• Home
  • About the Trust
    • Trustees
    • Our Partners
    • Annual Reports
  • Our Projects
    • Current Projects
    • Completed Projects
  • COVID Relief
  • News
  • Contact Us

Tenth Tour de Tuli yet another huge success

August 15, 2014
by Wilderness Safaris
Comments are off

banner-image-tour-de-tuli

August 2014 – The 2014 Nedbank Tour de Tuli has been lauded a resounding success, once again living up to its reputation as one of southern Africa’s premier mountain biking events. Organised by Children in the Wilderness (CITW), the 10th edition of the event saw 340 participants cycle across over 250 km of challenging and remote terrain in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa between 1 and 6 August.

Tour de Tuli

Botswana’s Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama cycled the first stage of the Nedbank Tour de Tuli, which took cyclists through some of Africa’s most remote and beautiful areas. 

“While traversing national parks and manoeuvring through some technical sections, participants were rewarded with plentiful elephant sightings and spectacular scenery”, said Nicola Harris, Tour Director.

The Tour started at Pont Drift border between South Africa and Botswana, followed by two days of exploring the Northern Tuli Game Reserve on ancient elephant trails. From here, cyclists crossed the Shashe River and entered Zimbabwe’s Tuli Circle with a further two days spent cycling through communal areas and expansive bushveld. The final day saw riders wade across the Limpopo River into South Africa’s Mapungubwe National Park and over the finish line. 

“While the magnificent landscape continues to amaze cyclists year after year, one of the high points was the opportunity for cyclists to meet with some of the communities that CITW works with and witness first-hand how funds raised from the Tour make a difference in their lives”, said Dr Sue Snyman, CITW Programme Director.

Cyclists received cheers and a warm welcome as they cycled through Lentswe-le-Moriti in Botswana on Day 1, and an equally rapturous reaction on Day 3 when they rode through Limpopo Village in Zimbabwe, donating backpacks and notebooks at a local school before stopping at a tavern to interact with locals and other riders. 

All funds raised by the Tour are channelled directly into CITW, a non-profit organisation that runs sustainable education programmes to bridge the divide between communities and the wildlife areas they live next to. Over the last 10 years, the Tour has hosted 2 369 cyclists and raised R11.6 million for CITW. 

The Nedbank Tour de Tuli is also a cross-border tourism success story, with the governments of Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa working closely together to ensure a seamless experience for participants, and in doing so, raising awareness of the importance of Transfrontier Conservation Areas. This year, cyclists and organisers were honoured to have Botswana’s Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama, not only open the event, but also don a helmet and ride the first stage of the Tour.

During the official opening ceremony, the Honourable Minister emphasised the important role that ecotourism plays in creating sustainable livelihoods for local community members. He added that eco-sensitive events like the Nedbank Tour de Tuli serve as a catalyst for the ongoing protection of wilderness areas. 

For further information on the Tour, please visit www.childreninthewilderness.com.

Recent News

CITW Makuleke Youth Environmental Stewardship Workshop
Nov 21, 2016
CITW Bovet School Eco-Mentor Training Workshop
Nov 21, 2016
Annual Report 2016
Aug 31, 2016
Third Quarter - 2015 Newsletter
Nov 12, 2015
Annual Report 2015
Sep 03, 2015
Shirley Sanderson’s “Wild” Photography Exhibition opens in February
Jan 09, 2015

Newsletter Sign-up

Please sign up for our Newsletter

* indicates required field
CAPTCHA
Refresh
Disclaimer & Private Policy
© 2019 The Wilderness Trust

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!