Nowak's Africa

„..I was aware of the fact that this undertaking is not daring but rather crazy, yet the willingness to get to know Africa was too great to resist it..”

Bike expedition following Kazimierz Nowak's route

Powersport – Friend of the 10th phase of „Nowak's Africa”

We are looking for a sponsor of two tents suitable for the expedition in Africa (mosquito nets)

The mission of the expedition

...first the neighbour, then home – first the companion, then the road

From Tripoli in the north Africa to Cape Agulhas at its southern end and then back to the north to Algier at the Mediterranean – this is the route of this exciting and tough bike expedition. Our team accurately reconstructs Kazimierz Nowak's route, thus they travel by bike, train (300km), ship, on horseback (3000km), dugout canoe, on foot, and on camel's back.

- 40 thousand kilometres through African wilderness

- 24 phases, each at the length of 1500 – 1800 km monthly. 18 countries.

Between 1931 – 1936 Kazimierz Nowak as the first man covered this route in his solitary expedition - „the titan of stamina and the tycoon of invincible willpower”. His unusual feat has never been appropriately appreciated.

With this expedition the team wants to remind this unusual man and his trip. They want to propagate the figure and the achievements in our country but also abroad. They hope that with this unusual expedition they will draw the attention to his achievements and provide due place among the most outstanding travellers and explorers.

In his reports Nowak gave a detailed account of people. When the whole world perceived Africa as the source of natural resources and the colonies, Nowak saw mainly the human being and social problems. Not until now in the face of crisis which afflicts Africa can the visionary and wisdom of his appraisal be seen.

This journey „after the years” is consequently devoted to the interest in people. They do not set off to watch the Dark Continent but to explore it. They want to experience places they reach. Kazimierz Nowak showed that if you have the basic knowledge about the culture and mentality of the people who you meet and if you treat them with respect just like any other human being, you may win over their hospitality. Help from the side of the encountered people is the main condition for the success of the expedition. The motto of this journey will be African proverb: first the neighbour, then home– first the companion, then the road. All the participants believe that thanks to such approach they will happily cover the whole distance and will finish it in Algeria.

Aims of the expedition:

• The international promotion of Kazimierz Nowak figure as well as his achievements. It is worth showing the world that before the war there was a man who thought about Africa and its indigenous inhabitants in an unusual way as for the contemporary  world. Most importantly, he explored the dark continent.
• We should pay tribute and popularise the figure of our great Polish invincible traveller both in Europe and in Africa. This is the continuation of Kazimierz Nowak's reporter's work and also of Ryszard Kapuscinski's – collecting and updating information on Africa. In 2010 it was over 80 years from the time of Nowak's expedition (1931-36) and 50 years from 1960 when 17 African countries decolonised themselves and Africa became independent.
• Activity promoting indigenous and local inhabitants/ people
• Popularising bike as an excellent mean of transport as well as bike tourism
• Popularising Africa – its beauty, variety, speed, simplicity as an alternative to globalisation and commercialisation