Kayaking for ZANE & Old Legs Zimbabwe

Re: The Old Legs 2022 Crocodile Tour.

Every year the Old Legs Tour assemble in Harare from all over the world and pedal somewhere ridiculously far away on their mountain bikes to raise money and awareness for Zimbabwe’s pensioners.

In 2018 they rode to Cape Town via the Kalahari and Hotazel. In 2019 they rode to the top of Kilimanjaro via Mukumbura and Lake Malawi. In 2020 they rode the Lockdown Tour, from Bulawayo to Bulawayo, via Gonarezhou, the Zambezi Valley, Mana Pools and Hwange National Parks, braving elephants, lions, tsetse flies and the Zambezi Escarpment, more than once. And in 2021, the Old Legs rode the Silverback Tour from Harare to Uganda’s Impenetrable Forest to walk with the mountain gorillas in the mist.

In May 2022, the Old Legs will swap out their peloton of mountain bikes for a fleet of kayaks as they brave 380 kilometres of crocodiles, hippos and headwinds paddling the Crocodile Tour from Milibizi to the Kariba Dam Wall, even though some of them have arms like typists.

Admiral of the Fleet of paddlers for the Crocodile Tour will be Andy Louw-Evans, ably assisted by Mark Johnson from Australia, Billy Prentice from the USA, and Eric de Jong, Wayne Moss and Ryan Moss from Zimbabwe, plus hopefully Pete Musto and AN Other.

The paddlers will be supported by a flotilla of catamaran yachts, skippered by Andy Chadwick, Dr Kevin O’Connor and hopefully Richard Stubbs, crewed by Jenny de Jong, John and Cathy Stanton. As I type, Jenny is frantically learning how to tie reef knots and how to cook dishes that stave off scurvy.

As always, we will paddle to raise money for Zimbabwe’s beleaguered pensioners, left with nothing after 30 years of economic stupidity, and reliant on charity. Please help us help them. Support our cause and follow our adventure on Facebook and www.oldlegstour.com.

Asking friends for help when times are hard, and companies are struggling is never easy. But it is exactly because times in Zimbabwe are so hard and because oldies are struggling, that we have to once again reach out to ask people to help us make a difference.

Every year, the Old Legs Tour congregate in Harare to pedal their mountain bikes to somewhere ridiculously far to raise money and awareness for Zimbabwe’s pensioners. Since 2018, we’ve pedalled over 100,000 kilometres, raising over $500,000 in the process.

In May 2022, for reasons I don’t fully comprehend, the Old Legs will be swapping bicycles for kayaks to paddle the length of Lake Kariba, even though it is full of crocodiles and hippos, and even though I have arms like a typist, to raise money and awareness for Zimbabwe’s pensioners.

We will be 6 paddlers, supported by a support crew on board 3 catamaran yachts, including a doctor and a photographer to record every grueling kilometer paddled.

We hope to raise in excess of $50000 for the pensioners, giving sponsors a Feel-Good return of 5 to 1. And the $50,000 dollars raised in donations will help put smiles on many hearts.

The Tour is scheduled to start May 1st 2022.

Best regards

Mark Johnson

You can make a difference by donating today to ZANE AUSTRALIA. Funds raised have been sent to Zimbabwe to help the aged and orphaned children, veterans, Community Development Clubfoot program, Pelandaba Orphan Fund, people with hearing impairment, Prosthetics for veterans and assist with health, education, housing and community development.