Afrika Odyssey - update on the Kingsley Holgate Expedition

Legendary South Africa-based explorer Kingsley Holgate and his team are two-thirds of the way through their 41st humanitarian and geographic expedition which began in June 2023, and are now gearing up to reach some of the wildest and most isolated regions in central, north and west Africa.

Utilising new Defender 130s, the Afrika Odyssey expedition that began in June 2023, has already surpassed 40,000 kilometres along some of the most treacherous routes in Africa, withstanding torrential rains, excessive heat, and record floods in the past eight months.

This expedition is delving into the wild heart of 12 diverse African countries and has a strong conservation, culture, and community focus. The aim is to reach 22 unique wildlife reserves, managed by the conservation NGO African Parks in partnership with the government of each country.

“Over the past 30 years of adventuring in every country on the continent, we’ve come to realise that Africa’s iconic biodiversity and wildlife is under immense threat,” said Kingsley. “For a long time, we’ve been asking the question: is there hope for Africa’s wild spaces as well as the people who depend on it, in the face of burgeoning global demand for natural resources?”

“That’s what spawned the idea for this expedition and there’s good news. We’ve been privileged to see first-hand the incredible work being done to protect and restore vast tracts of wilderness and the frontline fight against criminal networks that profit from illegal trade in wildlife, 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 in many countries thanks to proactive governments, and the positive impact it is having on both wildlife and neighbouring communities.”

The expedition has now reached 15 of the 22 wildlife regions on their list. Starting in the northern tip of the Namib desert at Iona National Park in south-western Angola, it has journeyed through nine national parks in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi; reached the furthest and highest source of the White Nile in the mountainous rainforests of Nyungwe in Rwanda; tackled a difficult route to two remote wildlife parks in South Sudan; and nearly lost the expedition Defenders to the worst floods in 20 years at Garamba national park in the remote north-eastern corner of the DRC. 

The Afrika Odyssey expedition is also providing humanitarian support to communities living alongside these wildlife regions. “Unusually high rainfall in the East and Central African regions have escalated malaria cases, especially in young children and babies,” said expedition leader Ross Holgate. “The whole team also contracted malaria whilst in East Africa and we know from personal experience how deadly malaria can be. So, we’ve distributed over 7,600 long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets to date on this journey. With one mosquito net protecting on average a mum and two children, that’s nearly 23,000 people safe from malaria.”

“We’ve also provided 1,800 reading glasses to poor-sighted, mostly elderly people in these isolated areas. Additionally, conservation education forms an integral part of this expedition. Through our Wildlife Art programme, we’ve helped educate thousands of children living alongside African Parks-managed protected areas about the values of caring for their environment. They are the future guardians of these wildlife gems and it’s important to pass on the baton of conservation, to ensure they continue to benefit from Africa’s wildlife resources in the coming years.”

“Ahead lies the most difficult part of the expedition, to reach seven wildlife regions in Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad and Benin,” continued Ross. “We’ll be tackling dense rainforest conditions, difficult river crossings, vast desert and rocky mountain terrain where water and fuel will be hard to come by, as well as potential security threats. The logistical issues for this chapter are extreme.”

Veteran expedition member ‘Shova Mike’ Nixon, one of only three people in the world to have completed all 19 Cape Epic mountain bike races, will attempt to cycle 600 kilometres on a specially-adapted Evo-bike through Chad’s Sahel and Sahara desert to reach the World Heritage Site of Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve near the Libyan border. 

“Ennedi is said to be the most beautiful part of the Sahara but I’m expecting a hard, physical test with powdery soft sand and temperatures above 40’C,” said Mike. “From what I’ve researched, this route hasn’t been attempted before by bicycle; hopefully it becomes another ‘first’ that adds an extra level of adventure and excitement to the expedition.”

The Afrika Odyssey’s Scroll for Conservation – with hundreds of pages already filled with inspiring messages from community leaders and beneficiaries, park rangers, conservation partners and government envoys –  will also complete the journey, as will the well-travelled Zulu calabash that is collecting symbolic water from all 22 African Parks-managed protected areas.

“We trust that the Zen of Travel will continue to ride with us,” concluded Kingsley. “We need to showcase the inspirational potential of Africa’s people and wild places – it is not all doom and gloom. We’re raring to go for chapter three of this incredible journey, continuing the humanitarian work, and meeting more passionate individuals who are dedicating their lives to this beautiful continent’s wild heart and rural communities.

Follow the expedition on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KingsleyHolgateFoundation

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Going Wild With Hope – Kingsley Holgate Sets Off On Legendary 41st Expedition.

Africa’s renowned explorer Kingsley Holgate and his expedition team set off on a challenging new humanitarian and geographic odyssey on Wednesday 21 June, this time to reach some of the wildest and most isolated regions on the African continent.

Less than a year after completing the gruelling 35,000-kilometre, 30-country ‘Hot Cape – Cold Cape’ transcontinental journey from Cape Agulhas on the southern tip of Africa to Nordkapp in Norway’s Arctic Circle, the 77-year-old explorer is stil not ready to hang up his expedition boots. Instead, he and his team are on a quest to highlight the importance of conserving Africa’s iconic wildlife and remaining natural landscapes and draw attention to the needs of local communities living alongside these remote protected areas.

“During 40 expeditions to all 55 countries in Africa over the past 30 years, we’ve grown to deeply appreciate Africa’s unique biodiversity and iconic wildlife, which are now under immense threat,” said Kingsley. “The continent-wide decimation of endangered animals such as elephant and rhino and the destruction of vast tracts of pristine forests, wetlands and grasslands that are home to thousands of other wildlife species don’t make the headlines anymore; it’s become too much doom and gloom.”

“For many years, we’ve been asking the question: where can one find hope for Africa’s critically needed wild spaces and irreplaceable fauna and flora, as well as the communities that depend on them? Thankfully, there are powerful and positive stories emerging from across the African continent – uplifting narratives that need to be told. Through this new expedition, we hope to draw attention to the incredible work that’s being done.”

In a unique collaboration with the conservation NGO African Parks, Afrika Odyssey – the 41st Kingsley Holgate geographic and humanitarian expedition – is a legacy journey-of-purpose with a ‘conservation, culture and community’ theme. Estimated to take 18 months, the expedition will follow an adventure-filled, chapter-by-chapter route on a challenging journey into the wild heart of 12 diverse African countries.  

Departing from South Africa on 21 June after a vibrant African send-off from the Lesedi Cultural Village in the Cradle of Humankind, the Afrika Odyssey expedition aims to showcase the inspiring revival of 22 national parks under the management of African Parks and encompassing 20million hectares under protected area status, which form the backbone of the continent’s biodiversity and benefits many thousands of people. 

It will also be the first, real-life test on African soil for Land Rover’s new Defender 130. The expedition’s two long-wheel-base expedition Defender 130s will be tackling an estimated 30,000 kilometres over some of the harshest terrain and off-road routes on the African continent. 

“This expedition is going to be one of our most challenging journeys ever attempted,” said Ross Holgate, Kingsley’s son and the expedition’s leader, who has also explored every country in Africa and beyond, including a round-the-world expedition to track the Tropic of Capricorn and a world-first journey from Cape Town to Kathmandu in Nepal across the deserts and high Himalayan mountain ranges of Asia.”

