Robson Sharuko in CAIRO, Egypt
IT’S a fascinating adventure to match the one playing out on the plains, valleys, mountains, rivers and jungles of Africa — two dare devils on a journey like no other.

The only difference being that the other one was scripted in the skies, through pregnant clouds and violent weather conditions.

John “Jack’’ Alcock and Arthur “Teddy’’ Brown will always be remembered as the first men who tamed the ultimate challenge — flying non-stop across the Atlantic from the United States to Britain.

The Daily Mail newspaper had triggered the gold rush with a £10 000 (about £1 million in today’s value) bounty for the first flight crew to achieve that feat.

Saturday marked the 100th year since Alcock and Brown conquered that challenge when they landed their twin-engine Vickers Vimy at what they believed was a flat meadow at Clifden, County Galway, Ireland, only for the aircraft to plunge into a peat bog.

It was a tale of bravery, endurance, never-say-die spirit, the quest to defeat the odds and the benefits that come with being triumphant, on such missions.

Its 100th anniversary could not have come at a more appropriate time for the people of Zimbabwe and South Africa with two daredevils from the neighbouring nations also battling to avoid being consumed by the tough challenges that come with making the Cape to Cairo road trip to be part of the 2019 AFCON finals show.

Alvin “Aluvha’’ Zhakata and Botha Msila are two of the most recognisable faces in football either side of the Limpopo River — passionate fans who, for years now, have been challenging the boundaries that define the conventional supporter of the beautiful game.

Botha is the Bloemfontein Celtic super fan, who is usually unmistakable in his green-and-white clothes and matching white headgear, and is also a passionate fan of Bafana Bafana.

Aluvha is the Dynamos super fan, the slender one but with a big heart, his deceptive looks hiding a powerful soul and spirit that saw him going on a road trip from Harare to Rwanda, a few years ago, to support his Warriors at the CHAN finals.

Since leaving Cape Town, crossing into Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya, the duo have captured the imagination of the continent.

Their adventure has played out on radio shows, newspapers and television stations across the continent and such influential voices like Robert Marawa, the South African sportscaster, have been following their tale on a daily basis and providing updates of their journey. But, just like Alcock and Brown a good 100 years ago, Aluvha and Botha knew there would be huge challenges in this wild expedition on a continent so big and diverse, you never know what will confront you around the corner.

“We embarked on this journey knowing we are bound to come across such challenges, or worse,’’ tweeted Aluvha after running into serious turbulence on the Kenya/Ethiopia border when they were told they would not be allowed to enter Ethiopia because they didn’t have e-visas. “But, not even this setback could dissuade us from standing (for) our conviction. We are resilient soldiers and our courage is unbending.’’

That bold statement of defiance came exactly two days after they first ran into their challenges and revealed they had barely slept, in a rundown room they found at that border, with mosquitoes giving them all sorts of problems.

Ethiopia, the seat of the African Union in Addis Ababa, was never expected to be where they would run into serious challenges with many praying that the political turbulence that has been playing in Sudan, a country they have to pass, should not spell danger for the duo.

Yesterday, after three days of being trapped at the border, Botha gave up the mission, went back to Nairobi and was expected to be flown home courtesy of the South African government. But Aluvha has remained defiant.

“I’m a Warriors,’’ he told The Herald from his jungle base camp. “I would rather die in the battle field than seek shelter in the bunkers.

“I won’t give up, I will finish my race.’’

Whether he will, like Alcock and Brown, finally complete his mission, remains to be seen but there is no denying he remarkable spirit.

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