Austrian duo to see RI in extreme way

JAKARTA (JP): At 20 years old, Austrian duo of Klaus Wolfsberger and Alex Springenschmidt may have traveled most of the world to test their muscles and nerves in extreme sports but not yet in Indonesia.

They have prepared themselves for 10 months for their journey to the archipelago, which so far has cost them US$20,000.

If the plan goes as expected, they will enter Indonesia early next month by windsurfing across the Malacca strait. Their starting block will be Port Dickson in Malaysia. They reckon it will take between 10 and 15 hours to reach Dumai in Riau.

They will then take a three-day break in Bali before doing their next extreme sports. But it won't exactly be relaxation after the marathon cruise because the pair want to spend their days on the paradise island on their windsurfing boards.

"We'll look around for the most demanding place for windsurfing," Wolfsberger told The Jakarta Post recently.

The two graduates of a sports academy in Austria were here last week to seek permits from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explore the Jayawijaya mountain range in Irian Jaya.

"We have two plans. First, we can scale Puncak Jaya (the highest peak) via Ilaga from the north, which will take us about six to seven days. Secondly, we can fly to Timika and then mountain bike to Tembagapura before going up to the peak and then go down to Ilaga by snowboarding and mountain biking," Wolfsberger said about their expedition to the country's highest mountain.

He was aware of the current political uncertainty in the country but was keen that the show went on.

"We are here just to do sports," Wolfsberger insisted.

He said Austrian companies had sponsored their Indonesian trip, as well as their previous travels.

The two athletes will be accompanied by a doctor, a cameraman and a photographer. (yan)