“It’s not just the long distances we’ll be travelling on dirt roads, goat tracks and probably no tracks to reach all of the Parks that are, understandably, in very isolated regions and in difficult-to-reach terrain,” Ross explained. “We’ll also be tackling dense Congo forests, heart-in-mouth, seat-of-your-pants river crossings, vast desert and rocky mountain terrain where water and fuel will be hard to come by, and wetlands that are near-impassable, especially in rainy seasons. The logistical issues of this expedition are extreme, to say the least.”

Starting in the ancient Namib desert of Iona National Park in the south-west corner of Angola, the journey will encompass Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, Rwanda, DRC, the Republic of Congo and Central African Republic, South Sudan and Chad in north Africa, and conclude in Benin, west Africa. 

The Afrika Odyssey expedition will document ancient indigenous cultures, traditions and historic places of interest on its continent-wide journey. And, in the words of often unheard indigenous communities who depend on the survival of Africa’s natural landscapes, the expedition will record authentic and powerful stories of hope to create an enduring archive of positive, grassroots narratives in support of conservation from across Africa.

The expedition team will also provide humanitarian support to communities alongside all 22 African Parks through malaria prevention and education for pregnant women and mothers with young children in high-risk malaria areas; eye-tests and reading glasses for poor-sighted, mostly elderly people; and conservation-focussed education for school children to instill a passion for protecting Africa’s iconic wildlife.

Carrying a Scroll of Peace and Goodwill for Conservation to all 22 parks in 12 countries, the team will collect messages of support from traditional leaders, local community beneficiaries, park rangers, conservation partners, government envoys, VIPs and other supporters met all along the way. 

“Thriving and dynamic wild spaces have always been the genesis of life-giving water, clean air, food, health and income for humanity. Without them, millions of people are destined to lives of poverty, malnutrition, sickness and inequality,” said Kingsley. “But it doesn’t have to be this way and this expedition aims to showcase the inspirational potential of Africa’s wild places and people.” 

The expedition’s name ‘Afrika Odyssey’ and logo has special significance, as it is a revival of the very first big expedition undertaken by the Kingsley Holgate family in 1993, when they became the first South African expedition team to travel from Cape Agulhas to Alexandria in Egypt along the wild waterways of Africa. 30 years later, they’ve been revived to celebrate this 41st geographic and humanitarian journey for Kingsley Holgate, Africa’s renowned and much-loved modern-day explorer. 

To keep abreast of the expedition’s journey, follow the Kingsley Holgate Foundation Facebook page, as well as updates and stories published by Africa Geographic and African Parks.  

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Holgate Defender Transcontinental Expedition reaches Alexandria, Egypt

Seven months after leaving Cape Agulhas, the Kingsley Holgate Defender Transcontinental Expedition has reached its geographic half-way point in Alexandria, Egypt, becoming the first exploration team in 30 years to cross the African continent from south to north through the disputed, hostile territories of Sudan.

Travelling in three New Defenders, this geographic and humanitarian expedition aims to cover 30 countries on its route from the southern tip of the African continent to the northern-most point of Europe at Nordkapp in Norway’s Arctic Circle, and then through Europe to reach Anglesey in Wales.

The core six-member team is made up of expedition leader Ross Holgate and his wife Anna, Kingsley Holgate and partner Sheelagh, Mike and Fiona Nixon, and assisted by African expedition members in each country who help with local knowledge and language. The team not only had to deal with mountains of paperwork related to overland travel in Africa, sharply rising fuel prices and the high costs and logistical challenges of Covid-19 restrictions and PCR tests at every border crossing, but also survived life-threatening situations and extreme hardships on the journey from South Africa to Egypt.

Four of the core team became extremely ill with malaria in East Africa as the route through Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda coincided with heavy rains and flooding in areas where malaria is rampant. On reaching South Sudan, the expedition needed a military escort to the capital of Juba and government permission to traverse regions further north where armed attacks and inter-tribal uprisings are common, particularly in areas where thousands of South Sudanese have been displaced by extensive flooding and conflict and live in UN-supported IDP camps. One occasion saw Ross and Anna Holgate ambushed by hostile soldiers; another resulted in Mike Nixon, who is cycling large sections of the expedition route, manhandled off his bike by belligerent police personnel.

The disputed, UN-controlled, oil-rich region of Abyei between South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan threw another set of dangerous challenges at the expedition. With the border between the two countries closed, no foreign travellers have attempted this route in 30 years but it was the only option available for the expedition, as the civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region blocked the alternative route north into Sudan. Soon after setting out from a large UN military compound, the team drove straight into conflict as the Abyei region erupted in unrest between militia from the Christian south and Moslem north and inter-tribal clashes.

After running a gauntlet of illegal roadblocks, being chased by heavily armed guerrillas demanding a ransom in US dollars, and narrowly missing being caught in an attack on a village market that left over 40 people dead, the expedition was forced off the road by the Republic of Sudan military. The team spent three days under arrest at an army base near the disputed border area before being allowed to continue to Khartoum, where they were delayed for a further seven days awaiting permission from the military coup government to travel on to Egypt.

The expedition’s route through the Bayuda and Nubian Deserts of northern Sudan saw daytime temperatures exceed 50’C and the team rationing water and fuel to reach Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border, before continuing onto Cairo, traversing the Western Desert, and ultimately reaching Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast.

‘This expedition is the first long-distance, real-life test for the new Land Rover Defender and in the dangerous situations we experienced, our lives certainly depended on the three vehicles,’ said Ross Holgate. ‘If the two P400s and diesel-powered D300 had not performed – if any of them had had a single glitch when we were driving hell-for-leather to get away from the militia and their guns – or if they weren’t able to tackle the difficult terrain that the expedition confronted – weeks of torrential rain, flooding rivers and thick mud, rocky mountain passes, hundreds of kilometres of untarred dirt roads churned into bonnet-level-deep trenches by convoys of UN aid trucks, not to mention continuous days of mind-numbing heat, dust and desert sands – we would never have made it to Alexandria, let alone be alive and looking forward to the second half of the expedition.’

Despite the challenges, the expedition remained true to its geographic objectives. In particular, following the White Nile on its 6,650Km journey from Lake Victoria to Murchison Falls and Lake Albert in Uganda, through South Sudan to the impenetrable Sudd, reaching the confluence of the White and Blue Niles at Omdurman in Sudan, tracking the river’s winding route through the Nubian Desert to explore the ancient pyramids, tombs and temples of the Kushite Kingdom of the Black Pharaohs, and crossing the Aswan Dam in Egypt before finally reaching the Nile Delta at Alexandria.

This expedition is the 40th for renowned explorer Kingsley Holgate and like all his previous expeditions, is also a humanitarian journey of purpose.  ‘Sometimes, it was a case of risking lives to save and improve lives,’ said Kingsley, ‘but we stuck to our aim of providing humanitarian support to 300,000 people en route through Africa. Thanks to the support of Land Rover and other key partners, I’m glad to say we achieved it.’

Before crossing into Mozambique, the expedition reached the milestone of providing two million meals of nutritional support and early childhood development teaching materials to children at 130 rural creches, upgrading 20 of the most dilapidated, and completed projects to supply thousands of community residents with clean drinking water in water-scarce areas of northern KwaZulu-Natal.

In Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan, the expedition worked with long-term partners Goodbye Malaria and in-country hospitals, churches, schools and community clinics on malaria prevention, providing educational material and distributing tens of thousands of Vestergaard high-quality, insecticide-treated malaria nets to pregnant women and mothers with young children who are the most vulnerable.

