Johannesburg, South Africa — Aspiring commercial pilot Francois Elonge is taking an unconventional route towards the cockpit: a 3,500km walk across all nine provinces of South Africa while documenting the journey online and raising funds towards his pilot training.
Elonge launched The Dream Walk, also known as #BackTheWalk, with a target of R300,000. Twenty days into the BackaBuddy campaign, thirty-six donors have contributed R31,570.
According to his campaign, Elonge set out from Johannesburg on 20 October 2026 and plans to travel on foot through all nine provinces and their capital cities before returning to Johannesburg on 14 February 2027.
He describes the journey as a record attempt and says he plans to cover approximately 3,500km without using cars or taking shortcuts.
For Elonge, however, the distance is only one part of the challenge. His larger goal is to use the walk to help fund the commercial pilot training he has wanted to pursue since childhood.
Walking Towards the Cockpit
Commercial pilot training can cost hundreds of thousands of rand, putting the qualification beyond the immediate financial reach of many aspiring aviators.
Rather than abandon the goal, Elonge says he decided to build his own fundraising model around the journey.
His plan combines donations made through BackaBuddy with potential revenue from more than 150 videos he intends to publish across YouTube and Facebook during the walk.
The crowdfunding campaign will help cover expenses along the route, including food, accommodation, supplies and content equipment, while contributions may also go directly towards his aviation training.
Elonge hopes the combination of community support and content revenue will ultimately help him move closer to obtaining his commercial pilot licence.
“This isn’t asking for charity. It’s building multiple revenue sources to reach my goal,” he explains in his campaign.
Nine Provinces, One South African Journey
The planned route stretches across the country and includes all nine provincial capitals as well as a number of significant South African landmarks.
According to the campaign, Elonge hopes to visit sites including the Cradle of Humankind, Mapungubwe, Blyde River Canyon, the KwaZulu-Natal heartland, Qunu, Robben Island, Kimberley’s Big Hole and the Vredefort Dome.
His campaign timeline places him in Mpumalanga during November, travelling through KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in December, before reaching Cape Town around January 2027.
If the journey goes according to plan, he expects to return to Johannesburg by 14 February.
Along the way, he is asking supporters not only for financial contributions but also for practical help such as food, water and places to stay.
Showing Young People Another Route to a Dream
Elonge says the walk is also intended to speak to young South Africans who may feel that financial circumstances have placed certain careers beyond their reach.
His own challenge is aviation, but the message behind the campaign is broader: when the conventional route to a goal is not immediately available, he believes people can look for another way to move towards it.
“This walk is for every kid who dreams of flying but thinks it’s impossible,” he says in the campaign.
By documenting the physical demands, setbacks and progress of the journey, Elonge hopes other aspiring aviators will see both the scale of the challenge and the effort required to create an alternative route towards an expensive career goal.
For now, he still has a considerable distance to cover both physically and financially.
The campaign has raised approximately R31,570 towards its R300,000 target, with around four months remaining.
To support The Dream Walk, visit The Dream Walk’s BackaBuddy campaign.
