In the (bare) footsteps of John Ross
TWO modern-day explorers who are, more or less, following in the footsteps of John Ross – one of them running barefoot – are expected to arrive in Maputo this weekend, but their journey has not been without troubles.
The city that is now Mozambique’s capital was the destination of the young Scotsman (whose real name was Charles Rawden Maclean) in 1827 when he walked there in search of much-needed medical supplies for the settlement at Port Natal, now Durban.
In Swaziland, Thommo Hart and Simphiwe Ngcobo also collected medicines, although unlike Ross’s expedition, it was Hart who needed treatment after struggling in 40C heat.
“I had a tummy bug… I was vomiting and I had diarrhoea,” he said.
Hart is running barefoot in an effort to break a world record.
“A nurse at the clinic gave me an injection, rehydration fluids and antibiotics,” he said. “A pastor called Nasilela cooked a meal for us and the next day we set off.”
The pair, who spoke to The Independent on Saturday by phone from Hectorspruit in Mpumalanga, close to the Mozambique border, are raising funds for charities.
Back in Swaziland they hoped to see beautiful pools in the Usuthu River which Hart recalled reading about in Ross’s accounts.
“But the river was dry. The drought in Swaziland is twice as bad as it is in Pongola. There is hardly any grass cover.”
However, they celebrated their entry into Swaziland free from the clutches of the drought around them – in the bar of the hotel in the border town of Golela.
There, they heard about the legendary Antarctic explorer, Frank Wild, who worked in the area between expeditions led by Ernest Shackleton. One of his jobs was that of a barman at the hotel.
Later in Swaziland, Hart’s feet suffered badly as they walked on gravel beside a narrow stretch of tar and roadworks before leaving the kingdom and re-entering South Africa at Jeppe’s Reef.
“The journey took its toll on my feet. I have two holes on each sole from blisters. The tar took a large scalp of skin from my left heel.
“Every 10 steps I would feel a sharp pain going up my legs. They are very tender but I am still walking on them, washing them a lot with alcohol spirits.”
Happier memories in Swaziland are being invited into the home of a passing jogger and seeing a rhino and calf at a waterhole at Mbuluzi Game Reserve, as well as a giraffe sucking on a piece of bone.
“Apparently, they do it to strengthen their bones. It was quite funny. The giraffe was like a dog, so happy to be chewing on a bone.”
Hart is raising funds for the Pink Drive cancer charity and Ngcobo is championing the cause for the Empilweni for Physically Challenged Community Centre at kwaNdengezi, near Durban.
To follow their journey, visit https://expeditionists. org/expeditions/the-john-ross-