Throughout the expedition’s seven-month journey from South Africa to Egypt, the team also provided eye-tests and distributed thousands of pairs of reading glasses to mostly elderly, poor-sighted people in remote communities as part of their Mashozi’s Rite to Sight programme. ‘The need for sight is so great in the outlying regions we travel through – we will never forget the joy and instant change a simple pair of spectacles makes to someone’s life,’ said Sheelagh Antrobus, Kingsley’s partner. ‘Whether it was with a church community in Malawi, or working under a mango tree helping senior members of the towering Dinka people and their big-horned cattle in South Sudan, or being allowed into the inner sanctum of a deeply religious, desert-dwelling Moslem community near the Siwa Oasis during Eid celebrations to assist the heavily-veiled women folk – every experience was unforgettable and humbling.’

‘The diversity of cultures and landscapes on this expedition through Africa has been truly astonishing,’ continued Kingsley. ‘From Easter celebrations and church bells to Ramadan calls to prayer and the feast of Eid, from torrential rains to drought, from the vibrancy of southern Africa to the wildlife-rich savannahs of East Africa and the harsh, ancient deserts of Sudan and Egypt – we’ve been truly privileged. Despite the difficulties of crossing the two Sudans, we’ve been met at every turn with kindness, generosity and friendship; the expedition’s Scroll of Peace and Goodwill is already half-full of wonderful messages of hope in every language.’

Ahead lies the shipping of the three now battle-hardened Defenders across the Mediterranean to Greece and the second leg of the expedition through Eastern Europe to Nordkapp in Norway’s Arctic Circle. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown a major challenge at the geographic objectives of the expedition’s European chapter.

‘The ongoing situation in Ukraine is not only deeply upsetting but has forced us to do a complete re-think,’ explained Ross. ‘Our planned route included both countries; we were so looking forward to exploring Ukraine, reaching the Black Sea, and tackling off-the-beaten-tracks to get to Moscow and St Petersburg. Obviously, that’s now out of the question but there are still plenty of fascinating Eastern European countries to experience.

‘The entire expedition team remains focussed on reaching Nordkapp and finishing this, the first ‘Hot Cape to Cold Cape’ journey in recent years. From there, we’ll traverse Scandinavia and Western Europe, cross the Channel into the UK and end on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, where 75 years ago, the first Land Rover design was sketched in the sands of Red Wharf Bay by engineer Maurice Wilks in 1947.  It will be a world-first expedition, especially for the new Land Rover Defender.’

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New Transcontinental Expedition for Kingsley Holgate Team

New Transcontinental Expedition for Kingsley Holgate Team

With international travel restrictions easing after 20 months of Covid-19 lockdown, South Africa’s renowned Kingsley Holgate exploration team have revealed the launch date for their new, year-long transcontinental expedition.

Called the Defender Transcontinental Expedition and departing on 27 October from Cape Agulhas, it promises to be one of their most challenging geographic and humanitarian journeys to date: a 30,000-kilometre expedition through 30 countries from the southern tip of the African continent to the most northern point of Europe and then on to the mystical Isle of Anglesey in Wales.

“All adventurers will agree, it’s time to move again,” said well-known explorer and author Kingsley Holgate, who, with his experienced team, has already completed 39 gruelling expeditions to every country on the African continent and beyond, many of them world-firsts.

“This expedition has been almost two years in the making and significantly, it will be our 40th since 1992. In April last year, after months of preparation, we were about to set off on a humanitarian ‘journey of purpose’ from the UK to South Africa as part of the global launch of Land Rover’s new Defender. But then, along came Covid-19 and put all those plans on hold. 

“So, optimistically, we decided to turn things around and add even more adventure to the route. This expedition will be the first Hot Cape to Cold Cape journey in recent years from South Africa’s Cape Agulhas to Norway’s Nordkapp in the Arctic Circle, which is the most northern point of Europe that can be reached by vehicle. It will certainly be a world-first for the new Land Rover Defender. 

“That’s just one goal. All our expeditions have the principle of ‘saving and improving lives through adventure’, so we’re keeping the journey-of-purpose theme and right from the start, will conduct humanitarian work to assist 300,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa. To offset the expedition’s carbon footprint and help combat climate change, the journey will also be linked to the establishment of spekboom thickets and tree planting along the route.”

From Egypt, the expedition will cross the Mediterranean to Greece and tackle demanding terrain on its northerly journey through Eastern Europe, Russia, Finland and Norway to reach Nordkapp. 

The route then turns south through Sweden, Denmark and Western Europe, before finally crossing the Channel into the UK and ending on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, where human occupation dates to the time of the Druids, and where the first Land Rover design was sketched in the sands of Red Wharf Bay by engineer Maurice Wilks in 1947.

The core Holgate team will be using two expedition-kitted P400 Defenders for the entire journey, with other crew members joining along the way in their own vehicles. The two Defenders are already well-travelled, having completed the Holgate’s 80-day, 16,000-kilometre Mzansi Edge Expedition last year that tracked the entire outline of South Africa, delivering humanitarian aid to remote communities during the height of South Africa’s lockdown.

“We’re not setting out to break speed records on the Hot Cape to Cold Cape section of the journey, so it’s not going to be a straight-line dash,” explained expedition leader Ross Holgate. “We’re going to seek out demanding driving conditions and tough 4x4 routes to reach iconic geographic points of interest and really put the 21st century technical capabilities of the new Defenders through their paces. 

“There are going to be some extreme challenges. The route through central and east Africa will be at the height of the ‘big rains’, so we’re expecting very wet and muddy conditions for days on end. Crossing the dry and hot Sahel and Nubian Desert through the Sudan and into Egypt will also be very testing for both man and machine. There are also geopolitical issues to face, especially in Ethiopia and the Sudan. And then, there is the route through eastern Europe to Norway; that’s going to be an all new, incredibly diverse and stimulating experience for our Africa-based expedition team, whose last transcontinental journey was from Cape Town to Kathmandu in 2018.

“Yes, it’s not an ideal time to travel across the globe but with the entire expedition team now fully vaccinated, we have to do it to get out from under the Covid-19 cloud. So many people in Africa are in desperate need of humanitarian relief and many others are craving a good, old-fashioned Land Rover adventure story after so many months of travel restrictions.”

African symbolism remains a key focus of this latest Holgate expedition. As always, their well-travelled traditional Zulu calabash has prime spot in the Defenders and will collect seawater from where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at Cape Agulhas, the expedition’s mid-point at Alexandria in Egypt on the Mediterranean, and the Norwegian and Barents Seas at Nordkapp. It will be symbolically emptied into the Irish Sea at the expedition’s endpoint at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey, Wales.

Four iconic ‘isivivanes’ (stone cairns) will be built at key points along the expedition route: Cape Agulhas, Alexandria, Nordkapp and Anglesey. 

The expedition will also be carrying a new Scroll of Peace and Goodwill from the southern point of Africa to the northern point of Europe and on to the United Kingdom, which will collect hundreds of messages of support from citizens of 30 countries for a new and more hope-filled post-Covid world.

Follow the expedition on Facebook : KingsleyHolgateFoundation

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‘Mission Accomplished’ for the Mzansi Edge Expedition

During these dark days of Covid, an expedition of hope to embrace the outline of South Africa and help those in need.

With adventures and exploits reminiscent of Jules Verne’s 1872 novel ‘Around the world in 80 days’, the Kingsley Holgate explorer team have completed the Mzansi Edge Expedition travelling in new Land Rover Defenders, by mountain bike and even on foot, on a marathon humanitarian mission that delivered over 250,000 nutritional meals to needy families still affected by the Covid-19 lockdown and clocking up more than 16,000 kilometres in 80 days.

