Japanese man sets off to walk the length of Africa

Posted on 11 September 2014

Enjoy a good long walk? How would you feel about 11000 kilometres? On Sunday, 33 year old Masahito Yoshida set off from Alexandria to walk the length of the continent, aiming for the Cape of Good Hope.

Masahito Yoshida, taken in 2012 during his round-the world trip. Photo by davidfntau

Masahito Yoshida, taken in 2012 during his round-the world trip. Photo by davidfntau.

He’ll tow tent, food, water, utensils and everything else he needs behind him in his trusty two-wheeled cart. This may seem like absolute lunacy, but compared to previous escapades it might actually be quite manageable. In 2013 he completed a 1621 day trek, covering 40000 kilometres, walking from Shanghai to Portugal; Atlantic City to Vancouver; and ending up with a stroll from Melbourne to Darwin, crossing Australia from south to north. Oh no, wait. Then he popped over to Singapore and walked back to Shanghai (if you’re going to stride your way around the world, you might as well be thorough about it).

Watch: a visual diary of a 4 500 kilometre walk across China

Yoshida plans to walk down the eastern side of Africa, travelling through Sudan, Ethiopia and Tanzania, and is reportedly excited about “meeting people and animals that will be passed by if you travel by train or bus.” If his pace on his previous journey is anything to go by, he’ll take just over a year to get to his destination at Cape Point. We hope they don’t charge him entrance fee when he gets there.

If all this talk has got your toes itching, check out the best long-distance hiking trails in South Africa.






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