THE wilds of an African desert and a stretch of land not for nothing called the 'Skeleton Coast' is the setting for a charity trek by a woman from South Tawton.

Jo Binns, aged 26, is embarking on a 19-day expedition along one of Africa's most rugged and challenging coastlines, writes Steve Ballinger.

The University of Bath sport and exercise science graduate and former England netball player is a member of a 12-strong team tackling the 400km trek along Namibia's Skeleton Coast, which gets underway today (Thursday).

It is believed the expedition will be the first to tackle the trek without the assistance of a support team in vehicles or on camels. Jo is the youngest member of the team.

This northern part of the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia and south of Angola has been called by the bushmen of Namibia 'The Land God Made in Anger' while Portuguese sailors once referred to it as 'The Gates of Hell.'

The coastline itself is, said organisers, unexplored, rugged and restricted to 300 miles of nothing but sand and sea,

But this reputation will not put off the team's plan to cross the Namib Desert, where temperatures soar to 35 C during the day and drop to -5 C at night.

The team will carry everything they need for their trek on their own backs and will walk for eight hours each day then spend five hours each evening pumping salt water from the sea to drink.

Jo, who is raising money for Combat Stress during the walk, played for the TeamBath netball team this season but since March has been coaching and preparing for the Namibian trek.

The former South Tawton Primary School pupil said she will be on tenterhooks in Namibia to find out whether the team can capture a third successive title and a fifth title overall.

She said: 'I won't know how the team are doing, and that's going to be really tough. As soon as I get off the desert at the end of the expedition I'll be straight on the internet to see how we did.'

Jo admits to having something of a passion for Africa and has already taken part in the netball development programmes in Botswana, Ethiopia, Lesotho and South Africa. But her Namibia jaunt will be somewhat different.

'I'm somewhere between nervous and excited,' she said. 'When you go to something like a World Championships you feel comfortable and well prepared because you've been playing netball for years. You know what to expect. This is a complete unknown, which is a bit terrifying.

'I wanted to do this challenge because it's a unique opportunity to go to one of the most remote places in the world. There's no real chance of seeing anyone outside the team when we're walking.'

Jo, who coached the TeamBath Toucans netball team this season, has been working for England Netball and the University of Bath as regional Excel coach for the South West.

When she returns from Namibia she will be joining the British Army as an Officer Cadet and will undergo training at Sandhurst. As part of her degree, Jo spent a year on an undergraduate work placement as a Second Lieutenant with the British Army with 9 Supply Regiment Royal Logistics Corp in Hullavington, Wiltshire. For more information on the trek visit http://www.skeletoncoastexpedition.com">www.skeletoncoastexpedition.com or to support Jo via her Just Giving page http://www.justgiving.com/jo-binns">www.justgiving.com/jo-binns