Wanstead geography student Ben Harris is attempting to become the first person to kayak solo the entire length of the world’s longest lake.
Ben, 21, started on 3 July and has now completed the first leg of four, avoiding crocodiles among other threats. The map below demonstrates he has a way to go – his progress is marked in blue.
On his site he explains his mission: “My aim is to kayak the entire length of the lake, from its southernmost tip in Mpulungu, Zambia to its northernmost tip in Bujumbura, Burundi, becoming the first person to complete this voyage solo. This entails close to 750km of kayaking, and will take me over a month to complete. The trip will be unsupported, low budget and I will be travelling light.”
He has form – he has previously cycled unsupported from Wanstead to Barcelona, has canoed and hiked in Canada’s remote Yukon region with the Inuit people, has mountaineered in the Alps and spent five months of solo travel across South America.
His current mission is to raise money for Centrepoint to support homeless young people. He’s sharing details of his trip on Instagram, and is inviting donations via this link – he’s already raised more than £6,000.
Stay safe Ben. We look forward to your Wansteadium interview on your return! Such a great charity to be raising funds for. We’ve just donated and hope others follow suit. Good luck for the rest of the challenge.
Very well done Ben, you fabulous guy, what a great adventure and what and good cause, all the very best.