Starting at Kosi Bay mouth in northern KwaZulu-Natal in mid-September with the filling of the Holgate’s traditional Zulu calabash that travels on every humanitarian and geographic journey, the expedition achieved the extraordinary feat of tracking South Africa’s total land borders with Mozambique, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, circumnavigating land-locked Lesotho, and following the entire length of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines from Alexander Bay in the Northern Cape back to Kosi Bay. 

The expedition ended at Kosi Bay - where it all began 80 days earlier.

Geographic objectives of the expedition included staying as close to the land borders as possible and reaching South Africa’s most eastern, northern, western and southern geographic points. The team also erected symbolic ‘isivivanes’ (stone cairns) at the six points where South Africa’s border meets two other countries and collected thimblefuls of water from 50 important water sources on Mzansi’s Edge in the Zulu calabash. Staying true to the coastal edge of the expedition’s route, they also reached 50 lighthouses along South Africa’s shoreline.

“This expedition turned out to be one of the most exceptional journeys I’ve ever undertaken without leaving my home country,” said the world-renowned explorer and author Kingsley Holgate, who with his team has completed over 30 geographic and humanitarian expeditions in Africa and beyond, many of them world-firsts. “Every day was a new adventure, and we were constantly amazed at the spectacular beauty, geographic diversity and rich history to be found all along South Africa’s borders and coastline, as well as the kindness and hospitality of people who ‘live on the edge’ of our magnificent country, and who fully embraced the expedition’s mission and pushed us along.”

The challenging route was also the first long-distance test for the recently launched Land Rover Defender on South African soil, with Kingsley and his son Ross Holgate putting two expedition-kitted new Defenders through their paces over some of the most difficult conditions on the continent. This included following the entire length of the Kruger National Park’s fence line with Mozambique; tracking the 500-kilometre straight-edge border with Namibia from Union’s End in the north of the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park to the Orange River; steep ascents and descents along the Lubombo and Makhonjwa mountain ranges and the high-altitude Drakensberg border with Lesotho; and navigating the precipitous cliffs of the Wild Coast.

“As a family, we have had the incredible opportunity to have adventured in every country in Africa but we never expected this homegrown Mzansi Edge expedition to throw so much at man and machine,” said expedition leader Ross Holgate. “Following a fence line day after day and week after week, is not easy. The road conditions were a complete mishmash: deep sand ruts, sharp jagged rocks, high Kalahari dunes, overgrown tracks and wash-aways were part of our everyday journey. We also experienced intense heat up to 50 degrees Celsius and days of endless mud and torrential rain.” 

At the Kruger National Park Mozambique border

Joining the adventurous father and son duo were Kingsley’s partner Sheelagh, Ross’s wife Anna, Kingsley’s 19-year-old grandson Tristan who is learning the ‘expedition ropes’, and expedition veteran ‘Shova Mike’ Nixon, one of only four people in the world to have completed every Absa Cape Epic, said to be the toughest mountain bike race in the world. He cycled over 4,500-kilometres of the Mzansi Edge expedition route, including a gruelling, solo 300-kilometre journey along the beaches and cliffs of the Wild Coast from Cintsa to Port St Johns. Other South African adventurers who joined the expedition for short spells included Project Rhino ambassador Richard Mabanga and mountaineers Andre Bredenkamp and Sibusiso Vilane, the first African to successfully summit Mt Everest.

Staying so close to South Africa’s borders created some interesting moments for the team. “With travel bans still in place, some of the fence lines were heavily guarded by the SADF and we had to get permission from the top military brass beforehand,” recalled Ross. “They were always supportive of the expedition’s mission, but sometimes the message wouldn’t get all the way down the line and we’d have to do some fast talking.  On one occasion, Shova Mike on his mountain bike was nearly shot when he crested a hill ahead of the Defender team and surprised a patrol unit on the lookout for border jumpers and vehicle smugglers.”

The expedition witnessed the illegal cross-border trade, particularly along the Limpopo border with Zimbabwe, where innumerable holes in the fence, well-worn tracks and a busy bush-taxi service showed it was alive and kicking. They also saw first-hand the devastation that Covid-closed border posts have wrought on local communities who rely heavily on tourism and the continent-wide trucking industry. 

“It was disturbing to see border posts like ghost towns,” said Kingsley. “No business at all – from the empty shisanyama and fruit stalls lining the road, to short-stay motels and upmarket game lodges – everything closed. The loss of income must be terrifying; it really brought home the severity of the Covid-19 lockdown and how people in these outlying areas are still struggling to put food on the table.”

“Building on our motto of using our adventures to improve and save lives, this expedition wasn’t just a geographic mission – it also had a strong humanitarian focus,” explained Ross. “Supported by Land Rover, the DoMore Foundation and our partners at Goodbye Malaria and Project Rhino, we were able to distribute well over 250,000 meals-worth of vitamin-enriched DoMore nutritional porridge, as well as thousands of facemasks, sanitizing soap and digital thermometers to early childhood development centres, orphanages and needy families all along the route, especially to those living close to game reserves who have been particularly hard-hit by the loss of tourism. It was a mammoth team effort, and we were amazed at the inner strength of so many South Africans, who seem more determined than ever to improve the lives of others during these difficult Covid times.”

SA Adventurer Sibusiso Vilane helping with humanitarian work near Songimvelo NR on Eswatini border

On the final dash from Durban Harbour to Kosi Bay, the expedition’s well-travelled Zulu calabash was borne up the coast on the National Sea Rescue Institute’s state-of-the-art ‘Alick Rennie’ vessel to Umhlanga Rocks and then flown by microlight from Ballito to the Tugela River mouth. Reuniting with the Defender convoy, it journeyed up the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, still collecting water from key river mouths and lakes in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. To mark the end of its Mzansi Edge odyssey, expedition members then carried it on a 14-kilometre beach trek from Bhanga Nek to Kosi Bay Mouth, where it was symbolically emptied at the exact point where the expedition started from 80 days previously, in a jubilant end-of-expedition ceremony. 

The expedition’s Scroll of Peace and Goodwill is full of inspirational messages from hundreds of remarkable people we met all along Mzansi’s Edge,” said Kingsley. “Especially in these difficult times, it’s been good to be reminded of the unique diversity of nature, culture and community that make up our country. Wherever possible, let’s get out there and enjoy the incredible adventure destinations South Africa has to offer, staying Covid-safe of course.”

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‘Mission Accomplished’ for the Mzansi Edge Expedition

During these dark days of Covid, an expedition of hope to embrace the outline of South Africa and help those in need.

With adventures and exploits reminiscent of Jules Verne’s 1872 novel ‘Around the world in 80 days’, the Kingsley Holgate explorer team have completed the Mzansi Edge Expedition travelling in new Land Rover Defenders, by mountain bike and even on foot, on a marathon humanitarian mission that delivered over 250,000 nutritional meals to needy families still affected by the Covid-19 lockdown and clocking up more than 16,000 kilometres in 80 days.

Starting at Kosi Bay mouth in northern KwaZulu-Natal in mid-September with the filling of the Holgate’s traditional Zulu calabash that travels on every humanitarian and geographic journey, the expedition achieved the extraordinary feat of tracking South Africa’s total land borders with Mozambique, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, circumnavigating land-locked Lesotho, and following the entire length of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines from Alexander Bay in the Northern Cape back to Kosi Bay. 

The expedition ended at Kosi Bay - where it all began 80 days earlier.

