67 Lowveld Walkers conquer 500km in 12 days in honour of Madiba
These walkers journeyed from South Africa to Mozambique and the Kingdom of eSwatini with the aim to unite all people.
Sixty-seven walkers conquered 500km in 12 days, walking in three countries in honour of Nelson Mandela’s legacy. The Lowveld Walkers’ Mandela Day Cross-border Walk started on Monday July 1 and ended on Friday July 12. Joseph Mashaba, the founder of the Lowveld Walkers, said they had 67 participants, because they wanted to commemorate the 67 minutes the public undertakes to celebrate Mandela Day on July 18.
The group walked from South Africa to Mozambique and the Kingdom of eSwatini under the theme ‘Africa unite: Be like Madiba’.
They started at the Lebombo Border, then walked from Mozambique to the Kingdom of eSwatini, then came out through Oshoek Border to the Barberton Nature Reserve.
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Mashaba said the journey was one of the hardest he has ever done and he is proud of the participants and how they conquered it. They walked 34km per day; they did 17km in the morning and 17km in the afternoon. He said he was anxious when they started, although the officials in all the countries were very helpful.
“When we got to Mozambique, I noticed that the people were surprised to see a big group of people walking and they asked us a lot of questions. We told them that it is Mandela Month and they seemed happy to hear that our mission is to unite. They gave us drinks and snacks, it was a great experience.”
He said the Kingdom of eSwatini is an amazing country, but the routes were harder to tackle. According to him, both countries had friendly people.
Mashaba said the overall experience was great. “We achieved our mission. The truck drivers would stop to give us water and fruit. The taxi drivers were hooting and cheering for us. Some people were telling us to take whatever we needed in the stores and they paid for us.”
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He said everyone who participated was strong and they wanted to finish the walk. He also said he wanted to thank all the participants, community members, supporters and everyone who made this initiative possible.
