The man behind Extreme Frontiers South Africa: An interview with Charley Boorman

Posted by Adel Groenewald on 11 June 2012

“I want people to see Africa in a different light.”

And what better reason does one need to spend six weeks motorbiking around South Africa, enjoying some cultural and adventurous activities and making a television series while you’re at it?

Last week, I had the privilege of chatting to Charley Boorman, British adventurer, actor, traveller and presenter. You should recognise him from shows (and books) like Long Way Round, Long Way Down, Race to Dakar and more recently, Extreme Frontiers Canada. Well right now, he is on our beloved turf, filming Extreme Frontiers South Africa.

“Ever since I first journeyed to South Africa, I have had a real affection for the country. This is one of the most beautiful places on earth – rich in gastronomy, activities and fantastic people.”

But why motorbikes, and why extreme sports?

Charley Boorman has been crazy about motorbikes and adventure since he was about seven years old. And with his dad being a film director, he got to travel quite a lot with him, playing in some of these films himself.

“The combination of my dad’s travels, films and country living started that wanderlust for travelling and biking.”

In 2004, Ewan McGregor joined him for an incredible trip around the world on their bikes. The trip was documented on film and in book form, and after it’s success, the other shows followed naturally. But for Charley, the problem with these trips remained the short length of time spent in each country, because there was always a next place to get to.

“I’d gone through lots of different countries on the motorbike and I thought, wouldn’t it be lovely to choose one country and get to know it properly?”

And so, Extreme Frontiers was born. The Canadian show saw them doing a range of exciting and interesting activities around the country, all the while riding motorbikes from one destination to the next.

“Me and Ewan were in South Africa while doing The Long Way Down, but we hadn’t really spent that much time here. I thought it would be good to get to know the country, its people and its history better. Together with the Extreme Frontier team, we had so much fun in Canada, that when we decided to do a second series, I immediately thought of South Africa.”

But there’s another reason why Charley wanted to film a whole lot of South African footage.

“People overseas have this perception that Africa is one big country, with Cape Town at the very end. We’d like to show them a different side to South Africa.”

So, geared with their BMW 1200 GS Adventurers and supported by some Nissans and Land Rovers, Charley and his producer and friend, Russ Malkin, will be exploring the country, from the south to the east and even going high up on Table Mountain and the Drakensberg Mountains.

One particular highlight that Charley is looking forward to, is “going a mile and a half underground to visit a gold mine. What a fascinating way to get to know this side of South Africa’s heritage.”

Charley and Russ will also visit Mandela’s birthplace at Mvezo village, they’ll dive amongst the Sardine Run and go on a walking safari in the Kruger National Park. Last weekend, they surfed in Cape Town, climbed Table Mountain, paragliding from the top, visited Robben Island and dived with black-tip and tiger sharks in Gansbaai.

Seeing as these guys are well aware of the terrible poaching activities currently threatening our rhinos, they’ll spend some time learning about, and filming, anti-rhino poaching efforts in the Pilansburg National Park. Remaining with endangered wildlife, they’ll even experience the wonder of the African Wild Dogs while at Jaci’s Lodge in Madikwe.

None of this would’ve been possible without Mantis, the official sponsor of the trip. They hosted Charley and Russ in Cape Town and will be hosting them in Port Alfred and Port Elizabeth as they journey along.

You can follow Charley and Russ’s journey and the adventures they undertake by checking out the interactive map on the Extreme Frontiers website. Alternatively, follow either Charley, Russ or Extreme Frontier on Twitter or like the Facebook page for up to the minute insights and photos of their experiences around the country.

Extreme Frontier South Africa will aired on British television late in 2012, and hopefully we’ll be able to view their escapades in 2013. Either way, we wish Charley, Russ and the team a wonderful, culturally enlightening journey in South Africa, and we’re excited with them to show the world all that our country has to offer.

Follow them on Twitter: @ExtremeFrontier, @charleyboorman, @RussMalkin.

Like the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ExtremeFrontiersSouthAfrica

Visit the Extreme Frontiers South Africa website.

Check out the interactive map.