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My name is Mario Rigby and I’m an adventure explorer who has accomplished a rare human feat: I completed a 12,000-km trek on foot and kayak across eastern Africa. It took me just over two years to complete this gruelling challenge, one that saw me cross eight countries, take more than 14 million steps, and spend the equivalent of two months on the water. I've encountered countless people and experiences that will eventually be written in a novel. Here is one of the many encounters I've had. It’s early January 2016 and I’ve made my way to Barry’s Holiday Accommodation in Witsand, South Africa. Situated along the southern coastline, it’s a collection of about a half dozen or so guest rooms run by a friendly, older white couple, Lorraine Barry Martin and Andre Martin. Their facility is steps away from a stunning view of the Indian Ocean, and the lodgings are a popular stopover for kite surfers. I don’t see any black people here. One evening a few days after my arrival, Andre, a burly, balding, middle aged man, treats me to a braai, an Afrikaans word for barbeque. A braai is a popular staple in South Africa. Andre is an expert at grilling wild game, beef and chicken, and while he’s cooking he strikes up a conversation with me. Andre, it turns out, is a former member of the armed forces in South Africa that fought against blacks during the former apartheid era. When I got to Africa I knew about Nelson Mandela and his struggles against apartheid and not much more. I’m about to get a lesson. Andre says: “Mario. When I was part of the armed forces I shot and killed the blacks.” He isn’t making a guilt-laden confession or trying to intimidate me. He’s just stating information in a matter of fact manner. “I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when I’d be sitting down to enjoy a braai with a black person,” he later says as the food sizzles on the grill. I’m taken aback by his past, disgusted somewhat, but I also feel I have a responsibility to be a bigger person – to try to understand this man and perhaps forgive him. It’s part of the many thought processes I go through while walking 3,500 kilometres in the five months I’m in South Africa, a country with a very complicated past and present.