Take On Africa

By far the biggest, most adventurous trip to date was the Take On Africa bike ride from the UK to Cape Town. This journey took 20 months to complete, during which I cycled nearly 25,000km.

Click Take On Africa logo to visit website with journal and photos

During the 20 months on the road, I had close encounters with many wild animals including snakes, scorpions and termites, an angry lion on the road, a jackal that ripped through my tent and stole food, and many elephants. I had to deal with corrupt officials and turn down numerous marriage proposals. But most notably of all, it is the kindness, hospitality and generosity of strangers I met along the way that I’ll remember.

Having entered Africa at Morocco, I traversed the Sahara, cycled through West Africa, for two weeks paddled down the Niger river in a locally-made pirogue (wooden boat) and spent three months crossing the Democratic Republic of Congo before entering southern Africa. I slept alone in the desert sands, in thick equatorial forests, outside the huts of local village chiefs surrounded by hundreds of children, in schools and the homes of people  I met.

The cycling was on roads ranging from beautifully smooth tarmac to muddy and sandy tracks that I had to tirelessly push or drag the fully-loaded bike weighing 50 kilograms. I passed through many different climatic regions and has had to cope with sandstorms, thunderstorms, endless rains and extreme heat.

I used the bike expedition to help raise money for the Welbodi Partnership, a UK charity supporting the provision of paediatric care in Sierra Leone, where child health statistics are among the worst in the world.

The Welbodi Partnership was set-up by Tom Cairnes and Matthew Clark. Matthew is an enthusiastic and dedicated friend of mine, who spent time in Freetown, the capital, during his medical elective. Unusually for a charitable organisation, the Partnership is working directly with the government; the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

The Partnership is currently focused on providing care and training at the Ola During Children’s Hospital in Freetown, which I visited on her journey, and is a model to be expanded nationwide to meet the long term objectives of providing locally run, accessible healthcare to children nationwide.