Kinsley Holgate conquers Africa for Land Rover

Land Rover Ambassador Kinsley Holgate spent 39 days on a grueling journey through six countries after departing from Gauteng’s Lesedi Cultural Village, in a fleet of Land Rovers to reach the Heart of Africa. Majority of this unique humanitarian journey was completed in specially outfitted Land Rovers, with the last section of the forest trek requiring the team to park their vehicles and proceed on foot. Kinsley Holgate and his team set out to find the beating heart of the African continent in the vibrant rainforests of the Congo, as scientifically determined by the Department of Environmental and Geographic Science at the University of Cape Town.

Joining the expedition were 14 Ba’aka pygmies, who played the role of porters as they carried tents, bedrolls, water, food, satellite phones and, of course, three GPS devices to help pinpoint the exact location of the Heart of Africa. Despite their great knowledge of the forests they call home, the pygmies had no concept of what Africa looks like on a map, not to mention where its heart would be found or the co-ordinates that were scribbled in the margins. With the help of the expedition’s interpreter, Nazaire, the team discovered that the pygmy porters had never travelled beyond their familiar forest routes. So what lay ahead was completely unknown for everyone.

 The first casualty of the on-foot forest trek was Mike Nixon, who was stung in the mouth by a bee. This eighth sting of the day proved too much for his system. A quick dig through emergency rations saw an Epipen being administered, preventing the swelling from affecting his airway.

At this point the pygmies decided to share their three big fears: forest leopards, forest elephants, and being bitten by the Ndolo – or Gaboon viper – for which they had no cure. Undaunted, the expedition crew proceeded, albeit a little more informed of the potential dangers ahead. For seven days, Holgate and his crew suffered through the last 17km of their journey. Constant rain and skin-piercing vines made for slow progress, with the team taking more than six hours to travel just one kilometre.

“After 9 000 kilometres in our Land Rovers, across six countries, it’s the last 17 kilometres that nearly killed us,” said Holgate. “It became a physical and emotional nightmare of endurance, and the longest seven days of my life. A whole week of grabbing roots to drag us along our bellies, digging through deep mud, and crafting our own pole bridges.”

The team eventual reached their destination using three GPS co-ordinates reading “17.05291°E, 2.07035°N”; as supplied by the University of Cape Town, and verified by the International Geographic Union. The Heart of the African continent now stands in the vast, 200 000 square kilometre rainforests of the Congo.

Tosan Aduayi is the founder of Trendy Africa Magazine and has been an Auto columnist since 1994