Inspiration, Tips & Advice

“Enjoy or Endure” – Convenient Kit lists from our friends at Outdoor Hire!

April 18, 2012

Warm, dry and comfortable will get you a long way on any trip. Avoid the misery of the wet, the cold and the downright uncomfortable by hiring kit fit for the job in hand. Get this right and enjoyment will surely follow.

We find that a lot of our challengers don’t want to spend a ton of money on kit which they may hardly ever use again. So we teamed up with our friends at Outdoor Hire to solve the conundrum by providing top notch kit for hire.

Layer, layer, layer, topped with a well fitted backpack, sleeping bag and mat – no skimping on quality when you hire at a fraction of the cost of buying.

When embarking on an adventurous challenge having the right kit makes a world of difference.

A Fantastic and efficient service, supplies top quality equipment /clothing , and makes once in a life time challenges affordable. I Will be using outdoor hire again!! Jambo Jambo

Dave Fowler, Kilimanjaro Challenger 

Outdoor Hire have also made the whole process easier still by providing up-to-date and challenge specific Kit Lists for every one of our challenges. So whether you’re climbing Kilimanjaro or cycling across Cuba, these Kit lists show you want you need and how much it costs.

http://www.outdoorhire.co.uk/charity-challenge/index.html – check out your Unique Challenge kit list here!!!

Challenges

Essex to India Rajasthan Bike Ride Part 3 – ‘Onwards to the Pink City’

April 10, 2012

This is the last entry from Trevor Gibbs “Essex2India” 3 blog series, and in this final blog he’s looking back on just what he, Denise Van Outen and Lydia Bright managed to achieve of those epic few days! All fabulous images courtesy of Gareth Gatrell (www.garethgatrell.com)

“Extending from ancient ruins of the Mughal Empire, to the golden sands of the Thar Desert, Rajasthan is not without reason known as the ‘Land of Kings’. For centuries the brown hills of the Aravalli ranges provided the backdrop for some of the most opulent excesses of the Rajput princes. This is a land of forts and palaces, shimmering saris and splendid moustaches. A land still steeped in the traditions of the past, and one that warrants more than just a passing glance. Cycling along the meandering back roads provides the perfect way to discover a little of the true spirit of this incredible region. The dusty roads take you through villages filled with excited children and bemused goats, past convoys of camel carts and tree-lined fields where Rajasthan’s rural traditions continue much as they have for generations.

Leaving behind the relative ‘sophistication’ of Agra, the journey took us through a chaotic maze of rickshaws, motorbikes and buses and out onto the highway that led west, towards the remarkable ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri and from there onto Bharatpur and the Keoladeo National Park. As the riding days became more challenging, so did the road surface, as tarmac gave way to potholes and potholes gave way to gravel. Herds of goats became a daily congestion problem and the deeper we headed into Rajasthan, the more our presence became an object of curiosity. Children were an ever-present distraction at drink stops and the incredulous looks that greeted us from beneath aged turbans testified to just how few tourists travel this route.

Muscles began to ache with more intensity as the kilometres fell away. Keoladeo gave way to Karauli, which in turn gave way to Ranthambore. We came across monkeys playing beside the road and enjoyed the hospitality of maharajahs and maharanis. We went in search of tigers and found a world far removed from our everyday lives. There was colour everywhere and, even through the dirt and the poverty, there were smiles in abundance. The end of the road came at a place called Ramgarh, just on the outskirts of Jaipur, where the palpable relief was made all the more welcome by the added attractions of a traditional Rajasthani band, a pantomime horse and a well deserved glass of champagne.

We had covered over 420 kilometres, travelling in temperatures of nearly 40 degrees centigrade. The roads had, in some places, tested bikes and butts to the limit, but the girls had made it and, as they watched their bikes being packed away for the last time, thoughts turned to the next challenge…”

To find out more about Trevor and his adventures, please visit his website at www.agamaconsultants.co.uk.

To learn more about our Rajasthan Tiger Challenge, and all the treks that we offer, please visit our website at www.charitychallenge.com . 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

Essex to India Rajasthan Bike Ride Part 2 – ‘Don’t Worry…be Holi’

April 4, 2012

Welcome to the second Instalment of Trevor Gibbs’s diary of his time in Rajasthan with celebrated Essex girls Lydia Rose Bright and Denise Van Outen. This time he’s remicning about the team’s colourful experiences in the Holi Festival. All images courtesy of Gareth Gatrell, (www.garethgatrell.com)

“Even in a country renowned for its colourful exuberance, the festival of Holi takes some beating. A celebration to mark the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil, the annual Holi festivities explode across India in an all-encompassing cascade of water and colourful dyes. No one is spared, not even well dressed tourists…or celebrities. Continue Reading…

