On the roof of Africa

Never to shy away from a challenge, a group of Opera employees (yours truly included) are trading in their keyboards and mice for the big game of deepest darkest Africa. The land of Hemmingway, Livingstone, Burton, Rebmann and many other famous (none-Internet) Explorers will become our base for three weeks as we head of the Tanzania for a three part exhibition.

Travelling from Nairobi in Kenya we will embark on our biggest challenge. To scale the heights of the tallest point in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. The name alone, translated from the Swahili, Chagga and Machame dialects, to mean The Mountain of Greatness, The Mountain of Whiteness or even The Impossible Journey (no one can quite decide), is majestic. It certainly beats being named after an old English Queen. Trekking up the Machame route (avoiding the most touristy Coca-Cola route) for seven days and nights, we will reach the roof of Africa. There we aim to be the first people to blog from the summit (well we have no proof that anyone has done it before, any ideas? using Opera Mini, the go anywhere, surf anywhere browsing experience. We may even check the football scores while having a breather and taking in the views. Perhaps we'll even be the highest ever internet surfers (on foot, excluding those that cheat in planes and other mechanical beasts).

After the descent, on the eighth day we'll meet the wildlife of a Safari trip through the Serengeti (another majestic name meaning the place where the land runs on for ever) and the Ngorongoro crater (where the Datogo warriors defeated by the Maasai), camping out in the bush. The wildlife will be spectacular, from rhinos, elephants, lions and wilderbeast to antelope and polar bears. Well maybe not the last one, unless we are very lucky. Maybe we'll even get to meet some Maasai tending their herds. I wonder how they'd like Opera Mini and the 100 dollar laptop?

The final leg (providing we've not been eaten by wild lions, the yeti or trampled by herds of tourists) will be a hop in a plane of to Zanzibar and the spice islands. Here we'll finally get to relax and see the white beaches of the Indian Ocean. More wildlife awaits here in the marine reserves, including sea turtles, dolphines, coral and tropical fish. Not to mention our latest predator, the Reef Shark. Zanzibar was home to the spice trade, and many more sinister such as the slave trade. Livingstone started out his exploration of Africa from here, as did Burton. Indeed it was Tanzania where Stanley met Livingstone and uttered the immortal words Dr. Livingstone I presume. Quite why they are still remembered, I'm not quite sure, but anyway. For those of us who are not tired of adventure, we'll be undertaking many activities including diving, snorkelling, fishing, paragliding and shark wrestling.

Fresh from conquering Kilimanjaro, we'll return fresh (or weary) to conquer the web and the rest of the world, in the name of Open Standards. This time next year> How about Aconcagua or Elburus?