THE WORLD’S GREATEST EXPLORER

MIKE Horn has faced a firing squad in the Congo, been sat on by a polar bear in the Arctic, and circumnavigated the globe under his own steam the long way around as he followed the equator for its full length. So ‘the world’s greatest modern-day explorer’ is a title he has earned through hard work and a true spirit of adventure.

South African-born but now residing in Switzerland (during those rare moments when he is at home), Mike’s life is comprised of one expedition after another, and that has taken him to the extremes of the planet. Mike joined us for the Simpson Desert crossing with his daughter Jessica and their two G500 Benzes. This was the next leg in his current Pole to Pole expedition, which started in Monaco in May.

From the lifestyle capital of the rich and famous, he sailed his custom-built yacht Pangea down the west coast of Africa to Namibia, where he picked up his G-wagens and drove via deserts and jungles to South Africa. From here it was back on the boat to sail to Antarctica for a not-so-casual solo crossing on skis via the South Pole that took 55 days, before getting back on the boat to sail up to us in Australia, via New Zealand.

The journey from Australia will take Mike to New Guinea, through Asia where he hopes to bag a couple of as-yet unclimbed 7000-metre peaks, all the way up to the Arctic where he will again cross the Pole solo, before returning to the start point in Monaco. It’s a two-year adventure that will put Mike on six of the seven continents of the world.

You can follow the expedition via the website at: www.mikehorn.com/pole-2-pole