The Trail Less Traveled

By Mandela Leola van EedenSociety & Culture

The Trail Less Traveled episodes

January 27, 2023 Honey Farming, Land Rover Love, & Riding a Horse Across Southern Africa.
Raymond Gildenhuys grew up in South Africa on a farm 20 kilometers from the Indian Ocean. From a young age, his grandfather helped inspire his passion for old Land Rovers, honey farming and the utter joy of living a simple life by the sea. When he isn't spearfishing, you might find him volunteering in Zambia or installing Toyota Hilux engines into old Land Rovers. Over a period of 80 days, Raymond rode his horse around 1,000 kilometers of southern Africa. Tune in for some truly inspirational stories about faith, family and adventure.

*In order to keep the podcast ad free and in order to work towards financial independence, Mandela is asking folks to donate a few dollars each month via Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled

Every donation helps. Thank you so much for helping to keep this podcast and our educational outreach programs available to everyone.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
43 min
January 15, 2023 Rhino Conservation in South Africa
Ester Van Der Merwe is a Black Rhino Monitor for South African National Parks. Ester grew up on a diary farm located near Kruger National Park. She has been passionate about wildlife and conservation for as long as she can remember. With a lengthy history in monitoring large predators she has extensive experience exclusively focused on Black Rhino. Ester does most of her work on the ground and has been charged by rhinos more times than she can remember. She is a talented photographer and a passionate individual with an absolute love for the African bush and teaching others.

*In order to keep the podcast ad free and in order to work towards financial independence, Mandela is asking folks to donate a few dollars each month via Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled

Every donation helps. Thank you so much for helping to keep this podcast and our educational outreach programs available to everyone.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
51 min
August 23, 2021 Rafting around the World with Orea Roussis
Orea Roussis is originally from Connecticut and has been running rivers all over the world for over 35 years. She is one of the most experienced yet humble guides who will ever meet and loves sharing the wilderness experience with her guests. Orea often lives a nomadic life for half the year driving around rivers in California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and the Grand Canyon. When she is not in the U.S. you could potentially find her kayaking in Chile, Nepal or New Zealand.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
45 min
August 15, 2021 Meditation & Lessons from Long Distance Adventure Racing & Paragliding with Jenna Lyons.
Jenna Lyons is a paraglider, long distance runner, kite boarder and whitewater kayaker based in Missoula. During this episode she reflects on the meditation of running long distances in the mountains and the joy of learning to paraglide above Missoula, Montana. Jenna also shares some lessons learned from law school, injuries and the life long journey of paragliding.
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45 min
August 14, 2021 MPG Ranch: an Ecological Research Station & Non-Lead Ammunition with Mike McTee
Mike McTee shot his first weapon before he could recite the alphabet. Now, understanding weapons is part of his job. His career took this trajectory after Mike gained a B.S. in Environmental Chemistry. Curious about potential pollution at a historic shooting range at MPG Ranch, he earned an M.S. in Geosciences studying the site. Strangely, the sulfur inside the trap and skeet targets posed the main threat, not the lead in the shotgun pellets. Regardless, lead contamination soon grabbed Mike’s focus. Each winter at MPG Ranch, biologists caught eagles that had lead coursing through their veins. Lead can cripple eagles flightless and even kill them. Mike soon initiated studies on scavenger ecology and began investigating the wound ballistics of rifle bullets, the suspected source of lead.

Mike often connects with the public through his writings and speaking engagements, whether it be to a local group of hunters, or a gymnasium full of middle schoolers. He frequently writes about the outdoors, with work appearing in The FlyFish Journal, Backcountry Journal, and Bugle. When he escapes the office, Mike explores wild landscapes with his family, always scanning the horizon for wildlife.
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52 min
August 02, 2021 Deaf BMX Athlete & Wild Plants Expert Builds School in Uganda & Changes a Nation
Ceilidh O'Sullivan was born and raised on the Eastern Coast of Australia in a little town known for its delicious ginger beer and all inclusive schools for the disabled. Ceilidh was born profoundly deaf and with the help of her mother, she learned to speak well. At a young age she became obsessed with "Bush Tucker" which is a reference to edible wild foods in Australia. To this day she can go out into the bush or on the beach and gather food to create delicious meals.

Ceilidh placed second in the country and wanted to continue her path competitive BMX biking but instead made the hard decision to undergo surgery and receive a cochlear implant which helped her ear sounds for the first time such as leaves under her feet.

Ceilidh is into eco construction and sustainability as a result of her countless trips to Uganda where she built a school for deaf children and had a part in changing that country's attitude regarding the abilities of deaf children.
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50 min
July 29, 2021 Professional Ski Instructor and River Guide, Zoe Mavis.
Zoe Mavis is originally from Boulder, Colorado and has been skiing her entire life. She now works as a ski instructor in Big Sky Montana during the winter and as a river guide based out of Missoula. Zoe is on the national team of The Professional Ski Instructors of America and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors. The PSIA-AASI is the world’s largest organization dedicated to teaching people how to ski and snowboard.

100% of the support for the podcast comes from donations via www.Patreon.com/TrailLessTraveled
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
43 min
July 26, 2021 Wildlife Conservation with John Kanter, the Senior Wildlife Biologist for the National Wildlife Federation.
John Kanter is the senior wildlife biologist for the National Wildlife Federation. John has been hooked on wildlife since he was, as they say, knee-high to a grasshopper. As a child, he loved African animals, especially elephants, and got to watch his pediatrician mother take care of the first eight gorillas born at the Cincinnati Zoo. From there his interest grew from taking care of animals to understanding them in the wild and taking care of their natural habitats. John works on many projects including Recovering America's Wildlife Act, climate change and the movement to having lead free landscapes.
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41 min
July 13, 2021 How to SURVIVE anything, anywhere. Featuring Dan Baird of the California Survival School.
Dan Baird is one of the world’s leading Back-country Primitive Survival Experts and Guides.

Dan regularly travels and lead’s survival training and exploration trips to some of the most remote and hostile places on earth.

As Head Instructor of the largest survival training school in the U.S., the California Survival School.

Dan is responsible for programs training an average of 4k+ persons annually in wilderness and urban survival skills.

Dan has been featured for his remote guiding and survival expertise in the media with National Geographic, History Channel, Forbes, Good Morning America, and many more.
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57 min
July 04, 2021 Restoration of the American Prairie & Bringing back the Bison with Steve McCoy.
Join us on the edge of the river next to the prairie under the Mission Mountains of Northwestern Montana for an episode with Steve McCoy. Steve is joined by his good friend and adventure companion, Gary Steele, for plenty of hearty laughs, storytelling and a look into their conservation work that made national headlines for Earth First 40 years ago. Steve moved to Montana in 1976 to fly fish and live the dream. He will reflects on the restoration of the American prairie and the return of the Buffalo. Climate change will come up in conversation alongside the breathtaking dream of establishing the "American Serengeti". Did you know that an acre of prairie absorbs more carbon than an acre of rain forest?
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49 min

About The Trail Less Traveled

From the publisher's feed

Dedicated to documenting humanity by gathering stories & sounds from the most remote locations around the world. The goal for the show is to take you, the listener, back to mankind's earliest form…