Challenges

Essex to India Rajasthan Bike Ride Part 1 – In the City of Djinns

April 2, 2012

Throughout Denise Van Outen and Lydia Rose Bright’s epic cycle challenge across Rajasthan – “Essex2India” – arranged in conjunction with Hello Magazine and Charity Challenge, our veteran tour leader, Trevor Gibbs, was on hand to make sure that everything went off without a hitch. Below is the first instalment of his reminisces of the fascinating, and eventful, journey that they undertook…

“My name is Trevor and over the past few years I have had the privilege of working on a number of Charity Challenge trips throughout the world. My latest adventure saw me riding across Rajasthan with Denise van Outen and Lydia Bright, as they attempted to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. The following is a brief glimpse into the incredible journey that they undertook…

The adventure began amongst the chaos of Delhi and, in particular, its old Muslim quarter. Built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century, the labyrinthine streets of Old Delhi still exude a little of the magic and mystery of a city that is all but lost now amongst the bustling thoroughfares of India’s thriving capital. Once surrounded by high walls and dominated by the imposing majesty of the Red Fort, this is home to the magnificent Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque and a spectacular piece of Mughal design capable of holding some 25,000 worshippers. This was where our journey began in earnest, as we headed out to explore the rambling back streets by rickshaw. Continue Reading…

Tips & Advice

Assorted Tips on How to Pack Light

April 2, 2012

Charity Challenge has been in the business of organising treks for over 10 years, and in this time we’ve acquired a smorgasbord of tips and tricks on how survive a charity challenge; So I thought why not share some of best!?

For the first tip, I’ve decided to focus on a skill that all trekkers will need – whether they’re spending a long weekend on the Etna Volcanic Adventure or trekking to Everest Base camp on a mammoth two week long challenge  – the ability to pack light, and more importantly pack precise, is a must have!

So I’ve compiled 5 rules on how to not pack the kitchen sink and stay successfully under your flight weight limit, whilst packing everything you need to take on a charity challenge and have the adventure of the lifetime! Continue Reading…

Inspiration

100 Year Anniversary of Captain Scott’s last diary entry

March 29, 2012

“Last entry. For God’s sake look after our people” –

100 years ago today Captain Robert Falcon Scott, with frost bitten fingers, wrote these final words as he, Edward Wilson and Henry Bowers were stranded in an Antarctic blizzard, just 11 miles away from One Ton Depot, which contained supplies that would have seen the whole team home safely.

Despite the fact that Scott’s ‘Terra Nova’ Expedition to the geographic south pole didn’t get there first  – to his dismay, Norwegian Roald Amundsen had already staked his nation’s flag there a couple of weeks earlier, Scott’s anguish is indicated in his diary: “The worst has happened”; “All the day dreams must go”; “Great God! This is an awful place” – The story of Captain Scott and his ill-fated journey home captured the world’s imagination and inspired generations of explorers and pioneers.

The infamous homeward journey began when, disappointed and dejected, Scott and his remaining companions turned away from the South Pole on January 19th 1912.  Trouble began almost immediately as Edgar Evans, one member of the 5 man final team, began to suffer severely as a result of a fall. He boldly struggled on for several more weeks, but on February 17th he fell once again, this time he did not get up. A month later, in one of the most self-less and noble acts recorded in history, Captain Lawrence Oates, spoke the now immortal line “I am just going outside and may be some time”, stepped out into the cold and was never seen again.

Despite Oate’s sacrifice, supplies were dwindling at a horrifying rate and on March 20th, Scott and his two remaining companions, Edward Wilson and Henry Bowers were caught up in a polar blizzard, leaving them stranded. The storm proved one obstacle too many, and the men were forced to come to terms with the fact that they were never going to make it home.

During these last few days, Scott recorded a series of notes for the people back home, among the most famous include his “Message To The Public”, where Scott made it clear that he did not regret the mission that he and his team chose to undertake;

“We took risks, we knew we took them; things have come out against us, and therefore we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Providence, determined still to do our best to the last … Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale, but surely, surely, a great rich country like ours will see that those who are dependent on us are properly provided for.”

Scott is presumed to have died on 29 March 1912, on this very day 100 years ago. The positions of the bodies in the tent when it was discovered eight months later suggested that Scott was the last of the three to die.

His ambition and adventurous spirit, as well as the bravery in the face of crisis that Scott displayed in penning what he must have known to be the last thing he’ll ever write, has inspired generations of explorers, and cemented his place as a hero and inspirational spirit in popular culture!

Our Polar guide, Alan Chambers MBE heads off today to the top of the World as he leads a Charity Challenge group to the North Pole. Later this year, he will be retracing the journey that Captain Scott took just over 100 years ago making the first ever attempt to retrace and complete The Terra Nova route. Antarctica remains the same perilous wilderness that it was in Scott’s days. But thankfully the innovation and durability of equipment, storage facilities and protective clothing has improved sevenfold! So we can ensure that the ordeal and tragedy that met with the Terra Nova team will never again be repeated!

If you’d like to learn more about our South Pole Expedition, please click here. You can also click here to watch a short video of Alan Chambers and our expedition Medic Ed Coats talking about their upcoming challenge and the legacy of Captain Scott.