Planning and preparation

It seems to have been pure chance that brought Richard Thornton to Zanzibar, where he met with the Baron and joined forces with him on the Kilimanjaro expedition. After a year and eight months of freelance work on the Zambezi in the course of which he penetrated to within one day march of the Zambezi cafue confluence, Thornton decided to widen his horizons* ^Feeling from what he had seen of the structure of the continent that it would be necessary to examine other parts before he would be able to form a correct theory of its geological structure, he resolved to leave the Zambezi for some other part of the Coast, north or south, as opportunity offered* fie also wished to communicate with his friends in England, from whom he had heard nothing for nearly two years (although they had sent letters by Cape mail almost every month) an entire new outfit was also requisite.