The Kingsley Holgate Foundation was founded by one of Africa’s most renowned modern-day explorers, Kingsley Holgate, a humanitarian adventurer and legend whom many consider to be the most travelled man in Africa.
Using adventure to improve and save lives, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation, through each of its expeditions, actively works to prevent the spread of malaria amongst pregnant women and mothers with young children – the most vulnerable demographic to the disease which, according to the World Health Organisation claims over 500,000 lives every year globally.
Coupled with its malaria prevention initiatives, the Foundation is also geared to distribute reading glasses to poor-sighted, mostly elderly people in remote regions across the continent and inspire youths through the Wildlife Art campaign to develop an interest in wildlife conservation.
Having explored all 54 countries on the African continent through more than 40 expeditions, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation recognises the crucial role played by each member of its expedition team, including the various Defender 4x4s that have powered the team for well over two decades.
Expedition leader Ross Holgate highlighted this when he said, at the end of the Foundation’s 60,000 km Afrika Odyssey Expedition: “This expedition was particularly gruelling and took a toll on everyone in the travelling party. On many occasions, our very lives depended on the reliability of our two Defender 130s to get us out of sticky situations, and they never failed us.
“From the floods of the Congo that tested the wading depth of the Defenders to the limit, to the treacherous pothole-ridden road to Juba. From rain-soaked dusty roads that turned into clingy mud pits, to makeshift bridges, we literally saw and conquered it all.
“Throw into the mix the world’s largest desert, the Sahara, with temperatures that reach well into the 50s, this was a real test for man and machine, and it’s amazing how the Defenders just kept going despite the scorching temperatures and the demand on the engine and cooling system.
“Having spent more than 10,000 hours in the driver’s seat of the Defender, it is definitely the vehicle of choice for the Kingsley Holgate Foundation and the most capable we have ever driven.”
Completing more than 40 expeditions has given the Kingsley Holgate Foundation team a unique opportunity to test Defender across most of Africa and in Europe. Its most recent expeditions in the new Defender totalled well over 150,000 km. Before undertaking the Greater Gorongosa and Afrika Odyssey expeditions, the team completed the Mzansi Edge Expedition, an 80-day, 16,000 km circumnavigation of South Africa. Launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, its aim was to distribute food parcels to those in desperate need.
This was followed by the Defender Transcontinental Expedition – Hot Cape to Cold Cape. A true test of endurance, the expedition saw the Kingsley Holgate Foundation team drive Defenders from the southern tip of Africa in Cape Town to Nordkapp in Norway – the northernmost point on the globe that can be reached by road.
The various expeditions included rutted gravel roads, off-road tracks, axle twisters, deep muddy trenches, rock-strewn mountain passes, swollen river crossings, towering desert dunes, swamp-filled forests, and precipitous Arctic cliffs.
Janico Dannhauser, Defender Brand Manager, JLR South Africa, said: “Defender stands for much more than just capability. It stands for the ability to make a difference. We are incredibly proud to continue our partnership with the Kingsley Holgate Foundation, knowing that the legendary robustness and all-terrain capability of the Defender 130 will not only power their incredible journeys but, more importantly, it will help save and improve lives in the remote communities they serve.”
To read more about Kingsley Holgate’s wild expeditions and overlanding adventures, or to view his vehicle of choice, simply click on the link below:
Click here to visit www.LandRover.co.za
