ADVENTURE SOLSTICE

media release: 06/06/16

Written by Kerry O'Neill

Photography by Secret Compass

Media release: 06/06/16

Midsummer expeditions underway

With midsummer approaching, a distracted nation is slipping into festival mode. At Secret Compass expeditions, however, concentration is at its peak with two teams currently on the ground and en route to achieving adventurous world firsts in Mongolia and Gabon. It’s amazing what people commit to once Glastonbury sells out…

Gabon: World first ‘Tale of Two Rivers’ journey

A 10-strong team is now finding its feet in Gabon’s Ivindo National Park (4 – 20 June 2016) as part of the Secret Compass ‘A Tale of Two Rivers’ expedition. The team will attempt an amphibious crossing of the Equator, trekking through jungles and then inflating packrafts to continue the adventure along the Djidji and Kongou rivers systems.

Gabon expeditions highlights

  • A world-first, human-powered crossing of Gabon’s Equator.
  • Explore Kongou and Djidji rivers on foot and by dugout canoe and packraft.
  • Birdwatch in Africa’s forest bird epicentre.
  • Potential observation of elephants and forest gorillas.
  • A brand new destination for Secret Compass in 2016, 2017 dates coming soon.
  • 16 nights, 4 – 20 June 2016, £2,950pp (all inc. except flights).

Mongolia: The ‘First ascents in the Altai’ adventure

Concurrently, a six-strong team is on the ground in western Mongolia’s Siilkhem range (5 – 19 June 2016). In this remote and mountainous region, the expedition’s goal is to make two commercial first ascents, of Nariin Ekhin at 3,952m and of an unclimbed peak at 3,907m.

Mongolia expedition highlights:

  • Make first ascents at the juncture of Mongolia, China and Russia.
  • Cross rivers, traverse valleys and trek on glaciers above 2,900m.
  • Look out for elusive snow leopards.
  • A brand new destination for Secret Compass in 2016, 2017 dates coming soon.
  • 14 nights, 5 – 19 June 2016, £2,999pp (all inc. except flights).

Tom Bodkin, director of Secret Compass, said, “Avoiding pre-trodden routes, we identify new adventurous goals for our expedition teams. This means that our teams break new ground in the world’s wildest places or that they notch up a world first as is the case with Gabon and Mongolia.”

Expeditions with Secret Compass

Kerry O’Neill, communications director with Secret Compass, said, “Following Gabon and Mongolia, our late-summer expeditions are to the DRC, to Armenia’s Lesser Caucasus, to Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor and to Kamchatka. Brand new experiences in North Korea, Burma, Bhutan and Chad will follow into 2017.”

For further press information about Secret Compass (or its TV and Film, Bespoke or Brand Projects departments), contact communications director Kerry O’Neill on 0207 096 8428 or email us today.

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Press Factsheet download

View or download our Factsheet (one-page PDF) outlining Secret Compass and its upcoming expeditions.

Notes for editors

Secret Compass redefines what is possible by creating pioneering projects in the world’s wildest places. Secret Compass is built around a team of trusted experts who combine a passion for exploration with industry-leading professionalism. Secret Compass reignites your primal need for adventure, providing the catalyst for you to come alive and achieve the extraordinary. Meet Secret Compass HQ staff and a selection of its expedition professionals.

Expedition Types include Epic, Cultural Immersion, Adventure Academy and Classics Redefined. Expedition styles include mixed-terrain trekking, jungle trekking and minimalist desert traverses, to mountain-biking, rafting and horseback expeditions. Secret Compass welcomes applications from anyone with a good level of fitness who’s keen to achieve the extraordinary in the world’s wildest places.

Secret Compass destinations

View current expeditions filtered by region here. Past, current and upcoming destinations include Afghanistan, Argentina, Armenia, Bhutan, Burma/ Myanmar, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt’s southern Sinai desert, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, Greenland, the Himalayas, Iceland, India (Arunachal Pradesh), Iran (Mount Damavand and the Lut Desert), Iraqi Kurdistan, Kamchatka, Kilimanjaro, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Malawi, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, North Korea, Panama, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Siberia, Socotra, South Sudan, Sudan (the Bayuda desert), Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and more.

Secret Compass TV and Film

Secret Compass TV and Film is trusted by production companies and brands to capture the extraordinary in remote and wild regions thanks to its unrivalled location and risk-management expertise. Credits include location-managing Channel 4’s Walking the Nile/ Himalayas and Americas series with Levison Wood, alongside projects for the BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel and more.

Secret Compass Brand Projects

Secret Compass Brand Projects works with brands on projects designed to create the extraordinary in the world’s wildest places. Unique branded content and other projects have to date been staged in destinations from South Sudan and the DRC to Greenland and Finnish Lapland. Clients to date include Mitsubishi, Sony, Nespresso, Giro, Xbox and Jagermeister.

Contact

For further information concerning Secret Compass bespoke and team expeditions, TV and Film, or Branded Projects:

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