When Africa is calling

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Mothers, what would you do if your only son, at the age of 26, informed you he was going to ride a bicycle - on his own - all the way from Tanzania right down to Cape Town? And this, after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest point?

This is what happened to Annemarie Kroon from a farm outside Graaff-Reinet, and she reacted exactly as any mother hen would: "Absolutely NOT!"

An adventurer at heart, Peter laughed off his mother's refusal. Then she tried a different tack. "Make the trip shorter, cut out Kilimanjaro and I will buy you the bicycle."

But Peter, a qualified chartered accountant who completed his three-year practical stint in London, declined this motherly bribe.

Sholto, Peter's father, observed the exchange in silence. Sholto knows his son takes after him: driven with tenacity and a love of life itself. Behind the scenes he started preparing - guiding and helping Peter with the practical and physical preparations for the epic adventure; and he acquainted himself with all the modern technology available - from satellite phones and their features to operating Google Earth like a specialist. Sholto planned ahead in order to track Peter continuously during his adventure.

Finally, when Annemarie realised nothing would change Peter's mind, she insisted that Peter take a satellite phone to be switched on at all times.

On 24 April 2022 Peter left for Tanzania. There he met up with three friends and just five days later, on 29 April, Peter and Tom Flemming, Dom Pickard and Ben Dovey reached their goal: summiting Kilimanjaro.

Desert sun and sand

After the Kilimanjaro experience Peter got onto his bicycle, dubbed "The Pig", and headed home more than 6000 km away.

On his way to Cape Town he cycled through Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana and Namibia. His bicycle weighed about 50 kg and on average he travelled 100 to 200 km per day. Peter says the stretch through the Namib desert was the most challenging.

"It was just too sandy and I had to push The Pig most of the time. My daily average distance dropped to half. The sun was hectic and because I had to slow down so much, I ran out of water. I also lost all comms in the desert. Fortunately, here and there I managed to stop motorists and get some drinking water."

A gem of a sister

Peter's one sister, Gemma, was so inspired by Peter's adventure that she decided to join him as he crossed the border into South Africa. Unlike Peter, Gemma does not have any particular affinity for a bicycle.

In fact, the last time she cycled was sometime in her childhood. But she adores her brother. So, she got herself the necessary gear and met up with Peter at Port Nolloth, just south of the Orange river bordering Namibia.

Gemma's cycling distance to Cape Town was more than 800 km – that without any prior preparation or Training. Peter and Gemma both grew up on a farm in the Graaff-Reinet district and went to Union Primary School. "Cycling the last 5-6 days with my sister and arriving together in Cape Town definitely stands out as a highlight," Peter says.

Fundraiser

What started out as a personal adventure, turned into a successful fundraiser. On his way back Peter decided to raise funds for the Graaff-Reinet based Vuyani Safe Haven for children. Using the GivenGain platform, he reached 225% of his set goal - a whopping R45 000 that went towards Vuyani's Buy-a-Brick building project.

On why he wanted to do the climb and the trip, Peter says, "While I was in London I realised I needed some Africa in my system. I am African and Africa was calling. I had to answer."

These days Peter is based in Johannesburg - much closer to his beloved African plains.

On top of Africa: Ben Dovey in yellow, Tom Flemming in khaki, Dom Pickard in grey and Peter Kroon in blue with the guides.