Thank you so so much to all who have donated so far to the Daktari Appeal, your support encourages us greately!
Just a quick mention, to those who wish to donate but do not have a credit-card, you may also PayPal directly to snailsonwheels@gmail.com, if that is easier for you.
Once again, your support is greatly appreciated by us and the Daktari Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage.
We´re almost 1/3 of the way to our donation goal!
Friday, 29 May 2009
Mountain-Biking and Wild is the Wind
Waking up at 2pm on the 2nd day the mountain-top greeted us with some beautiful weather, but we knew that probably wouldnt last.
We proceeded to give ourselves a crash-course in mountain-biking as we propelled our heavily-laden mounts down the mountain along narrow cliff-side trails and rocky riverbeds. Luckily we emerged unscathed at the bottom.
After that it was back onto regular familiar tarmac and onto Selfoss where we finally pulled in at midnight to set up our tent in the thankfully bright Icelandic night-time glow.
The next day we saddled up and headed onto the town of Hella, although we all could´ve sword that we were heading into Hell, as punishing head-winds battered our bodies and sapped our resolve, making small slopes seem like mountains and going downhill seem like hard work.
An impromptu guitar-aided sing-along break while nestling under a rock-face though lifted our spirits.
Matters weren´t aided by a knee injury sustained by TreeSnail (Dimitry) hiking the previous day, which made going even slower. A visit to the doctor in Hella confirmed that it was a knee muscle sprain, which while painful, should hopefully not impede the Snails´ progress.
Next, onto Vik and hopefully the 1st glacier of our trip should be within our sights!
Photos up as promised!
We proceeded to give ourselves a crash-course in mountain-biking as we propelled our heavily-laden mounts down the mountain along narrow cliff-side trails and rocky riverbeds. Luckily we emerged unscathed at the bottom.
After that it was back onto regular familiar tarmac and onto Selfoss where we finally pulled in at midnight to set up our tent in the thankfully bright Icelandic night-time glow.
The next day we saddled up and headed onto the town of Hella, although we all could´ve sword that we were heading into Hell, as punishing head-winds battered our bodies and sapped our resolve, making small slopes seem like mountains and going downhill seem like hard work.
An impromptu guitar-aided sing-along break while nestling under a rock-face though lifted our spirits.
Matters weren´t aided by a knee injury sustained by TreeSnail (Dimitry) hiking the previous day, which made going even slower. A visit to the doctor in Hella confirmed that it was a knee muscle sprain, which while painful, should hopefully not impede the Snails´ progress.
Next, onto Vik and hopefully the 1st glacier of our trip should be within our sights!
Photos up as promised!
1st haphazard day of adventure
On Monday, our last day in Reykjavik, we were told that in Iceland they have a saying; "If you are enjoying the weather, then just wait a minute", and we were about to find out what that meant.
On Tuesday we left in shorts & t-shirts under a sunny sky with an encourating tail-wind, happily powering along. 2hrs later a car pulled over to warn us that the clounds looming up ahead contained a shock summer snow-storm and we should be careful. An executive decision was made to carry on however. Our disbelief was shattered by the snow-laden oncoming traffic and the cracks of thunder up ahead. Only minutes later we found ourselves being battered by hail and sleet, our converse shoes and light summer gloves suddenly seeming much less than adequate, while Tris´s board-shorts & pink legs entertained the bemused passing traffic. Hazardous conditions were confirmed by seeing 3 cars that had careened off the slushy road into road-side ditches.
Our 1st destination, a 1.3km lava tube proved to be a failed adventure, as Dimitry accidentally whizzed by his team-mates, pausing on top of a hill and powered down the steep slope only to realise his error and retrace his steps by pushing his bike up said slushy hill for a good hour. Our abject misery overwhelmed the excitement of seeing the colvanic cave formations and we decided to carry on.
We pushed onto Hveragerdi, where hand-dryers and "romantic hamburgers" from the local restaurant went some way to sooth the pain. Refuelled and now only somewhat damp, we were encourated by te 9.30pm sunshine and he knowledge that only a 1hr hike stood between us and a heavenly hot river bath and a soft bed in a mountain hut.
Little did we know however, the 1hr easily became 3hrs as we foolishly refused to leave our steeds behind (we, after all, are the snails on wheels!), and pushed them with great determination up a rocky, muddy mountain-side. In the end we got our just reward however, as at 2am we finally collapsed into a deliciously hot river (heated by subterranean volcanic activity) with beers in hand and enjoyed a well deserved soak and a beautiful mountainous vista.
