Friends in high places: dr fox treks to 11,000ft in breathtaking nepal

By NEIL FOX Updated: 05:18 EDT, 6 September 2011 Nobody expected our daughter Martha to manage all the walking – after all, trekking in Nepal is tough going for adults, let alone a

four-year-old girl. And it's fair to say we would not normally contemplate such a trip with three children in tow. But then this was no ordinary family holiday. Before we had children,

my wife Vicky and I used to enjoy adventurous holidays, including several trips to South America, which we loved. But now, with a young family, we assumed we would have to settle for

something a little less ambitious. The idea for our trip to Nepal came about because our children – Scarlett, ten, Jack, eight, and Martha – all go to a school in London called

Thomas's, which was set up by David Thomas, a former Gurkha officer. As a result of his links with the Gurkhas, in 2007 David founded a charity called the Cairn Trust to build and equip

schools and libraries in the soldiers' native country, and provide educational support for children. I've helped with the charity's events, including running an auction at

the school, and over the years we've raised a lot of money. There are two trips a year where David and his wife Joanna, who are both now in their 70s, take teachers and some families

with children at the school for a trek to villages that the charity supports. And this year, our family was among those chosen to participate. Just reaching the village that was the starting

point for the trek was an adventure in itself. First we flew to Kathmandu, then took a connecting flight to Pokhara, the second-largest city in Nepal. This was followed by a six-hour bus

journey, five hours in an off-road vehicle and then a three-hour hike. I'd always wanted to go to Nepal, mainly because I am fascinated by Mount Everest. I'm currently working on a

film script based on Paths Of Glory, Jeffrey Archer's novel about climber George Mallory. Mallory tried to reach the top of Everest three times and died on his final attempt in 1924.

As I had done so much research about Mallory and his expeditions to Nepal, it certainly whetted my appetite to see the country for myself. Kathmandu – a dirty, messy, sprawling city filled

with mad drivers – pretty much lived up to my expectations. The children looked on wide-eyed – experiencing the capital's smells and sounds was an education in itself. As parents,

we've all said to our children: 'You don't realise how lucky you are.' So this trip really was a chance for them to see what life is like in one of the world's

poorest countries, and yes, to realise how lucky they are. During our eight-day trek, we saw some amazing sights. Tower­ing above paddy fields is the 26,000ft Annapurna, a section of the

Himalayas. It's simply breathtaking. And waking up on a beautiful sunny morning as Himalayan mountain eagles soared in the skies above was also extraordinary. We camped every night and,

needless to say, many of the facilities were very basic in this remote part of the world. Fortunately we had amazing help from Sherpas, who carried our tents and cooked for us every day.

With their support, everything became a pleasure. They woke us each day at 6am with a cup of tea and we knew that while we had seven hours of tough walking ahead of us, we could always count

on them for assistance. Of course, the children found it hard going – camping here isn't easy, particularly when you have to get up and walk all day. But it's incredible how they

can take everything in their stride, and they didn't complain once. The organisers had never before had anyone as young as Martha on a trek. Before we set off, David and Joanna were

also worried about whether she would make it. There was a Sherpa on standby with a basket on his back to carry her if necessary, but she didn't need it once. Martha was awesome – she

walked everywhere. The highest point we reached was 11,000ft – fortunately at that height you do not suffer altitude sickness. What was really humbling for all of us was being greeted by the

whole community whenever were reached a tiny village high in the mountains. Up to 200 people would come out, cover us in garlands of flowers and herbs, kiss us and welcome us as if we were

saviours. In every village we visited, we met former Gurkhas. They didn't have two beans to rub together, yet they could not have been more generous. They cooked us meals, poured us

drinks, and draped silk scarves around our necks – it's all part of their ritual. Our party took more than 500 green backpacks to hand out to children at our various stops along the

way. Inside the bags were a school uniform, shoes, exercise books and pens and pencils – enough to last them a year. The cost per child was just £60, which also covers the salary of their

teacher. Most of the people we met have absolutely nothing – no running water or electricity. Villages are extremely basic but all our children noticed the warmth of the welcome they

received. We must have visited ten different places and we were reduced to tears each time. After eight days of trekking, we returned to Pokhara and spent a couple of nights in a three-star

hotel with a swimming pool for the children. Then we went whitewater rafting on the Seti river, and stayed at the wonderful Seti River Camp. The tents contained proper beds – not to mention

spiders the size of a fist. We finished our trip with a visit to an amazing place called Tiger Tops – it's an old lodge in the heart of the Chitwan National Park. During our stay we

played elephant polo, and we went off on an elephant safari every day through the long grass looking for tigers. While we were lucky enough to spot rhinos, monkeys and alligators,

unfortunately we never saw any big cats. Perhaps the most marvellous aspect of our time at Tiger Tops was that the children had a chance to wash down elephants at the end of the day – it was

wonderful for them to interact with these enormous beasts. In our short trip, they were able to do so many amazing things. Would we do something like this again? Absolutely, at the drop of

a hat. We're already talking about what we're going to do next year. It's nice to go and have fun holidays sometimes, but this was a fun holiday with a difference. We were

already a close family and now we're even closer having shared this experience. It has given us a great thirst for some more hiking holidays to see wilder parts of the world before they

are ruined. Neil Fox presents Magic FM's 105.4 breakfast show with Verity Geere every weekday from 5am to 9am. GETTING THERE Jet Airways (www.jetairways.com) offers return flights from

Heathrow to Kathmandu via Delhi from £648pp. Tour operators offering trekking holidays to Annapurna include Exodus (www.exodus.co.uk), Mountain Kingdoms (www.mountainkingdoms.com) and

Ramblers (www.ramblersholidays.co.uk). If you want to combine a trek with raising money for charity, contact Ultimate Challenges (020 7386 4680, www.utccharitychallenges.co.uk). A 19-day

Himalayan trek, departing November 20, 2012, costs from £2,075pp.