CLIMBING MOUNT CAMEROON

In 1895 Mary Kingsley became the first woman to climb Mount Cameroon. Her apparel was unlikely: long black trailing skirt, tight waist, high collar, a small fur cap, lace-up shoes and a parasol. In every respect she was unusual. With no formal schooling, she consumed her father’s considerable library in London and nursed her ageing parents, never travelling far, until they died. Then she packed her portmanteau, crated some scientific equipment and headed for West Africa. She charmed and spent time with the cannibal Fang tribe up the Ogooué River in what is now Gabon, discovered many new species of insects,