Help did come and by August 12, 1877, the entire party, or what was left of it, reached the Atlantic. Their journey had durated 999 days. He did return to Central Africa many times again, but this marked the height of his achievement and the true source of his fame. He had unraveled the mystery of this continent's interior. Although blank spaces still existed on the African map, but some very important one's had been filled up. Namely the sources of both the Nile, Lake Victoria and the Congo, the Lualaba.