Short bio: I am a professional travel writer with four guidebooks published by Bradt Travel Guides. I also hold a Guinness World Record for a 2016 source to sea kayaking expedition in Angola (old AMA here).
If you want to know more about our Madagascar kayaking expedition, we have a 40 minute documentary film live here.
To support our cause further, a book of the Mangoky expedition is available here. I will be donating 25% of profits to our chosen educational charity (more details below).
My proof: Here is a photo I just took, confirming the AMA (this photo of me is also uploaded to the gallery for this AMA)! Also, you can see our official expedition website for details on the expedition, including this tracking map of the total route we took.
More details on the Mangoky Expedition:
In May 2022 Oscar Scafidi and Ben Ziehm Stephen set out to complete the first ever source-to-sea expedition along Madagascar’s longest river, the Mangoky. Paddling and carrying a collapsible Klepper kayak, they embarked on a journey of 750km, in support of two charities in Madagascar: the World Food Programme and Our Kids, Our Future Madagascar.
Over twenty-eight days we kayaked, hiked and waded towards the Mozambique Channel. Along the way we bumped into security forces, hunters, farmers and fishermen, as well as paddling past crocodiles and the odd shark. Things didn’t always go smoothly. Last-minute route changes led to a brutal 200km+ trek over a parched mountain range, where we ran out of water (still carrying the 40kg kayak). We picked up nasty foot injuries and both became very sick later in the journey, with Ben contracting Bilharzia (Schistosomiasis).
Our expedition has thus far raised over $5000 for our chosen charitable causes. The documentary film they made of the journey is being aired in film festivals worldwide. Their journey is currently under review as a world record. This is the story of how they did it.
I WILL BE DONATING 25% OF THIS BOOK’S PROFITS TO OUR KIDS, OUR FUTURE MADAGASCAR, TO HELP EVERY CHILD IN MADAGASCAR ACCESS A GOOD EDUCATION
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