Adventure Alternative

We work with...

Adventure Alternative has strongs links with a number of organisations within the adventure travel industry - it is an important part of ensuring our trips are run to the highest standards as well as being fun, safe, rewarding and ethically sound.

In our host countries we work extensively with the local organisations like schools and hospitals. We also deal directly with local community groups, village committees and elders to ensure that there is no offence caused with any of our projects and that it is relevant. Wherever we put gap students or trainee doctors or volunteers, you can bet it is somewhere we have been working for many years and our assistance is part of a much wider programme linked with Moving Mountains and based on years of trust and friendship.

Moving Mountains

Gavin has been organising charitable work in Kenya for most of his adult life, building clinics and schools and sponsoring street kids. More recently that work has extended to Nepal and now Niger in West Africa. This became formalised into a charity called Moving Mountains in 2002 which currently has six Trustees and a full time administrator in Kenya [more about Moving Mountains ]. Moving Mountains is supported by Adventure Alternative, in having all of its overheads paid by the company. Many of our trips work in unison with our charitable projects so the one complements the other for the benefit of the community. Eg gap students working in a school will find that the school and many of the children in it will be supported by the charity.

Expedition and Mountain Training

Adventure Alternative has teamed up with Bren Whelan MIC IML who runs his own mountaineering training company in Ireland, and is available to train any AA climbers in the skills necessary for our trips. Also Bren can train people for their Mountain Skills courses. He is well known in the country, having been chief guide at the Tiglin National Mountain Centre.

For anybody looking to learn new skills or brush up on old ones, or even to undertake mountaineeering courses, we do recommend Bren Whelan and are confident that you will find his relaxed and highly competent style a pleasure to work with. For example if you are planning to go on our Elbrus Expedition, then Bren can teach you all about using an ice axe and wearing crampons and moving on snow and ice.

Bren's details are as follows:

PH: (00353) 087 66 5 77 90 (ROI)
PH:(0044) 077 590 55 767 (UK)

Web: www.mountaintraining.ie
Web: www.rockclimbing.ie

Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates

With the rise in popularity of such award schemes as Gaisce and The Duke of Edinburgh Award we have responded and made two of our trips compliant with their requirements. Adventure Alternative is now an Access Organisation for The Award.

Adventure Alternative founder and director Gavin Bate is well tuned into what is appropriate and at the moment Africamp can count towards: Duke of Edinburgh, Queen's Scout Award & Gaisce in Eire. If you have any quieries regarding the eligibilityof a trip please don't hesitate to contact us. You can use Africamp for your Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Tourism Concern

Adventure Alternative is a charter member of Tourism Concern which seeks to ensure that tour operators promote ethical tourism and, in the case of trekking holidays, provide porters and staff with proper conditions and
salaries.

We guide the trips with people we have known for years, and we ensure they are well paid to the recommended rate given by the National Parks or recommended through Tourism Concern and that they are well equipped, insured and acclimatised. They will have been trained properly and be registered with the National Parks Service. At the end of the expedition we personally pay the porters, cooks and guides their salary on the day of the return.

If you need more information on Tourism Concern please visit their website - www.tourismconcern.org.uk.