Pink Panthers’ epic African adventure

Two Durban women who set off on an epic African adventure charity rally this morning have already reached their ambitious fund-raising goal.

Carla Geyser and Bronwyn Laing will be driving 7 000km through seven countries in 17 days as part of the Put Foot Rally. On Monday, Laing said the team – dubbed the Pink Panthers – had achieved their R100 000 goal on the eve of the adventure.

With 58 teams competing, the rally aims to raise R300 000 for the two causes, Project Rhino and Put Foot. Laing and Geyser will learn in Joburg today if their team has won.

The adventure charity rally was launched last year to raise funds for Project Rhino KZN, which aims to equip anti-poaching teams.

This year, the Put Foot Foundation has come on board with the aim of collecting shoes for underprivileged children in Zambia.

To complement the shoes, the Pink Panthers have started a massive sock collection.

Laing said the rally was not a race, but a competition to raise money for charity. “The rally is about showing that Africa is no longer the ‘undeveloped continent’… that great big 4X4s are no longer required to travel into the African bush and those in search of an African experience need not spend a fortune on finding it,” she said.

The rally starts tomorrow, with teams having a choice of starting from either Joburg or Cape Town. The trek will take them from Botswana to Namibia, through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and back to SA.

The women have worked hard hosting big events to raise funds and were at the Top Gear Festival at the weekend raising awareness about their cause and funds for their charities.

They are paying for the trip themselves, and whatever money has been raised has gone towards the charities.

The total cost per team, including accommodation, entry fee, border crossings and permits, was just over R50 000.

The two said they had been “blown away” by people’s generosity. Laing told of a seven-year-old girl who invited them to her birthday party where she asked guests to donate money towards the rhinos instead of buying her presents.

Today, they plan to stop in Pietermaritzburg, en route to Joburg, to speak to pupils at Wykeham Collegiate about the rally and raising awareness about rhino poaching.

On their return, they have already planned their next project, raising funds for wild dogs and street children.