I got a mail from James Thrift, Douglas' brother some time ago. As I was very busy I sadly didn't have time to update this website sooner but you must know that Douglas' sister (Jane) and brother (James) are going to "leave the UK on February 23rd 2006, our expedition will spend 6 days trekking the Rongai route to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at a heady 19,340 feet". Their aim is to raise money for Save the Rhino like Douglas did himself years ago.
Read James' letter and don't forget to go to their website (http://www.rhinoclimb2006.com/).
"Some of you may know that despite our brother Douglas Adams' meteoric success with the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, the work he was most proud of was a book co-written with zoologist Mark Carwardine called "Last Chance to See", recounting their travels around the world seeking endangered species of animals.
It was the start of Douglas' fascination with the balance between animals and their habitats, and how that balance is becoming disrupted by the actions of one particulary invasive animal, man.
In 1994 Douglas became a founder patron of Save the Rhino, a charity that aims to do precisely that, save the rhino. This magnificent creature can be traced back 45 million years, but is one that man has almost eradicated in the last 30, why, because we covet the rhinos horn despite it already having one existing owner who is understandably reluctant to give it up without first being shot.
Douglas joined the first Save the Rhino Kilimanjaro Challenge, along with little Jane, to walk a part of the way from Mombassa on the coast to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Despite it now being an urban myth, Douglas never walked up Kilimanjaro in a rhino costume, sadly because of time restraints he never actually set foot on the mountain, which is why we are now going to do it for him.
Leaving the UK on February 23rd 2006, our expedition will spend 6 days trekking the Rongai route to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro at a heady 19,340 feet.
The main hurdle to combat will be AMS, Acute Mountain Sickness, a symptom of the lack of oxygen at this height. Before you get worried, we must point out that we have a considerable amount of experience at these sorts of altitude, but quite how we will cope without the champagne, peanuts and in flight movie is yet to be seen.
For this challenge to be worth the considerable effort it is going to take we need your help. We need you to call up all your Yemeni friends and try and dissuade them from buying a new rhino horn dagger this year, then please go to www.rhinoclimb2006.com and sponsor us as generously as possible, finally, please tell all your friends to do the same.
Projects in Kenya have shown that Rhino conservation works, it is possible to maintain healthy population numbers, but the work is expensive, and without it the future of the Rhino is certain, they will disappear.
In Douglas’ words “Give now, or the game is up.”
Thank you for your support
Jane and James"
