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1. Tearfund Emergency Response to Haiti

2. Camping  Safari through South Africa

3. Kilimanjaro Expedition

4. Magadi-Gadi Salt Pans in Botswana

5. North Pole Expedition

6. Powergorilla and Solargorilla in Afghanistan

7. Race to the South Pole

8. Elephant Orphanage in Zambia

9. The London Biker

Tearfund Emergency Response to Haiti

Pictures and words courtesy of Nathan Beard, Tearfund

I am recently returned from Haiti and wanted to give you some feed back on our use of the PowerGorillas / Monkeys. Firstly to say thanks to you and your team for providing various pieces of equipment and peripherals at short notice which we really appreciate. Secondly, I and the team out in Haiti have been very impressed with the performance and functionality of the Powertraveller equipment, and it has been a vital resource during our initial set-up there.

In the early days before we had access to a small portable generator the gorillas / monkeys gave us access to power in some very remote parts of Haiti around the Leogane area where we undertook some needs assessment work. The equipment was regularly used to power not just laptop computers and SatPhones, but also VHF radios, portable lamps, and Satellite Modems for internet access. It is brilliant to have a power supply which is so versatile and compact.

Also, the PowerTraveller kit comes with well designed neoprene / cordura pouches to accommodate the main components.

The first pic I took of charging up the Gorillas / Monkeys before a major distribution of shelter materials in the hill country around Leogane which was 80-90% destroyed during the quake. The second pic is what a lot of Leogane looks like.

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Camping Safari through Southern Africa

Nick Ledger, photographer

"I was on a camping safari throughout southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe). It was all overland so there were a lot of driving hours involved and as we were camping we didn't have regular access to power supplies. 

As I run my own business back at home I needed to be able to keep in regular contact with the office and that's where the Solar Monkey was very handy for keeping my phone charged. I went on this type of holiday because I love travelling and I'm a keen travel photographer. 

It was my first real effort at shooting wildlife (not literally of course!). The photos of the monkeys were in a famous game viewing area in Botswana called the Chobe Riverfront and the pictures you can see of Pete with the elephants in the background were taken a couple of hours later on the riverfront itself as the sun was going down - it was a great experience, teeming with elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, impala, African Fish Eagles and the odd crocodile."

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Kilimanjaro expedition

Melanie Windridge

"The trip to Kilimanjaro went really well and the PowerMonkey came in handy, proving particularly popular with some members of the team. Thank you so much for supplying one for our trek. It is a great idea and I will definitely be taking it on any subsequent trips."

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Magadi-Gadi salt pans in Botswana

Wintec Solutions Team member

"These two images are of the PowerMonkey keeping the team from Wintec Solutions sane when our Landrover became severely stuck in the Magadi- Gadi salt pans in Botswana, in December 2008 (same pans the guys from "Top Gear" drove across!). We spent two nights in the salt pans with no cell phone reception and dwindling water supplies, but were still able to watch "Family Guy" and listen to music during our time there!

We attempted to dig ourselves out for those two days and eventually had to walk to a nearby village for help. The Landrover was salvaged and we continued on our trip through Southern Africa!"

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North Pole Expedition

Hannah McKeand, adventure traveler

"In extreme polar environments it is vital that all equipment is compact, robust, light and efficient.  I know the PowerMonkey-eXplorer is going to prove an invaluable piece of equipment on my solo North Pole expedition."

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PowerGorilla & SolarGorilla in Afghanistan

Check out these pictures of the PowerGorilla and SolarGorilla in Afghanistan!

The product was supplied to this customer via our CzechRepublic distributor, Sunnysoft SRO, for testing in the harsh conditions of Afghanistan.

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Race to the South Pole

"Here are some photos of me using the PowerMonkey in a 430 mile race to the South Pole which I did in 2009. I was given another solar charger which fell apart within 2 days of the race. Your PowerMonkey endured temperatures regularly around -45. It was a great piece of equipment, which kept my iPod going throughout the race. I also got a charging unit for AA batteries and I used this to power my GPS.

I'm now the Chief Instructor for Polar Challenge (you can "Google" this). It is a company which annually does a North Pole race and every 2 years a South Pole Race. I promote your equipment to all the competitors."

Gary Bullen
Chief Instructor
Polar Challenge

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SolarGorilla - Elephant orphanage Zambia

DSWF (David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation) have been supporting conservation projects in Zambia since David first visited in the 1960's. Over £500,000 has been awarded in grants, mainly supporting anti-poaching operations throughout the country. The Elephant Orphanage Project started in 2001 with the rescue of baby elephant Phoenix whose mother has been slaughtered by ivory poachers.

Earlier this year, torrential floods washed away the original site and the baby elephants had to be walked to higher ground and to safety. The project suffered another devastating blow when seven-year old Phoenix, who was beginning her return to the wild, died of Babesiosis - a tick borne disease of the blood extremely rare in elephants.

Through an emergency appeal, DSWF is now working hard to develop the new orphanage and, building on Phoenix's legacy, establish a more effective protection program to save Zambia's rich, but seriously vulnerable wildlife heritage.

Orphanage workers use the SolarGorilla to power their laptops, keeping valuable lines of communication open.

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The London Biker - powered by Powertraveller!

 Pictures and words courtesy of Matthew Cashmore, TheLondonBiker.com

There's no doubt the modern traveller carries more gizmos and gadgets than the first Apollo missions. That of course brings it's own problems; how on earth do you keep everything charged and running?

I've riden all over the world on the motorbike, but I've managed to keep my cameras, laptop and other electronic paraphernalia running. You can carry a mass of chargers and international plugs, or you can buy a handy combined international plug with a series of USB cables - there are lots of options out there. If like me you don't know where your next electric socket will come from you need the broadest range of options - something to plug in, something to charge off 12v, something that will charge from a solar panel (usefully). That really only leaves one option - the range of gear from a UK company called Powertraveller.

I've mentioned these guys on my blog before - in fact they're top of my 5 things I always pack list - but it's worth re-visiting the range and why they work for me.

The first item I bought was the Powermonkey-eXplorer. It's a small device capable of charging cameras, phones and other low power devices. It's perfect for keeping my iPhone and Cannon Exilim fully charged. It comes with a solar panel that worked really well in Morocco and less well in Russia. It's designed so you can plug your phone in and still hold it to your ear, with the charger sitting in the palm of your hand. It's rugged and mine has been through the works and still powers along well. It charges from my 12v socket on the bike, via a wall socket or via it's solar panel.

The second device I had from them was the Minigorilla. This unit will charge devices requiring up to 19v - which means I can charge my MacBook and my Canon HD Camcorder. It will re-charge from the very large and very efficient solar panel that is also available, or from a socket in the wall. Practically I find that a full charge of the Minigorilla will give the MacBook an empty to half-full charge (about 2 hours worth of use) and will recharge the camcorder from empty to full three times. It's also perfect for charging the Panasonic G1 DSLR and my Sony Radio Mics as it has a full 12v output, which combined with off the shelf chargers makes it incredibly flexible.

As if that wasn't enough I got caught out last week when friends came to stay at the house. Having misplaced my standard airbed pump I was left with my 12v version... I just plugged it into the minigorilla and it powered the pump and blew up the bed!

I'm quite excited by some new products coming out of Powertraveller - including the new Silverback Gorilla - full 240v AC supply from a unit that will fit comfortably in my motorbike pannier. Genius.

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