had been slow cooked in bamboo over the fire. We all ate happily and chattered away, telling stories and playing games. In the background our newly acquired team of guides were busy pumping the 27 tyres in preparation for our bumpy 2 hour ride done the rapids of the Bohorok River.

A bumpy ride out of the depths of the Jungle to Bukit Lawang…

The following morning was a very social breakfast with all 16 of us in Camp plus our now 27 guides. We packed our bags in waterproof covers, cleared up camp, slapped on the suncream, fitted our helmets and lifejackets and watched and waited while our team tided up the last few tyres and bundled our kit on to the rafts of tubes before we jumped in and allowed ourselves to be washed downstream.

The river was looking high. We had arrived in camp the night before just in time for yet again another a heavy down pour that lasted a good 6 hours! So we knew a bumpy ride was to be expected. The tubes were tied together in sets of 4 with a guide at the front and a guide behind to steer them downstream. Hurtling down the river was an exhilarating experience! It was a bit like one of those rapid rides at theme parks… But for real! Quite the experience.

We were tubing down the river for a good 2 hours, working up an appetite until we are back at the Orangutan Feeding centre and the opening of Bukit Lawang where, as it was a Sunday, families were out in full force bathing in the river, kids were playing in tubes waving at us as we passed by. We also spotted a mother Orangutan and her baby sitting by the river. It wasn’t long before we arrived home at the EcoLodge in Bukit Lawang, and with that, our epic Sumatra Orangutan Jungle Challenge came to an end.

We were wet, exhausted and hungry with a million thoughts and emotions running through our heads, no one knowing what to say or do now apart from to head straight to the bar order a large bottle of Beer and get started with the cheers, hugs, tears and stories, the adrenaline still flowing and the bumps and bruises of the tube ride and the last 6 days still hidden beneath the surface. After a freshen up and some chill-out time in our rooms, we come back  for lunch, where the realisation of what we had achieve, accomplished and put ourselves through in the last week in the wild and remote Sumatran Jungle hit home!

If Jo’s experiences in Sumatra has inspired you, check out our Sumatran Jungle Trek here, and subscribe to this blog to hear about more of our challenges adventurers! To keep up to date on all our challenge news, both jungle and not, please enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Inspiration

Sumatran Jungle Trekker to Olympic Torch Bearer!

May 30, 2012

Today we’d like to say a massive congratulations and send oodles of good luck to Charity Challenger Hilary Banks, who is at around 1pm today carrying the Olympic flame through Much Wenlock, the historic birthplace of the Olympics!

We came to know Hilary here at Charity Challenge when she was among the first of our challengers to take on our Sumatran Jungle Trek, a gruelling 11 day challenge trekking into the heart of the deep Sumatran Jungle.

Taking on this challenge was particularly poignant for Hilary. As due to medical conditions and injuries sustained in her early days in the police force, she was in and out of medical retirement regularly, and after suffering from a stroke in January 2007, leaving her left side temporary paralysed, it seemed less and less likely she’d be able to lead a healthy and active life. However, Hilary fought back and in late 2008, she and a friend embarked on a 6 month motorhome tour of Europe. During this time, she began cycling and walking. This proved so beneficial for her leg that she was able to discard the stick she had been obliged to walk with.

Spurred on by this, she decided to take on a challenge of a lifetime by signing up for our Sumatran Jungle Challenge. This proved to be the ultimate test of her regained mobility for Hilary, as our Operations Manager Jo (who was leading the trek) can verify.

“The Sumatran Jungle Trek was one of the most ‘challenging’ challenges I have ever lead, primarily due to the wild and sheer variety of terrains we were dealing with! We were clambering up and over fallen trees, untangling limbs from cunning and craftily hidden jungle vines, skipping over abnormally large tree roots, wading up and across rivers and swinging from tree to tree as we manoeuvred our way down some extremely steep descents! The jungle tested our mental awareness and strength to the extreme and so I was overwhelmed and deeply inspired at the end of the week to see Hilary amongst many others crossing the finishing line, a memory that’s going to stay with me forever that’s for sure!”