Geographic objectives of the expedition included staying as close to the land borders as possible and reaching South Africa’s most eastern, northern, western and southern geographic points. The team also erected symbolic ‘isivivanes’ (stone cairns) at the six points where South Africa’s border meets two other countries and collected thimblefuls of water from 50 important water sources on Mzansi’s Edge in the Zulu calabash. Staying true to the coastal edge of the expedition’s route, they also reached 50 lighthouses along South Africa’s shoreline.

“This expedition turned out to be one of the most exceptional journeys I’ve ever undertaken without leaving my home country,” said the world-renowned explorer and author Kingsley Holgate, who with his team has completed over 30 geographic and humanitarian expeditions in Africa and beyond, many of them world-firsts. “Every day was a new adventure, and we were constantly amazed at the spectacular beauty, geographic diversity and rich history to be found all along South Africa’s borders and coastline, as well as the kindness and hospitality of people who ‘live on the edge’ of our magnificent country, and who fully embraced the expedition’s mission and pushed us along.”

The challenging route was also the first long-distance test for the recently launched Land Rover Defender on South African soil, with Kingsley and his son Ross Holgate putting two expedition-kitted new Defenders through their paces over some of the most difficult conditions on the continent. This included following the entire length of the Kruger National Park’s fence line with Mozambique; tracking the 500-kilometre straight-edge border with Namibia from Union’s End in the north of the Kalagadi Transfrontier Park to the Orange River; steep ascents and descents along the Lubombo and Makhonjwa mountain ranges and the high-altitude Drakensberg border with Lesotho; and navigating the precipitous cliffs of the Wild Coast.

“As a family, we have had the incredible opportunity to have adventured in every country in Africa but we never expected this homegrown Mzansi Edge expedition to throw so much at man and machine,” said expedition leader Ross Holgate. “Following a fence line day after day and week after week, is not easy. The road conditions were a complete mishmash: deep sand ruts, sharp jagged rocks, high Kalahari dunes, overgrown tracks and wash-aways were part of our everyday journey. We also experienced intense heat up to 50 degrees Celsius and days of endless mud and torrential rain.” 

At the Kruger National Park Mozambique border

Joining the adventurous father and son duo were Kingsley’s partner Sheelagh, Ross’s wife Anna, Kingsley’s 19-year-old grandson Tristan who is learning the ‘expedition ropes’, and expedition veteran ‘Shova Mike’ Nixon, one of only four people in the world to have completed every Absa Cape Epic, said to be the toughest mountain bike race in the world. He cycled over 4,500-kilometres of the Mzansi Edge expedition route, including a gruelling, solo 300-kilometre journey along the beaches and cliffs of the Wild Coast from Cintsa to Port St Johns. Other South African adventurers who joined the expedition for short spells included Project Rhino ambassador Richard Mabanga and mountaineers Andre Bredenkamp and Sibusiso Vilane, the first African to successfully summit Mt Everest.

Staying so close to South Africa’s borders created some interesting moments for the team. “With travel bans still in place, some of the fence lines were heavily guarded by the SADF and we had to get permission from the top military brass beforehand,” recalled Ross. “They were always supportive of the expedition’s mission, but sometimes the message wouldn’t get all the way down the line and we’d have to do some fast talking.  On one occasion, Shova Mike on his mountain bike was nearly shot when he crested a hill ahead of the Defender team and surprised a patrol unit on the lookout for border jumpers and vehicle smugglers.”

The expedition witnessed the illegal cross-border trade, particularly along the Limpopo border with Zimbabwe, where innumerable holes in the fence, well-worn tracks and a busy bush-taxi service showed it was alive and kicking. They also saw first-hand the devastation that Covid-closed border posts have wrought on local communities who rely heavily on tourism and the continent-wide trucking industry. 

“It was disturbing to see border posts like ghost towns,” said Kingsley. “No business at all – from the empty shisanyama and fruit stalls lining the road, to short-stay motels and upmarket game lodges – everything closed. The loss of income must be terrifying; it really brought home the severity of the Covid-19 lockdown and how people in these outlying areas are still struggling to put food on the table.”

“Building on our motto of using our adventures to improve and save lives, this expedition wasn’t just a geographic mission – it also had a strong humanitarian focus,” explained Ross. “Supported by Land Rover, the DoMore Foundation and our partners at Goodbye Malaria and Project Rhino, we were able to distribute well over 250,000 meals-worth of vitamin-enriched DoMore nutritional porridge, as well as thousands of facemasks, sanitizing soap and digital thermometers to early childhood development centres, orphanages and needy families all along the route, especially to those living close to game reserves who have been particularly hard-hit by the loss of tourism. It was a mammoth team effort, and we were amazed at the inner strength of so many South Africans, who seem more determined than ever to improve the lives of others during these difficult Covid times.”

SA Adventurer Sibusiso Vilane helping with humanitarian work near Songimvelo NR on Eswatini border

On the final dash from Durban Harbour to Kosi Bay, the expedition’s well-travelled Zulu calabash was borne up the coast on the National Sea Rescue Institute’s state-of-the-art ‘Alick Rennie’ vessel to Umhlanga Rocks and then flown by microlight from Ballito to the Tugela River mouth. Reuniting with the Defender convoy, it journeyed up the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, still collecting water from key river mouths and lakes in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. To mark the end of its Mzansi Edge odyssey, expedition members then carried it on a 14-kilometre beach trek from Bhanga Nek to Kosi Bay Mouth, where it was symbolically emptied at the exact point where the expedition started from 80 days previously, in a jubilant end-of-expedition ceremony. 

The expedition’s Scroll of Peace and Goodwill is full of inspirational messages from hundreds of remarkable people we met all along Mzansi’s Edge,” said Kingsley. “Especially in these difficult times, it’s been good to be reminded of the unique diversity of nature, culture and community that make up our country. Wherever possible, let’s get out there and enjoy the incredible adventure destinations South Africa has to offer, staying Covid-safe of course.”

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Kingsley Holgate Foundation Expedition Team - Rides High on Sky in New Expedition of Mountain Passes Southern Africa

RIDING HIGH ON SKY

What better place to kick off 2020 and a bright new decade, than from the 3,262m Tlaeeng Summit in Lesotho one of the highest driveable road passes in Africa, all part of a challenging high altitude Land Rover and mountain bike Riding High on Sky Expedition by the Kingsley Holgate Foundation (KHF) Team to tackle 100 of Southern Africa’s highest and toughest mountain passes in just 30 days.

‘It’s another tough challenge for our specially kitted-out Land Rover Discoverys but mountain passes are not new to them,’ explains veteran expedition leader Ross Holgate, who heads up the Foundation. “These are the same Land Rovers that, on a recent Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition, not only completed the high Caucuses mountain passes between Georgia and Russia but also the ancient high-altitude Silk Routes across Armenia and Iran, the famed Khyber Pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Karakoram route to China, said to be one of the highest paved roads in the world.”

As in all their journeys of Discovery, this new Holgate Land Rover odyssey, which began on 2 January 2020, is also linked to humanitarian and conservation work along the way.

One of the colourful expedition members is ‘seven summiteer’ (meaning he’s climbed  the highest peaks in each of the world’s seven continents) “Shova” Mike Nixon, one of the ‘Last Lions' and Land Rover team member of the famed Absa Cape Epic, who will use this journey as high altitude training for the 2020 mountain bike event.

