Wildside Photography - Cape To Cape

Wildside Photography

Kingsley Holgate is probably the greatest living African adventurer. Rather an imposing figure, described by his son, Ross as 'Six foot four with a huge tummy and a big beard, sometimes barefoot; a bit of an enigma', he is known to many as 'The Old Grey Beard of African Adventure'. Most explorers lead a solitary life away from home, but not Kingsley. Accompanied by wife, Gill and by right-hand-man and son, Ross, he has travelled from Cape to Cairo using only waterways, navigated the mighty Zambezi from mouth to source, followed the footsteps of great explorers like Livingstone, Stanley, Speke and Selous and travelled around the world following the Tropic of Capricorn using only Land Rovers and boats. Together the family have faced threats both from the natural world and war-torn Africa, but always manage to emerge having succeeded in the aims of their expeditions.

The Holgate's expeditions have also supported worthwhile causes. Between them the family of three have suffered malaria 63 times so they mostly focus on distribution of mosquito nets to pregnant mothers and young children in an effort to reduce the effect of Africa's largest killer (malaria is still responsible for more deaths in Africa than AIDS). This time, as they endeavour to become the first to travel the approximately 50,000 kms circumference of the continent using only Land Rovers and boats, they aim to perform cataract operations, provide reading glasses, deliver books and stationery to schools as well as distribute one million mosquito nets.

Imagine our excitement then, when via the Land Rover Owners Club of South Africa, we heard that the Holgates were planning to start their next adventure in April with a world record attempt for the longest Land Rover convoy (previously 261, set at Towcester Racecourse in our home county of Northamptonshire, England) and were inviting any Land Rover - and owners - who could make it.

After two days' travelling - it takes a while in a Landy - we arrived in Cape Town and spent a fun couple of hours visiting some 4x4 equipment shops and buying a few bits to treat Chippie. A fabulous Mexican dinner (no such thing in Grahamstown) was followed by an early night as we planned to rise early Friday morning.

Friday 27th April 2007 dawned windy and rainy. When we say dawned, we mean we saw it. We were on the road by 05:15, not knowing how long it would take to cross Cape Town and travel around 85 kms on a public holiday. As it was, we arrived at the Cape Point Nature Reserve gate before dawn, a tad early at 06:10 (gate and registration opened at 07:30) and were behind only five other Landies. The gate opened a little early but by the time we filed in up to the main gate, there were around eighty Landies behind us!

The organisers and marshalls arrived and we were soon parting with a small amount of cash to cover park fees and the toll for Chapman's Peak Drive, having an official convoy sticker slapped on Chippie, given a goodie-bag of stuff from various sponsors and then directed to the muster point near Cape Point.

The gathering of hundreds of Landies was amazing and, in spite of sporadic heavy showers which sent even the most die-hard among us scuttling for the safety of our vehicles, the atmosphere was brilliant. Everyone was swapping trip stories, driving tips and advice on vehicles and equipment. As you'll probably see from the photo below, there were Freelanders, Discos and Rangies, but mostly Defenders and Series Landies - a real LR festival. It soon became obvious we weren't all going to fit in the allotted parking area (there were just over 100 vehicles squeezed in) and the later arrivals were soon stretching back towards the park gate.

The convoy was due to set off at ten after the Holgates had performed their usual start-of-expedition ceremony - filling a Zulu calabash with water from the point of departure (just over the hill in the above photo), to be emptied at the end of their journey. A buzz of anticipation moved through the assembled mass as the time approached. Amazingly, considering the number of vehicles and logistics involved, we at the back of the convoy (damn us arriving so early) were on the move by about twenty minutes later. Soon after, we ground to a halt for no apparent reason. There weren't many complaints though, as half the male contingent poured off the road in search of a bush to nip behind! We later found a photo of Kingsley and the convoy in a national newspaper, and realised we'd stopped for a photo opportunity.

To ensure that all rules were complied with, there were of course, representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records monitoring the convoy. Two really important requirements were that the convoy vehicles be no further than two vehicle lengths apart, and that the convoy be monitored over a minimum distance of 3.2 kms (we assume the GBWR require a distance of 2 miles). Although we covered a total distance of just over 100 kms, we had two flagged, predetermined stretches of 3.2kms in which to attempt the record. One was near the middle of the Cape Peninsular, the other as we weaved around Chapman's Peak Drive.

After Chapman's Peak Drive, most of us pulled into Hout Bay so the ladies could swamp Wimpy and deservedly 'ease springs' after crossing legs for over five hours! The speed picked up as we no longer had to stay as close as we had for the record attempt, and we flew (by Landy standards) through Cape Town and up to De Grendel wine estate for the Land Rover Jamboree and a chance to support the cause by buying DVD's, T-shirts and other memorabilia.

By pure chance we parked about five vehicles away from Kingsley's and hopped out of Chippie into thick, slippery mud, but joined a few people listening to him imparting some of his wisdom. Several interviews and heavy rain showers later, and we were lucky enough to meet the great man, have a chat about an idea we have for our own journey through Africa in the future... and even have a quick cheesy photo opportunity. He was in much demand from all quarters, but gave his time and attention to anyone who wanted it - most impressive on the eve of another challenging journey.

A few presentations to Kingsley and speaches of thanks to all the Holgates' sponsors, and it was time to hear if we'd complied with the Guiness Book of Records' criteria, and to be told the number of vehicles in the convoy. Well, you guessed it, we did it! A total of 347 Land Rovers of varying shapes, sizes and ages spanning about 50 years drove in convoy for at least two miles at no more then two vehicle lengths apart - an amazing achievement and a fitting send off for Africa's greatest adventurer.

If you are interested in the Cape to Cape Expedition or past Holgate adventures, click on any of the logos at the top of this page to visit Kingsley's site.

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