Story
I DID IT!
I have returned in one piece from the 2010 Sahara Hike for Mencap. The eight-day trek was beautiful, brutal and bizarre. Sandstorms, rain, desert winds, snakes, bugs, blisters and goat stew – you name it, the 2.5million-year-old Sahara threw it at us. The trek took us 60 miles (96km) across the wilderness of southern-central Morocco, near the Algerian border, in some of the wildest weather known to man or camel. We slept in rain-sodden, wind-battered tents, ate around campfires with our Berber guides and battled against ripped tendons, torn flesh, tummy bugs and bloody feet. That's not to mention pooing in drop toilets or washing with baby wipes.
The important thing is that the trek has raised more than £40,000 for Mencap, all of which will be spent on projects in Northern Ireland. Thanks so much to everyone who has sponsored me and helped me pass my personal fundraising target of £2,000. After last year's Husky Sled Challenge, I am again humbled by people's generosity.
Extra special thanks to my corporate sponsors for their invaluable support:
Belfast City Airport Ltd
Belfast International Airport Ltd
David McCaughey Dental Ltd
Johnston Press Plc
Movie House Cinemas Ltd
You can still donate using this page until the end of July 2010, or by sending a cheque payable to 'Mencap Promotions Ltd' to: Andrew Johnston/Sahara Hike, c/o Mencap, Segal House, 4 Annadale Avenue, Belfast, BT7 3JH.
As the Berbers would say, Shukran!
I have returned in one piece from the 2010 Sahara Hike for Mencap. The eight-day trek was beautiful, brutal and bizarre. Sandstorms, rain, desert winds, snakes, bugs, blisters and goat stew – you name it, the 2.5million-year-old Sahara threw it at us. The trek took us 60 miles (96km) across the wilderness of southern-central Morocco, near the Algerian border, in some of the wildest weather known to man or camel. We slept in rain-sodden, wind-battered tents, ate around campfires with our Berber guides and battled against ripped tendons, torn flesh, tummy bugs and bloody feet. That's not to mention pooing in drop toilets or washing with baby wipes.
The important thing is that the trek has raised more than £40,000 for Mencap, all of which will be spent on projects in Northern Ireland. Thanks so much to everyone who has sponsored me and helped me pass my personal fundraising target of £2,000. After last year's Husky Sled Challenge, I am again humbled by people's generosity.
Extra special thanks to my corporate sponsors for their invaluable support:
Belfast City Airport Ltd
Belfast International Airport Ltd
David McCaughey Dental Ltd
Johnston Press Plc
Movie House Cinemas Ltd
You can still donate using this page until the end of July 2010, or by sending a cheque payable to 'Mencap Promotions Ltd' to: Andrew Johnston/Sahara Hike, c/o Mencap, Segal House, 4 Annadale Avenue, Belfast, BT7 3JH.
As the Berbers would say, Shukran!