Adventures in Australia

[Louis-Philippe Loncke]

Dear all,

my name and website is : http://www.Louis-Philippe-Loncke.com

I call myself a Belgian Adventurer Photographer, as my aim is to show what I've been seeing, and no go to places where the main reason is only a challenge (not interested to go to North Pole as when there, not much to see)

I'm just back fom 1 year in Australia, where I did 3 adventurers (all solo, no fooddrops, completely unsupported, no communication systems):

* The Mountains of the Outback, 330km, 12 days
* The Great Sand Island, 250 km, 9 days
* Wild Mountains of Tasmania, +- 500km, 47 days

You find reports on my website in the adventure section. For the last project, you'll have to wait a bit for the excel file, the photos and some info about how it went.
Briefly said I started with 49 kg (not very light) containing 40 days of food. I lasted 47 days as I had to finish to save my life. After 40 days I still had food, broke my GPS and the vegetation was so dense I couldn't even use a personal locator beacon… and I had no Satelite phone.
Underway I met lots of Australians impressed by the adventure aims (climbing 15 mountains underway, I climbed 19 at the end) and asked me for a book. I'm thinking seriously about it.

I'll put a draft content of the book asap on my website, probably in the Media section.

So if you like my adventures, drop me a line (see contact on website). Feel free to ask me more if you wanna walk in these areas.

PS: More photos wil be added in MArchApril
PS2:Website is in English if you click on th English Flag.

PS3: I'll probably create a mailing list for people who wants to receive 2 times per year a newsletter (especially if a book comes out :p or to annunce new projects). Drop me a line with "mailing list" if you wanna be in.
Otherwise my blog has news once in a while:

http://louphi.blogspot.com

Regards, LPL

[Brian James]

Wow. Just wow.

I love the article in the Alice Springs News:

HILL AFTER HILL.
By ELIZABETH ATTWOOD.
A 29 year old Belgian man has walked 330km across the Central Australian outback unaided.
Louis-Philippe Loncke hiked the entire Larapinta Train relying only on himself and climbing three of the Territory’s highest peaks: Mount Razorback, Mount Giles and Mount Zeil (the highest summit in Australia outside of the Great Dividing Range).
Incredibly, the journey took him just 11 days: he had to carry food for the whole journey and enough water for up to three days at a time.
“It was much more difficult than I expected,” says Loncke who slowly walked into the Telegraph Station on Friday, dehydrated and exhausted.
“It was all about pushing my limits. I did it for myself, not to break a record.
“Walking between Zeil and Razorback: you are somewhere else, not the outback.
“It was so hard. You can’t see how to get over the hill after hill.”
He set off with a backpack weighing 34 kilos including 12 litres of water, eating just German pumpernickel bread, dried pasta and 48 energy bars.
Dropped off by four wheel drive, Loncke had to rely on his home made maps to reach the Larapinta Trail.
“No detailed maps exist so I made my own with satellite photos.
“I have extremely good navigation skills. I was in the Scouts in Belguim, I don’t know if that helps?
“After two days I had a gash on my back where my backpack rubbed on my underwear. My feet hurt. The full moon and my walking sticks saved my life.”
He averaged 30 km a day, walking about 15 per cent of the time at night or early in the morning.
A photographer and filmmaker, Loncke was forced to abandon his filming of the adventure at Redbank Gorge.
“I had made a canoe to cross the gorge with inflatable sleeping roll, balloons and condoms but the canoe broke when I climbed over rocks.
“So I swam with backpack. My sleeping bag and food got wet and my filming camera was destroyed.”
At the end of his trek, Loncke knew exactly what he wanted to celebrate his achievement.
“A bar of chocolate.
“For the last four days I didn’t eat much. I can’t wait to spend $30 on food and eat it all.”

[Louis-Philippe Loncke]

Thanks,
but as most of journalists, she went fast and made some mistakes:

* i did exactly 11 day and 3 hours, so to me 12 days, not 11
* larapinta traiL not train
* 4 of the 5 highest peaks (#1 Zeil, #3 Giles, #4 Sonder, #5 Razorback). #2 is Liebig, which is I think on Aboriginal land thus not in the national park. This one is also very far from the 4 others. But I believe it is possible and a good project to try to clim all5 highest in one shot.
* had also a 2 lbs junk food sausage, weetabix+powder milk in the morning.

cheers, LPL

[Louis-Philippe Loncke]

I became 2 months ago the first person to walk the length of the most arid desert of Australia : http://simpson-desert-trek.blogspot.com

[Jay Wilkerson]

Congrats!!! Seems like a EPIC journey to say the least. What was your biggest highlite and what was your lowpoint?

[Steven Evans]

That is some serious photography. How the hell did you get that pic of the alligator/crocodile jumping out of the water?!?!?!

http://www.loncke.eu/LPL/2Creations/EN-photoANIMAL.htm

seriously, I want to know how you get a picture like this?

amazing!

[Louis-Philippe Loncke]

Hightlights:
* being chased by wild camels (in fact dromadairies), seconc time they were 14. no funny at all but incredible experience to be confronted to several wild animals and having only one option: flee!
* putting the aboriginal flag in the center of the desert. Just proud for these people whe have been surviving in there for centuries or more!
Down: would have loved to stay longer and film more (only 3+ hours in 5 weeks)

oh yeah and small video here (in french, but once i get the footage from the TV i'll put subtitles and post in on youtube)

http://www.notele.be/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4003&Itemid=36

For the photo of the saltwater crocodile (the salty) well, it's in during a guided tour called jumping crocodile. On a boat, tourists are one water level in a cage, on top of the cage there's teh captain and a person with a fishing rod. Just put a piece of bloody meat, and the crocs do come. They just jump out of the water to get it. Actually very easy to photograph. The interesting thing is that a 15feet croc can jump that high and get 5-6 feet of his body out of water. Just don't go canoeing in such a river, these smart predators would just capsize your craft.

[scott mitchell]

cool– nice site very inspiring

[Author]

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