Traveling from Africa's lowest to highest point

Traveling through Africa is always an adventure, but a British man, fresh from a stint in the Peace Corps, has found a way to add even more excitement to a journey through the wildest continent on Earth.

Last week, Kyle Henning set out on a journey that he has dubbed as Low2High: Africa. His adventure started at Lake Assal, located in central Djibouti, which has the distinction of being the lowest point in Africa at 508 feet below sea level. From there, he got on his bike and has started an 1864 mile long ride that will pass through six countries, eventually ending up in Tanzania at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. If all goes according to plan, Henning will then trek to the Kili's summit, which is the highest point on the continent at 19,340 feet.

While this sounds like a fantastic way to visit East Africa and make one of the world's great treks on Kilimanjaro, Henning isn't doing it purely for the adventure. The young man is also hoping to raise funds for the New Day Children's Center in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The center provides food, clothing, and education for children that would normally be left to fend for themselves on the city streets. Henning has set a modest goal of raising £2,500 (roughly $4000) and as of this writing he has already managed bring in about £888.

You can follow Kyle's trekking and cycling adventure on his blog, where he is already sharing stories and photos from the road. While he's been traveling for more than a week already, he still has a long way to go, and plenty to see and do. Judging from his early entries however, he seems to be having the time of his life meeting locals and seeing the landscapes. Can we ask for anything more out of our travel than that?

[Photo credit: Kyle Henning]

Filed under: Biking, Hiking, Blogs, Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Cruises