Intrepid Express Blog

Australia love its BIG THINGS - there are hundreds of big objects all around the country from the Big Koala to the Big Banana. Plus there are the biggest and heaviest trains in the world - iron ore trains in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region and rugged road trains, as Intrepid leader John Kirk explains…

“If you travel along Australia’s remote outback roads, you will most likely encounter a road train, road-legal behemoths that truck heavy loads around the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Queensland and northern South Australia. Road trains in the mining industry max out at a staggering 200 tonnes, but most consist of a prime-mover and 3 trailers (called ‘doggies’) with a combined weight of up to 140 tonnes and around 54 metres (177 feet) in length. That’s almost 10 average car lengths and with more than 60 wheels, these giants are a tyre-kicker’s paradise!

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The exact numbers of cyclo drivers in Phnom Penh is uncertain, but what we do know is that the people who do this exhausting job are amongst the poorest of urban poor in Cambodia. In 1999 the Cyclo Centre Phnom Penh was established to improve the welfare of cyclo drivers through the provision of support services, basic medical care and livelihood support.

We are very pleased to announce that the Cyclo Centre is now one of the beneficiaries of The Intrepid Foundation Community Project Fund and donations received will be used to increase the profile of the Cyclo Centre, highlight the situation of cyclo drivers and to seek ways which increase the drivers’ self-sufficiency and sustainability of the Centre.

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