Africa’s renowned Kingsley Holgate Foundation completes its 42nd expedition.
Photos – Kingsley Holgate Foundation
Africa’s well-known explorers Kingsley and Ross Holgate, along with their veteran expedition team, recently completed their 42nd humanitarian journey—this time to Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. With a strong focus on malaria prevention, community health, and conservation education, the Greater Gorongosa Expedition marked the team’s return to one of the continent’s most inspiring ecological restoration stories.
“We first visited Gorongosa in 2012 to celebrate the end of our Great African Rift Valley expedition,” recalls Kingsley Holgate. “We symbolically emptied a calabash of Red Sea water into Lake Urema—the southern end of the Rift.”
It was then that the Holgates first learned of the Park’s remarkable comeback from decades of conflict, led by a passionate team under philanthropist Greg Carr. In 2019, the Holgate Foundation returned to Gorongosa on a mercy mission following the devastation of Cyclone Idai. Now, in 2025, the team came back once more—this time with a convoy of Land Rovers and a mission grounded in health, hope, and connection.
Lifesaving interventions, lasting impact.
Fresh off their 62,000-km Afrika Odyssey, the Holgate Foundation launched its 42nd expedition with a renewed focus close to home. The journey began in South Africa with a send-off from the Koru Environmental Kids Camp near Hoedspruit, where 800 children joined in the Foundation’s Wildlife Art campaign.
Once in Mozambique, the expedition distributed insecticide-treated mosquito nets in vulnerable rural communities around the Park, working closely with Gorongosa’s Human Development staff. These nets remain a critical line of defense in a region where malaria is endemic and still claims the lives of too many children under five.
The team also carried out basic eye screenings and handed out reading glasses to elders—restoring not just sight, but independence. As Kingsley often says, “Even a small act of care can change someone’s world.”
Restoring sight, restoring dignity
One of the most meaningful parts of the expedition is the Mashozi’s Rite to Sight campaign. This effort—launched by Gill Holgate during a round-the-world journey—has provided more than 221,500 pairs of reading glasses to elderly and poor-sighted people across Africa. In Gorongosa National Park, the team worked in partnership with Doctors for Life to offer free eye tests and distribute reading glasses in communities near the Park.
The impact was immediate. Farmers could once again distinguish seeds from soil. Grandmothers could read and sew with clarity. Community elders smiled as they held open books for the first time in years. As the Holgates often say: Adventure with purpose. Sight with dignity.
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Education, empowerment, and art in action.
The expedition visited several schools, including Vinho Primary School, where students took part in the Wildlife Art campaign. Children created conservation-themed posters, received backpacks and school supplies, and contributed messages to the growing Gorongosa Scroll for Conservation—a traveling banner that gathers youth voices from across Africa.
At one of Gorongosa’s 100+ Girls Clubs, the team shared a day filled with netball, football, laughter, and open conversation. These clubs provide a vital space for mentorship, health education, and leadership training—helping girls stay in school and avoid early marriage.
Exploring a park reborn.
A major highlight was the inauguration of Chicari Camp, Gorongosa’s new seasonal eco-lodge overlooking a peaceful, wildlife-rich pan. As the first official guests, the Holgate team joined in a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony and placed stones on a symbolic iSivivane cairn—marking a new chapter for sustainable tourism in the Park.
Later, the team journeyed up Mount Gorongosa, a mist-covered peak vital to the region’s water supply. There, they witnessed how the Gorongosa Coffee Project is transforming lives through shade-grown, rainforest-friendly coffee. By training local farmers and restoring forest cover, the initiative is rebuilding both ecosystems and livelihoods.
Standing tall.
The Gorongosa Rangers are also a little taller in spirit—even if not yet in their feet. Thanks to the generous support of Jim Green Footwear’s #bootsforrangers campaign, the Rangers will receive rugged new African Ranger boots designed for long hours in the field. More than 6,000 pairs have been donated across Africa through this initiative. Now, Gorongosa is proudly part of that legacy.
But there’s a hitch. Despite the donation’s clear public benefit and the deep goodwill behind it, the boots are currently standing in Mozambican customs. While our Rangers are ready to lace up, government officials are trying to resolve the issue swiftly—and stand with the men and women risking their lives to protect Mozambique’s wildlife.
A journey of purpose and partnership.
Throughout the journey, the Holgate team navigated challenging terrain, crossed swollen rivers, and visited remote communities with one goal in mind: to build bridges between people and nature. Their iconic Land Rover convoy, symbolic calabash, and Scroll of Peace and Goodwill collected messages from rangers, elders, and youth—amplifying the shared belief that conservation and community can go hand in hand.
As this expedition draws to a close, the message is clear: Gorongosa is more than a Park—it’s a powerful symbol of resilience, regeneration, and hope.
To see more from the Greater Gorongosa Expedition, follow the Kingsley Holgate Foundation on social media.
