THE DUBA-DUMA WILDERNESS CHALLENGE

A team of Wilderness Safaris guides will be crossing – on foot – the remote wilderness gap between the Okavango and the Linyanti. The objective of this challenge is to create further awareness of the Children in the Wilderness programme.

Undertaking the challenge at the hottest and most difficult time of the year, with daily temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius, this will be a true test of endurance. October is the last month before the summer rains, bringing relief to the hot, dry and dusty interior.

The four guides will walk 20km per day through swamp, arid woodlands and an area with possibly the densest free-roaming elephant populations in Africa.

Tony, Gavin, Richard and Ant will commence their challenge from Duba Plains, Wilderness Safaris’ most isolated camp in the Okavango Delta. The gruelling 5-day walk will finish at DumaTau, 120 km to the north-east in the Linyanti.

The guides will be roughing it, sleeping under the stars, using their guiding abilities to steer clear of predators, scorpions and snakes which are at their most prevalent during this time of the year. Emergency water supplies, dehydrated food and medical supplies will be carried with the guides. As a result of the extreme temperatures, the group will only be able to move in the early hours of the morning as walking at night will be too dangerous.

All four guides have had extensive trail experience in big game areas and are excited at the prospect of hiking through one of the wildest and most remote places in Botswana.

Children in the Wilderness is a non-profit environmental educational programme based in Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, South Africa and the Seychelles. The programme aims to create a network of learning sanctuaries that uplifts, conserves and cares for our children and our planet.

Since its inception in 2001, Children in the Wilderness Botswana, in conjunction with Wilderness Safaris and Ngamiland Adventure Safaris have hosted 700 children, in 4147 “children in camp days”. Through edutainment we aim to provide Batswana children with the opportunity to learn more about the wildlife and environment around them, whilst at the same time developing their life skills and leadership capabilities.

There are very few true wilderness regions left in Africa. The focus of Children in the Wilderness is to expose the children to these unique environments and, together with environmental education, to inspire our next generation of wildlife rangers, researchers, conservationists and guides.

If you wish to make a donation to THE DUBA DUMA WILDERNESS CHALLENGE please refer to the Botswana bank account details here. Please ensure that the donation is earmarked “Duba Duma Challenge” for our records.