African explorer touches base (5)

I believe the answer is:

speke

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'african explorer' is the definition.
'speke' can be an answer for 'explorer' (I have seen 'An explorer' mean 'speke' so perhaps 'explorer' could also mean 'speke'). I am not certain of the 'african' bit.

I don't understand the remainder of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for speke that I've seen is " John Hanning __ , African explorer, d. 1864".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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