Kingsley Holgate explains that apart from the high passes of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Eastern Cape (passes with colourful names like Ben Mac Dhui, Ongeluks Nek, Ramatselitso and Baster Voetslaan), the Riding High on Sky expedition will also pay tribute to Thomas Bain, by following in the footsteps of one of South Africa’s greatest road engineers who, starting in 1848, built famous mountain passes with names like Swartberg, Baviaans, Prince Alfred, Bains Kloof and the ‘Seven Passes' road.

The team plan to end their 3000Km mountain pass journey in the north west of the country on a pass aptly named, ‘The Road to Hell', followed by the 7 rugged passes of the Richtersveldt.

For more information follow the team on Facebook.

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Well-known KZN Conservationist Sheelagh Antrobus accepted as Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in the UK

Media Release

Well-known KZN Conservationist Sheelagh Antrobus accepted as Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in the UK

Well-known KwaZulu-Natal conservationist Sheelagh Antrobus has just been accepted as a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Geographical Society, the professional body that advances geography and supports related fields of interest across the globe.

Antrobus, the founder of conservation organisation Project Rhino, is one of the integral members of the Kingsley Holgate Foundation expedition team, which specialises in using geographic adventures to conduct humanitarian work and raise awareness about Africa’s endangered wildlife. This South Africa-based Foundation now boasts four Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society including Ross Holgate, who heads up the Foundation, Mike Nixon, the celebrated mountain biker who cycles the expeditions, and the legendary adventurer and humanitarian himself, Kingsley Holgate. 

Over the past three years, Sheelagh has been part of the team that completed three world first expeditions in their Land Rover Discoverys. In 2017, they reached Africa’s most easterly point in Somalia on the Horn of Africa; in 2018, a transcontinental journey took them from Cape Town to Kathmandu in Nepal and onto India; more recently in 2019, their east-to-west Zambezi to Congo expedition included helping the Doctors for Life volunteer medical team to conduct life-changing eye operations. Intrinsically embedded into all their expeditions, which continue to be supported by Land Rover, is communicating the urgent need to conserve Africa’s wildlife and in particular, the rhino.

Antrobus’s love for wildlife led her to set up the award-winning, aerial anti-poaching unit, the Zululand Anti-Poaching Wing (ZAP-Wing) that supports more than 20 game reserves collectively holding the second-largest remaining population of rhinos left in the world. In 2016 she received the prestigious Rhino Conservation Award from the Game Rangers Association of Africa. She is one of the founders of Rhino and Elephant Art, a youth conservation programme that uses educational school lessons and community football matches to engender a passion for wildlife amongst young people, as well as the World Youth Wildlife Summit series, which works towards building a new generation of conservation leaders across Africa and the world.

"Through these Land Rover Discovery expeditions we have traversed Africa and beyond, visiting more than 25 countries in the past three years,” says Antrobus. “We have been very blessed to have such incredible opportunities to go to places where few “outsiders” venture in our modern world. While doing our humanitarian and conservation work, we see some incredible sights, meet extraordinary people from many cultures, and are able to report back on some of the remotest and often forgotten locations in Africa.”

To be accepted as a Fellow of the 190-year-old Royal Geographical Society, a person must have sufficient involvement in geography or an allied subject through their training, profession, research and publications, or demonstrate expertise in related fields such as the environment, conservation and ecology. 

Previous RGS Fellows include Sir Charles Darwin, Dr David Livingstone, polar explorers Sir Ernest Shackleton and Sir Robert Scott, mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, Michael Palin and Joanna Lumley.

Speaking from Afrika House on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, an excited Antrobus said, “I am still pinching myself, this is a huge honour for me.  It is quite incredible that there are now four of us in the Kingsley Holgate expedition team who are now Fellows of the RGS.  Holding a Fellowship opens up many doors to network and share information, but it comes with some important responsibilities, such as continually enhancing geographical knowledge and understanding of related critical issues among the wider public. I say a heartfelt thank you to all the people in my life – family, friends, colleagues and associates – who have helped me get to where I am today, and I hope that this encourages other women to get out there and explore the amazing wild places of this beautiful continent, be courageous enough to follow their passion, whatever it may be, and stand up for a cause they feel strongly about.”

And plans for the foreseeable future? “Christmas with family, relaxing after a rather busy year, and planning for our next Land Rover geographic adventure in 2020, which will continue to focus on raising awareness of the crisis facing Africa’s endangered wildlife, particularly the rhino, alongside our humanitarian endeavours.”

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Kingsley Holgate expedition team off on a ‘Vision Mission’ to the Zambezi Delta

Media Release

 Holgate expedition team off on a ‘Vision Mission’ to the Zambezi Delta

The Kingsley Holgate Foundation, in partnership with Doctors for Life and in celebration of the Land Rover Discovery’s 30-year anniversary, has  launched their biggest humanitarian expedition ever. Taking their Mashozi’s Rite to Sight programme to a different level, the team has set off for the wildly remote and malaria-infested Zambezi Delta to perform over 200 life-changing cataract operations, in a campaign called ‘Vision Mission’.

Just imagine hundreds of elderly people travelling long distances on foot, donkey and by dugout canoe; they have heard about the Foundation’s Rite to Sight work and the possible opportunity for better eye sight; a simple pair of spectacles could mean instant gratification and the gift of sight.  An old woman waits in the scorching African sun and finally it is her turn.  However, her hope turns to utter despair when she is turned away; her eyes are glazed over with cataracts and there is nothing the team can do to help – until now!

This is why the Kingsley Holgate crew has loaded up their expedition Land Rovers and have headed for Mozambique with their sturdy ‘Ma Robert’ inflatable pontoon boat in tow, to assist the non-profit Doctors For Life International (DFL) team conduct free-of-charge cataract operations in the Zambezi Delta, as part of DFL’s Aid to Africa programme.

According to the World Health Organisation, 246 million people are estimated to have low vision worldwide and about 90% of the world’s visually impaired live in developing countries.  Globally, uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of visual impairment and just a simple pair of spectacles can help. 

In keeping with using adventure to improve lives, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation’s focus on poor eyesight was started more than a decade ago by Mashozi (Gill) Holgate.  “I remember the day clearly,” said Kingsley.  “We were on our 23° 27 Capricorn round-the-world-by-Land-Rover Expedition, in South America close to the Piranha River, in the company of a team of rangers.  They told us that they were about to evict an old man who had lived all his life in a local village because he was becoming a danger to himself and others – he’d nearly burned down his hut several times whilst trying to light his stove.  We went with them to the old man’s hut and sure enough, there he was, fumbling with a box of matches.  The problem was – he couldn’t see properly. 

“I don’t know what made Mashozi think of it, but she suddenly rummaged in her big expedition bag, brought out a pair of her own basic readers and popped them on the old man’s nose.  Miraculously, they were the perfect strength.  A look of complete surprise came over his face, followed by a big, toothy grin as for the first time in years, he could see clearly again.  There were claps and cheers from the rangers as the old man confidently struck the match, lit his stove and made us each a cup of coffee.  The rangers allowed him to stay in his home and that was the start of our Mashozi’s Rite to Sight programme, named in her honour.  Since then, it’s gone from strength to strength; after careful eye tests, we’ve distributed over 200,000 pairs of reading glasses to poor-sighted, mostly elderly people in remote areas all over Africa and beyond.  The instant gratitude from the recipients and the immediate difference it makes in their lives is heart-warming.”

DFL has performed 2500 eye surgeries over the past decade throughout Africa, helping to reverse blindness and dramatically change lives.  This Zambezi Delta Vision outreach is in response to a call for help to assist blind people in the Marromeu, Luabo and Chinde areas.  DFL and the Kingsley Holgate Foundation are transporting two mobile operating theatres to Marromeu on the banks of the Zambezi River, along with a team of volunteer doctors and nurses from South Africa and eSwatini, with the aim of conducting at least 200 cataract surgeries during August.

