In 1997 at the age of 16, Tarka took a bicycle out of a skip, put it back together in the school design lab and began a 1000km journey to the south of France. He has since gone on to attempt and accomplish some of the most astonishing expeditions.

In 2004 after almost 4 years of planning and preparation he became the second person in history to attempt to trek to both the North and South Poles solo and consecutively. Sadly the expedition ran into financial difficulties before the poles could be reached. As devastating as it was to see 4 years of work finish in this way Tarka learnt skills and met people along the way that have gone on to help shape his life. He has every intention of returning to finish his quest for the Poles when he manages to raise the funds again.

Tarka’s life journey has not exactly been a shining example of uncompromising success. In fact failure became his driving force for a number of years. In 2006, as part of the EverestMax expedition, he set out to join an elitist group and summit the world’s highest mountain on earth without oxygen. During this expedition, at more than 7km above sea level on the highest and most inhospitable mountain on earth, Mt Everest, he developed High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). Conquering the fear of failure and adapting to challenges and change allows ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results.

This extraordinarily brave young man is an accomplished speaker in both English and French. He gives inspirational presentations where he challenges and inspires his audience to re-focus their goals to achieve success by sharing his setbacks, visions and achievements.

Tarka tailors his talks to the personnel of companies, schools/colleges and universities, and after dinner speaking. Every talk is designed to suit a specific audience, with general themes revolving around ‘Achieving your Goals’, ‘Dealing with Setbacks’ and ‘Inspiration and Motivation’. When presenting to schools, the presentations can be adapted to provide a more educational content, bringing in topics such as weather patterns or glaciers, for example. Tarka takes time to ensure he fully understands the speaking/conference themes and will gather company and industry specific information in order to present to the client’s exact requirements. Above all, his presentations are full of energy and enthusiasm and are informative and interactive.

Extracts from Tarka’s Mt Everest diary, show just one example of the adverse conditions and obstacles he has to overcome in a bid to reach his goals.

….. ‘To my total astonishment when I awoke the following morning, I stepped out to go to breakfast and fell flat on my face. After careful consideration and several attempts I was over-come with concern, here I was 7200m up Mt. Everest and I couldn’t use my legs!’….. To add to my concerns we had also received a weather report and the biggest storm of the year had just reared its ugly little head and there was no way of moving until it had passed.’….

….. ‘On my way to the Nepalese border where a helicopter was waiting to get me to hospital our second problem arose, an avalanche caused from the recent storm prevented our progress for yet another day and a very cold night….. others who were suffering from similar condition, were sadly slipping away around me’…..

….. ‘Nepal had been declared in a state of “Curfew” in a pre-emptive civil war….. On my arrival at the airport I was left on a deserted runway. I staggered and stumbled my way through the empty streets hands held high as military officers had the right to shoot anyone on the streets in daylight hours. I kept sheepishly answering apologies as I skulked off with the extremely limited amount of mobility that was very slowly returning to my legs’….

…. ‘Back in England my support crew were organizing my way out after release from hospital. After 12 hours of solid phone calls they had got me on a flight for the following morning. So very hungry and with no money to pay the airport tax I relied on the goodwill of fellow travelers. Looking in the state that I did, they were more than happy to take pity on me. This was not in my favour however, when boarding the plane, as airport staff were convinced that I was drunk due to my lack of coordination and unsteady walk‘….

To book speaking engagements, it would be appreciated, for reasons of best working practice, if clients who have been introduced to Tarka through an agency or speaking bureau continue to book through that channel. If this is not the case then please contact Primal Journey’s speaking representative Caroline Rose.