Historic signing
With Kingsley Holgate in the background, uMhlathuze City Director: Community Facilitation and Marketing - Pieter Odendaal signs the Scroll of Peace and Goodwill in the presence of uThungulu Community Foundation CEO - Chris Mkhize, Zululand Observer Editor - Dave Savides and Ritchie Land Rover Sales Manager
- Wayne Ritchie
Marina van Tilburg
AFTER 427 days on (and off) the road, Zululand explorer supreme Kingsley Holgate and his ‘Outside Edge of Africa’ team cruised into Richards Bay on Friday.
Thrilled to be back on home soil, they were welcomed at a Zululand Observer-hosted function in front of the Civic Centre where Editor Dave Savides praised their commitment, courage and humanitarian spirit.
The expedition hugged the edge of Africa in three Land Rovers, dispensing mosquito nets, teaching materials and eye-care medicine along the way.
The journey ends officially at Cape Town, where it started last year.
So far Kingsley, his wife Gill and son Ross, accompanied by Bruce Leslie and Anna Muller, have crossed 33 countries.
Armed with a calabash filled with Cape Point sea water and a Scroll of Peace and Goodwill, they have encountered many challenges, but arrived back in good spirits.
‘You are the pride of Zululand, having almost completed an ambitious task - and not merely for the sake of exploration, but to uplift the station of those who suffer,’ said Savides.
‘Your journey has taken you into palaces and huts; you have met kings and refugees and encountered poverty, disease and political mayhem; you have traversed floodplains and deserts, literally living on the edge.
‘But none of this has daunted your enthusiasm and commitment and on behalf of all Zululanders we salute your sacrificial spirit.’
The expedition was also welcomed by uMhlathuze Director: Community Facilitation and Marketing - Pieter Odendaal, who said the City was proud to be associated with such people who brought focus onto this part of the country with its powerful history and pioneering spirit.
At the function, four portable libraries were handed over by Centurus College Trust for distribution to needy rural schools through Chris Mkhize, CEO of the uThungulu Community Foundation.
The Scroll of Peace and Goodwill, which bears among 5 000 others, the signatures of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was signed by sponsors and dignitaries.
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