The Lost World Project - Achievements to Date...

First and foremost we hope that you have all had a fantastic Christmas period and may we take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the New Year. We wanted to end 2010 with a quick blog about what Ibex Earth has accomplished to date with The Lost World Project, and what 2011 holds for what we believe is one of the most exciting conservation initiatives that people can get involved in.

2010 saw the first year of the Lost World Project, and Ibex Earth raising and donating US $11,000 to directly support the conservation of the Guiana Highlands and the conservation of Mount Roraima. We aimed funding through three avenues:

1. Through the Lost World Project, we were able to donate US $3,000 to support the Venezuelan National Parks institute (Inparques, La Luepa branch). This money was used to repair the park authority’s patrol vehicles, which had been lying idle due to disrepair. Through this grant, the local authorities will be better prepared to protect the fragile ecosystem of the Guiana Highlands and continue their work safeguarding the Lost Worlds.

2. The Lost World Project also offered the opportunity to build successful relationships with communities in need across the Guiana Highlands. Local communities hold the key to protecting the fragile landscape of the lost worlds, and so are an intrinsic part in securing a sustainable future for Lost Worlds. As such, Ibex Earth donated US $2,000 to support sustainable development projects in the impoverished Amerindian village of Paratepui, located close to the base of the majestic Mount Roraima where the Lost World Project took place.

3. To further our goal of raising awareness of need for the conservation of the Lost Worlds and their wildlife, Ibex Earth engaged thirty Amerindians from the Gran Sabana to be involved in the Lost World Project and participate in developing an understanding of the need for the conservation of Mount Roraima. Through engaging with Lost World Project participants, and through discussion, training and interviews, we aimed to contribute to developing local conservation awareness, and in the process, contributed US $6,000 in wages to support the developing sustainable tourism industry that holds the key to a secure future.

(Furthermore Ibex Earth also used local 'fixers' throughout the first phase of The Lost World Project, which saw an additional US $4,500 added to the local economy.)

Additionally, in order raise awareness of the need to conserve the region, the Lost World Project set out to produce a non-profit conservation documentary to highlight the importance of Mount Roraima and the need for regional protection. In August and September 2010, we sent ten students from across the UK to the Guiana Highlands along with a critically acclaimed film crew.

The group filmed the unique wildlife, landscapes and threats of the Lost World for two weeks, and the resultant footage is currently being edited into a fifty minute, broadcast quality documentary that will then be premiered at two high profile and prestigious events at two of London’s most famous venues - the Royal Geographical Society and the Zoological Society of London in June 2011. The film will then be broadcast to a global television audiences, raising awareness of this unique region to millions of viewers.

You might have already seen some of our footage during BBC 2's documentary 'Decade of Discovery', which aired on Tuesday 14th December 2010.

Happy New Year from all at Ibex Earth

Journey to the 'Lost World' - Itinerary April 2011...

The Lost World Project – The Adventure of a Lifetime


- Expedition Itinerary -

Please note the first expedition departs London on Saturday April 2nd, and returns on Tuesday April 12th. The second expedition departs London on Saturday April 16th, and returns on Tuesday April 26th and the itinerary for both expeditions are set out below:

Day 1: Expedition members arrive in Caracas, Venezuela and are met at the airport by Ibex Earth staff. Expedition members will then travel to Cuidad Bolivar and transfer to 4x4 vehicles to travel to Santa Elena (the starting point for the expedition). On route, we stop at the National Parks Office to pick up our permits.

Day 2: The group is taken on a 4x4 jeep tour across the Gran Sabana for familiarisation, and receive equipment training and survival skills from the expedition leader. The tour includes visiting the beautiful Kama Waterfall and the world famous Jasper Creek - a riverbed made of scarlet, semi-precious gemstone. Around sunset, we arrive in the remote Amerindian community of Paratepui where we spend the night, and get our first glimpse of the towering “lost world” plateaus of Mount Roraima and Kukenan Tepui looming on the horizon.

Day 3: The third day marks the start of the trek. Expedition members walk to the first camp (Rio Tek), passing lowland savannah wildlife including giant anteaters, and idyllic traditional Amerindian villages. Once we arrive at the Rio Tek camp, we build our tents among the thatched Amerindian settlements and cook dinner before sunset next to the great Kukenan River that flows from the fourth tallest waterfall on earth.

Day 4: Expedition members climb up the lower slopes of Mount Roraima, and into the shadow of the great plateau, through cloud forest stopping at Base Camp for the night. The climb brings us ever closer to the immense ramparts of Mount Roraima, traversing the ancient talus slopes that encircle the mountain – the home to colourful orchids and giant bromeliads. Today is the most strenuous day of the trek – lasting seven hours, but passing much of the most beautiful scenery that we will encounter on the expedition.

Day 5: An early start will see the group ascend the dramatic ledge up the gigantic cliffsides of Mount Roraima, climbing towards the summit and reaching the mountain top by early afternoon. The ascent passes through mossy cloud forest, filled with ancient tree ferns, colourful tree frogs, and hummingbirds.

Expedition members will then explore the spectacular scenery and bizarre wildlife of Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘lost world’. This will include searching for ancient toads, Roraima’s rare Coatimundi and carnivorous plants. After one hour of walking, we make camp in a great cave system in the south of the plateau, cooking dinner as flames flicker on the ancient cave walls.

Day 6: The group treks north to explore Mount Roraima’s spectacular labyrinth of towering stone pinnacles and a valley lined with shimmering quartz crystals. We also explore deep fissures in search of primitive oil birds, wind carved sculptures and areas of Roraima’s unique and unearthly vegetation. We set up camp in caves in the north of the great plateau.

Day 7: The expedition leader takes the group to the underground world of Mount Roraima’s ancient cave systems, which represent some of the largest, most spectacular yet least explored quartzite caves in the world. The group will then return to Mount Roraima’s summit and once again spend the night in the caves near the south of the plateau. At sunset, the group treks to the immense cliffsides of Roraima to view the evening sunlight glance across the mountain’s colossal cliffs, returning before darkness falls completely.

Day 8: After four days on the plateau’s summit, the group begins the descent, climbing down the gigantic ledge of Mount Roraima, and camping near the Kukenan river, at Rio Kukenan camp for a hearty dinner and a final night below the towering massif of the ‘lost world’.

Day 9: The expedition members trek from Rio Kukenan camp back to Paratepui, searching the savannah for wildlife along the way – there’s the chance to see a savannah anteater, or rare rainforest-dwelling scarlet macaws of the lowland. In the Amerindian village of Paratepui, the expedition is met by 4x4 vehicles and travel to Santa Elena for a well earned drink and shower.

Day 10: The group is chauffeured from Santa Elena to Cuidad Bolivar, spending the night in the historic city centre on the banks of the mighty Orinoco River.

Day 11: An early start will see the group leave Cuidad Bolivar for Caracas, arriving in time for afternoon and evening flights back to the UK.

The Lost World Project has received endorsement from the Royal Geographical Society and has won the Captain Scott Society ‘Spirit of Adventure’ Award 2010 – if you would like to be part of the adventure of a lifetime then please email chris.livemore@ibexearth.com and you will be sent a full expedition pack for The Lost World Project.