Not only was Hillary taking on the challenge for herself, she was also doing this on behalf of a charity that had become close to her heart,  “I raised money for the Stroke Association, having had a fairly major stroke myself four years ago, and becoming disabled…I have raised almost £2500 to date!”

Hilary’s successful conquering of the Sumatran Jungle was a monumental achievement for her, and made a huge positive difference to her life. “Taking on the trek really motivated me to be as fit as possible and probably aided my recovery from the stroke…Partly as a result of my efforts to regain my mobility, and undertaking this trek, I was successfully nominated to be an Olympic torchbearer!”

So good luck Hilary! Surely, after river walking, swinging across vines and spending hours clambering across the tangled jungle undergrowth in the Sumatran Jungle, carrying the Olympic Torch through possibly the most important and culturally significant part of the flame’s journey is going to be a walk in the park!

You can catch Hilary Carrying the Torch on the BBC’s live feed of the torch relay here. If your inspired by the amazing feats Hilary was able to achieve on our challenge, you can learn more about our Sumatran Jungle Trek by clicking here, and you can also read Operations Manager Jo’s Jungle Diary of her time leading the trek here! To learn more about all our charity challenges,  Please visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com  and to keep up to date on all our challenge news, subscribe to this blog by clicking on the orange RSS button, you can also enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Challenges, Inspiration

River Walking and Rain in the Rainforest! – Leading the Sumatran Jungle Trek, by Operations Manager Jo, part 4

May 23, 2012

They don’t call this the ‘Rainforest’ for nothing!! We soon established after a few days trekking that the roaring sound of cicadas, followed by a blast of thunder and sudden silence was the preamble to the heavy down pour of rain, which usually began around 4.30.

You soon get to know the ways of the jungle and pick up tips and tricks. Such as the smothering of tiger balm (a substance mysteriously hated by leaches!) over feet, ankles, legs and even the edge of sleeping mats – just in case the sneaky leech tried to climb in with you!

After a full day yesterday of ups, downs and scrambling along on our hands and knees using tree roots to pull ourselves up, we decided a change of scenery was in order, so river trekking it was. It’s amazing seeing the rainforest from different angles and degrees. From being deep in the thick of it with towering trees, thick underbrush, to walking upstream looking in from the outside. The lush green of the Banana trees and the beautifully clear flow of river over pebbles was mesmerising!

River walking is a tough practice, with a strong undercurrent and slippery rocks underfoot, but it wouldn’t be a challenge if it was easy right?

Our bags are getting heavier each day as our kit is getting wetter. Our belongings (not to mention ourselves) are become immersed in the sensual stink of the jungle. Today the rain comes early so we get to experience trekking in the downpour, which is very refreshing. Thank God for those ponchos we bought, they actually have come into more use than we thought, especially in the night when you need to go to the toilet and its pouring down with rain, they are like our own mobile little personal tents! Amazing!

You encounter many hurdles trekking in the jungle and you really need to practice the art of multitasking. It would have been ideal if we could have a pair of eyes on the top and back of our heads as well as in front.

After a couple of days you really establish your jungle feet so soon you are only spending 70 percent of your time looking down at your now extremely worn in boots and not 90 per cent of the time as before. If only we had the opportunity to look up more! Now, for the art of river walking – establishing where to step and where definitely not to step!!  If only we had mastered the art of ignoring the annoying feeling of pebbles in the shoes!!

Walking up the river gives you the opportunity of spotting life in the jungle that you may not see in the depths of it, like a hornbill flying upstream or a cobra eating a viper on the bank of the river! You definitely avoid the leeches this way as apparently the Sumatran Leech can’t swim (us – 1 point, Leeches – 0)! We stop for lunch by a mini waterfall and are swarmed by a rainbow of butterflies which took a liking to Kate’s colourful socks.

