Bamako to Ouagadougou (part 2) – A Detour to Timbuktu
Djenne Djenne is a sleepy place. Except for Mondays. Monday is market day. Market day means hundreds of people arrive in town, congregate, congest the streets. They usher in goats…
Bamako to Ouagadougou (part 1) – The Harmattan and Hungry
It’s been so long since the last proper update I hardly know what to write about. I guess the simplest thing is to start from where I left off…. and…
A Change Can Do You Good
A month’s break from the bike seems to have been the perfect medicine for re-igniting my interest in my travels in West Africa and Mali specifically. It’s been a fascinating…
Photos of the Pays Dogon – Cliffside Culture
Three days in the Dogon country is only just enough time to gain a small insight into the fascinating culture of the Dogon people who inhabit the small villages along…
Photos of Djenne’s Mud Mosque and Monday Market
A small selection of photos of Djenne’s, in Mali, mud mosque and scenes from the Monday market. The mosque, the largest of it’s kind in Mali, was built in 1907…
Photos from Guinea and Mali – the route northeast
A few photos from the cycle from Kouroussa in Guinea, where we ended the boat trip, heading northeast into Mali for Bamako and then on to Djenne.
…The Travel Blues in Mali
Mali is famous for it’s music but I haven’t heard much and haven’t tried to find it. I’ve been singing my own song and I’d have to say it’not very…
Reading List – Books read during first 7 months
List of Books read during ‘Take On Africa’, in order read. (Those with an asterisk * are related to Africa and those in bold I enjoyed most and would highly…
Equipment List – updated
Below are three photographs showing all the gear and equipment I arrived in Africa with on my bike. I have since got rid of the MSR stove and fuel bottle…
Video from the Niger River Boat Trip – rapids
This is just a short clip of me and Lars paddling through one of the faster sections of water. Shortly after this clip ends, when we’re just out of camera…
The Great Niger River Boat Trip – Part 5
Day 14: 19th Feb 2010 Fast rapids – Boat unload – Stuck! – Decision to quit in Kouroussa It was a successful start to the day, with calm open water…
The Great Niger River Boat Trip – Part 4
Day 11: Feb 16th 2010 Warthogs – Broken boat – Hippo encounter – Bush fire – Bat exodus – Uniformed and uninformed – Poacher or American? A long, hard morning…
The Great Niger River Boat Trip – Part 3
Day 7: 12th Feb 2010 Ou tu vas comme ca? – Bee island – Frogs and splashes Nearly a week into the trip, about 100km downstream of Faranah, getting close…
The Great Niger River Boat Trip – Part 2
Day 4: 9th Feb 2010 Quiet morning – shallow maze – near-disaster – crocodile island Following a quiet morning on the river where progress was slow but steady, the afternoon…
The Great Niger River Boat Trip – Part 1
Day 1: 6th Feb 2010 Departure – 3 beers – Boh’s helping hand – will we make it to Bamako? It’s Saturday in Faranah; our boat is built and afloat…
Photos of Niger River Boat Trip – Campsites
We spent 15 days on the Niger river – that’s 14 nights camping in the ‘wild’. The last night, having arrived in Kouroussa, we were able to check into a…
The Birth of Joliba II
(Joliba Fila – Joliba meaning ‘Great River’ and Fila meaning ‘2’ in Manding) Travels down the Niger River – 350km, Faranah to Kouroussa (Guinea) 6th – 22nd February 2010 The…
Photos of Niger River Boat Trip
We expected it to take 10-14 days to paddle down the Niger River from Faranah to Kouroussa in Guinea. It took 15 long days. It was hard work and tough…
Photos of Niger River Boat Trip – Pre-Departure
Having spent nearly a week in the small but friendly town of Faranah in Guinea, we managed to get built a river-worthy wooden pirogue and buy suplies to keep us…
Freetown to Faranah – Bangs, Bees and a Boat
Leaving Freetown We had arrived in Freetown on the bustling streets of Kissy Road in the East End lined with stalls selling everything from second-hand shoes to fake Sony radios;…