For us the highlight of our stay in Upington was definitely our visit to the Orange River - the largest perennial river in SA, which flows from the highlands of Lesotho to the Atlantic Ocean.

From the moment we woke up  - we were confronted with and astounded by its beauty and power. Our room at the Protea Hotel has a great little deck overlooking the River - so this morning we got to see it covered in mist, as the day slowly started waking up. 

We then headed off for our activity of the day: White Water Rafting Neus Gorge on the Orange River.  We were super excited and looking forward to an awesome time! An early morning saw us with swimsuits on (and admittedly jackets on... as it was FREEZING) making our way through to the tiny, but quaint little town of Kakamas. 

We spent a totally awesome day on the river. The water, as expected, was more than a tad chilly...but the excitement of the rapids warmed us up a wee bit. Eben, our guide, was great! He has recently started his own company...and his love for the river and chilled-out manner made our trip what it was. 

After surviving the first rapid, lovingly dubbed "Chicken Run"...and paddling for a while through some gorgeous scenery - we pulled our boats over onto a side bank...where Eben proceeded to whip up lunch. Amazing how food just tastes so much better when you're hungry...and outdoors, and have spent the day fighting rapids (and hypothermia ) :-) We all huddled round the fire on the sandbank...and enjoyed boerewors rolls, before manning the boats again, and making our merry way along. 

Think that Jon and I quite mastered the art of steering our little boat, as we didn't even capsize once (something we were quite proud of...) We will admit to going through two sets of rapids backwards though - but hey... think we managed to convince people that we planned it that way...so it's all good. 

Pulling out the river at about 3ish...we were thoroughly exhausted - and more than ready for an early night...but all in all - oh what a good day. 

Thanks to Eben from Liquid360Adventures for an awesome trip and experience - we would love to come back again one day... (perhaps in Summer!)

Long drive tomorrow - all the way to Grahamstown...

Catch up with you there

*Sa & Jon*

Kuruman - a tiny little town...but a very eventful one as things go. 

One of the "must-see" things is of course the Eye of Kuruman, which is the biggest natural fountain in the Southern Hemisphere. The Eye once supplied about 20 - 30 million litres of crystal clear water, which fed the towns domestic needs. However due to geological changes in the area, the Eye no longer supplies the same volume of water as it once used to.

Discovered in 1801, this natural water source led to a mission being established in the early 19th century - the Moffat Mission. The Eye is thus sometimes described as the "Fountain of Christianity".  

Another name associated with Kuruman is that of David Livingstone - a well-known missionary and explorer. Mary Moffat, daughter of Robert Moffat (one of the founders of the Mission) was proposed to, and married Dr David Livingstone. At the Mission one can still see the remains of the Almond Tree under which David proposed to Mary before later setting off onto his explorations of Africa. 

Our experience of Kuruman was added to by our night at the Hotel Kgalagadi. Set about 20kms out of town in a local township - the true colour, flavour and culture of the people comes through. It was a great place to stay for the night with its quirky decor, and fun vibe.

 

The owner, Meshak, was simply awesome - and made us feel so welcome. We had a great chat to him over breakfast about his ideas of using local resources and people in his hotel. His passion for the area and his staff were contagious. We wish him all the best and would love to stop by again sometime and get to have a swim in the little rock pool.

We would also like to thank Meshak for adding his signature to our scroll this morning.

One of the highlights of our visit was our presentation to the Kuruman Christian Academy - a school of about 220 pupils. Yet another awesome response, and a full scroll of well-wishes and signatures! 

Thank you for allowing us the time to speak to the students this 

morning. It's always great to see such happy and enthusiastic children. 

We hope your school continues to grow!

Adios Kuruman - and hello Upington....

*Sarah & Jonathan*

Our drive from Mafikeng to "The Oasis of the Kalahari", found us travelling along "ghost roads" as we dubbed them...roads that seemed to span on forever...and forever. With vast amounts of open emptiness - we really felt that it was just us out there in the Big Wide World...especially so when we would check our cellphones and find ourselves with no signal...

It was beautiful in its simplicity - yet also scary in its complexity, as every now and then a white- tailed mongoose would cross the road - and show that life can still be sustained in an area like this. 

It almost led us to feeling insignificant - which is an awesome 

"freeing" experience. You can really just be yourself out there - and let go of all the mess and chaos that sometimes fills our worlds...It's something that cannot be explained, as the experience cannot be contained by a few words... 

Our only company on the road at times was a donkey-cart (something that Jonathan was proud to say...NEVER overtook us... no matter how hard they tried) ;-)

Some days we just thoroughly enjoy the trip itself - the pure freedom of being on the road...driving along with windows down, sunroof open, and Dixie Chics playing...enjoying the open road - and autumn sunshine. 

"Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of travelling." - Margaret Lee Runbeck

Mafikeng has been a place with a wry sense of humour. 

Our visit this morning to the Credo Mutwa Cultural Village turned out to be a bit of an adventure, as we found ourselves having to leave the car, traipse through the bush and arrive at a ram shackled dwelling - the remnants of a once living museum showing traditional African villages and cultures.

We had researched Credo Mutwa - a world famous Sangoma - before setting out. Needless to say, we were quite excited at this prospect of visiting a site so rich in history and cultural heritage. 

However, the truth of the visit is that there was not much to be seen - apart from some drawings that were still left on the walls of the derelict dwellings. Not exactly what we set out expecting, nonetheless an enjoyable morning in the sun!

Something that brought joy to our day was meeting with Keletso Nxumalo - the General Manager of the Mafikeng Protea Hotel. Her enthusiasm at having us at the hotel and hearing about our project were more than projected by her bubbly manner towards us. 

We really enjoyed chatting with her today, and would like to thank her for her willingness to participate in having the hotel sign the scroll!! We hope you had a safe journey to Johannesburg, and that the seeds we gave you will flourish!

Next stop...the Oasis of the Kalahari - Kuruman!

See you there, Jon and Sa.

Wow - what a location for a school!! Our trip to the Kimberley Christian School had us travelling on a gravel road, then part tar and then onto more gravel...situated just outside Kimberley in the middle of nowhere!

For these kids, just 45 of them, the environment truly plays a part in their education. In fact, we were blown away by the knowledge of some of the children. One 9 year old in particular wowed us with his exceptionally broad understanding of trees and the influence that they have on the carbon emmisions front! An answer like - "Trees take in carbon dioxide, but I belive that if we cut them down, they release more carbon dioxide into the air." - what an assuring feeling to know that our future lies in the hands of children like these! 

We hope that the message that we are spreading throughout our journey inspires more children to think this way!

Thanks to Lizette for allowing us to visit the school, and for her patience in giving us directions along the way!

And a thanks to the students for their participation in our "Drive", for signing the scroll, paying their rands and committing to the future!

We wish your school all the best.

*Jon and Sa*

Monday morning had us up bright and early... reminiscent of the days when we ourselves used to have school uniforms on, lunches packed, home-work done...and be heading toward the Monday blues. 

St. Patricks School in Kimberley welcomed us into their morning assembly with open arms. It was an opportunity to tell their Gr1-7's ( +- 200 students ) about our Pledge Drive. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our few minutes with the the kids - and Mr. Prinsloo, the Head of the Primary School. Really awesome response from the students - which always makes a

presentation so worthwhile... it's nice to know that the message really sinks in sometimes!

Many of the Gr1-7 students took the Pledge, signed the Scroll and donated their R1's. Thanks to all of you. 

With the afternoon free we decided to take in some of what makes Kimberley so popular...Kimberley is famous - not only for the Big Hole, which some of you might know as being the largest man made excavation in the world. 

Kamfers Dam is a National Heritage Site, although not protected. It is a beautiful perennial wetland, home to sometimes over 35 000 Lesser Flamingos - and more than 200 different bird species. 

We took a short drive out of Kimberley to this haven...and spent the evening admiring the flocks of flamingos (which are resident almost all - year round). 

What we found hard to believe after seeing this natural gem of Kimberley was the fact that the Kamfers Dam and Wetland are being threatened due to untreated sewage flooding into the dam from a broken sewage works and the possibility of a large housing development. It really does boggle one's mind to think that people would consider giving up something so beautiful - something so surely worth fighting to protect. 

For us - this was definitely one of the highlights of Kimberley... something no one should miss should they stop in this little town. 

This photo does not even do it justice - as it shows only a fraction.

If only society and environment could work together - we would have a masterpiece. - Author Unknown

Steve Hofmeyr and the 1 + 1 = 1 Pledge Drive!

An early start to a cold day found us setting up for the Langenhoven Park Farm Market in Bloemfontein...a market with more than 400 stalls ranging from pancakes to pot plants, haberdashery and little unreal infant figures (that were so realistic that we had to check twice when we saw them on display)! 

A good vibe , but a quiet start had us anticipating the evenings activities. That night, we were to meet with a well known South African artist that pulls off Neil Diamond to a tee - It was none other than Steve Hofmeyr!

Arriving more than an hour before his show, we were met with an already growing line of fans, awaiting Steve's entrance. 

