The Royal Geographical Society is pleased to welcome Nathan Hotorua Gray to speak on “Adventures on the Great Wall”.  In this lecture, Mr. Gray speaks of his amazing 4,000km journey trekking along and documenting all of the Great Wall of China, as well as the environmental challenges the Earth is likely to face in the future. His journey on the Great Wall of China has since been published as a travel book titled First Pass Under Heaven and into a documentary titled Great Wall of China Trek: Overseas Experience, which aired on the National Geographic Channel.

Mr. Gray began his journey on the Great Wall with four team members from drastically different backgrounds.  His partners included a Buddhist Monk from Singapore, a recording artist from Italy, a photo journalist from Argentina and a Mormon golfer from New Zealand.  Mr. Gray discusses the adventures the group faced on the Great Wall, over-coming blizzards, lightning strikes, starvation, police and army detention, to complete their adventure on the world’s largest man-made structure.  

He also explores various environmental challenges the Earth is likely to face heading into the upcoming decade and beyond.  Drawing on insights from his own travel expeditions and his three books, Mr. Gray discusses water shortage, overpopulation and ecosystem demise, and the political leadership required to overcome such issues.  In the lecture, he uses video clips, slide shows and native songs from his New Zealand homeland to showcase his discussions.

Nathan Hotorua Gray is a certified lawyer in New Zealand.  He holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations and a L.L.B. from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.  He has worked for over 20 years as a freelance journalist writing for magazines such as National Geographic, TNT UK, Hollywood’s P3 Update and New Zealand’s Tu Mai Magazine.  He is also a member of the New Zealand Arts Council’s Board.