Kingsley Holgate is a modern African explorer in the tradition of the early Victorian adventurers. In the last decade he has led multiple expeditions across the continent traveling by foot, canoe, bicycle, inflatable raft, dhow and Land Rover. He has dealt with bandits, dangerous wildlife, and many episodes of malaria to follow in the footsteps of his hero David Livingstone. With his trademark bushy gray beard, Kingsley is often photographed with a traditional Zulu gourd, which he fills with water to inaugurate each trip.
The pumpkin is taken on the adventure and, when completed successfully, the water is poured into a thanksgiving ritual.
Kingsley Holgate Expeditions
Cape Town to Cairo
One of Kingsley’s greatest adventures was an epic journey from Cape Town to Cairo. A journey that is quite difficult on land, but Kingsley decided to make the trip using inflatable boats on waterways. Kingsley reports of this trip:
“We stuffed the squash into a force ten winds from Cape Point, we made our way in stages on the South African coast. Days, weeks and months followed when we launched our QE 2 and »Bathtub« boats onto strange and wonderful waterways across Africa. The Okavango, the Zambezi from the Angolan border to the sea, the Shire River, the Malombe, Malawi, Rukwa, Tanganyika, Edward, George, Albert and Victoria lakes. In the Serengeti we follow the largest wildlife migration in the world. ever present and Jon the doctor learned to put together a quinine drip from a tree, we were robbed more than once and we soon learned to smile and say hello a lot. Crocs and hippos were our constant companions.
The Zambezi in Livingstone’s footsteps
Kingsley also crossed the continent in the footsteps of Livingstone and Stanley using inflatable boats to navigate the crocodile-infested Zambezi River. Here is an excerpt from the Zambezi expedition:
“Captain Morgan spent a week negotiating and drinking with UNITA before they allowed us to go upriver to Angola. We broke a gearbox in the rapids and continued upriver with just one boat. UNITA, Gill and Ross dragged me. They left us with the boat, hours of interrogation and finally they let us go because we like you and you were never angry, ”they said. A UN helicopter meets us on the river. They had heard that we were dead. Gill marked each obstacle with a pontoon marking, 56 waterfalls, rapids, fish traps, low trees, rocks and logs.
Capricorn Adventure
In 2003 Kinglsey decided to take his family around the world along the Tropic of Capricorn. In his own words …
‘After crossing the railway line between Maputo and Zimbabwe, near Combumune, a station on the line where people who traded in hardwoods and coal had been waiting for a train for a week, they tried to cross the Limpopo by Land Rover, only to having to resort to wading bikes and inflatable rubber tubes’.
African Rainbow Expedition (June 2005)
Kingsley Holgate’s latest expedition is a humanitarian adventure. His team sails in traditional dhows along the east coast of Africa from Mozambique to the border between Kenya and Somalia. Along the way, they distribute mosquito nets soaked in insect repellent and other antimalarial products.
Malaria is the leading cause of death in Africa and a simple mosquito net goes a long way towards saving lives. Kingsley is using a Swahili-speaking team on the dhows and a convoy of Land Rovers carrying the mosquito nets are following as best they can. The pumpkin is ready for the trip and we will check in with it until the trip is complete.
Here’s the latest from Kingsley at the time of writing (September 2005):
Well, it seems that sometimes you have to risk lives to save lives. We shot one of the Landys, but she’s back on her wheels and okay. Three of the members of the expedition, including myself, have already contracted malaria. Tropical ulcers are the order of the day – there are days when sailing is a bit scary and then of course Bruce stabbed himself trying to save an outboard motor, he’s making a good recovery and we’re missing him and of course We hope to join again soon. Other than that it’s a great adventure and totally worth it! «
For more information on Kingsley Holgate …
- Kingsley Holgate has its own website where you can get the latest news and updates on current expeditions.
