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Expedition 5 duo take on Madagascar in island challenge

Two former Royal Marines Commandos have set out on the next leg of a record attempt to trek across the five biggest islands in the world.

Through Expedition 5, Louis Nethercott and Anthony Lambert aim to raise awareness of the mental health issues faced by military veterans.

The duo have begun their crossing of Madagascar, the third island on their list. As for their successful unsupported crossings of Borneo and Papua New Guinea, they are carrying all necessary equipment, including two Inmarsat IsatPhone 2 satellite phones and a compact IsatHub terminal to use with their own smartphones for posting blogs and updating social media. In plotting their journey they have had to find water sources and likely locations for food resupplies.

Biodiverse environment

At 592,800km², Madagascar is the fourth largest island on Earth and one of the most biodiverse environments. Louis and Ant will trek through densely jungled coastline and vast deserts atop high altitude plateaus, facing the dangers of the many red zones – lawless areas outside government control – and a plague outbreak affecting certain parts of the island.

As they prepared for their latest challenge, the two friends, who both served in Afghanistan in 2011, posted: “Our expedition to date has been an incredible journey, both physically and spiritually. It is a real privilege to be able to do what we do made even more special that we can use the platform that our challenge provides to raise money for two great charities.

“Having witnessed the real human cost of serving our country, we have seen first-hand the incredible work organisations like Help for Heroes and The Royal Marines Charity do towards helping and rebuilding the lives of injured service personnel and their families.”