When it comes to adventure, geographic achievements and humanitarian efforts, it’s hard to outdo South Africa’s father-and-son explorers, Kingsley (Top image) and Ross Holgate and their veteran team, who have recently completed their 41st expedition. This latest quest – a year-long, 62,000-kilometre journey called ‘Afrika Odyssey’ – reached some of the wildest and most remote regions on the continent. Utilising two diesel-powered Defender 130s, the Holgate expedition team endured extreme weather and brutal terrain on a mission to connect 22 diverse wildlife areas in 12 countries spanning more than 20-million hectares, which are managed by conservation NGO African Parks in partnership with national governments.
“Over the past 30 years, we’ve witnessed the frightening loss of Africa’s pristine landscapes and iconic wildlife,” said Kingsley. “For many years we’ve been asking the question: is there hope for Africa’s wild spaces and unique fauna and flora, as well as for the communities that depend on them? That’s what spawned the idea for this expedition.”
“The good news is we’ve seen first-hand, the incredible work being done across Africa to protect and restore vast tracts of wilderness, and stop wildlife poaching, illegal logging and mining. We’ve heard gut-wrenching, personal stories of loss from rangers on the front line, alongside uplifting stories of hope that bear witness to the revival happening thanks to proactive governments, and the positive impact this is having on both conservation and communities.”
The expedition had to traverse 22 countries to reach all geographic locations. Starting in the Iona desert plains of Angola, it crossed seven southern African countries, reached the highest and furthest source of the Nile in the Nyungwe forests of Rwanda, tackled dense rainforests in the DRC and Republic of Congo and war-ravaged regions in South Sudan and the CAR, traversed the length of Cameroon to reach Chad and the Ennedi massif in the Sahara Desert close to the border with Libya, before navigating through volatile areas of Nigeria to reach the north of Benin in West Africa, which is on the frontline of jihadist insurgency spilling over from Burkina Faso and Niger.
“Never before have we experienced such harsh and difficult conditions,” said Kingsley’s son Ross, who has taken on the mantle of expedition leader. “From record flooding in Uganda and the DRC that turned dirt tracks into rivers, to pothole-infested, treacherous roads to reach Juba in South Sudan, which is prone to banditry and land mines. Some routes were just a whirlwind of chaos as were remote border crossings, many of which had seldom seen overland travellers. Throw into the mix the world’s largest desert, the Sahara: now that’s a test for man and machine, as temperatures soared well over 50°C day after day. It was a constant job of inflating and deflating tyres as sand dunes gave way to sharp rocks; we were amazed at how the heavily-loaded Defenders just kept on going, despite the extreme heat and terrain.”
The expedition also provided humanitarian support to 100,000 people in communities adjacent to each wildlife area, in particular malaria prevention for pregnant women and mothers with young children.
“The unusually high rainfall in East and Central Africa has escalated malaria cases, especially amongst pregnant women and young children. Tragically, statistics show that on average, 1320 children die daily from this killer disease,” continued Ross.
“But sometimes, it felt like we were risking our lives to save lives, as every member of the expedition team also contracted malaria. We know from personal experience just how deadly malaria can be, so along with education on malaria prevention, we distributed more than 15,880 long lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets. With one mosquito net protecting on average a mum and two children, that’s 47,650 people kept safe from malaria on this expedition alone.”
In addition, 2250 eye tests and reading glasses were provided to poor-sighted people in deeply remote areas. “It’s incredibly heartwarming to witness the transformation a simple pair of spectacles makes especially for elderly people, as they are able to become productive members of their communities again,” observed Kingsley.
He went on to explain that the expedition also reached thousands of children through a vibrant, educational Wildlife Art programme, saying, “Children are the future guardians of these critically important natural areas, so it’s important they know from an early age about the values of caring for their environment.”
African symbolism is always a key element. The Holgate’s well-travelled Zulu calabash collected symbolic water from all 22 locations and the expedition carried a 250-page ‘Scroll of Hope for Conservation’, which now contains thousands of inspiring messages handwritten by community members, park rangers, health workers, teachers and government envoys across Africa. This enormous book has been handed over to African Parks as a unique legacy of the Afrika Odyssey expedition.
