When I first got wind of the WWF Desert Challenge I was intrigued. Hiking, paddling, abseiling and cycling across one of the most rugged and remote wilderness areas in the world was a recipe I needed to know more about.
Needless to say, I’m hooked.
Perhaps it’s the mental image of that stark Richtersveld ‘moonscape’; that gigantic, wild expanse of desert, dotted with a tiny convoy of adventurers missioning where no-one else goes. The silence, the sand crunching under foot, the baking hot sun, the immense satisfaction of covering ground entirely under your own steam.
Even more exhilarating is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore isolated areas that couldn’t otherwise be explored. These areas are not on the tourist trail, they are completely wild and untouched. You are one of the first. And though the landscape may look and feel barren, it holds an exciting, thriving ecosystem, abundant with wildlife and some of the richest succulent flora in the world.
The Richtersveld is a magnificent and precious place, and the privilege to see it with such immediacy, to actually be a part of it for a chunk of time, is incredibly rare.
I’ll be writing a series of blog posts in the lead-up to the challenge, so as I uncover more intriguing facts about where this intrepid adventure will take us, I’ll share them with you. Here’s to armchair adventuring until October next year, when it all becomes a reality.
Wow, if I’m this excited to write about this place; I can’t even begin to imagine how excited you are to make it your home for seven days.
Find out more about the WWF Desert Challenge here.
Author: Kate Black
Kate Black is a Cape Town-based writer focused on exploring the outdoors and conserving our natural environment. Adventures like the Desert Challenge are top of her bucket list.
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