On 1 January 2000, French journalists Sonia and Alexandre Poussin set out on an incredible journey. Alone and unassisted, they walked from the Cape of Good Hope to the Sea of Galilee in a quest to retrace the footsteps of mankind. Their adventure, they say, belongs to us: the Africans who taught them what it means to be human.
Sonja Kruse had a seemingly perfect life. She was making good money at a great job, surrounded by fantastic friends and family. But then she had a dream. In it she took a backpack, a camera and R100, and started walking. So to fulfil the dream she resigned and started a journey around South Africa to discover Ubuntu. When Alison Westwood spoke to her, she’d already been to 95 towns and stayed with 136 families from 13 cultures.
‘That woman in the dress and bracelets is my dad!’ This is how the kikoi-clad author of To Hell and Gone is introduced to English readers for the first time by his young son. Alison Westwood had lunch with the Afrikaans travel writer Johan Bakkes and came back with a hangover, an Arabian fancy dress costume and a head full of stories.
As a schoolboy, Donald Schultz was a bit of a weirdo. From the age of five, he talked about snakes, he did his school projects on snakes, he even played with snakes. Then he grew up to become an international television heartthrob. In his latest TV series, Venom Quest, he has what’s advertised as one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet. Collecting research samples from rare and deadly animals takes him into remote locations and hazardous situations. Alison Westwood spoke to Schultz and discovered that, despite the fame and glamour, he’s still slightly bonkers.
Once upon a time, a longhaired, smelly backpacker from Australia was offered a job at a South African game lodge as barman, then as a safari guide. The result was a best-selling book about his misadventures: Don’t run, whatever you do. Alison Westwood chatted to Peter Allison about mad pumas, irate elephants and stories from his book, Don’t look behind you!
Two hours into his first desk job, Christo Coetzer knew it wasn’t for him. It took a unicycle, a copy of Riaan Manser’s book and a piece of extraordinary luck to launch him on an entirely different course. Alison Westwood spoke to the young South African whose story is an inspiration to anyone looking for the courage to pursue a dream.
Three young Brits quit their day jobs in September 2009 and embarked on a 32 000-kilometre overland journey to circumnavigate the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, the Atlantic Rising team is tackling climate change. Alison Westwood spoke to Tim Bromfield after they arrived in Brazil.
Alison Westwood 