“When we started out on this mission to find stories of hope for Africa’s wildlife, wild spaces and the communities that depend on them, to be honest we weren’t sure what to expect – or if we’d find anything to celebrate.” said Ross.
“We found plenty. Despite the incredibly tough conditions, we feel very privileged to have journeyed to parts of the continent that we’ve never experienced before, and to have met thousands of extraordinary individuals all committed to preserving what makes Africa so unique and special, for future generations.”
Afrika Odyssey Expedition Country List:
1. South Africa
2. Namibia
3. Angola
4. Botswana
5. Zimbabwe
6. Mozambique
7. Malawi
8. Zambia
9. Tanzania
10. Rwanda
11. Uganda
12. Democratic Republic of Congo
13. South Sudan
14. Cabinda (Angola)
15. Republic of Congo
16. Central African Republic
17. Cameroon
18. Chad
19. Nigeria
20. Benin
21. Togo
22. Ghana
WHO IS KINGSLEY HOLGATE?
Known as the ‘Greybeard of Adventure’, Kingsley Holgate is one of the world’s most respected and colourful modern-day explorers. A humanitarian, adventurer, author, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Land Rover Ambassador, Kingsley holds the unique distinction of having explored all 54 countries on the African continent, including all the island states.
His lifetime of journeys has taken him on foot, in open boats, by traditional Swahili dhow and Land Rover to some of the remotest and most dangerous regions in the world. He’s survived malaria more than 50 times and terrifying interrogations by some of Africa’s most notorious rebel leaders.
With his son Ross and a veteran expedition team, Kingsley holds another distinction: completing 40 humanitarian and geographic expeditions during the past 30 years – many of them world-firsts – across Africa and beyond.
World-first Expeditions include:
• From the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) to Alexandria and the mouth of the Nile (Egypt) following the waterways of Africa (1992-1993).
• Around the world by Land Rover along the Tropic of Capricorn (1996-1997).
• Tracking the entire outline of Africa through 33 countries in 449 days (2007-2008)
• Discovery of the geographic centre point of Africa, verified by the International Geographic Union (2015).
• First exploration team in history to reach all 7 of Africa’s extreme geographic points, after completing the Extreme East Expedition to Somalia (2017).
• The first ‘Hot Cape to Cold Cape’ transcontinental journey in 30 years to traverse Africa through the disputed territories of South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan and successfully reach Nordkapp, the most northern point of Europe in Norway’s Arctic Circle (2021-2022).
• Since 2021, all Kingsley Holgate expeditions are carbon-neutral, through the planting of thousands of indigenous trees in the eastern Cape as part of the Albany Biodiversity Corridor.
What makes Kingsley and his team even more unique is their enduring humanitarian theme of ‘using adventure to improve and save lives’ through:
• Malaria Prevention and Education – support to vulnerable pregnant women and young children.
• Water Purification – Provision of clean drinking water to water-scarce communities.
• Mashozi’s Rite to Sight – distribution of reading glasses to poor-sighted people in remote communities.
• Conservation & Communities – protection of Africa’s endangered wildlife and biodiversity.
• Early Childhood Development – Transforming underprivileged ECD centres into ‘centres of hope’.
To date, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation has assisted over 4 million people throughout Africa and beyond.
Kingsley is the author of five books on African travel and adventure. His latest, ‘Africa – a Love Affair with a Continent’ was published in 2018; the limited-edition print sold out in six months.
Kingsley and Ross were both born in South Africa and live on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal. For more details, please visit: www.kingsleyholgate.com.
Pictured here: Benin AP HQ - Kingsley and regional manager Hughes Akpona with scroll.
ABOUT AFRICAN PARKS:
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that assumes responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. African Parks manages 22 national parks and protected areas in 12 countries covering over 20 million hectares in Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Read more here: www.africanparks.org
African Parks is a non-profit conservation organisation that assumes responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments and local communities. African Parks manages 22 national parks and protected areas in 12 countries covering over 20 million hectares in Angola, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Read more here: www.africanparks.org
Supplied.