“We are incredibly honoured to be a part of this humanitarian mission,” said expedition leader Ross Holgate.  “We know the Zambezi River well and our role will be to provide ground support.  Using our three Land Rovers and the ‘Ma Robert’ boat, we’ll be criss-crossing the Zambezi Delta, conducting our normal malaria prevention and Mashozi Rite to Sight spectacle-distribution work, and at the same time, assessing patients that need more stringent, corrective eye surgery.  The DFL doctors will train our expedition team on what cataract symptoms to look for and we will transport patients and their family members by water and road to the operating theatres, and then return them home after their eye surgery. It’s going to be a lot of hard work in difficult conditions with tricky logistics; just the amount of expedition kit, including the bolt-together ‘Ma Robert’ boat and medical equipment that’s being transported 2,000 kilometres to the Delta is quite unbelievable.”

Also supporting this humanitarian effort is the non-profit Mercy Air group, which recently played a vital role in providing emergency air support after Cyclone Idai devastated central Mozambique, rescuing hundreds of victims and transporting tonnes of food, drinking water, medical supplies and personnel to flood-stricken communities.  For this Zambezi Delta mission, Mercy Air is providing a helicopter and aeroplane to transport cataract patients living in inaccessible villages to the operating theatres by air.

“The capabilities of our tried-and-tested Land Rover Discoverys and faithful old Defender 130 are really going to be needed,” continued Ross.  “These are the same vehicles that took us safely to Africa’s extreme easterly point in dangerous Somalia in 2017 and completed the 17,000-kilometre transcontinental Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition last year, making short work of below-freezing, high-altitude and snow-filled mountain passes.  Then in April this year, they delivered tonnes of malaria prevention supplies and clean drinking water to flooded communities near Gorongosa National Park that were badly affected by Cyclone Idai. 

“Now, with over 70,000 kilometres of rough expedition work already on the clock, they’re again going to be tackling some tough off-road conditions – sand, mud and many river crossings – to safely transport patients to DFL’s operating theatres.  It’s a great way to continue to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Land Rover Discovery and we’re looking forward to improving the quality of life for many people.”

Zambezi Vision Mission at a glance:

3 Expedition Land Rovers

2 Mercy Air aircraft

2 Doctors For Life mobile operating theatres

1 large, inflatable pontoon-type ‘Ma Robert’ boat and tender

22 personnel

10 tonnes of equipment

2,000Km of rough roads

230Km of coastline and 18,000Km² of swamps, floodplains and savannah in the Zambezi Delta.

200+ cataract operations

1,000 recipients of Mashozi’s Rite to Sight eye-testing and spectacle distribution

 For more information follow the expedition on Facebook Kingsley Holgate Foundation.

Kingsley Holgate Land Rover Expedition Team Heads to Mozambique in Aid of Flood Victims on World Malaria Day (25 April)

Media Release

WORLD MALARIA DAY  - 25 April

KINGSLEY HOLGATE LAND ROVER EXPEDITION TEAM HEADS FOR MOZAMBIQUE IN AID OF FLOOD VICTIMS

Departing on World Malaria Day (25 April), the Kingsley Holgate Land Rover team is heading to Mozambique on a relief expedition to assist communities living near Gorongosa National Park, who are still suffering the impact of Cyclone Idai, widespread flooding and now a serious and escalating threat of malaria. 

Malaria is the leading cause of death in Mozambique, which has the third highest number of malaria cases anywhere in the world.  A month after Cyclone Idai slammed into Beira and left a swathe of destruction on its path inland towards Zimbabwe’s Chimanimani region leaving vast areas flooded, malaria is on the increase with 9,501 cases reported since 27 March alongside 4,979 cases of cholera.  (Source: UN OCHA) 

The expedition is heading for the Gorongosa region inland from Beira, where over 30,000 people living in low-lying areas near the Buzi River that flows along the Gorongosa National Park boundary were in the direct path of the cyclone and large areas are still under water.  The Park responded by launching its own relief efforts to rescue community members by helicopter and boat, its rangers swopping wildlife for humanitarian work and wading through waist-high waters to reach stranded families.  They have delivered over 30 tonnes of food but the threat of contaminated drinking water and malaria remains extremely high: stagnant water is a perfect breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Malaria prevention and water purification support are key elements of all Holgate humanitarian expeditions.  “It started because of personal experiences,” said Kingsley.  “I’ve had malaria more than 50 times, a young man died of malaria in one of our vehicles as we were rushing him to a clinic and it’s unacceptable that a child dies of malaria every two minutes around the clock.  And all of our expedition team know the dangers of water borne diseases – we’ve all suffered from dysentery, which can kill even the toughest man.”

The expedition to Gorongosa will focus on supplying 15 tonnes of life-saving PermaNet mosquito nets, malaria test kits and treatments, and enough water purification units to provide over one million litres of clean drinking water in support of Gorongosa’s efforts.  The expedition convoy will include the two Land Rover Discoverys tried and tested on previous world-first expeditions, including the recent Cape Town to Kathmandu transcontinental journey.

“No one could have predicted that this year’s World Malaria Day would coincide with the aftermath of such an enormous humanitarian disaster,” said expedition leader Ross Holgate.  “Now that roads, bridges and river crossings are becoming passable in the Gorongosa region, we’re determined to do our bit to help our neighbours in need.”

He continued:  “Relief expeditions like this cannot be done without support, and we pay tribute to Land Rover, Rotarians in Southern Africa, Moz-am-bik Restaurants, the Hlokomela Foundation, Coca Cola SABCO Mozambique, Goodbye Malaria, Barrows, LifeStraws and Water Maker who have willingly come on board to support this World Malaria Day expedition.”

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For further details and interviews, please contact Sheelagh Antrobus on 082-4327466 or sheelagh@kingsleyholgatefoundation.org

STATS AND INFO ABOUT MALARIA/ WATER BORNE DISEASES

• According to the latest World Health Organization report, 219 million cases of malaria were reported during 2017, with 92% occurring in Africa.  435 000 people died from the disease.

• A child dies every two minutes from malaria; children under 5 accounted for 61% (266 000) of all malaria deaths worldwide in 2017.  Pregnant women are also at high risk.

• Kingsley Holgate has had malaria more than 50 times.

• To date, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation has distributed over 440 920 mosquito nets in high-risk communities throughout Africa, helping to protect over 1.3 million people from the deadly bite of the female Anopheles mosquito.

• ]Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – are due to water borne diseases, especially from cholera, dysentery and diarrhoea.

• To date, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation has distributed more than 46 000 individual LifeStraw units and family-size units, providing over 63 million litres of clean drinking water to communities most in need.

Kingsley Holgate and his Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition team realised a dream by finally reaching one of the highest paved roads in the world

Media Release

Update – Kingsley Holgate Foundation’s Cape Town to Kathmandu Expedition

Last week Kingsley Holgate and his Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition team realised a dream by finally reaching one of the highest paved roads in the world with their Land Rover Discoverys. With a maximum elevation of 4,714 metres, the Pakistani Karakoram Highway and its treacherous passes is often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

It’s here on this ‘Roof of the World’ where the three highest mountain ranges on the planet collide – the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush and the Karakorams. This is the fabled Shangri-La (The Kingdom of Lost Horizons) – a land of snow leopards, bears, apricot orchards, stone-built villages and hardy people. The area plays home to vast glaciers, alpine deserts and 33 of the highest mountains on Earth, like the snow-covered 8,126m peak of Nanga Parbat, Pakistan’s second-highest mountain after the 8,610m ‘Killer Mountain’ of K2, which is only exceeded by Mount Everest.

