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weunesaay, May 3, ivvv 1 Hit UANVILLC. bfcAVfcK Ol FOURTH LINE AUTO F o r A ll Your C a r's N eeds CAA Tune Ups In Business Approved Brakes in Oakville Shop Cooling System Since 1979 Gov't Safety Checks; Exhaust System s 559 Speers Road • 842-3001 (across from Darigold) Focus OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE W A T E R F R O N T FESTIVAL ^ s s s ^ > f s Oakville Beaver Focus Editor: W ILM A BLO KHUIS 845-3824 (E xtension 250) Fax: 337-5567 Hurrou! Hurray! It's the beginning o f May. HOT Summer fashions are here today! rrS TIME to ge t your wardrobe together Large majority o f Spring Fashions now 25% bo 5 0% off. Check us out first!By Consignment * 115 Trafalgar Rd. 338-3474 O p e n 7 Dotjs First! By W ilma Blokhuis BEAVER FOCUS EDITOR e can almost hear the 'Dark Continent' call his name. "I'm going back," says avid photographer Steve Kirkby, who has traveled through Africa twice. But, he did not just travel through his haunt­ ing beautiful conti­ nent like a tourist; he experienced life in its most remote areas. The first time he traveled to northwest Africa as part o f a 27,000-kilometre 'safari' which took him from London, England, through Europe, the Middle East and Asia, end­ ing up in Hong Kong in September 1995. He backpacked it, using available transportation - camels, motorcy­ cles, military trucks, dug out canoes, bamboo rafts, donkeys, ele­ phants "and my own two feet." Last fall, he was back in Africa, this time aboard a newly purchased mountain bike. Both times he lived with natives, followed local guides through wildlife reserves, and slept under the stars. The first time he trekked across the con­ tinent. Upon his return, he cycled through five countries. "I assembled my bike at the airport parking lot (in Harare, Zimbabwe) and began my jour­ ney," he reflects. That three- month, 5,000-kilometre trek included a white water rafting trip at the base of majestic Victoria Falls, a Zambezi canoe safari among hippopotamus, and an ascent up Mt. Kilimanjaro. Both times, Kirkby took two cameras and 60 rolls of film. And, recently, he gave one of his enlargements to a friend as a wedding present. That resulted in enough curiosity about his photography, and his travels through Africa, for Kirkby to mount his first major exhibition at Emma's Backporch (Lakeshore and Brant) in Burlington this Saturday, May 8th. In addition to showing about 50 pho­ tographs in a show titled 'Africa: A Photography Exhibit,' Kirkby will be there from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to talk about his experiences. He is also writing about his travels, and is currently work­ ing on a book titled 'The Great Overland Encounter.' Several chapters have already been written. One is called 'The Crossing' and features a photo­ graph of a dug out canoe cross­ ing a misty river. "I arrived at the border of Central Africa Republic just before dusk last night and was immediately startled by a young boy who silently appeared out of the jungle. In his broken English he assured me that a boat would arrive to take me across the river to the Congo in the morning. After removing my pack I turned around and realized that the youngster had vanished back into the jungle without a sound. "As I went to sleep that night the jungle was black and quiet but my mind was noisy and alive with night­ mares of previ­ ous travelers who dared enter this country. Congo, or 'The Black Hole' as it's known to overland dri­ vers, has it all: back packers killed by poison darts, money belt robbing bandits, washed out bridges, starvation, insects and dis­ ease. Staring across the river, I knew that today I would be facing these challenges. "A screeching bird woke me the following morning just after 5 o'clock. I opened my eyes and see the silhouettes of a dozen millipedes shuffling their silky feet across my overhang­ ing mosquito net. Zipping open my sleeping bag I could feel the dampness from the night's rain. Early morning mist was motionless above the water as beams of sunshine struggled to break through cracks in the jun­ gle wall. After shaking off the millipedes from my gear I fin­ ished packing and sat at the waters edge and munqhed on a breakfast of pineapples. I thought to myself, 'How bad can it be?' (See 'Africa opened . . . ' page B2) Photo by Ron Kuzyk Photographer Steve Kirkby poses with this replica of a native medicine man he brought back from Africa. Compare Your Auto Rates • Photos by Steve Kirkby Steve Kirkby spent some time with Pygmies in Zaire during his first visit to Africa. He immersed himself into the continent's native culture. BELOW: a dug out canoe reflected in mirror still water in the crossing between Central Africa Republic and Zaire; and at BOTTOM, 'The Crossing,' three men in a dug out canoe at that same spot in the early misty morning.