 HANGING ON: Capetonian Ingrid Bohme abseils during the selection workshop |
They will embark on their journey on March 2, starting at Cape Agulhas and making their way through 28 countries in Africa and Europe. They will cross the Mediterranean and will end at the northern tip of Europe, the Nordkap in Norway.
The women will travel in five Mitsubishi vans. Along the way they will do all sorts of adventure sports such as white water rafting, hot air ballooning and bungee jumping. They will also drive across some really tough terrain.
On arriving in Europe they will publicise their "Afro-optimism" during road shows in 44 major cities in 15 European countries.
During the workshop they were tested to the limits for bravery and endurance, doing a range of adventure sports including quad-biking, off-road driving, abseiling and bungee jumping off the world's highest jump, the Bloukrans Bridge. |
For the women it's a travel dream come true.
For Marion le Roux, an educational psychologist from Pretoria, it is a journey to find her true self.
Le Roux is a single mother of three adult children and will soon be 50.
She lives with her sons Marno, 22, and Divan, 18, in Menlo Park and her daughter, Karli, 24 lives in Cape Town.
Le Roux said her psychology practice gave her no time for her family or friends but her dream has always been to travel the world.
"Living a more adventurous life and experiencing animals and the natural beauty of Africa has come true in an over-the-top way," she explained.
Le Roux got divorced after 17 years of marriage. "I can proudly say that all three my children are loving, well balanced, happy, successful young people. Being a working mom, I often had to set aside my own needs and the needs of my children to put bread on the table. I was forced to become a business woman … all I wanted to be was a stay-at-home, be-there-for-the-children mom.
"I need to gain myself from this experience, I lost a great part of who I am and who I can be, as all single moms can testify. You tend to live through your children when you are the only one who has to take all the responsibility, make difficult decisions, think ahead, worry afterwards, care for, nurture and discipline the three most important human beings in your life."
Ingrid Bohme, 37, a divorcee who lives in Milnerton with her "children", two golden retrievers, is the only participant from Cape Town.
A media sales executive, Bohme enjoys the outdoors, especially hiking.
"I'm passionate about animal rehabilitation, photography and will sign any petition that benefits the environment and betters the life of local people and animals
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"We will see our awesome world first hand, see a different sun each day and best of all will be able to hopefully make a huge difference to positive, sustainable tourism and upliftment for Africa by talking to people through Europe about our beautiful continent and its people."
The dynamic dozen were the result of a Survivor-style voting process that eliminated six others.
The two organisers will also take part. Enya Fehler, 45, and Andrea Doerfert, 45, are German nationals now living in South Africa and CEOs of Africa Adventure. A tourist information company, it is based in Plettenberg Bay.
The expedition has been a dream of Fehler's for many years.
She said: "Our aim is not only to boost the profile of African tourist destinations, but to contribute towards the responsible, long-term development of our industry."
The team will include Sibongile Mpakanyiswa, 30, an investment banker working in New York and London; Monica Villabolos, a Peruvian journalist living in Pietermaritzburg; Tanya Weyers, 23, of George who enjoys waterskiing, skydiving and white water rafting; Jahna Boshoff, 42, a teacher from Pretoria; Bridgette Johnson, 37, an advertising executive from Johannesburg; and Julie Farrington, 35, a chartered accountant from Durban.
Others are Alicia Proud, 23, a UK sports teacher, Monique Hansen, 28, a scuba diving instructor from Port Elizabeth, Petra Schuller, 51, an engineer from Germany and Tanya Tiefenthaler, 44, an insurance officer from Johannesburg.
As a branch of the event, Africa Adventure established the non-profit organisation, the Africa Adventure Cape to Cape Foundation aimed at creating awareness of Africa as a travel destination.
The remaining funds will be directed towards formal and informal tourism education of the youth of Africa, with a view to enabling them to become stakeholders within the tourism industry. The foundation plans to provide scholarships and bursaries for young people in tourism.
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