With the crowd rushing in, we were privileged enough to spend a few minutes with Steve backstage discussing the cause of the 1 + 1 = 1 Pledge Drive and our aims! He was enthusiastic about the concept and shared with us some of his own environmental "visions"...a short chat , but definitely well worth the time!

The concert itself was jaw dropping - the opening night of his "Neil Diamond Reunion" tour, and not only showcased his amazing singing ability but also gave interesting insight into the life of Neil Diamond. His performance was none other than exceptional, and clearly enjoyed by both young and old in the audience.

A highlight was having him mention our project to the crowd, giving it a personal twist. The response after the concert was overwhelming! It seems as though, "What Steve says, goes!" For more than 2 hours after the concert we were busy - with a queue forming almost to the door of people waiting to sign our scroll, and pay their R1's.

Thanks to an awesome response from the "Happy concert goers".

We would also like to specially thank Amanda Burger for her complete devotion to helping us with arranging this meet with Steve Hofmeyr. Her friendliness and positive manner from our first correspondence with her made everything run so smoothly - Amanda, Thank You!!

And of course to the star of our evening - Steve Hofmeyr - we would like to extend a great big "thank you", for his participation in the 1 + 1 = 1 Pledge Drive and for signing our scroll! 

Till next time...

*Jonathan & Sarah*

We were definitely quite excited about our next port-of-call... which was Tsoseletso High School- A huge school of about 1700 students. We got to chat to about 300 of the Grade 8 students out on the field.

They were all very interested in what we had to say - which was an awesome feeling. Afterwards we were positively swamped by them trying to gather round and sign the scroll. 

Messages such as "Trees are life- life is trees" and "I love trees" graced our Scroll as one after another of the students signed. Clearly these kids know the importance of trees in their lives! It was really such a cool school to visit - and we would love to stop by again some time to see how our "thank-you" plum tree is faring!

We would like to extend a big thank you to Andrew, from Tsoseletso School. We would also like to thank Modise Finger from Vuka Tours for taking us by this school on our Township tour, and for his friendly participation.  

The Township tour around Bloemfontein made a lot of our history come alive as Modise managed to explain it all in a very down-to-earth manor. We also stopped by Franklin Game Reserve, one of the only Game Reserves in the Southern Hemisphere to be completely within the city's limits. A view of ostriches, and the beautiful sky-line of Bloem completed our tour.

More tomorrow.... 

*Sarah & Jonathan*

Bloemfontein greeted us with a whirlwind of action and activity. A frosty Free State morning found us heading toward St. Andrews School. We had the opportunity to speak to about 300 of their Junior Students during their Chapel period. The questions coming from some of the Grade 1's when asked about why trees were important were priceless. 

We would like to thank St. Andrews School and the Principal, Mr Chris Thomas for their participation. 

And look forward to seeing some hearty environmentalists coming forth from that school... So far 140 indigenous trees have been planted at the school - and they aim to reach 500. So all the best from W.V !

Next we got to stop in at Bloemfontein Christian Academy, which was quite exciting for me - as it was a small Christian school quite like one I had once gone to. 

The kids there thoroughly enjoyed hearing about our project. It was a quick presentation out on the field to about 130 kids, but it was good to see such a positive response. Nearly all the kids lined up after our presentation to sign the scroll and donate their R1.

Also a big thank you to Bloemfontein Christian Academy for allowing us to visit today - 

"Plant trees.  They give us two of the most crucial elements for our survival: oxygen and books. "
A. Whitney Brown

We were greeted this morning by a rather chilly East London rain...but even this did not dampen our spirits. We set out with anticipation for our first meeting of the day at the City Hall. Councillor Roy Angelbeck was appointed to meet with us on behalf Mayor Zukisa Faku-Hobona. 

A meeting just shy of an hour saw us leaving with the endorsement and backing of Buffalo City Municipality. Roy was very  interested and supportive of the 1+1=1 concept and pledge drive, and looks forward to future involvement  from the Municipality's side with a project of this nature. 

Thank you to Roy for his enthusiasm and time, and to Buffalo City Municipality for their support. 

With this now under our belts, we headed for our next adventure...which found us traipsing around a quaint local nursery in the pouring rain and through puddles of mud - debating the merits of indigenous trees. A true test of character. 

Now the search for the tree had its purpose as we made our way to Merrifields Preparatory School and College, where we were to hold a presenatation. Sarah's quirky and out there personality warmed the students to her, and consequently had their minds ticking and asking more about the project.

After the assembly, many of the students approached us to sign the scroll, and donate their R1. 

Thank you to Dr Guy Hartley, the staff and the students for their warm welcome and passionate response. Your commitment to the cause is much appreciated.

