Walk 6000 km along the Nile to
the good cause
This is the incredible challenge set by Claude Cazes, a young 39-year-old explorer with a big heart who lives his life as an adventure.
From an early age, Claude let himself be carried away by his irresistible desire to discover the world and push his own limits.
When he was only 19 years old, he made his first initiatory trip to China to perfect himself in the practice of Kung fu, as he explained to me at the very beginning of our interview: “in fact, I was not doing kung fu. very far from home, near Béziers. As the brother of the master who taught me martial arts lived in Shanghai, he called me to participate in a tournament! Without hesitating for a single second, I went there when I was still just a novice. At the time even if I had not gone very far in the competition, I had not chickened out. When I have an idea in my head, I act, I don't think any longer. I want to go to the end of things and especially not to have any regrets afterwards. I had to go to China. It was obvious to me. I stayed there for three weeks. The fact of going beyond geographical borders and my psychological barriers was already a first victory. It was in any case a great experience of surpassing oneself. "
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A few years after his Chinese journey, Claude made his return to the Asian continent, still guided by his dreams and his passion for sports. This time he went to Thailand to learn Thai boxing. As he tells me: “It's a sport that has always attracted me, through the many films that I saw as a child. The film "Kickboxer" by Jean-Claude Van Damme, shot in Thailand, inspired me a lot and it was precisely at that moment that I decided to do Thai boxing. "
Claude was only to leave for six months, but he ended up staying there for almost two years, with many trips back and forth to France to visit his family whenever he had the chance. Claude remembers that time: “I was in a training camp in Chiang Mai, in the north of the country. Over time, my coach saw real potential in me. He therefore offered to fight. There, it's not kidding. It is essentially professional competition and in their practice there is no protective equipment as in France! "
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Through this second significant experience, Claude was able to visit six countries around Thailand and also went to the United States to follow specific training.
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Subsequently, he traveled a lot again, when he joined the French Navy or when he was a technician on offshore and onshore oil platforms, particularly in West Africa.
Then he joined the Foreign Legion as an explosive minesweeper for 3 years for missions in Guyana and Ivory Coast. Claude describes to me this important moment in his career: “ It was a beautiful school of life, it taught me a lot about myself. The Legion is something I wanted to do when I was young. When I was 12, as I sat in a bar with my cousins, much older and older than me, there was a group of legionaries. When I saw them with their impeccable outfit, they had such an aura, such a charisma, that it marked me deeply. I remember staring at my cousin saying: "one day, I too will be a legionary". A warrant officer placed right next to me looked at me and said: "I really wish you never enter the Legion, because the day you enter it will mean that you will not have any more. of family". From the top of my twelve years, I had not disassembled and had answered him tac o tac: "I will go anyway!" Fifteen years later it was done. "
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Claude easily adapted to this new military environment, he assures me during our discussion: “for almost two years in Thailand, I had trained hard six hours a day, six times a week. I was in extreme physical condition. I was very sharp as they say. So when I got to the Legion, I was ready, either physically or psychologically. I also came first during the classes of the Foreign Legion, in front of no less than 60 nationalities. "
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It is thanks to his first experiences of youth, that over the years, Claude has been able to carve a fighter mind and forge an unfailing will. What I understand by listening to the story of his story is that we do not become an adventurer, we are born an adventurer .
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Yet to live his dreams, Claude had to make many sacrifices and overcome many obstacles to achieve his goals today and realize his first large-scale expedition projects.
Claude has his head full of challenges. The most recent: a march of several thousand kilometers along the Nile to Egypt to bring medicines to local populations.