To our delight we meet Iwan’s team who have now become known as ‘the mosquito’s’. They are already bathing in the river by the camp after arriving 10 minutes before us, we trek a further 15 minutes upstream and see our guides setting up the bamboo frame in a hurry as they have already spotted the black clouds over head. We watched fascinated and frankly amazed at how well they coordinate as a team and get the job done so quickly! Our sleeping area is erected, then the kitchen and finally the tarp thrown over just in time for the first drops of rain to come in. We sit under the shelter and soon see the first of the tigers Kinols team of lovely ladies, speedily trekking upstream trying to beat the rain. We cheer them on as they come one by one around a fallen tree. The emotion was raw today, everyone is exhausted and a nice walk up the river turned out being tougher than expected.

By the end of day 3 we had well earned our one and only cup of hot chocolate for the trek and savoured each drop! Especially as the following day we are allowed a lie in, waking up at 8.30 and not 7.00, followed by a swim and a clothes washing session. Up next is “Jungle Survival Day” – all about doing the laundry, collecting jungle food and fishing!! We couldn’t be more excited! Stay tuned for part 4 next week!

If Jo’s experience in Sumatra has inspired you, check out our Sumatran Jungle Trek here, and subscribe to this blog to hear about what happened next. To keep up to date on all our challenge news, both jungle and not, please enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Tips & Advice

High Altitude Advice from the experts

May 16, 2012

THINKING ABOUT DIET, NUTRITION AND DEHYDRATION ON THE MOUNTAIN

You’d think that spending a day mountain trekking would be an ideal way to work up an appetite! But for a lot of people, it can be very difficult to maintain a healthy appetite at high altitude. The senses of smell and taste can be greatly inhibited by the general feeling of lethargy and nausea that often accompany mild altitude sickness, and hence put you off your food.

This can be a dangerous side effect of altitude sickness, as you will be physically exerting yourself and burning through hundreds of calories every day, so it’s very important to keep up your strength and energy levels.

Our Altitude expert partners at the “Altitude Centre” are on hand with advice.

“Fatty foods and high tech sports nutrition bars are difficult to digest and should be avoided. There are some advantages in taking vitamin and mineral supplements at altitude. ALTI-VIT is a unique vitamin formula developed by leading experts in conjunction with The Altitude Centre to support key body requirements at Altitude. With ingredients including Siberian Ginseng, Vitamin C, Reishi Mushroom Extract and Ginkgo Biloba,  is a nutritional altitude supplement supporting:

  • Oxygen uptake
  • Energy production
  • Immune function
  • Sleep quality

Visit altivit.com to find out more.”

Two further symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) are constipation and diarrhoea which tend to alternate and this can be dangerous as well as distressing. You can take medication to help with these symptoms but it is very important that you keep well hydrated and keep up your food intake – even if you aren’t hungry. On all our treks the water is boiled and cooled to sterilise it. Those with particularly sensitive stomachs may consider iodine tablets to further treat the water. A top tip to neutralise the taste of iodine, is to dissolve an effervescent Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) tablet into the water.

Indeed drinking is just as important as eating! Adequate hydration is essential to allow the body to regulate its chemical balance in response to the change in altitude. Aim to drink 3-4 litres each day and if possible try to add electrolytes to your water. Two brand names to consider are Nuun and Dioralyte. These will help to replace the body’s salts that are lost whilst walking.

The air at high altitude is always very dry. With each breath water will be stripped from your lungs. If you use your mouth to breathe a dry cough is likely to develop. TOP TIP: Try to use your nose to breathe through to prevent a dry throat. If this is not possible, suck a honey cough sweet to help lubricated the throat.

If you want to learn more about our mountain challenges, you can visit our website here. Also, to find out more about the good work and advice the Altitude Centre dishes out, please visit their website at www.altitudecentre.com. To keep up to date on all our challenge news, both altitude related and not, please enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.

Challenges, Inspiration

Into the Jungle! – Leading the Sumatran Jungle Trek, part 3

May 15, 2012

Seeing the orangutans is an incredible experience. In Bukit Lawang, you can usually see them near the world famous orangutan rehabilitation centre, however we were extremely lucky to spot ‘wild’ orangutans on Day 5 of our Jungle Trek.

