OVERVIEW

Embracing the theme of Nature, Culture and Community, Kingsley Holgate and his team embarked on "The Boundless Southern African Expedition" on 11 May 2009.

The team is travelling by Land Rovers, except where roads are inaccessible such as in Lesotho where ponies will be used.

Land Rover and Kingsley Holgate have shared a close partnership over the last few years. Holgate and his family embody the Land Rover spirit of adventure and discovery as well as a respect for the environment, our people and our heritage. 

Linking nine countries, seven Transfontier Conservation Areas (TFCA), thirty National Parks and Nature Reserves and the adjacent communities, the Expedition will cover 9 000km and should take around three months to complete.

Boundless Southern Africa is a projected supported by Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Straddling the SADC, the seven TFCAs include the /Ai-/Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the Limpopo/Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area, the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area and the Maloti Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area.

In addition to the key objective of using Holgate's high-profile to link the countries, communities and conservation areas mentioned above, the Boundless Southern Africa Expedition also has a number of specific aims.

One of these is to distribute 100 mobile educational libraries and a large number of lap-top desks to rural schools, together with WHO-approved LifeStraw^® water purifiers.

Boundless Southern Africa environmental vehicles with pull-down charts and PA systems will provide environmental education to schools and communities.

Ranger-training candidates from each TFCA will be identified and given bursaries to help them qualify as game rangers.

In high-risk malaria areas, One Net One Life mosquito nets and malaria prevention education will be given to pregnant mothers and children under the age of 5 years.

Spectacles will be distributed to the poor-sighted as part of the Right to Sight campaign. 

TFCA community soccer fields will be upgraded and supplied with goal posts, kit and soccer balls, and a 2010 Boundless Southern Africa trophy match will be played during the 2009 FIFA World Cup.

Land Rover is proud to play a part in the Boundless Southern Africa Expedition, and to help Holgate and his team achieve their important and far-reaching objectives.