We finally found ourselves tucked into bed in the mountain hut (free to all hikers) at 5am to end an intense 1st day of our journey.
Photos are up, as promised!
On Tuesday we left in shorts & t-shirts under a sunny sky with an encourating tail-wind, happily powering along. 2hrs later a car pulled over to warn us that the clounds looming up ahead contained a shock summer snow-storm and we should be careful. An executive decision was made to carry on however. Our disbelief was shattered by the snow-laden oncoming traffic and the cracks of thunder up ahead. Only minutes later we found ourselves being battered by hail and sleet, our converse shoes and light summer gloves suddenly seeming much less than adequate, while Tris´s board-shorts & pink legs entertained the bemused passing traffic. Hazardous conditions were confirmed by seeing 3 cars that had careened off the slushy road into road-side ditches.
Our 1st destination, a 1.3km lava tube proved to be a failed adventure, as Dimitry accidentally whizzed by his team-mates, pausing on top of a hill and powered down the steep slope only to realise his error and retrace his steps by pushing his bike up said slushy hill for a good hour. Our abject misery overwhelmed the excitement of seeing the colvanic cave formations and we decided to carry on.
We pushed onto Hveragerdi, where hand-dryers and "romantic hamburgers" from the local restaurant went some way to sooth the pain. Refuelled and now only somewhat damp, we were encourated by te 9.30pm sunshine and he knowledge that only a 1hr hike stood between us and a heavenly hot river bath and a soft bed in a mountain hut.
Little did we know however, the 1hr easily became 3hrs as we foolishly refused to leave our steeds behind (we, after all, are the snails on wheels!), and pushed them with great determination up a rocky, muddy mountain-side. In the end we got our just reward however, as at 2am we finally collapsed into a deliciously hot river (heated by subterranean volcanic activity) with beers in hand and enjoyed a well deserved soak and a beautiful mountainous vista.
We finally found ourselves tucked into bed in the mountain hut (free to all hikers) at 5am to end an intense 1st day of our journey.
Photos are up, as promised!
Monday, 25 May 2009
Poised to pedal
Hey folks, this is "TriSnail" Tris reporting for duty.
We are hectically preparing ourselves to set off on the open road towards the south coast this afternoon. Our bikes have been tinkered with, our pannier bags (snail shells) are starting to bulge with camping necessities, and we've run riot in the capital for good measure.
The SOWDA cycling extravaganza has arrived!
The following month will consist of plenty of plains, mountain passes, campsites, huts and other environments that aren't very helpful for obtaining internet access. When it is found though, you'll be the first to know how life on the snail trail is treating us.
Ciao for now!!!
Almost ready to Rock'n'Snail
Ello all, Tree-Snail here, aka Dimitree.
Thought i'd take this opportune moment (which happens to be 10.30pm on the night before we leave) to introduce my snaily self so all the snail followers can get a better idea who's involved in this whacky ridiculous journey.
I've known Tris & Dom for years and years now and what better way to really spend some quality time with them both and support a good cause than to use the power of our own legs to pedal-navigate this icy windy island of majestic beauty and mysterious happenings (i think fairies and goblin vikings live here) and to be beaten by constant driving rain and be trapped in a tent in a mountain storm and battered by wind and sheep's heads and flying puffins (man this is a long sentence) than to be here! Sounds like awesome fun and i cannot wait! :)
I have joined the guys in a bit of a spontaneous fashion without any preparation and a fairly poor idea of what to expect, which is the best way to travel and i'm really looking forward to it :)
But seriously though, it's going to be a tremendous challenge that im really looking forward to, and best of all its for a great cause, so please support us on our adventures!
FULL SNAIL AHEAD
D – snail (aka Dom) here. I have been posted in Iceland for the past 5 months collecting tip bits for our ambitious journey, and occasionally “studying” earth sciences at the University of Iceland. During my time here I have witnessed the ferocious nature of Iceland’s unforgiving, temperamental climate system. This has made me all too aware of the potential impending doom of our adventure, the success of which will be largely determined by our abilities to cope with the elements. Fierce headwinds, horizontal rain, dust storms and perhaps even some snow will batter our shells as we stubbornly slide forth…hopefully. Never the less we are whole heartedly committed to our cause and regardless of conditions this is going to be a truly epic journey of awe-inspiring natural delights, the country would not allow for anything else. So, stay tuned from your comfy desk chair as we sweat our sluggish snaily selves around this enigmatic land forged by fire, calved by ice,.. have a laugh, spare a prayer, and dream up some devilish dares for donations.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Our Coiled Shells Are Ready To Roll!
