On Saturday 15 September 2018, we finished our amazing trip through the Indian Himalayas. We drove 1.121km, starting at an altitude of 2.200m in Shimla and finishing at 3.500m in Leh.
Our average altitude was between 3 and 4km and the highest pass we crossed was Tanglang la at 5.328m (which closed due to heavy snowfall only a week after we crossed it).
Along the way we were invited for lunch by someone we met on a cancelled flight, we slept in a monastery, attended a wedding party, had to wait a few times while the road was built and
got endless cheers from road crews, locals and other traffic (motorbikes, truck drivers). The road was an endless stream of impressive scenery.
Meanwhile, we have also reached our goal of USD 1.000 to adopt a tree in the Atlantis diving Coral nursery.
Thank you to everyone who donated!!
This September, we (Thijs and Anton)
will participate in the Rickshaw Run Himalaya, which certainly ranks quite low on the list of most sensible things to do.
However, it'll be a great adventure! After flying to India and acclimatising in Shimla (Himachal pradesh), we'll drive off in our 11hp glorified lawnmower
(Bajaj RE 4 stroke)
to conquer the Indian Himalayas. Contrary to the 'regular' Rickshaw Run, there aren't many routes to choose from, but the available route is challenging enough.
Instead of the direct route via Manali and the Rohtang pass, we'll first drive east in the direction of the border with China and then follow the loop through the Spiti valley to the other side of the Rohtang pass. From there
we'll follow the Manali-Leh highway towards Leh. This road crosses two mountain passes over 5.000m (the highest is Taglang La at 5.328m) and contains a significant section at altitudes over 4.000m.
During the largest part of the highway, we won't have mobile reception, mains electricity or petrol stations. The scenery is absolutely stunning. See the trailer below.
If you can't get enough, this one is also worth watching.
Our glorified lawnmower / noble steed is called Tukky McTukFace 2.0. Our submitted design will be painted on our auto rickshaw by a local artist and looks a lot like the first Tukky McTukFace.
In August last year, Anton drove the first Tukky McTukFace from Cochin (Kerala) to Jaisalmer (Rajastan). This 'regular' Rickshaw Run adventure took 2 weeks and 3.000km to the finish line.
This time, there's only 2 of us: Thijs and Anton.
By taking just two people, we hope to ease the load on our Rickshaw in the strenuous task of transporting us over the Himalayas.
The crazy lot that organises this adventure call themselves the Adventurists. Since it's an adventure, they just provide a rickshaw
with the required paperwork and organise parties at the start- and finish lines. An additional requirement for participating in the run is that we need to raise money for charity.
The past year, Anton has worked most of his time on Curaçao. Since January, he has been diving every weekend at Atlantis diving's coral nursery.
This nursery is 1 of the 2 nurseries of the Coral restoration foundation Curaçao. A few more dive schools on the island also plan to join the
foundation and start their own nurseries. These nurseries are used to grow coral that can be used to restore parts of the reef.
Staghorn coral (acropora cervicornis) is grown in both nurseries. The Ocean Encounters nursery also has a number of trees to grow elkhorn coral (acropora palmata).
The tree-structures are made from PVC pipe and fibreglass rods that are tethered to the bottom with sand anchors and buoyed with floats that sit just below the surface. This allows for free movement within
the water and dissipates wave energy, preventing damage to the tree structure or corals. Each tree holds a unique genetic strain of coral (genotype), and a full tree can hold anywhere from 100 to 160 corals.
Staghorn coral exhibits the fastest growth of all known western Atlantic fringe corals, with branches increasing in length by 10 to 20cm per year. Staghorn has been one of the three most
important Caribbean corals in terms of its contributions to reef growth and fishery habitat. It is impressive to see that these corals already overgrow the the tie-wraps used to attach them
to the structures on the reef after two months. After a year, the coral also grows over the supporting rebar structures, completely encasing it.
Weekly maintenance consists of cleaning the trees and the monofilament used to suspend the coral. At regular times, but less frequently, the larger corals are cut into smaller pieces (fragged)
to create more fragments that can grow by themselves. When the corals are large enough and the nursery is full, the fragments can be used to put back on the reef. This can be done with nails
in a rock or by creating a structure from 4 rebar rods connected with bamboo sticks. The coral is then attached to the bamboo using tie-wraps. Most of these activities are performed by local volunteers.
So, we really like this project and therefore selected this as our charity. Our target is to raise at least 1.000 USD so we can adopt one of the trees and sustain it for a year.
The money is used for a few purposes: buy supplies for creating the trees, regular maintenance and outplanting; funding the volunteer program to help hands-on with coral restoration and
eventually hire a full-time employee.
We have reached our goal. It is no longer possible to donate for our campaign, but you can still donate directly to the foundation.
The foundation's Instagram page shows a number of examples how much the coral keeps growing after planting it back on the reef.
The image below shows the impressive growth of coral outplanted on a rebar frame after just 18 months. That coral is now the home of a school of french grunts.
