Fresh Air Challenge Episode 4: Desert Friction

The Orange River is born high in the Drakensberg Mountains on the Eastern escarpment of Southern Africa. From its humble beginnings it becomes a major river and flows some 2000km to finally come to rest in the Atlantic Ocean on the opposite side of the dry continent. Its journey through the harsh African plains take it just south of the Kalahari Desert, but its celebration is at the "Augrabies Falls" where it tumbles 60meters into the shadows of a steep-sided gorge below. Augrabies, originally "Akoerabis" in the native "Khoi" tongue, appropriately means "place of great noise".

Climber Andy de Klerk can conquer just about any rock wall. But, his real dream is not about going up. It's all about coming down.

Greg Hamerton is an author of fantasy novels and a leading paraglider pilot. His passion for flying long distances over rough terrain has drawn him to the niche of "cross country" flying.

Four international base-jumpers went to South Africa on a road trip to find high objects, climb them and jump off.

For Bernadette “Bernie” Ritzel a sense of achievement comes from facing her fears head on. Bernie’s Adventure Central quest is to hang-glide, but not just from any old site, but from the Remarkables Mountain Range. This is where some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes combine with unpredictable and highly dangerous air currents to make one incredible challenge.

Although only 21 years old, Belinda Mellish has already proved herself to be something of an achiever. She was top student at her high school, and now her university as well as being one of New Zealand’s top speed climbers. But it will take all her experience, determination and guts if she is to reach the summit of Mount Aspiring. Each of the Adventure Central™ team have chosen a particular challenge, these will push them to their limits. Yet for Belinda, facing her challenge will be as much a spiritual journey as a physical or mental test. “I feel very privileged to be here in the mountains. But I also feel that this is a very natural place for me to be”, she says.

Guy Cotter is a highly experienced high-altitude mountaineer with two Everest climbs under his belt. Takashi Ozaki is a veteran mountaineer with a successful Everest summit but he hasn’t climbed at altitude for 15 years. Although Bryan Moore is an expert alpine climber, he has never been above 22,000 feet (6705 metres) — experiencing the trauma of high altitude for the first time will be his greatest challenge. These three climbers, along with the Nepalese Sherpa Lhakpa Dorjee and supported by a back-up team including Bruce Hasler, are going to try to summit the world’s fifth highest mountain, Makalu.

Adventure series. Six climbers attempt to climb the world's sixth highest mountain, Cho Oyu, without the aid of Sherpas or supplementary oxygen.

This episode of Toby Molins' adventure series features rock climbing in the Sahara, as Toby and friends tackle the Hand of Fatima, an impressive rock formation in Mali.