Nedbank Tour De Tuli 2014

Cycling in the Greater Mapungubwe TFCA

The Nedbank Tour de Tuli is a renowned, premier mountain bike tour through some of Africa’s most pristine wilderness areas in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. It will take place from 1 to 6 Aug 2014 for a maximum of 350 cyclists. This year will be the 10th annual fundraising cycling event.

It is the main fundraiser for Children in the Wilderness (CITW), and all funds raised by the tour are channelled directly into CITW. Over the last 10 years, the tour has hosted approximately 2 370 cyclists and raised R11.6 million. This has allowed CITW to host over 4500 children on their programme.
The tour is renowned for its extremely high standards of service, tented accommodation in beautiful wilderness locations and obviously the unique experience of riding through some of Africa’s most pristine wildlife and geologically rich areas. The Tour follows very strict environmental practises and every camp site is left as it was originally found.

The Nedbank Tour de Tuli provides cyclists with the unforgettable opportunity to follow ancient elephant and other wildlife trails in the remote wilderness protected areas of Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Cyclists not only have the opportunity to see a parade of wildlife, but the route also includes magnificent scenery and cultural interactions with the local communities living on the boundaries of these protected areas.

The Tour is a highly personalised experience with all participants spilt into manageable sized groups; each one led by an experienced cyclist leader, also on a mountain bike. It is a tour not a race, given the comprehensive safety complexities of this wilderness environment. The riders are given the opportunity to savour these unique trails and to share indelible experiences with like-minded people.

The event starts on the 1st of August 2014 at 2:30pm at the Limpopo Valley Airfield in Botswana and ends on the 6th of August 2014 at Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa at 7am.

Minimum Sponsorship Donation
In order to participate in this event, the minimum sponsorship donation requirement is R19 800.00 per person, which includes a mandatory emergency evacuation insurance. Additional funds raised all go towards supporting the Children in the Wilderness programme in six southern African countries.

Tour Costs Include:
Tented accommodation – single occupancy in two-man tents; support and “sweeper” vehicles; refreshment stops during the course of the day; all meals from lunch on registration day to breakfast on the last day; services of bicycle technicians (spares are for the cyclists own account); medical support (any medical supplies are for the cyclists own account); National Park entry fees.

For further information, see www.childreninthewilderness.com

Children in the Wilderness

Children in the Wilderness (CITW) is an environmental and life skills educational programme that focuses on the next generation of rural decision makers, developing environmental leaders who are inspired to care for their natural heritage so that they become the custodians of these areas in the future. By exposing the children to their wildlife heritage, CITW aims to create a network of learning sanctuaries that uplifts, conserves and cares for our children and our planet.

The programme hosts rural children in southern Africa on an environmental and life skills educational programme where the children are taught the importance of conservation and instilling a passion for the environment so they become the custodians of these areas in the future. The children spend three to five nights in Wilderness Safaris ecotourism camps and participate in a life skills and environmental educational programme. The programme covers topics such as wildlife, conservation, health, HIV/AIDS awareness, nutrition, life skills, geography, geology, arts & craft and theatre.

A new addition to the programme has been the introduction of school Eco-Clubs. These clubs take place at the rural schools, follow a structured curriculum and, depending on the region, take place weekly, monthly or every three months. Eco-Clubs give all learners who are interested in the environment a chance to meet, learn, discuss and expand their knowledge of environmental issues. It also means that more children in the communities can be reached and on a more regular basis. Children participating on the Children in the Wilderness camps are usually selected from these clubs. Further, the Eco-Mentor Training programme aims to develop local community members and Wilderness Safaris camp staff by upgrading skills in their environmental understanding and enabling them to better implement school and village environmental projects and initiatives. This project assists in addressing the critical teaching skills shortage in environmental education in southern Africa. CITW aims to develop leadership values amongst the participants, so as to create leaders who are inspired to care for their legacy and can show others the way.

CITW was initiated after a visit by the actor Paul Newman to Botswana in 2001. His organisation, the Association of Hole in the Wall Gang Camps, is dedicated to offering educational and recreational camps for children with life-threatening conditions in America and Europe. Inspired and assisted by this organisation, the programme began in Botswana in December 2001 and has since been successfully implemented in the other southern African countries where Wilderness Safaris operates: Malawi, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Seychelles.

See this page for the Children in the Wilderness Limpopo Valley’s visit to the Greater Mapungubwe TFCA.

The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape was proclaimed a World Heritage Site in July 2003. Peace Parks Foundation, De Beers, the National Parks Trust and WWF South Africa assisted South African National Parks by facilitating negotiations with landowners and buying up farmland to consolidate the core area of South Africa’s contribution to the proposed TFCA. Mapungubwe National Park was officially opened on 24 September 2004. A memorandum of understanding towards the TFCA’s establishment was signed on 22 June 2006 and an international coordinator appointed. On 19 June 2009, Limpopo/Shashe TFCA was renamed the Greater Mapungubwe TFCA.