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Photo credit: Claude Cazes
Photo credit: Claude Cazes
Claude began his journey through East Africa on March 30, 2021, directly at the source of the Nile in Burundi, then he crossed on foot alone and in semi-autonomy for more than four months, 5 other countries , Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and finally Egypt. He briefly describes his itinerary to me: “In northern Burundi, I passed along the Kagera river, which serves as the border with Tanzania, to then arrive on Lake Victoria, which was my first big and beautiful destination in Tanzania. . Then I headed towards Lake Albert at the White Nile… ”
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So many landscapes and animals as wonderful as they are hostile, with which he had to live together and which have undoubtedly complicated his journey on many occasions. During our discussion, Claude told me how he prepared for all of his trials: “It's a project that required a lot of preparation. I first tried to identify the main risks. I listed them in a notebook, point by point. The first risk, and not the least, is the human aspect, with geopolitical conflicts, especially in Uganda in the throes of much violence and in Sudan exposed to inter-ethnic struggles. There are dangerous areas to be absolutely avoided, hence the need to be referred by guides once there. NGOs are an integral part of the adventure. Without them, I would not have succeeded in my expedition and been able to establish a route that holds up. They showed me where I could go safely. I also had to establish a lot of contacts to gather as much information as possible on the situations of the countries crossed (Burundi, Tanzania ...), on the types of animals encountered, also on the climate to know when the moment would be. ideal to go. The NGO that started it all and put me in touch with others is called “ À reach de mains ”. It was created in 2010 by a French couple, Nicolas Travaillé and Delphine Jauseau, who have been working for several years to inform, structure and sensitize the youth of Burundi on their ability to develop projects in their territory. Thanks to their invaluable help, the 6 NGOs located on my path each received in a symbolic but significant way, a part of the medicines that I had been able to recover from France. But in the end, my main help was financial, thanks to an open fundraising and redistributed to NGOs to develop their own actions and so that they can also buy drugs much cheaper in their countries than those that I brought them. . The principle is to bring drugs to NGOs who then give them to clinics and hospitals with which they work. I could not see myself giving the drugs directly to people we met on the way, as I could not assess their state of health or their illness not being a doctor. "
Thanks to his partners, Claude has enabled the distribution of medicines against malaria, diarrhea, recurrent fevers and antibiotics to help the local population which is in dire need of medical care.
He explains to me the reasons for his humanitarian approach: “I could not go on an adventure just selfishly, without trying to help them, knowing that I was probably going to rub shoulders with the local population and sleep with the inhabitants. So I wanted to be able to give them something concrete and useful in return. "
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Photo credit: Claude Cazes
Claude Cazes did not think long to contact one of his first key partners in the success of this adventure, Laurent Gamez, who runs the Sarda pharmacy in Béziers. He tells me how the first contact was established: “When I told him about the project, he assured me that I could count on him for the distribution of the drugs. For obvious security reasons, knowing that I could be a target in some at-risk countries, I decided not to transport the drugs myself, as they remain rare and precious in Africa. My pharmacist friend helped me with the logistics. Very quickly, I was also able to count on the members of the NGO "At hand", who offered to take care of all the administrative part. They helped me in particular with the entrance fees, visas, etc ... The provisional budget to ensure the entire organization of the expedition was around 20,000 € without the costs related to drugs. On social networks, we appealed for donations. Part of the funds will be donated to the NGO "A reach de mains". This will help them develop education and integration projects and help improve the living conditions of vulnerable populations. What motivated me at first to carry out my mission was to be able to shed light on these African countries in need, we must not forget them, we must help them again and again, because 'sometimes they don't have a tap to get water, they don't have a pharmacy nearby, most of them don't have a switch like us to press for electricity. My crossing of East Africa in almost complete autonomy is a physical challenge, but for me, it is also a way of talking about the situation in Africa which is close to my heart and which remains the great forgotten one. of our planet. My message is addressed to future generations and to all people who want to do something good in their life: when you believe in it and put all your strength into it, you inevitably get there . This is what I tried to prove by going to the end of my adventure despite the many pitfalls encountered along the way. "
During his journey in Africa, Claude Cazes thus escaped death twice. The first time following an intoxication which led him straight to the hospital, the other because of an ambush created by armed bandits in southern Sudan, while he was taking the only road between Nemule and Juba .
