Thursday, January 27, 2011

Low2High: Africa Expedition Underway


A unique expedition got underway last week in Africa when Brit Kyle Henning set off on his bike from the shores of Lake Assal near Djibouti, Ethiopia. That region has the distinction of being the lowest spot on the continent, falling 155 meters (508 feet) below sea level. From there, Kyle will ride his bike to Tanzania, covering about 3000km (1864 miles), where he'll then proceed to climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa at 5892 meters (19,340 feet).

Henning has dubbed his journey fittingly enough Low2High: Africa, and he has undertaken this excursion to raise funds for the New Day Children's Center, located in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Kyle hopes to raise £2,500 (roughly $4000) for the center to help meet the needs of some of the children there. He has just finished a two year stint in the Peace Corps, where he helped to improve the HIV/AIDS Services Network in the city, but he hasn't finished helping out just yet.

Already ten days into his ride, Kyle has posted a rather large update to his blog to help keep everyone informed of how the journey is going so far. He has also spoken with ExWeb, who have posted a nice interview with him as well. Henning tells ExWeb that he is "having the time of my life" on this expedition and that he is glad that he has taken on the challenge.

This seems like another fantastic adventure. As I mentioned a few days back, traveling through Africa on a bike sounds like a great way to explore the continent. Getting to visit it's lowest and highest points along the way, is an amazing bonus. Hopefully Kyle is successful in his venture, both for himself and the children he is trying to help back in Bahir Dar.

To donate to Kyle's cause, go to his fund raising page here. As of this writing, he has raised about £888.13, so he is well on his way towards his goal, with a bit to go yet.