the exploration society of southern africa

dedicated to discovery, conservation and exploration
essa provides a forum for the conceptual & physical exploration of southern african

Welcome to ESSA

Essa was established in 1988 and runs great trips and expeditions throughout southern Africa, as well as further afield. We hold a regular meeting on the first Tuesday of the month at the Cricket Pavilion Johannesburg Country Club at 7:00pm. We are open to all, and the society encourages ideas on exploring, as well as organising a great variety of trips for like minded people.
If you wish to join ESSA or subscribe to it's mailing list please visit the Join page.

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Upcoming Trips

Mountain Biking Adventure Mayaputi to Clarens
13 February, 2010 (All day) - 20 February, 2010 (All day)
Mountain biking
Eastern Freestate

Jaco is organising these Mountain bike adventures which all form part of a circumnavigation of Lesotho traversing South Africa's most spectacular scenery.  He is doing all the organising and the cost includes a support vehicle, making these real fun filled trips.  Places are limited to 12 participants

Sat 13 Feb 2010 - Drive to Mayaputi. Prepare for the adventure.

Sun 14 Feb - MTB from Mayaputi to Highlands - 82km

Mon15 Feb - MTB from Highlands to Weppener - 70km

Tue 16 Feb - MTB from Weppener to DonDon - 70km

Drakensberg Mountain biking Adventure
3 March, 2010 (All day) - 14 March, 2010 (All day)
Mountain biking
Drakensberg

This is the next Leg of Jaco's Mountain bike adventures which all form part of a circumnavigation of Lesotho traversing South Africa's most spectacular scenery.  He is doing all the organising and the cost includes a support vehicle, making these real fun filled trips.  Places are limited to 12 participants

Wed 3 Mar 2010 - Drive to Clarens. Prepare for the adventure.

Sterkfontein Sailing weekend
5 March, 2010 (All day) - 7 March, 2010 (All day)
Hiking
Kayaking
Mountain biking
Kiting
Fishing
Harrismith

Aaaargh

Join us for a great sailing trip to Sterkfontein dam 20kms outside Harrismith.  We'll be taking all our toys - kayaks, windsurfers, bicycles, hiking boots, kites -  so there's lots to do.  And if you're not feeling energetic, you can just sit and watch the weather change over the dam - four seasons per day!

Upcoming events

  1. Annual Dinner
    Annual Dinner
    Magaliesburg
    R 150

     Join us at the ESSA Annual dinner and prizegiving.  Awards are given both for off the wall events but also to those that contribute to make the club run!  This is an evening to remember with good food and great fun

    Participants Paul Marais Dimiter Toderov Dave Koster Becky Smith Andrew Louw

    20 February, 2010 - 18:30
  2. First Kayaking Descents in Indonesia
    Monthly Meeting
    Hugh du Preez
    Cricket Pavilion Johannesburg Country Club
    Free for members, guests R20

    water buffalo inspects the team     to the put in        2 March, 2010 - 19:15

expeditions

Aconcagua Expedition

Most of the Aconcagua team made it back to SA safely yesterday. Lorna remains in Argentina to climb other mountains and spend some time in Patagonia. The trip in brief: - our route was fantastic - we even had the camps to ourselves for the first 2 nights, and the 'False Polish' route proved to be both tough, scenic, and much less densely populated than the normal route on the way up, while the normal route provided welcome human contact and a different perspective on the way down.

Argentina
Mountaineering
Mountains of the Moon

And then there was the weather. It poured an entire monsoon during the night, and it was clear things were going to be wet on the moon, despite this being the ‘dryest’ season.
In February 2004, 12 intrepid explorers, nicknamed ‘moonies’ for our desire to walk the mountains of the moon, ignored the news of violence in northern Uganda, and departed for a magical journey to walk the mountains of the moon.

Uganda
Hiking
Mountaineering
Mt Mera

Mt Mera 

Nepal
Mountaineering

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Essa Members blogs

Our latest blog features Katja as she cycles from Cairo to Cape town
http://explorationsociety.org/drupal/blog/25

Sanjay travvelled through Asia, and you can follow his entertaining journal here
http://explorationsociety.org/drupal/blog/34