These two misadventures were not the only difficulties he encountered. He had to make several U-turns in order to avoid dangerous situations, to take to the air because the land borders were closed. He was also forced to call his financial partners, because his money was stolen from him during his sleep when he had fallen asleep from exhaustion or he was forced to call the French embassy to his arrival in Egypt, because he was held against his will by the local authorities for 15 days for "administrative verification".
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In addition to all these difficulties, Claude found himself confronted with an often hostile environment having to face many animal species that live in these regions such as gorillas, lions, leopards, hippos… During our discussion, he m 'says more about his knowledge of these natural environments: “I have studied at length on the internet the different types of terrain crossed, whether mountainous, or in a more tropical atmosphere in the jungle. I knew that there would be precautions to take with certain animals such as hippos for example, which can be very aggressive if we are not careful. Of all the animals, in my opinion, they are among the most dangerous. The hippopotamus lives in a group and when you get too close, it becomes very aggressive and instinctively charges the human. In Uganda, to go up the Kagera river, I could have met gorillas, leopards, jaguars… There were also snakes, scorpions and of course crocodiles on the banks of the Nile. In this wild environment, there is no room for mistakes. In addition to the tropical climate complicated to manage, I had to walk in the savannah, but also in swamps. To avoid going around them and lengthening the road, I sometimes had to cross them. Fortunately, I had planned anti-leech socks. An infection could have ended my expedition very quickly. The climatic conditions and the geographical reliefs were therefore sometimes hard to bear physically. "
On this last point, Claude told me more about the conditions of his training: “physically I was already following a very rigorous and intense preparation, because I was preparing to walk in Greenland before embarking on the crossing of Antarctica, a project initially planned for 2021 that I had to postpone to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic and the border closure. Fortunately of a far-sighted nature, I had pre-established the 5 years of expeditions to come. For this new adventure in Africa, I could therefore count on my daily training program. Like a real athlete, I tried to get my body used to extreme efforts. To do this, I used a mask that simulates breathing at an altitude of over 4,000 m, but also a weighted vest and sometimes even a sled to pull. To familiarize myself with the temperatures of the South Pole, I regularly took showers in cold water or during cryotherapy sessions, I would sometimes immerse myself in an ice bath, as does the Dutchman Wim Hof nicknamed "the" ice man ”(Iceman) who holds records for resistance in extreme cold conditions, which I tried to beat in my turn.
Photo credit: Claude Cazes
All these practices and exercises allowed me to progress very quickly. My days were punctuated with running races (twice a day with an average of 30 km traveled daily) towing loads of about 10 to 50 kg, similar to the weight I would have to tow during my expedition in Antarctica. Today, I now run the 10 km in 36 minutes, whereas a few years ago I did it in just under an hour. Through hard work and perseverance, I gained strength, endurance and breathing capacity. I also worked on my internal clock, in order to be able to recover faster during fairly short periods of sleep. For breathing, I became interested in meditation and freediving, following the advice of the world specialist, Valrassienne Brigitte Banégas. I then questioned several ironmens about their training method. I also gathered the wise advice of three seasoned explorers: Rémi Camus, Loury Lag and Alban Michon. All three were kind enough to let me call them to get feedback on their respective experiences in fishing, hunting and gathering so that I could manage on my own to feed myself in the great outdoors. They recommended that I have several days or even a week of food in my backpack, whether freeze-dried or not, to ensure the days when there is nothing to eat. So I did not do this expedition in total autonomy, although I was able to put into practice my years of experience in survival matters within the Foreign Legion. So I followed each other's advice. I took a reserve of food aid with a kilo of rice, a kilo of dried larvae and a kilo of dried fruit. To ensure my water supply, I equipped myself with water filters, because I always had a river nearby with the Nile. To rest in the evening, I had a tarpaulin to make a roof. In some places where the atmosphere was tropical, I used a hammock instead to raise myself as high as possible, in order to avoid certain 4-legged animals and crawlers. Overall with everything I needed, I left with a load of 30 kilos that I was carrying thanks to a hiking trailer, a kind of backpack attached to an aluminum structure with wheels and handles at the top for be attached to my hip with a harness. I had set myself the goal of walking a little more than thirty kilometers daily for 180 days. "
Photo credit: Claude Cazes
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His journey in Antarctica promises to be marked by difficulties, starting with the heavy weight of the pulka, this 150-kilo Norwegian sled which will contain everything necessary for his survival and which he will have to drag throughout his journey. Oxygenation is also one of the big problems for this type of expedition carried out in polar cold, because Claude will evolve on average at 2000 meters of altitude. It will also have to avoid crevasses, one of the major risks of the polar continent.
