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Brent Wibberley and Nick Haan will attempt a south to north kayak crossing of Lake Victoria in August 2009.
Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake, the world’s largest tropical lake and the world’s second widest freshwater
lake.
Lake Victoria - Africa's largest lake
Their route will take them from the southernmost town of Mwanza and finish in the northern most town of
Jinja (the outlet point and headwaters of the Nile River).
During their journey they will carry the message of
peace through all three lake side countries and will be carrying the three countries flags as a symbol of unity in the EAC. Their journey will see them stop at the contentious island of Migingo in an effort to highlight the need for harmony in addressing such political issues.
OBJECTIVE
The key objectives of this expedition are to:
(1) safely kayak across the length of the lake, whilst
(2) highlight the need for harmony and peace and the sharing of resources between the three lakeside countries and EAC members.
It is hoped that by doing this they will be able to share in the common aspirations of the lakeside people, reassure them of each other’s goodwill and display to politicians the benefit of unity amongst the EAC members
ROUTE
The expedition will involve paddling in a two-man kayak from the southernmost town of Mwanza in Tanzania, passing along the east coast of Lake Victoria, entering Kenya and visiting the island of Migingo, then continuing into Uganda and finishing at the northernmost town of Jinja.
A journey of approximately 450km that will take a minimum of two weeks paddling.
The paddlers will be unsupported for the first eight days, after which they will be met by a support vehicle on the Kenyan side that will monitor their progress and meet up with them in Jinja. They plan to paddle between 35 and 45km each day and will camp where possible and live primarily off the resources of the lake and lakeside villagers. They will maintain communication via satellite phone and mobile reception where possible and their progress will be uploaded to the expedition’s website.
TEAM
Expedition leader: Brent Wibberley.
Brent was born in Zimbabwe and is an experienced guide and expedition leader. He has paddled many of Africa’s large lakes, including Lake Kariba (280km) and Lake Tanganyika (675km). Brent has trained at the Royal Geographic Expedition Advisory Centre in London, is an ORCA qualified seakayaker and currently leads 4 and 5 day kayak expeditions through his Kenyan company Sand Dollar Kayak Expeditions (K) Ltd. Brent has written articles and published photographs on his many expeditions and is currently finishing a kayak book..
Partner: Dr. Nick Haan.
Nick is a specialist in food security analysis and has lived and worked in East Africa for 20 years. Nick is an experienced paddler and outdoor adventurer. He joined Brent on a 6-day kayak expedition on the north coast of Kenya and together they have partnered in a kayak company that will open soon in Zanzibar. Nick speaks KiSwahili and plays the guitar, vital skills when camping in East Africa.
LAKE FACTS
Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake, with a shoreline of 3,440km spanning three countries, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. The lake has more than 3,000 and it supports the livelihood of over 30 million people, providing food, transport and electricity.
The lake lies within the elevated plateau between the west and eastern arm of Africa’s Great Rift Valley.
It is the source of the longest branch of the River Nile, the White Nile, and has a of 184,000 square kilometeres (71,040 sq mi).
It ranks as the seventh by volume, containing 2,750 cubic kilometers of water. However, as the lake is relatively shallow (average of 40m) its large volume is spread over a vast area 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi).
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