“For months we’ve dreamed about achieving this major expedition objective,” said Holgate. “It’s a long, fascinating and sometimes arduous journey of mountain passes, tunnels, wash-aways, and landslides. We find ourselves squeezing past colourful, jingling Bedford trucks; the Landys’ tyres just millimetres from the edge of dizzying drops into steep gorges where the green waters of the Indus River tumble and meander. We’ve met police checkpoints and travelled in convoys, all flavoured with the friendliness of the amazingly tough Baltistan people who inhabit this rough mountainous region which through centuries of the Silk Road trade, has linked northern Pakistan to China.”

Near the picturesque Hunza Valley, Kingsley and crew broke away for some tough off-road sections of the ancient Silk Road. It’s yet another high-altitude test for the expedition’s two Discoverys which haven’t missed a beat. The Discovery’s 283mm ground clearance has been key in tackling the rocky conditions, while the multi-mode Terrain Response 2 has allowed the team to adapt the vehicles’ settings to varying terrain – some of which is more easily passable by goats than cars – with a simple turn of a knob.

But the Karakoram Highway will soon be unpassable by any vehicle. A new, faster highway is being built through these mountains by the Chinese to quicken the transportation of goods to the Port of Karachi on the Arabian Sea. The waters of a new dam on the Indus will also flood large sections of the old Karakoram Highway, which when it was built in the 1970s, claimed a life for each of its 883km.

“Land Rovers have taken us from the southern tip of the African continent to the Roof of the World,” concludes Kingsley. “What a great feeling! It’s been a special privilege to travel this iconic road which will one day be only a memory.”

The Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition will now travel south across the Punjab to Lahore in time for the daily military ceremony at Wagah, which marks the sensitive border with India. Then it’s on to New Delhi, the famed Taj Mahal at Agra and onwards again to meet the Ganges at Varanasi en route to the final destination of Kathmandu in the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal.

Under the shadow of the great Mount Everest, the team will ceremoniously empty a symbolic, decorated Zulu calabash of south Atlantic seawater carried all the way Cape Town and will present the expedition’s Madiba Scroll of Peace and Goodwill to representatives of Kathmandu as a symbolic gesture of friendship from the people of South Africa. Hundreds of well-wishers have already added kind-hearted messages to the Scroll along the route, which has successfully crossed southern Africa, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Pakistan and India.

Follow the expedition on Facebook - Kingsley Holgate Foundation.

Update on Kingsley Holgate Foundation Land Rover Cape Town to Kathmandu Expedition on reaching Iran

Media Release

Update on Kingsley Holgate Foundation Land Rover Cape Town to Kathmandu Expedition on reaching Iran

The Land Rover Cape Town to Kathmandu expedition that departed from Cape Town's Nobel Peace Square on International Mandela Day, 18 July 2018, has safely reached the border with Iran after traversing southern and east Africa and now across Turkey, Georgia and Armenia.

‘It’s been an incredible adventure so far and a world-first for the all new Land Rover Discoveries,' said expedition leader Ross Holgate, as this humanitarian and geographic journey continues to make its way east towards Kathmandu in Nepal.

Crossing the Bosporus Strait that connects Europe to Asia in the mysterious metropolis of Istanbul was a highpoint for the six-member South African team of adventurers, as were Turkey's iconic UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ephesus, Troy, Pergamon, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and the WW1 battlefields of Gallipoli.

Following the mountainous Black Sea coastline, the expedition set itself a new objective: to reach the highest permanently inhabited settlements in Europe, which lie in the northern Caucus Mountains of Georgia near the border with Russia, before the first winter snows closed the challenging 4x4 Zigara Pass.

'It turned out to be a fascinating chapter,' explained legendary adventurer Kingsley Holgate, says legendary adventurer. 'The high-altitude villages of Ushguli, with their stone-built watch towers nestling beneath Mt Shkhura, the highest mountain in Georgia and other grand, snow-capped mountains are out of a medieval fairy tale and added to the many UNESCO World Heritage Site already visited by the expedition.” 

'We’re Africans and the closest we’ve ever come to these conditions is in the Maluti mountain passes of Lesotho or the highlands of Ethiopia.  But as we’d been warned, the journey through mud, snow and ice was extremely difficult but certainly proved the incredible capability of the all new Land Rover Discoveries and the heavily-loaded Defender 130.'

From northern Georgia, the expedition made its way south into Armenia, following ancient Silk Road mountain passes to stone-built World Heritage Site monasteries, through villages and mining towns reminiscent of the old days of Soviet occupation and enduring nights camping in sub-zero temperatures.  Few, if any, South African-registered vehicles have ever reached these parts, but the waves and shouts of welcome from locals in their old Russian-made vehicles was heart-warming for the expedition team.

Apart from the three Land Rovers, one of the expedition members, Mike Nixon, who is also a member of the Land Rover Cape Epic mountain bike team, is cycling the journey to Kathmandu.  ‘It’s tough going,' he said, ‘Especially the snow-clad mountain passes in Georgia and Armenia, where temperatures drop to well below zero and the occasional, fierce Armenian sheep dog gives you a run for your money.’

‘Apart from the geographic challenges, this journey also has a humanitarian element and the people who we’ve met and have helped us along way have been fantastic,’ said Ross.  ‘There is a big Land Rover family of dealerships and clubs who have all bought into this expedition to celebrate Land Rover’s 70th Anniversary and hundreds of well-wishers have added their goodwill messages to the Madbia100 Scroll of Peace and Goodwill, which clearly outlines the humanitarian work of Rite to Sight, malaria prevention, water purification and community conservation education that are attached to all Kingsley Holgate Foundation expeditions.”

“123 days into the journey, on an overcast day at the border post between Armenia and Iran, underneath dark, brooding mountains, a large Islamic Republic of Iran flag flopping in the wind, the Cape to Kathmandu expedition team met up with a Russian Land Rover experience group also waiting to cross the border.  There were shouts of welcome, mugs of coffee and photographs of the two teams.  Here for the first time, messages of peace and goodwill were added to the Scroll in Russian and Farsi (Persian).  Africa has taught the team to be patient and seven hours later, after much paper shuffling and being shepherded from office to office, down came the entry stamp and the three Cape Town to Kathmandu Land Rovers crossed into Iran. 

‘Ahead lies a 2,000Km journey through the deserts of Iran, a testing crossing of the Baluchistan region with armed Pakistan guards, then onto Lahore and Islamabad,’ said Kingsley.  ‘Then, the next geographic challenge will be the famous Karakoram Highway that traverses the Himalayas to China, then on through India, and if the Zen of Travel is on our side, our convoy of Land Rovers will reach Kathmandu in Nepal by 11 December.’

In Nepal, the expedition team will hand over messages of solidarity against rhino poaching from South African youth to Chitwan National Park in Nepal as part of the Foundation’s partnership with Project Rhino. Hundreds of Rhino Art messages from South African children in the expedition’s three Land Rovers and are en route to Nepal.  These will be handed over to Nepalese conservation officials and children living in communities bordering Chitwan National Park, before Kingsley and the team head to Kathmandu for the expedition’s finale.

Follow the expedition on Facebook - Kingsley Holgate Foundation.

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