Cambodia Cycle Challenge update

Lance Armstrong I'm not, but as I raced to the finish line of the Cambodia Cycle Challenge – legs pumping, brow dripping – I could have been forgiven for thinking I was competing in the Tour de France. While there were no steep hills climbs, nasty roadside pile-ups nor crowds to cheer us on, as our eight-person all women cycling team rode through the entrance gate of Banteay Srey temple (fittingly known as the "citadel of the women") some 38km outside Siem Reap we felt just as exuberant as if we'd taken out first line honours.

The 10 day, 300km journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap to raise money for War Child Australia, certainly lived up to its challenge title. Cycling for hours on end in 40 degree plus heat was tough and there were plenty of times when I thought that I could not possibly go on (especially on the third day after I developed a nasty bout of travel belly that made cycling even more of a challenge). But somehow managing to find the inner strength to overcome such difficulties made the ride so much more special and seeing the smiling faces on the children at the orphanages and knowing that we had made a difference made it all worthwhile.

Together as a team we raised $25,000 for War Child Australia. For my part, thanks to the generous donations of my friends, family and many sponsors, in particular the Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, Downlands College, Mantra on Salt Beach and The Byron at Byron(see here for a full list), I personally raised just over $3,500.

So while I may not have won the yellow jersey (I wisely decided to wear my own), I achieved more than I could ever have imagined through this experience. For that I offer you all a very heartfelt thank you.

Picture: Me at the gate of Angkor Thom

New cycle challenge: Ride for the Rainforest

My dear friends, Krista Bernard and Dan Coward, who kindly trained with me in the build-up for my Cambodia War Child cycling adventure, are organising a new cycling challenge and are looking for participants. The 12 day Ride for the Rainforest Cycle Challenge running from 22 February to 5 March 2011 will traverse the beautiful island of Sri Lanka and raise money for Rainforest Rescue.

All you need to take part is a great sense of adventure...and a little cycling training of course. But if you're up for the challenge, you couldn't want for two better guides.

Krista has an indomitable cycling history. In Australia, she traversed the Nullarbor and Central Deserts on dirt tracks, has ridden down the east coast, and cycled around Tasmania. Pedalling 15,000km across 19 countries – from Indonesia to Egypt – won her the prestigious Young Adventurer of the Year Award in 2000 by the Australian Geographic Society.

Krista recently returned from an 8,811 kilometre expedition from London to the Himalayas with her partner Dan. It was inspired not only by Krista's first world cycle but by their mutual love for sustainable travel. At the same time, Krista and Dan raised much needed funds for Rainforest Rescue.

On Thursday 1 July, Krista and Dan will be giving a slide presentation of their cycle adventure from London to the Himalayas at the Mullumbimby Civic Hall at 6.30pm. See the photos and hear the stories – which may inspire you to take up the challenge to join them to Ride for the Rainforest in Sri Lanka next year. All proceeds from the evening go to Rainforest Rescue.

Can you ever be too old for backpacking?

Backpacking around the globe is a great adventure, especially when you are young and don't have any strings to tie you down. But with so many people putting off having families and travelling later in life, should there be an age limit on backpacking?

I was 27 years old when I set out on my first adventure-come-backpacking holiday – a month-long overland trip taking in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. But it wasn't until a few years later, after I'd turned 30 and had landed a job with Lonely Planet, when I finally felt secure enough in myself to take off on my first real extended solo backpacking adventure - this time bussing and training my way around the lesser known parts of Eastern Europe. So as a bit of a late backpacking bloomer, I've usually always been the oldest person in the dorm.

Yet some 10 years on as I unpack my bags from my latest adventure in Cambodia I'm wondering if, at the ripe old age of 41 years, I'm starting to get a little too old for this? I've already traded in my traditional rucksack for a far more practical and convenient – and might I add less backbreaking – trolley backpack, so perhaps it's time I hang up my hiking boots and sign-up for a seniors' only bus tour of Europe?

For me, age always has been, and hopefully will always be, a number. But at the same time, as the years have marched on I've noticed the gap between myself and younger travellers at hostels is indeed widening – while they revel in all-night drinking parties and only crawl into their bunks just before dawn, I'd much rather find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where I can enjoy a local meal along with a glass of wine (or two) and be in bed well before midnight. I also appreciate a few more luxuries, such as hygienic bathrooms and clean bed sheets, than I did when I was younger. But does this mean I should give hostels a wide berth?

Hostels of course offer a great budget alternative form of accommodation and they are excellent places to meet like-minded travellers. Yet while they were once the domain of drifters and students, today's hostels cater to the young and the young at heart with many dropping the "youth" tag and opening their doors to families and mature-age travellers. Granted I'd find screaming children as annoying as drunken teenagers and late night snorers, but no matter whether my dorm mates belong to Gen Y, Gen X or the Baby Boomers as long as they share my independent travelling spirit then, as far as I'm concerned, they can only make my hostelling experience richer.

Perhaps as Alison Brick once noted for Vagabonding in the end it's all just a matter of definition. That is, if to you the word backpacker means the party-all-night, sleep-all-day gap year student whose round-world trip drifts by in a drunken blur, then by all accounts my backpacking years are well behind me. But if you believe backpackers are in fact independent travellers who don't go in much for set itineraries, who avoid package tours and who relish the opportunity to get off the well-beaten tourist trail, then apparently I'll never be too old to be a backpacker.

