Explorer plans Robben Island escape
● If only somebody had thought of it earlier.
One of the world’s leading adventurers, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, hopes to walk from Robben Island to the South African mainland along an underwater sand spit discovered in a geological seabed survey.
The exact plan is a closely guarded secret but Fiennes let slip his “Long Walk” dream in an interview last week with a British newspaper. He said he had completed a dive training course ahead of a possible Table Bay adventure with South African-born Matt Silver-Vallance.
In 2014, Silver-Vallance became the envy of many former Robben Island political prisoners when he floated most of the way from the island to Blouberg beach, using a harness attached to helium balloons. At the time he was already planning his next route — underwater, a distance of about 8km as the crab crawls.
Fiennes, 74, has a much longer list of daring feats, which include the first unsupported crossing of Antarctica with a fellow adventurer, and a hovercraft expedition up the White Nile. His list of unsuccessful expeditions is equally impressive, notably an attempt to walk solo and unsupported to the North Pole in 2000, during which he suffered severe frostbite on one hand. He later personally amputated his damaged fingertips.
Now the two adventurers want to team up to attempt the Long Walk along the relatively shallow “tombolo” — a raised sand mound about 15m below the surface.
Fiennes told the Sunday Times: “I was invited by our mutual friend, Matt SilverValance, to be involved and I have stated in public that the plan has not yet reached the launch stage.” But he told the UK’s Daily Telegraph the underwater walk “might be possible now” thanks to new technology.
“Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, mostly on Robben Island, where he dreamt of escaping across the [8km] gap — which is like Alcatraz with sharks and difficult currents — to get to Cape Town,” Fiennes said.
“It might be possible now, using breathing equipment and heavy boots, to walk under the sea. I’ve already visited Chepstow quarry to get my international diving certificate. So I really hope it goes ahead.”
Silver-Vallance confirmed he was in touch with Fiennes but declined to give further details. He said the Long Walk, a charity fundraiser, required further planning and funding. Proceeds would go to Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Johannesburg.
Early preparations for the walk included a detailed seabed survey by the South African Council for Geoscience, which offered its services free for the worthy cause.
At the time, project leader Michael MacHutchon warned the route would present some challenges, including fluctuations in the surface of the tombolo, which dips into a deeper hole at one point.
However, the real surprise was veins of ancient rock close to the entrance to Robben Island harbour. The rock appears to be Malmesbury shale, one of the oldest rock types on the planet, which also underpins Table Mountain.