An office with a view...our event organiser Sophie takes on Women V Cancer Ride Africa!

Dream Challenges and Action for Charity have returned to the UK having had an amazing time in Tanzania with all you incredible ladies who took on our Women V Cancer bike ride, a stunning 350km ride across Tanzania. The challenge was a sell out this year and due to popular demand we have now released a further date for 2016. That is how amazing the challenge is!  

So imagine the joy when Dream Challenges event organiser extraordinaire Sophie went from organising the challenge in the office to actually taking part in the event in stunning Tanzania. Talk about an office with a view? 

This weeks post is Sophie's account of her time on the five day cycle across the African wilderness. 

Where do I start with this event...

Where do I start with this event, I met so many amazing people along the way! The event process started for me back in October 2014 when the procedure of booking the flights began. Shortly after booking the group flights, I was informed that I had been chosen to also participate on Africa group 2! I was so excited as I had always wanted to go to Tanzania, and there is no way better to see the real country then on 2 wheels!!

My training specifically for Tanzania started in March 2015…when it warmed up a little. Long steep never ending hills were my faux-par. So I got to work each week to defeat my challenge, as I was fully aware that on the last cycling day in Tanzania there was a lovely 2000 meters to climb to get to the finish line! Challenge accepted!

Realisation of the event came into light when I met part of the group on the cycle training weekend in July. It was great to cycle in a group and bond with the participants who I had been speaking to for the past 7 months via email and phone! As they say it was lovely to put faces to names! Knowing the next time we would be cycling together would be in Tanzania….we couldn't wait to get there now!

It all started at Heathrow terminal 4...

This is where the 10 day adventure began! I was eagerly awaiting 79 participants and 4 other staff who were checking in for the group flight to Nairobi, Kenya.

Arrival at Nairobi, Kenya 

 All arrived safe and well, here we were met by Phillip who would be taking us across the Kenya/Tanzania board until we reach the hotel in Moshi. We board our 5 buses and we set off eager to see what awaited us!

Moshi...

We arrived at the lovely accommodation looking at Mount Kilimanjaro, here we met the rest of the Women v Cancer team and our ground handlers the African Wilderness Adventure team. Bike fitting took place this evening where I was matched up with my bike… ‘Billy’! (nearest blue bike in the photo). 

The people...

Over the next 5 days the bonds that were made between everyone and the support shown was beautiful to see. Everyone had their moments when they needed to see a smile or awaited to see ‘maji maji’ man ready and waiting with the water to head shower or the water to consume to boost them!

There were so many highlights on the event I don’t know where to start!! The route was amazing, a mixture of off road and on road allowed us to be invited into the heart of the country. Going off road allowed us to experience things that you wouldn’t normal see from the road. We saw unique tribal villages going about their normal days, whether this was walking to school, herding animals, collecting water…or children racing us on their beloved bikes and on foot! Seeing the smiles and greeting waves of the local people made us feel very welcome. The Maasai camp was an amazing experience, we arrived to be greeted by a welcome dance which involved tribal songs and dancing. These continued into the night under the starlit sky of the Milky Way. Delightful!

The animals...

Oh the animals! On a bike is the best way to see the wild animals of Africa! Our animal discovery started on day one. We had been trying to spot animals all day. We knew we were nearly at the Maasai camp, when in the distance we spotted some long necks….GIRAFFES!! It was so exciting to see a group of six walking along. We were taking lots of photos when we then realised that there was a big group of different giraffes behind us about 30 meters away! They were all there, mums, dads, babies, brother, and sisters! They were amazing, we stayed and watched them for a while and when we started to cycle again they walked with us…what an experience!! Just passed the giraffes we saw some monkeys, guenons to be exact. They were sweet, messing around and jumping in and out of trees. The second day we spotted ostriches and more giraffes! On day three we saw lots of beautiful birds and encountered their bird calls. Day four we saw baboons, the babies were so cute! We also cycled down in the crop valleys where beautiful butterflies were flying all around us, some were as big as our hands…stunning! On day five we started the day with seeing lots of baboons before we took to the long steep hills up to the Ngorongoro crater. Along the way we saw cows and goats…even a goat on the back of a moped! We saw it all on route, what a journey!

The finish line...

The atmosphere at the finish line was great! Everyone was so happy, singing Tanzanian songs and hugs all around. Everyone was presented with a lovely medal to remind them of their achievements when they are back home. We further celebrated with champagne and jam sandwiches. A great way to end the 5 days of cycling.

Safari... 

Now it was time to see the rest of the animals. We saw so many African animals in their natural habitat! We boarded our open top jeeps ready for our African safari adventure! I am just going to list all the animals we saw as it was 7 hours filled of exciting experiences! We saw Elephants, Zebras, Warthogs, Spotted Hyenas, Ostriches, Lions, Gazelles, Buffalo, Wildebeest, Hippos, Pelicans, Grey Crowned Cranes, Bustards, Greater Blue-Eared Starling, Vultures, Baboons, Guenons, Antelopes, Black-backed Jackals, Waterbucks, Impalas, Kites, Eagles, and Butterflies. So just a few! It was an amazing day and something that I have always wanted to do. The best part of the day was right at the end of the Safari when we spotted a male lion sitting amongst gazelles and zebras. Then four female lions were on the outside walking slowly around the prey. One of the female lions was walking straight towards us! She finally stopped about 2 meters away from our jeep…time to take our heads down from the open top jeep! But what an experience to get that close to a wild lion just before they are going on the hunt for gazelles and zebras, so close to natural nature! Amazing!

The whole experience was out of this world...

 The year of organising the logistics with Women V Cancer, Dream Challenges, and African Wilderness Adventure went very well, and I think that everyone involved will have memories that will last a lifetime! The participants were so wonderful to be with and hearing about all their personal challenges they had to overcome to get to Tanzania was mind blowing. Everyone trained hard, fundraised very well for Women V Cancer, and created bonds for life. We all have the shared experience and it will never be forgotten! 

Feel Inspired? To find out more about Dream Challenges events please visit the website or contact us directly: 

W: www.actionforcharity.co.uk . E: events@dreamchallenges.co.uk T: 01590 646410