Intrepid traveller treks through Hillcrest
Johann van Coller made his way through Hillcrest after weeks of walking from Cape Agulhas.
EXTREME sports athlete, Johann van Coller is undertaking an expedition from Cape Agulhas, on the southern-most tip of Africa, to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, as training for his #90sto90n journey.
He is currently in the Durban area, en route to the Drakensberg, where he plans to meet up with friends and take part in BASE jumping before heading off on his next leg of the journey.
During his trip, Van Coller was robbed of all his possessions at gunpoint while passing through Hibberdene recently. This forced him to make a stop-over in Durban so he could regroup. Friends in the skydiving community rallied and kitted him out with enough equipment to continue his journey, although he still needs to replace all of the warm clothing that was stolen from him. This past week he also stopped to visit a few friends in Hillcrest and stocked up on some additional items.
Van Coller explained that this was part of a training exercise for his ultimate goal: to journey from Antarctica to the Arctic, via the Americas, which he refers to as #90sto90n.
“I need a specific set of skills for this journey,” he explained. “The Sea to Summit trip is specifically to test my stamina and physical capabilities and to learn how to live off the land. If I cannot do something, I need to figure out why and learn how to improve my skills.”
His Sea to Summit expedition began on January 31 as he made his way up the coastline through the Garden Route, Eastern Cape and the Transkei. Once he completes this expedition, he will return to Cape Town and begin a rigorous training schedule to prepare for his next expedition.
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“I chose the coastal route because it is the easiest terrain for a beginner survivalist to sustain themselves with fishing and hunting,” he said. “There is so much I have to learn through experience, before tackling any extreme climate. I have already learnt so much about my body and what I am capable of, but this has also made me realise that I still have much to learn.”
Van Coller laughed as he recounted his fair share of mishaps and minor injuries along the way, from a broken toe to blisters, thorns, banging himself on rocks, being attacked by a swarm of bees, falling off a section of cliff that crumbled under him and crashing through a canopy of trees to the undergrowth below.
He also mentioned he has been shown so much kindness from people along the route.
“I have met outstanding, generous individuals right from the outset,” he said. “People like Adventure Incorporated and RAM Mountaineering have sponsored a few of the items I need, while Mama Alles sponsored some of the dehydrated food. Folk along the way have given me a bed for the night and shared what little food they have with me.”
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Ideally, van Coller would love to partner with a nutritionist when he starts to train and test himself, as an Olympic athlete would do, before undertaking his long expedition. He would welcome guidance regarding a suitable range of multivitamins, oils to support his joints and the correct foods to which his body will respond positively.
While he is paying specific attention to his diet on this trip, he said there was no definitive data to rely on as yet. He also expressed an interest in working with one or two educational institutions to assist with the knowledge and training regime. He feels there is a great deal of research and information that he could feed back to these institutions, both on this trip and during his eventual #90sto90n expedition.
To follow Johann van Coller’s progress, find him on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as Barefootmagicman.
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