A long trip to Bloemfontein awaits us tomorrow...catch up with you there!

Jonathan. 

In search of a wild start to the day, we found ourselves heading toward Oribi Nature Reserve, where the World's HIGHEST Gorge Swing can be found. 70 metres of freefall in just under 2.5 seconds... an intense experience.

The feeling of knowing fear, and conquering it is a heady one. The beauty of the 100 m deep gorge that we swung into left us feeling both inspired and awed.

And so our journey onwards continued...

The scenery on our drive today was some of the most beautiful we have ever seen. Things that movies are made of. The endless fields dotted only by the circular huts so typical of this area... the goats slowly meandering along the dusty roads, and the striking beauty of the african sunset.

We also stopped along our way in Mthata, home of the Nelson Mandela "Long Walk to Freedom" Museum.

A fantastic museum with spine-chilling revelations of all that Nelson Mandela had to endure during his years of struggle.

A touching tribute to an amazing person... whose quotes never cease to amaze when one considers all that he has been through. Well worth a visit!

We also made our way through to Qunu, home-town of Nelson Mandela... also the town where he still currently chooses to spend the majority of his time when not in Johannesburg.

To see how he grew up in a small village, and be waved at by children as we drove through, was a touching experience. A great man...despite humble beginnings.

A visit to the Youth Heritage Centre in Qunu completed our activities for the day...

...the only "footprints" we left on the Wild Coast!

Hey hey...  

Just checked into our oh-so-gorgeous hotel for the evening and am having a chance to recap over the events of the day. 

Spent today visiting the Hare Krishna Temple of Understanding in Chatsworth, Durban. Originally started in the states by founders such as Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Dalai Lama - this temple is a place of "spiritual enlightenment"

We were welcomed in - shoes off, wandering around the palace marvelling at the ceilings covered in murals and gold-adorned walls. The Hare Krishna Temple, or Sri Sri Radhanath Temple is said to be the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. The visit ended with a stroll through the Mahatma Ghandi Memorial garden. 

Great place to have experienced, and amazing to feel the warmth and acceptance offered by all! Its definitely worth a visit...  ( if you can find it - as its little roads and twists and turns make it quite a challenge.. )

Would also like to extend a heart-felt "Thank-You" to the Sharks Rugby team, who took the pledge, signed the Scroll, and contributed their R1 to the cause. 

Off for now... exploring the Wild Coast tomorrow and will let you know what it has in store... !

Cheers

*Sarah*

Hilton College

We awoke to the sound of the waves and the wind and what a beautiful morning it was! 

Within the hour we found ourseleves surrounded by GREEN,  green hills,  green lawns,  lush green everywhere and for us Limpopo folks this was a wonderful treat. The grounds of Hilton College are straight from the glossy pages of Garden and Home.  Breathtaking is an apt description and I really felt like laying a rug under the old Oak tree and revealing in the dappled sunlight for an hour or five!

We were thrilled at the opportunity to present Wilderness Vision and the 1 + 1 = 1 project to the learners and educators of Hilton College. The response was extremly positive and we would like to thank Mr. Anthony Durnford for making this presentation possible and to Hilton College for the very generous donation. To Brian, Ian and Andy, thank you for your assistance and to Jonn and Dave, thank you for the encouragement and we look forward to future trails and projects. 

Thank you to all the learners and we wish you a relaxing long weekend.

Wilderness Vision presented Mr. Durnford with a Sneezewood tree and 20 Tree Fuchsia seeds in honor of the day and the project.

Click here to visit the Hilton College website

Trophy Toyota are the proud sponsors of the 1 + 1 = 1 Toyota Verso.

The official Pledge Drive SA vehicle is seen here on Durban Beach. Jonathan Rixon is extremely proud of the projects wheels and says that driving the Verso makes the journey a "dream".

Wilderness Vision would like to thank Trophy Toyota for their incredibly generous support.

The Wilderness Vision team received a very positive response from all at the 2009 Indaba. Tour operators, hotels, lodges, tourism departments and reserves were all keen to join the vision, pledge and vote for the future! We are hoping to expand the base of sponsors, supporters and friends after this very successful show. The team also found numerous opportunities to platform the founding sponsors. 

Sa

Rocking Indaba!!

Since arriving in Durban on Friday night, it's been all systems go! So we apologise for the long gap in the diary update.

Despite the rain Durban is still as friendly and as inviting as ever. Indaba is a buzz of people, funky stalls, dancing puppets and costumed dances and we are having a great time. Our angle here is contacts, contacts, contacts and thus far we have met many interesting and interested people.

