Off-road with global warming

“One of the funniest answers came from a herdsman in Mongolia, who said ‘there aren’t so many rainbows anymore” he smiled. “And then there was the Chinaman who blamed it all on NASA’s space shuttle programme!”

But did he learn anything from the many hundreds of replies and opinions? “I learnt that there are far more pressing matters to tackle that we CAN deal with,” came the instant answer.

“That’s one of the reasons that I called the expedition «On the Wrong Side». I am skeptical about the whole issue of global warming, and quite honestly nothing I’ve learnt on this trip has changed that”.

“What I have discovered though is that we are a world of waste – and we can, and must do something about that. Everywhere I went, I saw rubbish, plastic, waste and evidence of how we’re destroying the planet.

“But my personal feeling is that “climate change” is simply a cyclical thing that Mother Nature does. It’s not something that we can alter or avoid”.

This latest intrepid journey through often-hostile terrain (“I went where no man has ever gone in a car”…) follows adventures a little throughout the world. According to the «On the Wrong Side» website, Charles has “outsmarted bandits in Guatemala, hitched covert rides on go-fast drug boats into Honduras, escaped active volcanoes in Indonesia and climbed Vietnam’s highest peak with Hmong tribesmen”.

As well his concern for the environment, he is presented as “a part-time adventure racer and crowned winner of the Amazing Landrover Adventure Explorer”.

But he is more than a «Boy’s Own» explorer in a 4x4. Frew’s latest travels have taught him “never to open a closed gate” (that lapse in etiquette caused him to be swept off his feet by the avalanche), and perhaps more importantly it has shown him how wonderful people throughout the world can be.

“Before I set out, I was warned that I’d have a terrible time in Russia. That the Russians would rob me, beat me to a pulp – that kind of thing. But the reality was that I have never met such friendly people. In a way, I’ve learnt that you can go anywhere in a car…”

Until, of course, the car conks out – which Frew’s trusty Toyota Hilux did from time to time, heralding quite spectacular stories.

For instance, there was the time the radiator began leaking in Mongolia – one of the toughest countries on the whole itinerary because of its lack of basic services and wide, wide open spaces.

“Every day in Mongolia is “an incident”, and on this particular day I had no option but to remove the radiator, put it on my back and walk the 40 kilometres to the nearest mechanics…

“Mongolia’s like nowhere else… mechanics fix things with bits of wire and inner tubing… but the next problem was that I’d walked so far I forgot where I’d left the car!”

Eight hours later, he finally found it. “That was a typical day in Mongolia”, he recalls. “But the hardest part of the whole journey was waking up every morning and working out where to go next”.

He got lost “all the time”, but had a well-planned route to follow. It involved starting at Hong Kong’s iconic lighthouse at Cape d’Aguilar (Hong Kong is where he works as a marine consultant), crossing into China, then into Mongolia, Siberia and Russia, driving north in Norway to Europe’s northernmost lighthouse at Slettnes, and then heading south to traverse Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands/ Belgium, France, Monaco and Switzerland, before arriving in Spain and heading towards Portugal’s landmark lighthouses of Cabo da Roca and Cape St Vincent.

Fundraising efforts for three charities (two of them children’s charities) saw him delivering cash to orphanages in Russia and Mongolia – and the third cause, The Shark Trust, is benefitting from ongoing publicity that he is giving about the species’ imminent danger of extinction.

“I work very closely with conservation groups in Hong Kong (the world’s centre for shark fin trade), and the way things are going, certain species of shark are facing extinction by 2020 due to the lack of control over their fishing”.

“Spain is one of the worst culprits. We’re not calling for a total ban, but it has to be controlled and carried out more humanely. At the moment, sharks’ fins are just hacked off while they’re thrown back into the sea to die. It’s barbaric.”

But as the sun shone on Frew’s welcoming committee - largely made up of long-term family friends (Frew spent formative years in the Algarve, and his parents still live here) – it was time for the “off-road explorer” to relax for the first time in a year, and ponder the next step.

What IS the next step? “A book!” He beams. “It’s all in here” (he points to his head). “I’ll be self-publishing within the next couple of months. And I am thinking of a trip through South America…”

Perhaps, in the interests of his already impressive carbon footprint, he’ll make the next expedition on a bicycle… or Peruvian llama?

Meantime, Frew will be giving talks on his journey at the Algarve Archeological Association on Tuesday 7th June – first at 2.30pm at São Brás Museum, and later in Lagoa at 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact the archeological association on 935587382.