For 25 years, Defender has been far more than a vehicle supplier to the Kingsley Holgate Foundation. It has been a constant expedition partner – carrying people, equipment and life-saving aid into some of the most remote corners of Africa and beyond.
Since the partnership began in 2000, Defender vehicles have supported more than 40 humanitarian and conservation-focused expeditions, traversing everything from searing desert landscapes to flood-prone equatorial rainforests. Wherever conventional access ends, the Foundation has relied on Defender’s durability, range and real-world off-road capability to keep moving.
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That capability has translated directly into impact. Over the past quarter-century, the Kingsley Holgate Foundation has distributed more than 473,300 long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets, protecting over 1.4 million mothers and children against malaria. Alongside this, the Foundation’s Rite to Sight campaign has restored vision to elderly, poor-sighted people across the continent, while youth-focused conservation education and wildlife art initiatives have helped inspire future custodians of Africa’s wild places.
Also read: Mozambique, malaria nets and the spirit of adventure
The Defender Africa Traverse
To mark this 25-year milestone, the Foundation is launching a new three-month expedition in January 2026: the Defender Africa Traverse. The journey is both a celebration and a tribute, paying homage to the legendary Capricorn Expedition that once traced the 23°27′ line across southern Africa and was later documented in a National Geographic series.
This time, two expedition-prepared Defender 130 Outbounds will carry the team from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. The route begins on Namibia’s stark Skeleton Coast, before heading east into Botswana to cross the vast Makgadikgadi Pans – the largest salt pans on Earth – and then through the rolling sands of the Kalahari.
In South Africa, the expedition follows the historic Ivory Trail, weaving through key wildlife regions along the Capricorn line. The journey then pushes north-east into malaria-risk areas along the Limpopo River, including Mozambique’s Gaza and Inhambane provinces.
True to the Foundation’s purpose, malaria prevention remains central to the expedition. Pregnant mothers and young children in high-risk regions will receive mosquito nets and malaria-prevention education, continuing a programme that has already saved countless lives. The Rite to Sight campaign will again deliver reading glasses to elderly community members, while conservation education efforts aim to ignite curiosity and responsibility in younger generations.
Adventure with purpose
For Ross Holgate, expedition leader at the Foundation, the work remains deeply personal. He describes the moment someone puts on a pair of reading glasses for the first time in years as instantly transformative – a reminder that small interventions can have life-changing consequences. Malaria, however, remains a far more urgent and relentless threat, reinforcing the need to keep reaching remote communities year after year.
From Defender’s side, the partnership reflects the brand’s DNA. As Defender Brand Manager Janico Dannhauser explains, there is no clearer proof of a vehicle’s capability than consistently delivering aid into inaccessible terrain. For Defender, the Africa Traverse is both a celebration of shared values and a demonstration of engineering designed for real-world adventure.
Renowned explorer Kingsley Holgate sums it up best: this has never been just about crossing Africa. It has been about using exploration as a force for good.
As the 43rd Kingsley Holgate Foundation expedition sets off, the Defender Africa Traverse stands as a powerful reminder of what purpose-driven overlanding can achieve – combining adventure, resilience and humanitarian impact across a quarter century of journeys, and many more still to come.
