I stumbled across an adventure called the Addo Corridor Initiative, which aims to establish an ecological corridor across South Africa. The corridor’s advocates are going on a mega-trek starting today. Here’s the rundown:

Imagine walking through indigenous forests, over expansive mountains and through winding river gorges, side-stepping buffalo and looking out for sunbirds. Such a hike will not exist until you join us to make it happen . . .

So on the 11th August 2006, in the shade of the ancient Yellowwoods of Knsyna’s elephant forest, a small group of pioneer hikers will embark on this 17 day hike like no other.

This extreme hiking experience is the first of its kind in South Africa, and your opportunity to traverse more than 400km of mountain landscape in the Southern Cape in support of the establishment of conservation corridors.

Sounds like something right down Ryan Jordan’s alley. Except there won’t be much quibbling over weight. Here’s the good part:

Hikers will only carry small day-packs with lunch and sufficient water for each day. Overnight backpacks will be transported between camps. On arrival each evening, camp will already be set-up with food prepared. This allows for extra personal time to really explore the area and to relax without having to deal with the major logistics of carrying food for 17 days or preparing meals and dealing with erecting tents.

None of that “non-supported” nonsense for these folks. Thank goodness for a ready supply of poor people with strong backs. Snide class-warfare rhetoric aside, eco-tourism like this is one of the best ways to save Africa’s wilderness, and besides, the people of the “bearer” class are grateful for the work. Beats joining a militia.

Maybe it’s a good thing to go on these exotic adventures precisely because you can vacation amid people working for wages you’d never stoop to accepting for yourself. Most of that stuff on REI’s shelves is built in Chinese factories where people work terrible hours for lousy pay in polluted communities, and the imperatives of the global economy make them grateful for the work, too. But you never see those people. I can’t help thinking it’s better when they’re not invisible.