Published by Struik Travel & Heritage.Soft cover, 248 pages, 240mm by 210mm. 360 black-and-white and full-colour photographs. R 280.00 retail (R 238.00 here).

Did you have the privilege of meeting Kingsley Holgate and his team during their epic journey along the outside edge of Africa?

It was the kind of journey we’d like to have made: 64,327 kilometres, 33 countries, every kind of geography, some really weird - and hair-raising - experiences.

And Africa.

What more could you want?

But the Outside Edge was more than just a journey: Kingsley and his beloved Mashozi (and everyone else who involved themselves in the journey) had bigger missions in mind - and as they travelled, they distributed nearly a quarter of a million mosquito nets to pregnant mothers and mothers with children, and promoted literacy by donating glasses to the near-sighted, as well as mobile libraries, colouring-in books, and pens to people in far-flung communities.

The book would be great for your guest library because it divides the journey into these dispatches - two or three to a page - and while some people might like to read it from cover to cover, you also get a good idea of the trip just by dipping in.

To answer my question - yes. I did meet the Outside Edge Expedition - twice, and both times within a week of the end of the adventure. Nice people, for sure - but they were in a bit of a hurry, and they hadn’t the time to sit around and tell me all I wanted to know. Which was OK, because I knew this book was on the way.

… And (thank you Struik Travel & Heritage) it didn’t take long, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Buy it here