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African Journey Sparks The Imagination

photo by Photo Provided Sitting a top of one of the many dunes he hiked, Addison County's Nathan North's journey across parts of Africa after college graduation opened not only his eyes, but sparked the imagination of teens following him on the Internet.

photo by Photo Provided College friend Eric Slaugh and Nathan North planned the trip from their first days at Clarkson University, but did not anticipate the stunning beauty, variety and wonders that they would find.

Tuesday November 17, 2015

By Cookie Steponaitis

When Ferrisburgh resident Nathan North first started his college career as an engineering major at Clarkson University, he and roommate Eric Slaugh hatched a crazy idea. The pair decided that upon graduation with their Bachelor’s degrees they would select a place in the world to hike that would allow them a rich cultural experience, landscapes beyond belief, animals and a corner of the world they had not explored.
   Each semester the duo would create a list and then research the possibilities. On May 14, 2015, literally hours after receiving their diplomas, the pair turned in their caps and gowns for jeans, hiking shoes and backpacks and headed for Johannesburg, South Africa.
    “The place was absolutely gorgeous,” shared North. “There were mountains in all directions and roads that wound for miles along the ocean and up into the mountains. Baboons, Ostrich, and Springbok were interspersed with cows, turkeys and domestic animals. One of our first adventures included the town of Outdshoorn, at the southern top of Africa, where we rode elephants on safari and participated in an ostrich roundup.” Logging their trip not only in photos, but video as well, the pair moved through South Africa, Swaziland and Namibia. People following the trip via the Internet and Facebook caught glimpses of  Addo Elephant Reserve, Pony Treks into the highlands, Waterfalls over 2,000feet and even the Soweto Townships where Nelson Mandela once lived.
    Referring to the trip as “sensory overload, “the pair each had their favorite memorable moments, but shared that Lesotho not only touched their heart, but souls as well. “ We stayed in the chief’s lodge- a mud hut with no running water, electricity, roads, heat, furniture, bedding or many other things that most people would classify as necessities,” explained North. “The stars that night in the village were the brightest I have ever seen in my life and being above 10,000 feet and six hours from the nearest road or city gives way to a night sky truly lit only by the heavens.” While the pair started out documenting the trip in videos just to record the events and to have a place to look back on reminisces, it evolved into more. Using a small action camera North didn’t have to look through the lens and could just film it while he looked on as an observer. The film is now being used in the classroom by local Addison County teachers to not only follow the pair’s journey, but to see first-hand images of parts of Africa that many people never experience. The pair traveled from May 14- July 2, 2015 and flew 20,000 miles and actually walked about three thousand miles. Their journey is now sparking the imagination of a new generation of future travelers and global citizens.

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