Keycamp Holidays makes a donation

Today we heard from Emma Newman of Keycamp Holidays who has very kindly offered us some accommodation for two nights on one of their French campsites at Le Vieux Port in Gascony. This will be a very welcome break after nearly three weeks of what will have been very basic camping by comparison (think farmers fields, waking up with an occasional goat eating our sleeping bags and not much in the way of showers). Howard had a great time working two summer seasons for Keycamp over twenty years ago and actually spent a period putting up tents at Le Vieux Port, where he had his first 'Formidable' beer (1 litre) so he's very excited to go back, maybe stick with a coffee this time and practice his Franglais on the unsuspecting locals. Thank you Emma and thanks to Keycamp Holidays for giving us a chance to rest our saddle-sore bottoms in comfort for a while!

Global Vision International helps to support our fundraiser!

We were very happy to receive the news that Global Vision International (GVI), one of the most well respected and prominent international volunteering organisations in world, is going to help support our fundraiser. GVI will feature our Blog and news about our fundraising efforts on their website and hopefully this will encourage more people to make a donation. GVI was formed in 1998 to provide support and services to international charities, non-profits and governmental agencies, through volunteering opportunities, internship programs, training and direct funding. In particular we would like to thank Steve Gwenin, GVIs Director of Programs. Steve is the founder of Global Vision International's Marine Conservation Expeditions, and has been key in the set up and running of almost all of GVI's Expeditions, including a new Spinner dolphin Research and Conservation Project that will be run in collaboration with South Pacific Projects and WDCS International.

Dr. Cara Miller of WDCS on Howard & Zeina's fundraising efforts

I've been conducting research on spinner dolphins up at Moon Reef for almost 3 years now. During that time we've gained some important insights into behaviour, habitat, site-fidelity, and acoustics. Putting these scientific pieces together has led us to consider Moon Reef as a critical resting habitat for a relatively small group of semi-resident dolphins. Additional factors we have discovered through our time at Moon Reef are the important cultural link this pod of dolphins has to local villages - as well as their potential disturbance when boat traffic is increased. It was clear to me that this population would benefit from protection measures and local engagement yet when I considered my job commitments this goal seemed like something that perhaps I wouldn't have time to work on. This is where Howard stepped in. Through discussions with him we agreed on a plan for South Pacific Projects to assist with data collection throughout the year to provide important baseline information. Furthermore, his engagement with the Fiji Locally Managed Area Network - and the invite (to both of us) to join the newly established local environment group gave significant momentum - and ultimate declaration - of a marine protected area for Moon Reef. Howard's tireless efforts were instrumental in achieving this significant result. This fundraising bike ride is another indication of South Pacific Project's commitment to this work. I look forward to continuing to work with both Howard and Zeina in future research efforts, policy initiatives and conservation benefits for spinner dolphins in Fiji.

Dr. Cara Miller - International Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society

30 miles on Sunday morning

We were up early this morning and after a quick breakfast we headed out to the Bart station at Rockridge. We got off at Orinda and started our ride up into the Lafayette Recreational Area,where there is a series of beautiful cycling and hiking tracks. Zeina was trying out her new cycling gear, donated by Zeena Fakoury who provided Zeina's training bike last week. The weather was great and we managed just over 30 miles before heading home. We hope to average between 50 to 60 miles a day when we are on the actual fundraising ride, which should mean we can complete 2,900 miles in just under two months. Tomorrow we're going to up the mileage and we'll begin trying out our GoPro HD camera later in the week. The camera mounts on handlebars and seat-posts so we're going to test it for the first time later in the week and post the results.

Sponsorship from the SeaLife London Aquarium

We have just been offered some additional support by the SeaLife London Aquarium The Aquarium has already made a major contribution to marine conservation in Fiji by sponsoring a new Marine Protected Area (MPA) at 'Moon Reef', so named due to its shape, as seen in the attached image! Moon Reef is a unique coral reef as it has been identified as being the critical resting habitat of Fiji's only resident pod of Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris). One of the long-term champions of this project is Mr. Paul Hale, Curator at the London Aquarium. It was Paul's drive, along with the support of the Aquarium staff, which helped made this new MPA possible and we would like to thank Paul and all at the SeaLife London Aquarium for their additional support!

Today we got ourselves on some bikes. As much as gym and strength training is important, nothing beats actually riding up and down the curving hills of the east bay for getting us ready for the 2900 miles we'll be tackling. Thanks to Scott Marinoff and Zeena Fakoury, who are lending us their bikes. Scott recently completed a charity challenge fundraiser himself by cycling 545 miles in seven days from San Francisco to Los Angeles for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Go Scott!! He's already signed up for next year and we're tempted to join him.