Helen Thayer inspires the Snoqualmie Valley Women in Business every time she visits. Thayer gives her “Walking Africa” talk, 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 10, at the Women in Business lunch, held at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, 36005 S.E. Ridge St. Cost is $30.

To learn more, contact Robin M. Clark at differentialmath@comcast.net or call (425) 442-1878. Or, visit www.svwib.com.

Helen and her husband Bill have walked over 12,000 miles in Africa, studying centuries-old indigenous cultures. They lived with the Masaai, Berbers, Dakoda and Bushmen. In their time with the various tribes they experienced up-close encounters with African wildlife.

Helen’s “Walking Africa” program is a National Geographic display of all “big five” animals including elephants, lions, cheetah and leopards. See numerous species of African birds and many unique African landscapes from the vast Sahara sand dunes to the endless Serengeti grasslands.

Thayer is a New Zealand-born explorer. At 50, she became the first woman to travel solo to the magnetic North Pole, pulling her own sled without resupply. She travelled on foot, with no outside help. She continues to develop educational programs with her husband Bill, a retired helicopter pilot.

Thayer is the author of Polar Dream: The First Solo Expedition by a Woman and Her Dog to the Magnetic North Pole, Three Among the Wolves: A year of Friendship with Wolves in the Wild, & Trekking the Gobi: Desert of Dreams & Despair.

She has received the Northwest Explorer’s Club’s Vancouver Award, & the Robert Henning Award from the Alaskan Geographic Alliance for exploration & education.

Find out more at helenthayer.com