Welcome, Gastropod enthusiasts!
In words and pictures, this site will be documenting the epic cycling, travelling, fundraising and volunteering adventures of a band of snails and their multifaceted mission...and we most certainly hope it will involve your input too!
"Snails On Wheels" - why?
Simply stated, we will be "Snails" because we'll be carrying our homes on our backs & racks - that's bicycle racks for the first part of our mission. This initial trip will be "On Wheels" as we'll be doing a cycling and camping adventure, and we've decided on Iceland to form the dramatic backdrop. With cameras at the ready we'll also be cycling to best document and soak in the sumptuous sights around us.
In this time we'll be pedalling along a mainly coastal ring road that circumnavigates most of the country, as well as deviating over to the tasty tit bits that nature has to offer us. This trip will cover about 1000 miles or 1600 kms of road in total. Being bicycle adventure novices leaves us confident in fulfilling the slow, sloth-like expectations of our snaily selves!
So, some slimy suckers will sluggishly slog their slippery cycling selves through sublimely scenic surrounds - so what?
Well, that's where the "Daktari Appeal" comes into the mollusc melting pot mix. The idea here is to fundraise for charity as we travel around as much of the "Land of Fire & Ice" as we can within a month.
The funds will go to DAKTARI, a bush school and wildlife orphanage located in the North East corner of South Africa in the Limpopo Province. DAKTARI is in the same region as the mighty Kruger National Park, the country's largest game reserve.
Next year we'll be embarking on the second phase of our mission as we travel down the East Coast of Africa, backpacking and documenting our experiences on this blog.
Finally, we'll get to South Africa, take the donated funds to DAKTARI, see how they get utilised, and do some volunteering to boot. This will involve us teaching groups of local underpriveleged South African children at DAKTARI's bush school, while interacting with the rescued animals that are being cared for there.
...Oh, and we are also working up the courage to do some Dares For Donations. So, if you're feeling both generous and sadistic, concoct an idea, set us a challenge, and put your money where your mouth is!
Snails On Wheels is due to kick off the Icelandic cycling adventure on Monday 22nd of May.
In words and pictures, this site will be documenting the epic cycling, travelling, fundraising and volunteering adventures of a band of snails and their multifaceted mission...and we most certainly hope it will involve your input too!
"Snails On Wheels" - why?
Simply stated, we will be "Snails" because we'll be carrying our homes on our backs & racks - that's bicycle racks for the first part of our mission. This initial trip will be "On Wheels" as we'll be doing a cycling and camping adventure, and we've decided on Iceland to form the dramatic backdrop. With cameras at the ready we'll also be cycling to best document and soak in the sumptuous sights around us.
In this time we'll be pedalling along a mainly coastal ring road that circumnavigates most of the country, as well as deviating over to the tasty tit bits that nature has to offer us. This trip will cover about 1000 miles or 1600 kms of road in total. Being bicycle adventure novices leaves us confident in fulfilling the slow, sloth-like expectations of our snaily selves!
So, some slimy suckers will sluggishly slog their slippery cycling selves through sublimely scenic surrounds - so what?
Well, that's where the "Daktari Appeal" comes into the mollusc melting pot mix. The idea here is to fundraise for charity as we travel around as much of the "Land of Fire & Ice" as we can within a month.
The funds will go to DAKTARI, a bush school and wildlife orphanage located in the North East corner of South Africa in the Limpopo Province. DAKTARI is in the same region as the mighty Kruger National Park, the country's largest game reserve.
Next year we'll be embarking on the second phase of our mission as we travel down the East Coast of Africa, backpacking and documenting our experiences on this blog.
Finally, we'll get to South Africa, take the donated funds to DAKTARI, see how they get utilised, and do some volunteering to boot. This will involve us teaching groups of local underpriveleged South African children at DAKTARI's bush school, while interacting with the rescued animals that are being cared for there.
...Oh, and we are also working up the courage to do some Dares For Donations. So, if you're feeling both generous and sadistic, concoct an idea, set us a challenge, and put your money where your mouth is!
Snails On Wheels is due to kick off the Icelandic cycling adventure on Monday 22nd of May.
WELCOME TO THE SNAIL TRAIL!
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