Press Releases
Kiwis First to Conquer Asia's Mighty Mekong River
2 Sep 2004
A Kiwi quest to complete the first known human-powered traverse of Asia's mighty Mekong River has been a success.
Commencing in April at the river's recently discovered source high in the Tibetan mountains, the SPARC Hillary Expedition journeyed over 4,000 kilometres by foot, bike, raft and canoe to reach the sea in Vietnam last Friday. The team marked the end of their quest by pouring a bottle of water captured at the source into the sea.
A SPARC initiative designed to inspire Kiwi kids to live physically active lives, the Expedition gained extra excitement when it became known an Australian team was also attempting to be the first to complete the traverse. According to our team there is no sign of the Australians in Vietnam or word on their website they have completed the traverse, so the Kiwi's can claim success.
Team leader Ros Wood said, "It is wonderful to think we have achieved a world-first for New Zealand. It's been an epic adventure and an incredible experience. And it was fantastic to share our experiences with the thousands of kids registered with the Expedition website."
Over 170 classrooms registered to receive resources and teaching aids from SPARC. These enabled them to explore the fun of physical activity as well as the geography and cultures of the regions the team passed through, including China, Laos and Cambodia.
Congratulating the team on their success, SPARC Chief Executive Nick Hill said, "The SPARC Hillary adventurers will encourage young Kiwis to set their sights high, dream big dreams and embark on a lifetime of physical activity."
The team is on its way back to New Zealand and will shortly resume visiting schools to talk to kids about physical activity and adventuring. Other team members are glaciologist Craig Stewart (27 years), engineer Rick Benson (27 years) and doctors Jeph (39 years) and Kaaren Mathias (34 years).
Updated | 30 Mar 2006.
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