But for Claude nothing is impossible, that's what he's had in mind since he was a child . He clarified his thoughts to me: “this taste for challenges originated in me after my father died, who left too early: I had to fend for myself at a very young age. I could have tipped over on the wrong side, made big mistakes, but I proved to myself that despite the pitfalls encountered along the way, I will never give up. I will continue to believe in myself, in what I am and in what I do ... I will remain a big child all my life, I have always listened to myself. I'm not the type to say to myself wish it would be nice if I did that someday, but rather I say to myself it would be nice if I did this now and when that moment comes I do my best to make it happen. I tell myself that it would be pointless to postpone what we want to do today, since we don't know what tomorrow will bring. "
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It is true, during his last mission on the banks of the Nile, Claude despite the obstacles raised on his way, did not give up and continued his mission to the end to give medicines and share moments of emotion with local people. The smiles of the children being for him, as he tells me, the most wonderful of the rewards. Claude would like to add during our interview: “my main driving force in all my adventures is my wife and my children. In all my expeditions, I tell myself that the faster I move forward, the faster I will see them again. I want my children to be proud of their dad. My 9 year old daughter and 6 year old boy see me as a bit of a superhero. The other day I surprised them while they were having fun in their room and playing explorers. I am fortunate to be able to count on the unfailing support of my family and this gives me incredible additional strength, even if the estrangement from my partner is always hard to live with. We've known each other for many years, we support each other to move forward together, making sure to experience what we each want to live. There is great understanding and respect on both sides. To reassure her, I still had a satellite phone to communicate at least once a week for one to two minutes each time to tell her that everything was fine. "
Listening to his adventure story, I have the feeling that Claude Cazes understood who he was and what he wanted to do in life: bring together his passion for adventure, his desire to always surpass himself and Satisfying his need to help others seems to be his mission on earth.
Besides the physical and personal challenge, Claude Cazes also wishes to defend the animal cause. Through this new adventure, he decided to support associations for the protection of nature that are important to him, such as " Anymal ", carried and created by the Montpellier comedian Rémi Gaillard. Its vocation is to defend and protect abandoned animals (at the end of their life, coming from circuses or zoos ...) by offering them spaces of freedom and thus preserving their well-being.
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By fighting for the animal cause, Claude Cazes knows very well that he will close doors, as he explains to me: “certain brands cannot communicate with me, because they are not irreproachable on the question of the good- to be animal. You should know that the equipment specially designed for polar expeditions is often made of animal fur, because this is what is most effective against the cold. However, during my expedition, I will not agree to go there with animal fur, which will be an additional constraint for me. "
Right in his boots, Claude's heart is as big as his courage. He never ceases to exceed his limits while humbly putting his victories at the service of humanitarian causes. His last challenge barely finished, he is already planning his next adventure.
