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

Horse Riding Weekend at Stirrup Glen
13 March, 2010 (All day) - 14 March, 2010 (All day)
Pony trekking
Stirrup Glen, Johannesburg South

This is a short but sweet overnight horse riding trip, on the outskirts of Joburg, consisting  of 2 rides and a sleep over on top of the mountain overlooking the back of Johannesburg. The farm does have some game, and we have spotted the black wildebeest and springbok on many a ride.

Kayak rolling clinic
14 March, 2010 (All day)
Kayaking
13 Frere avenue, on the corner of Seymour, Parktown West

Learn how to eskimo roll!

Rolling is an essential skill for every kayaker. It's possible to kayak for years without knowing how to roll - just cross your fingers and pray to whichever gods take your fancy that the next wave won't flip you upside down and dump you ignobly in a seething rapid!

Having a bomb-proof roll makes your kayaking more fun, makes river trips safer, keeps you drier and impresses your friends, so there's no time like the present to learn!

Sterkfontein Sailing weekend
26 March, 2010 (All day) - 28 March, 2010 (All day)
Hiking
Kayaking
Mountain biking
Kiting
Fishing
Harrismith

Aaaargh

Join us for a great sailing trip to Sterkfontein dam 23kms outside Harrismith on the R74. We'll be taking all our toys - boats, kayaks, windsurfers, bicycles, hiking boots, kites, fishing rods -  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: a guaranteed four seasons per day!

Upcoming events

  1. Discovering Asia
    Monthly Meeting
    Sanjay Bhowandas
    Cricket Pavilion, Johannesburg Country club
    Free for members, guests R20

     Sanjay spent six months travelling through Cambodia, Vietnam, China & Tibet.  He has taken lots of stunning photos and I am certainly looking forward to hear the stories behind these shots.

    6 April, 2010 - 19:15
  2. Cycling around Lesotho
    Monthly Meeting
    Jaco Strydom
    Johannesburg Country Club, Cricket Pavilion
    Free for members, guests R20

     Jaco has mountain biked most parts of South Africa and has spent numerous trips building up to a circumnavigation of Lesotho by Mountain bike.  He has found tracks, paths and roads that create the ultimate cycling experience in South Africa.  Join us a we hear about his trip that completes this mountain traverse.

    4 May, 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