Expedition Hope: Michael Evertz's 30,000 km journey from Germany to Cape Town

Sustainability researcher and economist, Michael Evertz, 66, arrived in Cape Town after cycling for 863 days since his departure from Potsdam, Germany on the 22nd of April 2023.

Evertz has been cycling to Cape Town, crossing 25 countries in the process, to connect people and countries for a "cross-cultural-collaboration", in an effort to raise awareness of global warming and climate change.

His project, “Expedition Hope”, sought to connect and unite people all over the world, so that people can work together and unite.

“There must be a mind change. How is it possible for all of us to survive? There is no safe island in the world where even rich people can go... What we have to do is find a way for every person to have a lifestyle where everybody has the chance to lead a sufficient life.

“Cape Town is a good example. We are sitting here now in a very wealthy and safe area, but not far away from it, there is a difference. On the way here, you have a lot of people with signs saying, ‘please help me’, and there will be more of it. Because of climate change, the economies will go down more, so what we need is to work as one planet, and that is why I am on the road for ‘Expedition Hope’.

“What we have to understand is that no country on its own can survive. Now is the first time in human history that we are in this situation where there is only one solution - staying together as one planet.”

Evertz detailed logistical challenges, which included having to take a detour from Iran and going through Türkiye to Lebanon to Tripoli across the Mediterranean Sea, but more so, he experienced psychological and physical challenges along the way, the first big one being a truck accident in Dubai.

“The first big challenge for me was one day after the climate conference in Dubai. I had a very, very dangerous accident, which is lucky that I am alive. There are only big highways, no cycling routes.

“After the climate conference, my idea was to go to Oman. I crossed Dubai, and then in a curve, there was a big truck with a steel load, but the steel was only lying on the truck. It was not safe, and on the curve, all the steel was coming down onto the road and hit me."

Evertz said he was initially reassured that everything was fine, but "after two weeks, the doctors in the hospital recognised that I had internal bleeding”.

His other big challenge was when he went to Egypt, and he was robbed an hour after he arrived in Cairo.

“When I arrived in Cairo one hour later, I was totally robbed. I had only my bicycle, nothing else. Everything was away, and most of the things (I had) it was not possible to get in Egypt, so it was another long stay in Cairo.

“After the accident and the robbery. I was really totally down. But I thought, no, I will finish it. It really makes no sense (to not give up).

“After three days, another energy was coming, and I said, ‘You cannot do it, you have to fight’, and then I decided to go on. I made telephone calls to Germany, and the people said, ‘No way, you will get support, just tell us what you need’. They sent me all these things from Germany to Egypt, but it takes time.”

Evertz faced environmental challenges, such as a heatwave in Aswan, and he was also attacked by a motorcycle gang in Nairobi. He was also shocked by people living in a dumping site in East Africa, where they found many dumped foetuses.

Evertz said what gave him hope on the way was when people connected with him and the support he got from them, and some companies as well.

“I told them my story, and then they gave me water. They asked me, ‘Do you need something to eat? Do you have enough food? Do we have a place to sleep?’ and these are small things for me, which give the hope for going on.”

He added that it is ultimately down to the individuals to make the change, and that there is a nice saying, “If everybody, sourced to bring the seedling to the ground, then we have the chance to live in a world of flowers tomorrow”.

“If everybody started with small things, then it becomes a big dream, and this really gives me hope.”

Evertz departed Cape Town on Sunday evening, heading for Brazil for the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP30.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za