You can support the assembly of the expedition and its association created in January 2019 AVENTURE CLAUDE CAZES or follow him on social networks by clicking on the links below:
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Today is mission accomplished. To travel these 6,000 kilometers along the Nile, Claude therefore prepared for more than 2 years. His various physical and mental tests allowed him to go through different stages and to accustom his body to the efforts in the most extreme conditions that he will soon encounter in Antarctica. Claude Cazes wants to tackle the record of American Colin O'Brady soon by covering the same distance as him, ie 1,500 km, but this time in less than 54 days. He told me more about his incredible challenge: “at the start I thought of making a simple tourist trip to Antarctica, then the idea gradually gained ground… I said to myself and why not go for a walk? alone, without assistance, in complete autonomy and with the greatest respect for the environment. I intend to complete the trip by pulling a sled weighted with approximately 150 kg of specialized equipment such as: Satellite phone, GPS, Distress beacon, Sled, specific clothing, food, adapted care kit ... To sleep during my trip, I plan 3 sleeping bags that I will stack, because the average temperature in this country is -20 ° C. My food will be 100% organic, composed only of dried fruits and snow. Beyond the physical challenge, I want to witness the climate and its changes. Above all, I hope to awaken the consciences of the most skeptical about the issues of global warming and the catastrophic environmental consequences for our planet. To make this great adventure a success, the estimated budget is around € 180,000. To this day, I am still looking for new sponsors and patrons to finance the project and make my departure possible. The cost of the trip alone represents a large part of the expenses. I will have to go to Argentina to take a ski plane which will then take me to the Southern continent. ”
For Antarctica, in addition to physical condition and financial resources, he will also need to obtain administrative authorizations, generally reserved for adventurers accustomed to the Polar Circles. Next spring, Claude Cazes will initially carry out an expedition to Greenland of 500 km to reach a first level. This is what O'Brady did before being allowed to walk on Antarctica, as he explained to me: “Antarctica, if all goes well, I will be there in November 2022, in order to benefit from milder temperatures due to the austral summer (-30 ° on average all the same). Like the American, I will set off on cross-country skiing from the Union Glacier, towards the South Pole (900 km). Then, I plan to get out of Colin O'Brady's footsteps: after the South Pole, the latter took a signposted road, which in the opinion of many is contrary to the principle of “without assistance”. For my part, once past the Pole, I will continue until reaching 1,500 km. "
To beat Colin O'Brady's record alone and without assistance, Claude will have to cover an average of 28 to 29 km per day, while managing the cold, hunger and fatigue. Which would bring him, if successful, into the very closed circle of extreme explorers. The “crossing” of Antarctica is surely one of the greatest terrestrial challenges that still remains to be taken up by man today.
Who is Claude Cazes?
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Born in 1982, former instructor at the Foreign Legion, Claude is an explorer at heart. After losing a parent very early in his teenage years, he had to learn everything on his own. In her life and her various projects, her intuition and her heart always guide her choices. His many challenges have allowed him to test his physical and mental limits and now allow him to pass on his experience at conferences on motivation and surpassing oneself, group cohesion or even survival in a hostile environment. Extreme adventurer, Claude has embarked on Humanitarian Sports challenges since 2019 to help raise awareness among the population of Environmental and Animal causes (Project management, Challenges, Challenges and expeditions).
Sporting challenges accomplished :
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2021 March / July:
Expedition along the Nile is 6671 km in 6 months, from Burundi source of the Nile to Egypt its mouth to bring medicines to the African population in need through local NGOs and provide them with financial support to help them in their actions.
2020 December:
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Ironman solo 4 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42 km running to raise funds for the AIDA associations which supports children and young adults affected by cancer.
2020 October:
World record attempt in Namibia (42 km): walking in the Namibian desert in hypoxia without eating or drinking (with medical monitoring). 33.8 km were completed stopping the test following hallucinations.
2020 September:
Participation in the TF1 Ninja Warrior show.
2020 January:
Total immersion in ice for 1h01min with no change in internal temperature. (challenge supervised by a medical team)
2019 October:
24h of walking on a treadmill at the Béziers polygon (4x6h with only 15 min break during each stop with a mask simulating the altitude at 3657 m and a weighted vest of 8kg).
2019 September:
24 hours on an indoor exercise bike (pedaling for 4x6 hours with only a 15-minute break during each stop with a mask simulating the altitude at 3657 m).
Photo credit: Philippe Sabathier
Photo credit: Philippe Sabathier
Upcoming challenge :
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in 2022 : beat the record for crossing Antarctica held by the American O'Brady, ie 1,500 km in less than 54 days.