Travellers arrive in Durban North after 1580km walk

TWO adventurers who walked 1580km through Africa stopped off in Durban North to share a talk about their travels.

Inspired by the John Ross Challenge, Thomas Hart, walking barefoot, and Simphiwe Ngcobo started in the heart of Pietermaritzburg, cutting through Swaziland, all the way to Mozambique to complete their journey in Durban.

Their journey took them through Mbuluzi Game Reserve, on to Jeppes Reef, exploring many areas along the way, including a five day stay in the Kruger National Park. They returned via Richard’s Bay and Ballito before finally ending their journey in Durban at the John Ross building.

They averaged 30 km per day with six weeks of walking and a total of two weeks of rest in between.

“We had two trolleys with about 30 kg of equipment that we pushed for about 900km, all the way to Maputo in Mozambique,” said Hart.

They carried laptops and camera equipment to facilitate a documentary they are making.

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The adventurers said their journey served a charitable cause as they raised funds through the initiative. Hart raised money for the Pink Drive and Ngcobo raised funds for Empilweni, an organization that serves physically and mentally challenged children.

“The John Ross Challenge came up when my mother had brain cancer and I was going to take up the challenge to raise funds for her medical bills, but she passed away before I could do it,” said Hart.

“Beside the organizations we raised money for, there was a personal agenda. It’s not every day you get to explore the country you call home. There was an adventure-seeking thrill in it. I was raised in a very interesting time in South Africa, where there were so many barriers in terms of where I could go and what I could do. I defied so many odds to get to where I wanted to be. When this opportunity came by, it was all about making a statement that I can actually do whatever I want to do, regardless of what I look like. It was almost a way of fighting for my freedom,” added Ngcobo.

While he is still recovering from an injury sustained during the gruelling journey, he would not hesitate to take on the challenge again.
“A thousand times over, I could do it again,” said Ngobo.

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The journey came with its challenges.
“My biggest challenge was overcoming the pain in my feet.The soles of my feet were raw,” said Hart.who briefly held the record for the longest bare-foot walk until Eamonn Keaveney overtook him.
Ngcobo added:”Our biggest set back was our approach to the journey and how we envisioned the journey. When we start the journey, we wanted to control everything. We wanted to have people ready for us at each point. We had to let go and live in the moment- that was our biggest take from the journey.”

Their funniest moment was when crossing a danger zone in a game reserve, wary of wild animals, only to be chased by cattle.
“Thomas was giving me tips to survive lions , and he couldn’t survive cows,” joked Ngcobo.

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