The semi wild orangutans will not stray too far from the feeding platform so you are pretty much guaranteed to spot them there. When it comes to truly wild orangutans however, you will be lucky to catch a glimpse of one in the distance while you trek deeper into the jungle. You will have to be careful to be very quiet and not scare them away! Wild orangutans will stay high in the tree tops, so spotting them takes a lot of patience and a very good eye from your guides!

Into the Jungle we go! Bags packed, re packed and packed again and the three teams with their respective guides Eddy, Iwan and Kinol set off within 15 minutes of each other on their epic journey into the depths of the jungle! An initial tough climb with a surprising amount of steps greets us as we approached the entrance to the Gunung Leuser National Park. It was an extremely humid morning, so the start was tough going, but we were all in great spirits, and rearing to go!

After a morning of trekking we soon discovered this was definitely not a stroll in the park!  Flat ground in the jungle is something of a rarity and for every steep climb there was an equally steep descent. We now understand exactly why Tarzan chose to swing through the trees – it’s a much more efficient way of getting through the jungle, there are far less obstacles up there!

After clambering up and over fallen trees, untangling a foot or two from the cunning and craftily hidden jungle vines,  taking a skip and a hop over the abnormally large tree roots, we finish by swinging from tree to tree as we manoeuvre our way down the extremely steep descent. The jungle was soon testing our mental awareness and strength to the extreme!

Our first experience of lunch in the jungle was a delight for all. A blanket of fern displayed juicy pineapple and passion fruit and ‘nasi goreng’(fried rice with omelette) wrapped in a banana leaf. It was delicious! However, we soon found ourselves ambushed by a gang of ‘Thomas Leaf Monkeys’ or ‘funky monkeys’ as our guides liked to call them. They took a fancy to our lunch and I have to say I can’t blame them, I’d much rather have Nasi Goreng over leaves any day!! The Thomas Leaf Monkeys are very distinctive with their black mohawk hairstyle, they live in female groups of around 6 with one male ringleader. Their population, like most species in the rainforest, is decreasing due to their primary habitat being taken by logging and conversion to oil palm plantations. They are however, protected by Indonesian Law and are incredibly fun to watch!

It was a tough days trek, feeling the effects of jet lag, acclimatising to the humidity and realising that maybe a bit more training, scrambling and step climbing shoud have been in order. The steep climb into camp felt like it lasted forever, with every step seeking for that next branch,  roots or jungle vine to hold onto to ease us down. Part shuffle, part scramble, I think I can safely say we all had a couple of slips and bumps, with a struggle to get back on our feet with the weight of the backpack. I was anxiously scanning the trail hoping that there was enough low lying forest to ease the falls. We were exhausted and just about to throw our toys out the pram at our ‘oh so lovely guides’ through sheer exhaustion when we suddenly see smoke from our camp. We were very pleased to be greeted with hot tea and coffee and biscuits. and quietly welcomed by the sight of a mother orangutan with her baby watching us from across the river. A prefect end to a very tough day!

Next, we bathe in the river and the guides once again triumph with an amazing spread of dishes for our evening meal. Later, whilst sitting under a bamboo frame covered tarp listening to the pouring rain, someone shines their torch through the darkness across the river and into the jungle and for a split second we think we see a pair of shining eyes starring back at us! We turn off our headtorchs, huddle down into our sleeping bags and watch the fireflies go by. We sit in silence listening to the noises of the night and ponder over the days trek, realisation hits that we are here, in the prime jungle, just the 6 of us (and the other two groups maybe just 10 minutes downstream but you would never know!) and our team of guides. I know we are all thinking ‘how do we share this – how can we possibly describe living in the jungle? An experience as Barbara later said to me ’’ hard enough to sort it in my own head and finding almost impossible to explain to others’’.

The silence was soon broken by screams of  ‘blood’!. The Leeches had arrived. The trees were wet from the rain and the Leeches were in their haven – fresh blood had arrived!!

If Jo’s experience in Sumatra has inspired you, check out our Sumatran Jungle Trek here, and subscribe to this blog to hear about what happened next. To keep up to date on all our challenge news, both jungle and not, please enter your email address into the adjacent box to subscribe to our mailing list.