Travelling through 11 countries, even today, is no simple task, but imagine walking from the Cape of Good Hope to the Sea of Galilee, which is exactly what French couple Alexandre and Sonia Poussin did in 2001.
"A perfect way to walk into the third millennium! An idea that just came to us as a way to celebrate 2 000 years of history," reads an excerpt from their book, Africa Trek, which was recently released in South Africa, eight years after their journey began and five years after its French release.
As I prepared to meet them for an interview, I ran over the feat in my mind: a journey that took three years, eight months of which were spent just going through South Africa, that crossed 11 countries, some of which were in crisis, encountering 1 200 families and covering 14 000km of rugged terrain - all undertaken entirely on foot, with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a backpack containing pens, eight little notebooks, a video camera and film. What kind of mad people are they?
That's quickly answered when Sonia and Alexandre arrived at our offices, with broad smiles, greetings and a bit of French chatter. They were completely open to their surroundings, lapping up every and little detail, with Alexandre stopping to take note of the pictures and notices on the walls. They were immediately at home and engaged in delightful conversation.
Jacana Media launched their book in South Africa, and the couple came to promote it. It took hard work and five years to get the book translated into English, explained Alexandre.
Africa Trek: In the Footsteps of Mankind (recently a TV series on the Travel Channel) covers their journey from the Cape of Good Hope to Mount Kilamanjaro. Alexandre and Sonia sold their rights to the South African edition and will be donating the proceeds to the Ardmore Ceramic Arts Charity.
Volume 2, which takes you to the end of their journey, is to follow.
Getting the book to South Africa and promoting it cost them a small fortune. "but it's the first time we could give back what belongs to you", said Alexandre.
During their stay, they visited various venues, screening their short film - which covers their journey and research as they retrace the passage of early man - and lecturing on their findings.
"We want to hold up a mirror to you - to tell you, look how your brothers are, they are just like you; and to show you the country: there are so many beautiful things.
"I wish that people could just see it and love themselves and each other," said Sonia.
I had been wondering why they went about their travel in this way.
"We wanted to experience the real Africa, the genuine one, and not the one perverted by industry, economy and politics," they said.
"We are not like other travellers. We love people and we go where the most people are. We like differences. We wanted to experience life the way the people in the area live. Their life is heroic and we tried to endure their conditions for a day." And that they did.
Beginning on New Year's Eve 2000 in the Table Mountain National Park, they awaited the arrival of 2001 and the beginning of their Africa trek, their search for the truth of humankind.
"With no food or valuables, no sponsors and no support crew, we travelled the route interviewing scientists and locals along the way. Every night, I would write for an hour in my little notebook. Sonia and I recorded our own footage while travelling and living with the locals who put us up for the night - partaking in their way of life," said Alexandre.
As for fear of being attacked while on their journey, they both insisted that they were not afraid of people, only of wild animals.
"Walking flattens prejudices. We wanted to be vulnerable, like the people of the land. They would look at us and see we have no weapons, no valuables; we are what we are, just travellers. That's why people could reach out to us, because we were just like them.
"Some days we were longing for these people to rescue us. There were some days when we had no food, no water. We were sick; sometimes there was no place to clean ourselves. We each lost five teeth," says Sonia.
The journey was one that tested the human spirit. "When we arrived here in South Africa, we had no idea of how to do this. The first six months we suffered a lot from walking as our shoes were terribly uncomfortable," said Alexandre.
"Sonia and I had blisters and bleeding feet. Then near Nelspruit and the farming areas, we noticed that all the farmers and workers wore a certain kind of shoe and they had no problems. We found out these were Hi-Tec shoes and set about finding a shop," he added.
At a shop in Nelspruit, the Poussins had their best South African experience. Owner Naeem Omar, who assisted them, asked them where they were going.
"When Naeem heard we were going to Jerusalem, he asked if we were Muslim. We told him we were Christian and (told him) the reason for our journey. When we were about to leave, we realised that he'd paid for our shoes and he refused to take the money. He said we were on a haj and must accept the shoes as his gift and take his name to Jerusalem. Many people we met asked us to take their names to Jerusalem.
"Naeem then insisted on supplying us with Hi-Tecs for the rest of our journey. He couriered a few pairs to us and the shoes were always stuffed with spicy biltong, energy bars and things. We loved it," Alexandre added.
The couple visited Naeem again during their book tour.
"In Tanzania, we met a lady named Habiba who had a handicapped baby. We found her, with a baby strapped to her back, making chapatis on the shop floor. We were so hungry and asked to buy some. She was so happy to hear us speak in Swahili and we told her stories about our journey while we waited.
"But Sonia noticed that each time Habiba turned to cook the chapati, the baby on her back would come about 5cm from a nail sticking out of the wall," said Alexandre. "Sonia took the baby in her arms, and Habiba was amazed. For them, it is bad luck to hold a handicapped child."
Sonia continued: "Habiba made us a lovely meal and when it came time for us to leave, she wouldn't accept payment. So I stuck the money somewhere and we left."
Soon afterwards, Habiba ran up to them with a big bunch of bananas. "She'd used the money to buy them for us. We were speechless. We couldn't believe the generosity of this poor woman," said Alexandre. "She is symbolic of Africa - generosity in poverty."
