RETRACE of MOFFAT and LIVINGSTONE ORGINAL JOURNEY

Dr. David Livingstone was born in Scotland where he grew up working in factories with his father. He then went on to school to become a Doctor. His. real passion was religion and the study of the bible. He decided to travel to Africa and become a Missionary. On his initial arrival in Cape Town, he met Robert Moffat. Livingstone then accompanied Mr. Moffat to his base in Kuruman a town which is located in northern South Africa. Livingstone spent a couple of years assisting Moffat in the development of Kuruman. From Kuruman Livingstone’s first Missions where located in what is now southern Botswana.  As Livingstone traveled to spread the word of God, he started to really connect with the local people and this is when he became one of the most famous explorers ever to roam the African Continent.

The village at Kuruman was Mr. Moffat’s base of operation. To this day if one is to visit Kuruman all of the original buildings are still intact and it is a very special place to see. Robert Moffat had a daughter named Mary. Dr. Livingstone and Mary became husband and wife and were married at Kuruman.

The Journey: My best friend since 1959, Ned Litin made the trip from the US to Cape Town for his first ever visit to Africa. We spent a few days getting our vehicle and supplies ready for our big journey. Our mission was to retrace Livingstone and Moffats original journey from Cape Town to Kuruman and beyond. Of course they did it with ox drawn wagons and on foot, we did it in our trusty Toyota Landcruiser. Upon arrival at Kuruman, we were simply amazed at what we saw. It was a Sunday and no one else was there except for the caretaker, Mr. Albert. We spent time chatting with him about the history of the area; he was very helpful with that info. We then set ourselves loose and took it all in. There are some ten building still standing from the old days. The most amazing is perhaps the church. It is huge and most of it is original. The story goes that it took about three years to complete the church using all local materials. The problem was they had made the roof so high that they could not find timbers in the area large enough to support the roof. They had to travel long distances to find the correct timbers to support the roof, so for the first two years the church was up, it had no roof.

Livingstone Tree

I have personally studied and have been fascinated with Livingstone and all of his travels, but at Kuruman, Livingstone comes alive. I could really feel his presence there especially at the tree where he proposed marriage to Mary Moffat.

Once we departed Kuruman we made our way to all small towns that Livingstone traveled through on his initial journey into what is now Botswana. Along the way we saw Livingstone’s house and a small church he had built, we were present at the Livingstone tree, this was an area about 50 kilometers from his house and instead of building another church there, the tree was so large that it provided enough protection against the elements for the local worshipers.

Our next stop was the town of Molepole. It is now quite a large town, but we heard that Livingstone had spent some time there on his way north. So Ned and I went to find the chief of the town, he was out of town but his assistant took us to meet two elders in town. We met these two gents and they gave us an amazing amount of history about the area. They arranged a young man who accompanied us out of town to the Livingstone Cave.

Livingstone Cave

We made the difficult trek up to the cave. We were then informed that this cave is where Livingstone convinced the first chief to become a Christian.

The next leg of our journey would start to take us off road into the bush. We headed north as did Livingstone.

We made the very difficult journey across the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to Chapman’s Baobab Tree. From there we made our way to Naxi Pan, then started to head north into the Delta area passing through Moremi, Savuti, Linyati, Chobe. This was all off road travel. It had now been some ten days or so since we had traveled on a tar road. We made a turn on to the tar road heading for the town of Kasane. Upon our arrival in town, we had a few cold beers and a wonderful meal at a proper restaurant. We then made our way crossing the border post and entering Zimbabwe. After traveling a short distance, we ended up in Victoria Falls for a couple of days of well-deserved rest. Victoria Falls is the second largest waterfall in the world. On another one of his famous journeys, Livingstone discovered Victoria Falls. .