Call to the wild for charity

This is the quote that Graham McDonnell says keeps him focused when embarking on a new adventure.

He and fellow WA Institute of Martial Arts (based in Greenwood and Currambine) director Phil Britten last week set off on the Man vs Wild trek of East Kimberley, navigating remote locations and undertaking survival strategies, to raise money for The Telethon Adventurers.

‘It’s an amazing feeling ” both nervous and excited ” to get dropped in the middle of the Kimberley and have to look, hunt and forage for your food and water for seven days all while sleeping under the stars and avoiding crocodiles, scorpions and snakes ” I’m not a big fan,’ Mr McDonnell said.

This will be the third adventure the duo has completed in as many years after they trekked the Kokoda Trail in 2012 and climbed Gran Paradiso in 2013.

‘There are definitely some similarities with the mental toughness required but as for the terrain, Kokoda was tropical mud, Gran Paradiso was snow and ice and the Kimberley is heat and dangerous animals,’ Mr McDonnell said.

‘Both myself and Phil like to challenge ourselves in the best way possible, in our personal lives as well as our business lives, so when the calling came to be involved with The Telethon Adventurers again we jumped at the chance.

‘We have the opportunity to sacrifice our time to help all the families and sick children across WA by raising awareness and funds to help find a cure and put a stop to childhood brain cancer for good.’

He said in the past three years, the WA Institute of Martial Arts had raised about $70,000 for The Telethon Adventurers.

This included a kickathon held last month in which 59 students made an amazing total of 16,701 kicks, which raised $15,530 for the cause.