It’s here! This year’s Put Foot Rally kicks off on Wednesday 20 June and I literally can’t contain myself. I’m joining the rally as Put Foot blogger and social media wrangler, which means I’ll be giving you all the updates from the rally as we make our way from South Africa up through Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and to the finish in Mozambique. If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, check out what it’s all about below and follow @PutFootRally on twitter for updates and blogs as the adventure unfolds!
The 2012 Put Foot Rally kicks into gear
The Put Foot Rally is an epic African adventure that sees 60 crews take to the open roads of Southern Africa to experience our continent in its purest and wildest form. Most importantly, the rally utilises social media platforms to raise money for the Put Foot Foundation and Project Rhino. More than R280,000 has already been raised for this year’s edition.
Crews may choose any vehicle and follow a route of their choice as they attempt to get around Southern Africa on the “greatest social rally on the face of the earth!” This is a journey that places individuals in the heart of their own personal voyage to discover why Africa is loved, admired and respected.
The Put Foot Rally will expose all 60 crews to the essence of each unique African country that they venture into. Crews will start off from one of two Start Lines in South Africa: in the heart of the Mother City, Cape Town, or in the hustle and bustle of Africa’s business capital, Johannesburg. They will then head off to checkpoints at Namibia’s Etosha Park, Zambia’s Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe’s Kariba Dam, Malawi’s Lake Malawi and Mozambique’s tropical paradise. At each checkpoint crews will indulge in the indigenous flavours of local cuisine and traditional beverages while partying the night away to the rhythm that beats the African drum, before retiring to their individual spaces under the African night-sky.
Dawn departure
At dawn on 20 June 2012, crews will start their engines and begin lining up with bacon rolls in hand and Johnny Clegg blaring through the radio. Then, it’s off into the sunrise towards 6 countries, 6 checkpoints to deliver 405 pairs of new school shoes across 6999km. All in less than 17 days.
In a cloud of dust and fuelled by a free spirits and a thirst for adventure, participants will begin an unassisted journey which will take them halfway across Africa in search of their checkpoints, before finally finishing in Mozambique on 6 July 2012.
WHY
The Put Foot Rally promises to be the catalyst that will lure you out of your comfort zone and take you on a journey of personal adventure and discovery. It’s a journey that will test you, challenge you, give you enough freedom to make mistakes and find your own solutions, but it’s also a journey that will show the golden heart of each country and leave you with a sense of pride and achievement that no package tour holiday could ever offer.
GIVING BACK TO AFRICA
Mountainshak Adventures will be supporting the newly established Put Foot Foundation. Put Footers will channel all their energy and enthusiasm into a ‘shoe drop’ at Senkobo Basic School in Livingstone, Zambia, where they will provide 405 school children with a pair of brand-new, quality, 100% leather, South African-made school shoes. Because of these shoes children will be able to walk to school without discomfort, cold or risk of infection, keeping them healthy and happy. The pride, hope and dignity of owning shoes, combined with the necessity of a complete school uniform, is part of what keeps these children in schools and feeds their hunger for learning.
This year Mountainshak Adventures will also be supporting ‘Project Rhino KZN’ in the war against the horrific plague of rhino poaching. Project Rhino KZN is an association of 15 like-minded organisations who have joined together to raise awareness about the drastic increase in rhino poaching in South Africa, as well as actively working in the field with rhinos and implementing strategic, effective anti-poaching measures. The African Conservation Trust (ACT) is a member of Project Rhino KZN and will be spearheading the Put Foot Rally’s Project Rhino Campaign.
WHO IS ON BOARD?
This year the Put Foot Rally is partnering up with a revolution of media, video, communications and clothing brands that will be taking the journey to the next level. Getaway Magazine, Southern Africa’s wildest travel publication, once again joins the Put Foot Rally as print media partner while the team from Go Pro will be adding in-your-face HD action to the adventure as official digital video partners. Champion creative agency and online mavericks Retroviral Communications joins the rally as digital communications partner, BrandsEye will be monitoring the rally’s online presence and reputation with Rocket Gear providing all the flash and flare as official clothing and signage partner.
With just 1 day until the start, the excitement of Africa’s greatest social rally is almost palpable. The crews are ready, the cars are revving and the journey is calling. This an annual African adventure where the road goes on forever and the party never ends.
Put Foot Rally 2013 entries are now open, for more information please contact:
Daryn Hillhouse on [email protected]
Mike Sharman (Media) [email protected]
or visit www.putfootrally.com
Need some inspiration? Watch the Put Foot Rally Promo Video and the Official Put Foot Rally 2011 Video.
Check out the Put Foot Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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