From Cape Agulhas to Kilimanjaro
Life’s a mission for young eco-adventurer who is sleeping rough and living his dream
He has swum with the seals, been confronted by a honey badger and walked 91km in one day.
Eco-adventurer Johann van Coller, 33, has encountered all this and more on his mission to walk from Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa, to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest point on the continent, camping along the way.
And if you think that is ambitious — it is just a training trip for his main goal to become the first person to walk from the South Pole to the North Pole.
Speaking yesterday from Woody Cape, after passing through Gqeberha last week, Van Coller said he knew before he set out from Cape Agulhas in January it would be an amazing experience.
“But it’s been mind-blowing, even more intense than I thought it would be,” he said.
“I swam with the seals, whales and sharks off Port Elizabeth [Gqeberha] while we were scuba diving in a sardine bait ball, and in the Southern Cape I trapped fish using rocks and wire.
“In Tsitsikamma, I fell into a hole and gashed my leg badly and I was attacked by bees.
“I’ve had a few snake scares and I was confronted by a honey badger near Stilbaai.
“But I also experienced the beauty of fireflies at night.”
The badger incident occurred as he was crossing farmland near Stilbaai.
“This little guy was suddenly on the path in front of me.
“A badger can take down a lion so I got a bit of a fright,” Van Coller said.
“But he just looked at me, then turned around and trotted off.”
He left Cape Agulhas on January 31 and aimed to reach the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro by February 2022.
“I’ve travelled up the coast keeping as much to the beach as possible, and the aim is when I get to Durban I’ll branch inland to Pretoria.
“The idea initially was to go through Mozambique from there but with the problems in the north of that country, I might change my route and go via Zimbabwe.”
He said he had overnighted with several friends along the way but had otherwise camped, and for that purpose, was carrying a small tent in his pack, which was 32kg when full.
“Part of the reason for the trip is to toughen up my body to trek from the South Pole to the North Pole.
“And I can see it’s working. “At first, I struggled a bit but now I’m feeling strong.
“On one day between Storm’s River and St Francis I did 91km and the next day I felt fine.”
Van Coller said while he had read plenty of books about overland trekking, he had realised there was no better learning tool than the road itself.
“The idea is to accumulate skills, including how to catch and gather my own food, so I fish and swim out to reefs now and then to collect alikreukel.
“I’ve also done some trapping of small wildlife and birds and am working out a way to use rocks and wire to trap fish.
“It’s worked a couple of times but I’m far from an expert.”
While he has some money saved up, he is working while he walks, using his cellphone for social media marketing and helping one or two friends tout for business, for which he receives a commission when successful.
He said he had become increasingly aware of pollution and how it became worse as he approached each town.
“Plastics, cans, cigarette cartons — it’s terrible.
“If we can educate people about recycling that would help and hopefully my journey will grow awareness about that.”
Van Coller studied engineering through a Sasol scholarship in Johannesburg, before working on various power stations.
He then moved to Cape Town, where he became immersed in base jumping and skydiving.
But at a certain point he knew he had to try something even more extreme.
“In the beginning, my family thought I was frikken mad but now they are fully supportive.”