Hugh Ndudza makes history as first Zimbabwean to complete road trip from London to Harare
ZIMBABWEAN adventurer Hugh Ndudza has completed a 212-day overland travel after touching down in Harare this Sunday, to become the first black Zimbabwean to successfully complete a road trip from London to Harare.
What began as a quiet evening scrolling through YouTube turned into a historic cross-continental journey for Ndudza, a young man who was determined to redefine African over landing.
Inspired by YouTube videos of travellers journeying through Africa, Ndudza noticed a glaring gap in that very few, if any, black Africans have embarked on such an ambitious trip from London to Harare.
Though it appeared to be risky, Ndudza left his family in the United Kingdom with an ambition to become the first black Zimbabwean to drive solo from Europe to Zimbabwe in a self-built camper van, eyeing imprinting his name in the record books.
“There are quite a lot of challenges and quite a lot of pleasures as well. I have been to 42 countries in total, 62 000 kilometers in total and finally to be back home in Zimbabwe is a great pleasure. I took a ferry from London to France and then from Spain to Morocco I took a second ferry. Then from Morocco to Zimbabwe all the way it was just road, with some tough roads in Africa that I have crossed, deserts, rivers, jungles,” he said.
Though possessing no prior knowledge and training, Ndudza bought an old van in England which he converted into a mobile home.
“I was not sleeping in five-star hotels. When I thought about this trip it took more than a year to plan. The car was just a normal delivery truck, and then I planned to build the car and plan where I will be sleeping, cooking, taking a shower and everything else. The car is basically a house with everything, including solar panels fitted on the roof and a 500-litre water tank.”
Ndudza began his journey on October 26 last year, embarking on a journey that cost him over 15 000 Pounds to place Zimbabwe on the over-landing map and also to inspire more Zimbabweans to join the overland adventure. ZBC
