Local attorney earns adventure of a lifetime

DURBAN attorney, Zaheer Seedat has always had a thirst for the outdoors and adventure, ever since spending holidays at his grandparent's farm on the South Coast. This week he gets to go on an adventure of a lifetime as one of the final 20 contestants for this year's Ford Ranger Odyssey challenge.

To get this far, Zaheer has survived a gruelling bootcamp, and made it as a finalist on the 2 500km trek through the Namibian dunes where he, along with the other competitors, will be put through their paces, tackling the beaten track by day in a kitted-out Ford Ranger bakkie, and camping in the desert by night. Of the 20 contestants, two will get to drive a Ranger, with a R5 000 fuel allowance per month, for a full year.

The local law and family man loves the outdoor life and lives by the motto: A bad day on the mountain beats a good day in the office. Luckily for him, 12 days in Namibia might prove to satisfy his love for nature and the outdoors.

An active sportsman, Zaheer has participated in the Midmar Mile for five years and recently started trail runs and took part in the Midlands Sprint Triathlon. He said he was not competitive but started the challenges for fun and fitness, and that’s what helped him through the gruelling Odyssey bootcamp last month.

As a youngster Zaheer grew to love nature and adventure and progressed to camping, backpacking and hiking as an adult. He saw a link to Last year's Odyssey challenge and was blown away. “Initially I had to write a motivation on why I'd like to go, then the second phase was taking a selfie with a Ford Ranger and finally 40 of us were selected to go to the De Rust Outdoor and Lifestyle Bootcamp. That experience for me was like first prize because we learned so much theory and practical information on off-roading. It really was an amazing experience and the instructors were great at building our confidence on the hard terrain obstacle course.”

Zaheer's adventure goal for 2014 was to get into the Ford Ranger Odyssey Challenge or backpack through the Kruger Park or Umfolozi Reserve with an armed ranger and walk under the stars with the animals. He will not be disappointed by missing out on the animals because the Odyssey challenge route passes through and camps at various spots known for desert lion, elephant and rhino.

Zaheer cannot wait for the adventure to begin. “It's an experience of a lifetime, I haven't explored outside of South Africa so off-roading in Namibia is a challenge I look forward to. It's all about the journey and enjoying the ride. I am grateful to Ford for opening a whole new world of adventure and experience that would not ordinarily be possible,” he added.

He knows it will be challenging and is psyching himself up for long days, harsh terrain and the Namibian heat, but says that would be an easy price to pay to see the beauty of Africa. “My biggest challenge will be not having my wife and four kids with me. As a family man, that is the hardest part of the adventure, but they are very excited about my adventure,” he said.