Into the wilderness

We have been busy doing our pre project visits and assessing the sites for the venturer’s arrival. It is time to let you know a little bit about the projects that will be taking place on this expedition. Excited? You should be as they are absolutely awesome! There are seven in total. Today I am going to tell you about the two environmental projects.

Welcome to Echo 5

Project : Saveera Matti Anti poaching camp construction and elephant proof trench

This is an Environmental Project and it is a project working in partnership with Karnataka Forest Department to construct an anti poaching camp on the Cauvery River for rangers to use as a patrol base. Combating elephant and tiger poaching as well as the prevention of forest fires is a huge task for the forestry department.

The project managers that are running the show will be Dave, Julia and Lucy. You have heard about Dave already so that leaves me only to introduce the Echo 5 ladies.

(LtoR The Echo 5 recee team Lucy, Julia, Sixty, Dave and Claire)

Julia is originally from New Zealand. She has travelled a lot but is brand new to India and Raleigh.

1.She has brought waterproof mascara with her as her luxury item.

2. She would most like to trek with David Attenborough as she has met him and simply loves him!

3. Her preference would be for leeches as opposed to mosquitoes or delhi belly as she has had leeches before and doesn’t think that they are that bad.

Lucy went to Ghana with Raleigh as a venturer back in 2002 and is now returning to experience Raleigh life as a Project Manager. Lucy has travelled to over 40 countries around the world but her favourite places are Ghana and New Zealand. Julia considers that this is a good choice and their friendship is cemented from this point on!

Lucy

1. Lucy has brought hair straighteners with her as a luxury item and she has also bought with her a DKNY swimsuit.

2.She would trek with Richard Branson as he is an adventurous man and would have a lot to share with her. She also went to school with his nephew.

3. She too goes for the leeches. Brave and glamorous!

I join Echo 5 for their pre project visit and a drive that should take around three hours actually takes six as villagers are demonstrating that they have no water.

Finally we reach the edge of the forest. We all agree that it is far sparser than we thought it would be but the paths are the same familiar red dust that carpets the whole of southern India. There are no leaves on the trees and the forest is made up of lots of spikey brambles rather than the lush green vegetation that we all had imagined. Our heads knock against the side of the 4 x 4 as we judder forwards and backwards over the rugged terrain.

We stop after an hour and then over the edge of the forest we have our first glimpse of the deep blue river edged by rocks and sandy beach. Everyone is completely blown away by the remoteness and the beauty of this place. It is one of those moments where you stop, breathe in deeply as you look around and you feel totally, completely and utterly satisfied.

After a brief period of soaking it all up some serious business takes place such as taking risk assessments, locating a satellite signal for communications, setting up camp and other necessaries. The anti poaching camp is to be built at the top of the cliff edge and again serious discussions take place about how water will be sourced to the building site from the river. It is going to be a hard job especially in the blistering heat.

(LtoR Jo, Julia, Lucy, Kripa, Sam and Dave)

The rangers point out some elephant poo and a fresh wave of excitement ripples around the group. The first monkey is spotted and there is yet more excitement although later we realise that there are actually hundreds of monkeys swinging naughtily from the trees and instead of being our friends they are little thieves so we need to hide our spoils from them. Spirits are high, the job is in hand and there is time for a swim in the river.

Happy happy days!

The guard points out far out in the distance along the river bed and makes the universal sign of a crocodile. With his arms stretched out in front of him he claps his hands together to imitate the jaws of a croc. A few gasps are answered by reassurance that it is safe to swim and we take complete comfort in the two guards who will be accompanying us at all times.

Over night we are visited by a cheetah coming to take in some water from the river. The guard is alert, Dave is convinced he felt something brush past the tent and Julia heard the breaking of twigs. I unfortunately was out for the count but I am still thrilled by the idea of a big cat roaming through our camp.

 
 
 
Echo 4


Project: Parasalnattam Elephant Proof Fencing

Living in the forest most likely in bashas the project group will help protect the 35 families in the village of Parasalnattam from elephant attack and crop raiding by constructing solar powered electric fencing around the small community. This is the first stage of the initiative to conserve the habitat of the national parks and surrounding villages.

This project is led by Kripa and Sam and what a team they make.

                                                       (LtoR Jo, Sam and Kripa)

This is their first time on Raleigh but together they have been cooking up some awe-inspiring activities for the venturers to do. I won’t spoil their surprises but I will share them with you as they happen and I can promise that anyone in their group is going to have a lot of fun.

Sam has spent the last five months in Beijing where he has been studying Mandarin.

1. Sam’s luxury item is his laptop.

2. He would most like to trek with a combination of Clive and Benn as he thinks that by combining them both you would make the ultimate trekking machine.

3. He would go for the leeches

Kripa likes to think that she speaks fluent Hindi but she does speak fluent Gujarati. She also impressively used to work for Jaguar as a calibration engineer but she is now going to train to be a maths teacher after she finishes imparting her wisdom on the expedition.

1. Her luxury items are her exfoliating gloves and her electric toothbrush.

2. She would most like to trek with Russell Howard as he would keep her entertained and her little sister.

3. Kripa would probably go for the leeches although she didn’t sound too convincing.

I join Echo 4 for their pre project visit and we venture into the forest in the 4x4 for about an hour before the track becomes too steep and rocky to take a vehicle. We then climb upwards in the sweltering, red-hot sun. It is a hard trek even without rucksacks and our water bottles are so hot now that even the water breaks are not refreshing or pleasurable. Our surroundings are sparse and fairly uninspiring and my enthusiasm wanes slightly as my feet get hotter and my face gets redder. Suddenly we reach the top and we see the beautiful green lush crops of the village of Parasalnattam as it sits prettily in the valley. The greenness and colourfulness of the fields is in complete contrast with the surroundings which elevates the villages beauty and explains the feeling of euphoria at our discovery which can only be likened to finding an oasis in the desert.

The beautiful green crops that you can see above are the product of the hard work of the villagers but could be wiped out in an instant by roaming elephants leaving the villagers currently completely exposed.

The project is going to be tough. It is potentially one of the toughest. Its location is so remote it can only be reached on foot and the venturers are going to need to trek 9 km to get to it. Also the project managers have to consider how materials are going to be taken up the hillside, and are arranging for an ox and cart to bring the heaviest tools up the steep forest track. The plan is also to hopefully use as much locally grown food as possible to feed the group over the coming weeks. I already cannot wait to visit them and keep you updated on their progress.