Crossing Africa: a 7,500-mile Trek from Cape Town to Cairo with Explorer Mario Rigby
Follow explorer Mario Rigby on a 7,500-mile trek across the entire length of the African continent. Travelling on foot from Cape Town to Cairo, through South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt, Mario sought to understand the lives of African people better, to learn from them, sleeping where they slept, eating where they ate, living side-by-side, step-by-step.
Born in the Turks & Caicos islands of the Caribbean, he also sought to learn about his roots and inspire other black men and women, boys and girls, that although they are shamefully under-represented in the outdoor and adventure industries, they too can be explorers. They too can do whatever they set their mind too.
But it was more than that too. At the age 30, Mario found himself lost. He was living in Canada, unhappy with his job, uncertain of his future, uncertain how he could make a difference, how he could live a life of meaning and purpose.
Dreams don't have to be Fairy Tales
Then he remembered a hero from his childhood. Before T’Challa, otherwise known as the Black Panther, could become king he had to go on a journey, a ‘walkabout’ as he called it, in order to learn how to be a better leader, a better person, to learn how to contribute to society and humanity as a whole. As a child he dreamed of doing the same thing, but as an adult he knew it was just a fairy tale. But what if it wasn’t? What if he too could go on a walkabout to learn about Africa, and himself, to change his life and start a new path.
The way was unclear. He had no guarantees and very little money. He was daunted by the prospect. But nonetheless he plucked up the courage, flew to Cape Town, and began his own walkabout. In doing so, he would inspires all of us that anything is possible. He would inspire us that dreams don’t have to be fairy tales.
“I wanted to show that in Africa , people are living everyday lives and that africans are ingenious, creative … that there are all kinds of people that live there just the way we would live anywhere else. I wanted to normalize that, to show people this kind of living. And I think the best way to get the most authentic experience was to go by foot, because then, you have to meet every single body.”
- Mario Rigby
Highlights include:
· Hear the inspirational story of how Mario changed his life by setting out on a ‘walkabout’ in search of answers about himself and his place in the world
· Find out how Mario became a Mozambique TV Star
· Kayak nearly 400-miles across Lake Malawi, dodging crocodiles and hippos, camping out on remote villages, many of which had never seen a foreigner before
· Walk among a troop of 1000 Gelada Baboons in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia
· Cross the deserts of Sudan, meeting the women who would later spark the revolution to overthrow the government, and the child refugees who were inspired by his story to find their own courage too
· Discover what Mario learned, the answers he came too and how the journey changed his life
Videos
Here's the trailer for the expedition ...
And here's that video I mention of Mario getting shot at by rebel soldiers in Mozambique ... understandably, quite a few bad words here!
Connect with Mario
Go and connect with Mario right now, his social media is awesome! Instagram & Twitter @mariorigby / Facebook @mariorigbyofficial. He also posts really awesome You Tube videos from this adventure, and others: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnzaISaYOAlC1BcIUxAxifQ … and his website is www.mariorigby.com
Shout out to Our Sponsor!
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