Dave van Graan, this man is a legend, he is well into his 1800+ km walk through Namibia in Mid Summer to raise funds and awareness for the plight of Rhino’s. Dave is the guide on quite a few of our African Adventures.
Now some of you have been to Namibia with us in winter, weather is great, clear skies, lovely warm days, cool nights, no snakes and bitey things, amazing scenery, animals, tribes….just a great place to be…..in Winter.
Now I know Dave is one of the sharper knives in the drawer, he has 10 trans Africa expeditions under the belt, negotiated hundreds of crazy Africa border posts, police road blocks, dodgy ferries across central African lakes, being shot at in the Sudan, falling into deep holes in rivers in Tanzania (with me, have it on video, laugh till you cry) being a bush mechanic and so much more. This is a man of the wild world, an adventurer……but to walk unsupported from the Orange River in the south of Namibia to the Kunene river in the north in the mid-summer heat, no shade, 40C plus, sleeping where he stops, pulling his trolley through the thick sand on the “roads” relying on luck for drinking water from passers-by when he runs out….you have to ask yourself….has he slipped a gear?
OK so he has had some help, passers-by ply him with cold beer, 4 young ladies helped him push his trolley up Kuiseb pass, a bottle of brandy and six ice cold cokes from us on News Year’s eve (Thanks for arranging that Fanie- Kuiseb Delta Adventures) in the middle of the Namib Desert help make it bearable. But still…MID summer, the dirt roads destroyed his trolley by the time he got to Solitare, luckily a good Samaritan (Yes…they are still out there) helped him fix it.
So WHY, there are Rhino huggers everywhere, I could fill this page with Rhino huggers and still have plenty left…..SO WHY, well it’s one thing to talk about saving the Rhino but another hard to do something about it, there are lots of doers out there trying to save the rhino from being wiped OUT in the next few years but not many are punishing themselves to this extent to really get it home. This takes cajones, and believe me Dave has them, to do this journey.
Well done Dave you are well past halfway, take care, walk well, you are a legend!
Dave will be escorting 5 of our Adventures in Africa this year so if you travelling with us you may get the chance to hear all about it firsthand.
If anyone wants to make a donation to Dave’s Cause contact him here on facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dave.vangraan?fref=ts
