John Hanning Speke
In December of 1856, John Hanning Speke and Sir Richard Burton embarked on an expedition to find the source of the Nile. The expedition was nothing less than the 19th Century's equivalent of a trip to the moon--it was farther away than most people would ever dream of traveling, it was filled with all kinds of strange plants and animals, and the people inhabiting the region seemed so foreign in their language, dress, and culture that they might as well of been from another planet. In addition, the odds of survival were, perhaps, 1 in 3. And the odds of success were significantly smaller.
In June of 1857, after six months of preparation (see: Preparation vs Planning), Speke and Burton headed into the African interior. Their party included 36 African porters, 10 gun carrying slaves, 4 drivers and a posse of Baluchi soldiers (from the Iranian Plateau) to protect them. Additional supplies--including ammunition, medicines, stores and an iron boat in seven sections intended to enable them to explore the great lake--were to follow in a second caravan.
The picture above shows John Speke standing by himself with Lake Victoria in the background (which ultimately turned out to be the source of the White Nile). Sir Richard Burton had been left behind due to illness--he had muscular paralysis in his limbs due to his malarial fevers. It was the conclusion of a project that was significantly over budget, over schedule, and only managed to accomplish it's express goal--that is, find the source of the White Nile--if you didn't delve too deeply into the evidence.
Things did not go according to plan, but the preparation got them (mostly) there.