Five years ago (April 2004) I set off from Heathrow Airport to fly to Namibia to take part in a Cancer Research trek in the Namib-Naukluft Park in the Namib Desert. As someone who had considered walking unnecessary, unpleasant and rather odd (if any other options were available) it came as something of a shock to friends, family and colleagues to discover in 2003 that I had signed up to walk 90 miles in 6 days in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth. The idea that not only would I be walking in these conditions but also camping there engendered a suitably strong response in those who knew me that I was able to raise my first £1,500 simply by sending an email outlining what I was up to. I eventually went onto raise a total of £4,500, all of which went to support Cancer Research.
Caroline Hume - My Namib trek five years on
On signing up for the trek I made sure that I took the training seriously and thanks to Neves’ flexibility was able to train twice a day in the six month run up to the trek. A January training weekend in the snowy peaks of Derbyshire was a lot of fun although not an ideal indication of the conditions we would face in the desert. Training was a mixture of walking, walking and more walking!
Meeting my fellow trekkers at Heathrow was a bit like your first day at senior school, some people already knew each other, some were old hands at charity treks and others like me were nervous first timers there on our own. We arrived in Windhoek via Frankfurt and transferred to a coach which proceeded to breakdown twice en route to our drop off point. It was fixed by traditional methods – the offending parts being sprayed with WD40 and kicked hard - and eventually we reached our drop off destination later than intended caused by the breakdowns, the road conditions and some rather determined giraffes. Due to the delays our initial 4 hour walk to our first camp point had to be completed in 3 hours and the pace was hard going coming straight after a 22 hour journey.
It was a surreal feeling walking into camp for the first time and seeing the tiny 2 person tents which were to be our homes for the next 6 nights. The next 6 days passed in a whirl of walking, suntan lotion, blisters and heat – the unrelenting heat. During the entire time we were in the desert the temperature did not drop below 88 degrees. In the middle of the day temperatures would peak at 130 degrees. Shade and water were priceless commodities. It was far too hot to sleep in our tents and so we slept under the stars enjoying an unspoilt view of the African night sky. As is the way of things our longest walking days were also the hottest days and of the 30 trekkers who took part only a third of us were able to complete the walk in full.
5 years on from the trek and I remain in touch with almost all of the trek group and meet a number of people regularly. Doing a charity trek is a hugely rewarding and positive experience and if you get the opportunity to do one then grab it with both hands. Due to the difficult conditions experienced on our trek (caused mainly by the heatwave which hit on the day we arrived) Cancer Research no longer offer a Namib Desert trek, however there are a number of exciting locations available if you want to take on the challenge of a lifetime. For more information on Cancer Research charity treks go to www.cancerresearchuk.org
