Another African adventure for Holgate
Modern day explorer Holgate heads north to Ethiopia
ADVENTURER Kingsley Holgate’s latest expedition team left Richards Bay last Monday, heading north on their 33rd geographic and humanitarian excursion.
This time their expedition will lead them through some of the least visited regions on the Horn of Africa.
Linking two World Heritage Sites, the Extreme East Expedition started at the most easterly point on the coast of
South Africa at Kosi Bay in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
They filled their symbolic Zulu calabash at Kosi Bay early last Tuesday morning.
It will be emptied at the ancient walled city of Harar, the most easterly historic city in Ethiopia.
‘It is fitting that we start our journey at one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world,’ said Holgate.
Dating back to the 12th century, Harar is known as ‘Africa’s Mecca’ and considered the fourth holy city of Islam after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.
Enclosed by crumbling medieval walls, more than 300 cobbled alleyways connect the rabbit warren of colourful stalls, shops, shrines, markets and 90 odd mosques, which are believed to be the largest concentration in the world.
The expedition will also carry a scroll of peace and goodwill and collect messages of support en route.
World leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, along with presidents and leaders of other African nations, have endorsed previous expedition scrolls of peace and goodwill.
Extreme east
On this eight-country, 18 000km journey, Holgate and his team will be using specially equipped all new Land Rover Discovery vehicles to tackle the challenging mountain and desert terrains.
‘As always there is that feeling of nervous anticipation in the pit of my stomach, not knowing quite what to expect,’ said Holgate.
‘The volatile areas that we will be travelling through are not called the ‘badlands’ for nothing.’
The Kingsley Holgate Foundation’s mission statement is ‘using adventure to improve and save lives’, and on more than 30 expeditions to date humanitarian support is a key component.
With malaria still claiming the life of one child every minute in Africa, the expedition will distribute high quality, insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets to mothers and children in regions where the killer disease is still rife.
They will also provide reading glasses to the poor-sighted through the ‘Mashozi’s Rite to Sight’ programme, an initiative that instantly transforms the lives of particularly elderly people living in communities far from health facilities.
Especially important on this expedition will be the distribution of LifeStraws to nomadic villagers.
Each straws provides up to 1 000 litres of drinking water which is critically needed in the drought-ravaged Horn of Africa, where clean water is scarce and cholera is a growing threat.
The Extreme East Expedition also saw the Zululand launch of the elephant art programme at a school opposite Tembe Elephant Park, home to some of Africa’s few remaining ‘big tuskers’.
This project raises awareness and educates children living close to elephants of the growing threat of ivory poaching in southern Africa.
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