The
Crossing of the Western Sahara!
Kenneth Gawne here, in April of this year I have been planning to
cross the Western Sahara, finishing in Dakar, the capital of
Senegal, with a few friends of mine, Simon Thompson. Ian Gardiner
and Lee Newstead; as some of you may know, I’m
no stranger to such exploits or expeditions, what is different about
this one is that I am now undertaking this particular expedition to
raise money for this film. For the
last year I have been working on Treasure of the Templars. This film
is being made on an entirely non-profit basis, meaning that everyone
involved is working for free. We have received much kindness from a
great many people in the process of producing this film and are
fortunate to have a director and crew coming over from LA to
complete the project. So far we have shot in California and Paris
with the remainder to be shot in Scotland in June. The film is being
funded out of my own pocket so any donations to the project are very
welcome no matter how small. My promise is that anyone generous
enough to donate to the film, in return for their kindness, will
receive a free copy of the film on DVD when it is completed. I am
asking for sponsorship for my crossing of the Sahara, I am asking
for you to sponsor only the outward and not our return journey; the
outward journey alone is a distance of over 3000 miles. Please see
the attached sponsorship form to see how it suits you best to
sponsor us, no amount is too small, also please pass the form around
your friends. The vehicle we are using is a
1985 Long Wheel Base Toyota Land Cruiser; which we believe is well
suited to the task, we are currently equipping and preparing the
vehicle, however I should point out that such a journey isn’t
to be undertaken lightly, the Sahara is an arduous and inhospitable
place, no journey can be considered straight forward, easy or risk
free, we are travelling
alone with no back up or anyone waiting for us at different stages;
there is a very real risk to life and limb involved, once in the
Sahara region, there are no settlements or petrol stations, it is
devoid of life, there are thousands of land mines left over from
numerous wars in the region yet even getting permission to cross
might prove difficult and is by no means certain, the authorities
can be reluctant to allow individuals to attempt it. We truly are ‘flying
solo’
and I hope that these facts and the risks involved will help in your
decision to sponsor us, since this is no normal journey. We have
set the date of Sunday, 10th of April for leaving, this
gives us a little under a month to complete our preparations. We
shall be leaving from Dereham, the exact time is to be confirmed;
and will be published nearer the time, if you wish to come and see
us off on our journey, you would be most welcome! I shall obtain
photographic proof and proof of the date that we arrive in Dakar in
order to confirm that the journey was successful, in the event of us
not being able to complete the journey, I shall obtain proof of the
furthest point reached. I thank
you for your time in reading this and hope to hear from you! Please
get in touch to arrange a donation by the most convenient method for
yourself. Contact myself, Kenneth Gawne: E-mail: kwagawne@dundee.ac.uk
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