Howick Falls, KwaZulu-Natal, plunging over a basalt cliff into the gorge

Expedition 2027 · South Africa & Lesotho

Three FallsProject

Three Waterfalls. Three Challenges. One Mission.

Mark Farmer

The Story Become a Partner

Howick Falls, KwaZulu-Natal. Where it started in 1998.

Mark Farmer as a young boy on his first motorbike — Childhood. Where the obsession started.

Why?

Some falls change history.

Bikes ran in the family long before Howick did. Obsessed from age seven, surrounded by cousins who lived on two wheels. My first abseil came in 1994, off a quarry face in Tonbridge. That was the moment that pulled me toward extreme sports for good.

On Thursday 9 July 1998, I went down Howick Falls facing forward, with a bicycle between my legs. Nearly thirty years later, I'm going back to finish what that day started.

Three waterfalls. Two countries. One mission.

On the record

The man who cycled down Howick Falls.

The local Herald covered the 1998 ride, then marked it again fifteen years later. The first chapter is already in print.

Newspaper feature: 15 years ago today, the day a man cycled down the Howick Falls — The Herald · 15 years on, 2013

The expedition

The Three Falls

The return

Howick Falls

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Back to where it began in 1998. A return to the falls that started everything, this time with the team beside me.

World record attempt

Maletsunyane Falls

Semonkong, Lesotho

A single drop of close to 200 metres into a basalt gorge in the Lesotho highlands. The first of two world-record attempts.

World record attempt

Tugela Falls

Drakensberg, South Africa

Among the highest waterfalls on earth, falling in tiers off the Amphitheatre escarpment. The final challenge.

Mark Farmer in freefall with two other skydivers over the Arizona desert

The mission

Three falls. Two world records.

Howick The return to 1998, with the team.
Maletsunyane World record attempt one.
Tugela World record attempt two.

Skydive, rope and helicopter, filmed as a documentary from first training jump to the final descent. The record goes on the team, not on one name.

The road to 2027

Expedition timeline

1998Howick Falls
The original ride. Facing forward, bicycle between the legs.
Oct 2026Project launched
Team assembled. Partner conversations open.
Dec 2026Development funding & kit
Canopies and equipment ordered. They take around six months to build.
Early 2027Training
Refresher jumps, hop-and-pops, high-altitude work.
2027Recon & expedition
South Africa and Lesotho. Three falls, on camera.

The cause

Bigger than the drop.

Every partner and every donation backs three causes close to home.

ADHD support for children

In Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay. The town I grew up in.

Suicide awareness

Getting people talking before it's too late.

Skydiving bereavement fund

For families who have lost someone to the sport.

Mark Farmer abseiling a cliff face on Table Mountain above Cape Town — Table Mountain, Cape Town

About

Meet Mark Farmer.

Chef
Skydiver
Explorer
Abseiler

Raised in Hout Bay, Cape Town. Twenty years as a private chef on superyachts and estates. Skydiver, abseiler, adventurer, and the man who rode a bicycle down Howick Falls.

This is more than an expedition. It's a personal mission to inspire, to challenge, and to give back.

In the field