A Maltese biker left for Africa on Monday, in an attempt to drive his motorbike through three continents, in an adventure that will likely take more than two years to complete.

Stephen Formosa, 46, is a customs official and martial arts teacher who has taken a break from his career to fulfil the dream that has kept him awake at night his entire adult life.

And he admits he has chosen one of the toughest times to kick it off.

“I’m concerned about my health, mostly because the pandemic is less than controlled in some of the countries I’m visiting,” he said.

“Security, visas and border checks may also be challenging, and I’m afraid I might get involved in an accident, but we’ll see what the adventure holds as we go along.”

Formosa will drive his motorbike all by himself for hours on end, starting next week in Kenya and passing through to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and finally South Africa, covering a total of 20,000 kilometres.

He believes this first part of the trip will take him more than six months, after which he will return to Malta for three or four weeks, before leaving again for the next continent.

Formosa embarked on this adventure with Missio Malta, a Church organisation which designs, builds and sustains food and water programmes, as well as education and health initiatives in Third World countries.

During his trip, which has been dubbed ‘Dinja Mutur’, Formosa will be stopping in villages and towns where Missio Malta has built schools, hospitals and farms, and implemented projects to lift thousands of people out of extreme poverty.

In each place he will be documenting progress and recording footage which will then be edited into a television programme next year.

Head of Communications and fundraising at Missio Malta Robert Farrugia said they have been gearing up for the challenge for months.

“Stephen approached us some months ago, saying he would like to couple his adventure with a good cause, and we loved the idea. We’re helping him as much as we can,” he said.

“We even installed a GPS tracker on his motorbike so we always know where he is.”

After Africa, Formosa will head to North and South America and Asia, on his Yamaha XT600 which he purchased specifically for this trip.

“My entire life will be in a few backpacks strapped to my back and to the bike. And together with food, water some clothes and filming equipment, I also have some bike spare parts, which I may need in case of an accident or in case the bike breaks down,” he said.

“I might even have to change the bike if it’s not suitable for the terrain anymore. God only knows what lies in the way.”