Holgate's quest: The heart of Africa

Published Aug 1, 2015

Share

Pretoria - Somewhere in the northern Congo, on the edge of one of the world's largest and most impenetrable equatorial rainforests there is a place unmarked except by adventurers and those who love maps - and certainly unknown to those who live nearby.

Once described by National Geographic magazine as “the last place on earth”, it is the geographical centre of Africa - and it has never been surveyed on the ground. There is no beacon, no stone pillar or green and black flag to mark the spot.

So it's fitting that Cape Town's Kingsley Holgate - yacht builder, blue-water sailor, adventurer and humanitarian, a man who loves wild Africa as one loves a spirited and unruly child - should be the one to set out on a quest to find Africa's beating heart.

“As a family, we've criss-crossed Africa from South to North, East to West,” said Holgate. “We've traced the outline of the continent in a single expedition through 33 countries, and we've visited all 54 all 54 African countries.

“So it's only natural that our next expedition should be to find and map the very heart of Africa.”

Kingsley will undertake this epic journey in one of the last Land Rover Defenders to come off the line as the plant at Solihull winds down production after 67 years; it's perhaps the most appropriate way to celebrate the end of the Defender era.

BUT WHERE IS THE MIDDLE OF AFRICA?

The geographical centre point of Africa was plotted many years ago using the 'centre of gravity' method, in the same way as the geographical centres of the contiguous United States and the continent of Australia were determined.

“We've checked the methodology used to calculate the co-ordinates of the geographical centre point of Africa,” confirmed International Geographical Union secretary and treasurer Michael Meadows.

“It's west of the Unbanji River and southeast of the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in northern Republic of Congo - but only we and the Holgates know the exact co-ordinates.”

The expedition will set off on 23 August from the Landy Festival at Vereeniging, escorted for the first stretch by hundreds of Defender owners. It'll take the Holgates through seldom-visited areas of Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the northern Republic of Congo.

HUMANITARIAN PROGRAMMES

“It's going to be our toughest expedition yet,” said Ross Holgate, the expedition's operations leader and navigator. “According to satellite images the place is in the middle of an equatorial rainforest.

“To get there we'll have to use Land Rovers, mountain bikes, river boats, dugout canoes and, finally, our feet - and probably elbows and knees!.”

It's a Holgate custom to carry a Zulu calabash filled with water from the Cradle of Humankind at Maropeng in Gaunteng. This will be emptied on the ground at the Heart of Africa co-ordinates to mark the end of the expedition.

Along the way they'll carry out humanitarian programmes including malaria prevention, the distribution of water purification LifeStraws and spectacles for the poor-sighted through Mashozi's Rite to Sight campaign, as well as community conservation education.

“If everything goes according to plan,” said Holgate with a grin,” a beacon will be placed at the geographic centre of Africa for the first time in history. It's going to be a great adventure!”

Related Topics: