African Explorer and Anthropologist Julian Monroe Fisher, in
conjunction with The Uganda Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife &
Antiquities, The Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Ministry of Wildlife,
Conservation & Tourism for South Sudan, the descendants of
the Victorian explorer Sir Samuel White Baker, RailRiders Adventure
Clothing and Costa Del Mar Sunglasses has announced plans to establish
The Sir Samuel and Lady Florence Baker Historical Trail.
The trail will stretch from Gondokoro, the location of the modern
day capital of the new nation of South Sudan to Baker’s
View overlooking Lake Albert in western Uganda. Fisher will be
in Uganda in June 2013 to start placing historical markers at
locations where Sir Samuel and Lady Florence Baker camped while
on expedition in the Central African region during their two expeditions
in the 1860’s and 1870’s.
In January-February 2013, during Phase Two of The RailRider’s
2012-16 Great African Expedition, Fisher and his team that included
David Baker, the great-great-grandson of Sir Samuel Baker were
accredited with correcting maps of Uganda by establishing the
true location of Baker’s View, the location where Sir Samuel
Baker became the first European to see Lake Albert and to subsequently
name the lake for Prince Albert. The concept for ‘The Sir
Samuel and Lady Florence Baker Historical Trail’ evolved
out of Fisher’s two year research of Sir Samuel Baker in
preparation for Phase One & Two of ‘The RailRider’s
2012-16 Great African Expedition’.
Quoting David Baker from Chirton, Wiltshire, United Kingdom,
"Sir Samuel Baker and Lady Florence Baker's achievements
are to be commemorated by the establishment of a trail through
South Sudan and northern Uganda to Baker's view of Lake Albert.
The trail follows the shoreline of Lake Albert northwards to the
Victoria Nile and the mighty Murchison Falls and up the river
to the Karuma Falls. This is the bold vision of Julian Monroe
Fisher who, in early 2013, travelled along the trail in the footsteps
of Sir Samuel Baker. It will take energy, determination and resources
to achieve this; our example is Sir Samuel Baker, so we are sure
it will come about!"
Quoting Fisher, “The Bakers are respected in South Sudan
and Uganda for their 1860’s and 1870’s expeditions
and their effort to abolish the slave trade. Today South Sudan
and parts of northern Uganda are emerging from years of conflict.
In South Sudan the population is struggling to clean up the landmines
of the conflicts of the past in order to move forward to a bright
future. The future of the region lies in the success of projects
like ‘The Sir Samuel and Lady Florence Baker Historical
Trail’.
With the support of Honorable Minister Maria Mutagamba, Executive
Director Dr. Andrew Ggunga Seguya the Uganda Wildlife Authority,
the Baker Family, RailRiders Adventure Clothing and Costa Del
Mar Sunglasses, the Uganda portion of ‘The Sir Samuel and
Lady Florence Baker Historical Trail’ will be launched in
January 2014 to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Baker’s
expedition. This will be a visual sign of the region, expressing
to the world that northern Uganda and South Sudan are “open
for business”.
During the announcement of the project in Vienna, Austria, Fisher
said, “The beauty of the people as well as the landscape
should be reasons enough to visit the region sooner than later.
‘The Sir Samuel and Lady Florence Baker Historical Trail’
provides the adventure traveler a route through a spectacular
scenery and to historical places, that can be accessed by 4 x
4’s, mountain bike and also by hiking and will some day
be recognized similar to the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific
Trail in the USA.
As Sir Samuel and Lady Florence tried to convey through their
journeys, EXPLORATION ABOLISHES SLAVERY in the 19th century, today
in the 21st century, we need to all stop global slavery, one step
at a time!!”
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
contact@julianmonroefisher.com