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An 11-year-old South African boy just made the trek of his life, walking from Simon’s Town to Khayelitsha on Monday after a bus refused to let him board.

He made his way through some of Cape Town’s most dangerous areas, walking the long stretch home alone while occasionally being helped along by some amazing Good Samaritans.

But the fact that this kid had to walk for eight hours as darkness fell has left fellow Saffas appalled and saddened that he was forced to experience this in the first place.

The young boy said via News24 that he and his siblings were waiting at a bus stop in Simon’s Town and when the bus stopped, he could not find his ticket. His two younger siblings were able to board the 14:30 bus to Makhaza, but the driver refused to let him get on without a boarding pass.

The precious Grade 6 pupil said that at this point, he “felt scared and alone, but was determined to make it home”.

He walked a gruelling 20 kilometres to Strandfontein, where he managed to get a little further by someone who offered him a lift to Mandela Park. From there, a caring security officer took him under his wing, and later police officers found him and took him home.

It took him more than eight hours to get to Harare in Khayelitsha where authorities eventually found him and took him home. Of course, his family were completely beside themselves with distress that he had not returned with his little sister and brother.

“My God, I was so relieved when I saw the vehicle pull up outside my home and out came my son. I just burst out into tears,” his mother said.

When News24 interviewed him on Tuesday – a day after his brutal walk – he said he was still tired, with wobbly legs and a sore body. “I feel angry that the driver did not want me to get onto the bus,” he said, adding later that it was definitely “the longest, scariest walk in my life”.

He said immediately after the bus drove off, he started the long trek home in his school uniform and his bag with all his books inside.

“My bag was very heavy, all my water was finished, and I was very hungry. I didn’t think of asking anyone for anything because I just needed to get home because I had homework.”

Without food, water or protection, the dutiful boy made it home at 10 PM. The boy’s mother knew that her son was left to fend for himself as her younger son had called her on his phone to let her know what had happened.