One such person is none other than Kingsley Holgate, seen here signing the scroll and endorsing the project.  We are thrilled to have Kingsleys endorsement as he is a huge inspiration to the Wilderness Vision team!  Kingsley was at Indaba to launch his own latest project which entails travelling across several African countries to help fight malaria. 

A chance meeting with Dallas Oberholzer, well know South African skateboarder presented 

us with the fab opportunity of a drive out to the Indigo Skate Camp. Wow, what a breathtaking spot in the valley of a thousand hills with the Umgeni River winding below!  We got to watch several kids take to the ramps, one 11 year old displayed extraordinary skills, style and attitude

with some smooth moves and a pair of shades to match!

We are inviting tour operators to join the 1 + 1 = 1 vision by opening up the opportunity for clients to pledge on confirmation of booking.  As you all know, the more who join, the merrier!

Jonathan had a telephonic radio interview today, while standing on a skate ramp surrounded by hills, it was a great opportunity to let you all know about the SMS competition and to thank the sponsors for the great support!

We will be back at the ICC first thing tomorrow spreading the message...

Back soon..

Success at the Garden and Home Expo - Riaan and Michelle Garforth Venter Sign the scroll!

Hey there,

Well after the copious amounts of driving and meeting with Bakkies Botha on Wednesday, I think we were on another planet! But that was to end at the news of us going to 

the Garden and Home Expo. It was a full 3 days of hard, solid 

work, but what a pay off!

With all the effort, we managed to fill up 3 scrolls, falling just shy of 4, and had fantastic support from all young and old! Thank you to all those present at the Expo, and to the organisers (Event X) for having us.

One of the achievments was having Riaan and Michelle Garforth - Venter both sign the scroll and pay their Rands - Riaan held a workshop at the Expo. Thank you to you both for your contribution!

And after an early wake-up (04:00 am) on Monday 4th May, we were on our way to Nelspruit to set up a stand in the Riverside Mall by 09:00...we made it! So if you are anywhere in the Nelspruit area - Drop by, take the Pledge, sign our scroll and commit to the future...it's a vote for the future!!

Next stop Richards Bay, see you there!

Jon 

Bakkies Botha takes the pledge, signs the scroll and pays his buck!

The great thing about a project like 1 + 1 = 1 is the incredible people you get to meet!

The team were lucky enough to meet another great South African sportsman - arguably the best rugby lock in the world - Bakkies Botha. Preparing for the remainder of the Super 14 season as well as the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour, Bakkies took some time out with Alan, Jonathan and Nick in Pretoria to sign the scroll. An avid conservationist and lover of the bush, we wish Bakkies, the Blue Bulls and the Boks all the best for the rest of the year...GO GREEN!!! Our thanks to Quentin Cloete of Neubrand (http://www.neubrand.co.za/) for arranging the day.

Trophy Toyota sponsors a Verso

I know the last entry said WOW but I am going to have to say it again! WOW!!! and THANK YOU to Jon Hyde and team at Trophy Toyota for sponsoring a car for the duration of the Pledge Drive SA.

Trophy Toyota is situated in Modjadjiskloof and Toyota Vehicle Rentals and Transfers, a member of the Trophy group of companies, is in Hoedspruit which is also the home town of Wilderness Vision. We have hired vehicles from Robyn on a number of occasions. Always with fantastic service. After receiving this offer from Jon and
chatting to folks we have heard of how generous Jon and his team are, when it comes to charity golf days and fund raisers you will invariably find the Trophy Toyota sign of support!

The Verso is a fabulous ride and look how great it looks with the logo's of all those companies who took the 1 challenge in a BIG way! THANK YOU ALL, without this support there could be no drive.

P.S On the travel front - We will plant an additional 4 trees to repay the 6500kms travelled by car and an additional 2 trees for the air travel of the back up team to Cape Town.

The concept is that through our partnership with The United Nations Environment Programme, Billion Tree Campaign and through Wilderness Vision, A LOT of trees will be planted under the company banners of the various sponsorships that the 1 + 1 = 1 Pledge Drive has received. These sponsors will be directly responsible for the planting of thousands of trees across South Africa. It is through this type of commitment to social and environmental causes that will ensure a brighter greener future for all! To date the team has handed out over 2000 indigenous tree seeds, complete with care instructions.

Jonathan and Nick will be in Nelspruit on the 4th May at Riverside Mall and here we must mention that Ria of Riverside mall has sponsored the space for a three day period. Thank you Ria for taking the 1 challenge!

Come and join us at the mall to make your pledge and vote for the future!

Win an iphone 3G - SMS WVO plus your NAME and the NAME of your TOWN to 34008 to stand a chance to win. ONLY R2-00 an SMS.