Naturally I subscribe to the latter definition. So while I may well be the oldest person at the hostel, as long as I continue to enjoy the challenges and complexities of independent travel, I can’t see myself giving up backpacking anytime soon.

What do you think? Can you ever be too old for backpacking? I'l love to hear your thoughts.

Cambodia Challenge: Off and racing

Well, we are now halfway through the Cambodia Cycle Challenge for War Child Australia. If there is any one word that truly sums up the experience so far it is: 'uplifting'. Cycling in 40 plus degree heat has been tough and there have been times when I thought that I could not go on (especially on the third day when I developed a nasty bout of travel belly that made cycling even more of a challenge), but being able to overcome such difficulties has made the ride so much more special and seeing the smiling faces on the children at the orphanages and knowing that we are making a difference has made it all worthwhile.

Here are just a few photographs so far from the trip – one of our all-girl cycling team (above), a few of the children from the orphanage (below) and a photograph of our team with the students we taught English to at the middle school (bottom). More photos to follow soon. Thank you all so much for your support!

Cambodia: The countdown is on

This is it. I now have less than two weeks until I take off for Cambodia. Thanks to everyone’s kind generosity, I am only $695 from reaching my $6,900 fundraising target for my War Child Cambodia Cycle Challenge.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

I just need a little more help to make it across the line. Fortunately, I still have some great prizes to auction off. They are:

1. $2000 worth of IT services offered by MageData, a Northern Rivers-based IT company run by Noven Purnell-Webb. This equates to two full days of business IT work or a basic CMS driven website with scope for one or two add-ons."MageData the Business IT Wizards- we make technology work like Magic".

2. One year membership to YHA plus vouchers for 10 night's multi-share accommodation valid at any of the more than 100 YHA Australia hostels around Australia valued at $300.

I'll award the prizes to the person who makes me the best offer on each by next Monday 3, May. Simply post a comment below or contact me via email on kim[at]wildwriting.com.au with your offer.

Alternatively you can make a tax-deductable donation to my Everyday Hero website

Please remember this is for charity, so help me support a great cause.

People & Places photo comp: And the winner is...

I knew I lived in a very talented, well-travelled and generous community, but even I was blown away by the sheer number and quality of entries I received in the People & Places travel photography competition I organised to help raise money for my War Child Cambodia Cycle Challenge.

With more than 195 fantastic photographs received from the residents of the Byron Bay/Northern Rivers region of NSW, the three judges (Jeff Dawson from the Byron Bay Echo, local Bangalow-based photographer Lisa Sharpe and head of the Bangalow Chamber of Commerce, Michael Malloy) were certainly faced with a hard decision. In fact, there were so many worthy entrants, the winning photograph had to be decided by a secret ballot.

In the end the overall winner was Darren Pearson of Bangalow for his picture of Samburu women in traditional ceremonial garb taken in Northern Kenya (it's the picture in the top right-hand corner of the photograph above - and, yes, that's me), with second place going to Nharyan Feldman of Coorabell for his photograph titled 'In the moment' taken in Nepal.

Other category winners were: secondary high school students Isabella West (first place) and Kimberley Fuller (second place) of Nimbin and primary school students Colby Grant (first place) and Bingham Thurgate (second place) of Bangalow.

For my part, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the competition and attended the exhibition for supporting such a worthy cause and making the night a huge success. In particular I'd like to thank Michael Malloy of the Bangalow Chamber of Commerce for all his help organising the event and Darren Pearson for donating his $200 prize back to the charity. Your generosity helped raise $3100.

Having already raised $1000 from donations and a further $900 from a smaller exhibition in Toowoomba, I am now only $1900 from reaching my goal of $6,900. If you are able to support me and help push me over the mark, I’d greatly appreciate it. Tax-deductable donations can be made safely over the internet through my page on the Everyday Hero website.

Picture: Courtesy of Christobel Munson.

Wild Wednesday: Walking on sunshine

I've been so busy with my fundraising efforts for my War Child Cambodia Cycle Challenge that sadly my poor blog has been neglected of late. To help kick things back into gear, I thought I'd highlight one of my favourite travel photographs of the sun setting over Lake Victoria which I took in Tanzania in 2008 while helping Philip Briggs update the Bradt Travel Guide to the country. The following short piece I wrote about the picture below was recently published in the Escape section of the Brisbane Sunday Mail:

"African sunsets are made for gin and tonics. It's a cliche I know, but I enjoy the ritual of sipping the beautifully crisp, clear drink while watching the sunset over the veld. From my box seat sitting on a small strip of sand wrapped around the south-eastern edge of Lake Victoria, I watch with glass in hand, mesmerised as deep oranges, rich reds and powerful pinks dance across the horizon in a silent symphony of colour. Setting my drink down on the sand, I pick up my camera and focus the lens on the play of light as the sun slowly sinks into the lake's far horizon. To my surprise just as I click the shutter a Massai warrior silently walks across the beach and into my viewfinder. Only in Africa I muse. Raising my gin and tonic, I salute the African sunset. Mzuri sana!"