Listen: Benonian is summiting the highest peak in each South African province
His journey starts on September 20, brought forward from the original starting date of October 31.
John Nieuwenhuizen (38) is a man whose head is always in the clouds.
The Rynfield resident is an avid hiker and mountaineer who has summited some of the highest peaks on the African continent, including summiting Mount Kilimanjaro 22 times.
The City Times caught up with Nieuwenhuizen following a recent trek up Mount Kenya.
The Benonian will, on September 20, team up with fellow extreme outdoor enthusiast and Centurion businesswoman Saray Khumalo for a challenge of note, the Nine Peak Challenge.
The duo is aiming to summit the highest peak in each province of South Africa in record time in the mixed pair category.
“The current record holders in the mixed pair category did the challenge in over eight days,” said Nieuwenhuizen, who has been hiking for about 13 years.
“We will, however, try and complete the challenge in four and a half days or less.”
The clock starts at the foot of the first peak and stops on the summit of the last peak.
Nieuwenhuizen and Khumalo’s journey will start at 2am at the bottom of Iron Crown in Limpopo and end at the top of Seweweekspoort Peak in the Western Cape.
The challenge is a daunting one for the hikers who will do around 2 800km of self-driving between the nine peaks while needing to hike about 130km with minimal sleep.
“It’s going to be difficult, but I’m really excited,” said Nieuwenhuizen.
“A lot of preparation has gone into this.”
The nine peaks the hikers will try summit are Iron Crown (2 126m, Limpopo), De Berg (2 331m, Mpumalanga), Seweweekspoort Peak (2 325m, Western Cape), Nooitgedacht (1 816m, North West), Mafadi (3 451m, KwaZulu-Natal), Toringkop (1 913m, Gauteng), Kwaduma (3 019m, Eastern Cape), Namahadi (3 291m, Free State) and Murch Point (2 156m, Northern Cape).
The journey will stand Nieuwenhuizen in good stead for a planned expedition up Mount Everest (the highest peak in the world) in 2020.
LISTEN to Logie G interview John Nieuwenhuizen about the Nine Peak Challenge (note that the interview was recorded before the date change of the challenge):
https://soundcloud.com/benoni-city-times/logie-g-interviews-john-nieuwenhuizen-about-the-nine-peak-challenge
Having grown up on a farm he has always had a passion for the outdoors and believes everybody should add hiking to their schedules.
“People should get out there.
“It’s a great way to spend time with your family.
“You can do a little 3km or 4km hike with your children, which they’ll really enjoy, and you can also keep your fitness levels up.
“Around the Benoni area, you have Suikerbosrand before Heidelberg and Hartbeespoort in the Magaliesberg where there are really great trails.
“It is inexpensive and sometimes children can even hike for free.”
Nieuwenhuizen will use this opportunity to raise awareness against animal cruelty and abuse for international animal welfare organisation Four Paws.
“My aim is to try to raise close to R30 000,” he added.
If anyone wishes to donate to this cause email Nieuwenhuizen at john@hikersedge.co.za
To keep an eye on their Nine Peak Challenge journey follow The Expeditionists, 9 Peaks Challenge or Hiker’s Edge pages on Facebook.
For more information about the challenge, CLICK HERE.
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Mountaineers complete the nine peaks
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