Telephone: 0208 123 0301

Across Africa Travel Article

Across Africa with a Camel and a Hippo

Within an hour of leaving home we had broken down on the Dover ferry ramp.  It wasn’t the most promising start to our journey from Kent to the southernmost point of Africa!  We had christened our trip “Wiggly Way Down”, but without the extensive back-up team that accompanied Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman we were going to have to solve the problem on our own.

“We” consisted of Marc Crouch, Felicity Milligan, Bob (a Camel Trophy Land Rover named after his uncanny likeness to Sponge Bob Square Pants) and Hilda, a small, but loveable hippo we had rescued from a warehouse in Essex with the intention of returning her home to Africa.

The fault was finally identified - Felicity had pulled the battery cut-off out with her handbag!  Crisis dealt with we were on our way again with renewed confidence.

The Mission

We had become a bit disillusioned with the 9 to 5 office routine in England and were looking for an adventure and something a little more fulfilling.  Marc had already worked in southern Africa as a guide and when we found Bob on eBay the plan was finalised.  We would drive from England to the southern tip of Africa, visiting and working with community and conservation volunteer projects en route.  Despite Bob’s old age and initially being declared unfit for travel, with a little TLC he was in better shape again and we were ready to go!

Departing in September 2008, our planned route was through Europe, crossing from Sicily to Tunisia, then Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and into South Africa before looping back up through Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, or something like that!

Borders, Bribes and Bureaucracy

Travelling overland through Africa and crossing borders can be an interesting challenge.  Each country has its own formalities and laws, some of them genuine and others seemingly invented on the spot for the benefit of unknowing tourists.  Fortunately we already had some experience of travelling in Africa and had done some preparation, arranging our visas for the first few countries before we left the UK.  We were pretty strict about not paying bribes and found a polite sense of humour and a big smile was usually all that was needed.  We had time on our side and if we looked as if we were in no rush and may stick the kettle on, or even put up the tent if necessary, attempts to get a backhander did not last long!

Entertaining attempts included being told we were driving through the desert at a speed our Land Rover could never get close to and an imaginary tax that we were eventually told that if we were going to Felicity’s sister’s wedding we would be exempt from!  We enjoyed a couple of the veterinary road blocks in Botswana, which it is prohibited to take certain food products through.  At one, the female official, raising our frankfurter sausages above her head asked, “No meat?” and replacing them waved us on.  At another we had forgotten about some bacon, so rather than have it confiscated we cooked up an impromptu bacon sandwich at the roadside.

Our most memorable border was crossing from Sudan to Ethiopia.  We had been advised not to stop and camp in the last couple of hundred kilometres before this border.  It became evident why as we got closer and the light began to fade - small groups of military started to appear from the bushes and as we continued the weaponry became heavier, with A-team style jeeps carrying mounted machine guns, preparing to tackle ‘Shiftas’ making raids across the border.

We made it to the slightly iffy border town in time.  Unfortunately, on the Ethiopian side they had decided to close early, but the guy locking up told us not to worry, as he would be in early the next day.  We were then directed by the AK-47 wielding border guards to drive up the slope and camp right outside the barnlike customs office.  We started, slightly uneasily, cooking spaghetti under the scrutiny of the small group of soldiers.  A couple of boiled sweets soon broke the ice though!  We ate, although still not entirely comfortably, as one of the guards sat with his gun pointed towards Felicity, nonchalantly flicking the safety catch on and off.  Calling it a night, we left our private guards with a packet of biscuits and joked that this was now probably the safest night’s sleep we were going to have on our trip!

People and Projects

African people are exceptionally friendly and welcoming.  Visiting the community projects took us away from the normal tourist routes and enabled us to stay with local families.  The people we met made the journey very special for us.  Generally it seemed that the poorer the region the happier and warmer the people, often smiling from ear to ear and giving big double handed waves as we drove through their villages.

We found the Sudanese to be amongst the friendliest and most altruistic of all, expecting nothing and even refusing to accept anything in return for their help.  One day, darkness fell and we were still far from where we had hoped to be.  We headed away from the road towards a small cluster of lights in the distance and managed to explain through mime that we were looking for somewhere to pitch our tent.  We were immediately invited to park outside a simple local home and offered a shower and a bed.  We politely refused the latter, but amazingly tea was then brought out in the finest china tea set.  As Marc sat and drank, about a dozen elder men came and sat cross legged in front of him, as if waiting for some words of wisdom and Felicity helpfully passed the phrasebook!  The next day the family would not allow us to give them anything for their hospitality and generosity; only after our persistence did they finally accept some colouring crayons and balloons for their young children.

Some of the poverty and hardship that we encountered was heart wrenching though.  We were really impressed by what was being achieved by one family-run project in western Kenya.  The motivation of the local communities they worked with to become self-sufficient was incredible.  As a result of their programmes thousands of people had sources of clean water, enough food was being produced to feed hundreds of families living in extreme poverty and orphan-headed households had been given means to generate an income, or receive an education.  We were particularly moved by a family of 8 boys, aged between 5 and 16.  They lived alone, both their parents having died from AIDS, two of them were HIV positive and they shared a single bunk bed in a tiny room.

We were so touched that we decided, as a Christmas present for the boys, on behalf of some of our own relatives, we would sponsor an extension to their house and new beds, so that they could continue to live together more comfortably as a family.

Wildlife and Wilderness

We were spoilt by the wildlife we saw and the breathtaking African wildernesses and landscapes. We camped in many magical spots with no-one else around, relaxing in complete peace and tranquillity.

Ethiopia was a country that surprised us and was amongst our favourites.  It is a complete contrast to how many people would imagine it; with much of the country being very green and lush.  The Simien Mountains were simply stunning and we sat in this ‘playground for the Gods’, surrounded by a troop of hundreds of Gelada Baboons, pulling up the grass as they waddled past, their long golden coats blowing in the wind.

The list of highlights we saw as we journeyed between the volunteer projects goes on and on.  We trekked to see mountain gorillas in the forests of Uganda, snorkelled with whalesharks in Mozambique, explored the waterways of the Okavango Delta in Botswana in mokoros (dug-out canoes), watched turtles nesting on a deserted beach in Gabon, cage dived with Great White Sharks in South Africa and listened to lions calling at night close to our unfenced campsite in the wild Mana Pools National Park in Zimbabwe.

The Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti were probably the most spectacular for the diversity of wildlife that we saw.  One night we stayed at a particularly remote wilderness campsite, having heard that the wildebeest migration was somewhere in the area.  The next day we found tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra converging down into a valley.  We sat completely alone, watching the lines of animals stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions.  Thinking we could not get any luckier we then spotted three cheetahs and looked on as they attempted to hunt a zebra.

Malawi

On 16 March, 6 months after leaving home, we reached Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa.  We were excited to have reached this landmark, but still had more that we wanted to achieve.  We enthusiastically agreed to return to Malawi for 6 months to help a local organisation manage their community volunteer programmes.

Malawi really is the Warm Heart of Africa; the people are incredibly friendly, kind and welcoming.  The volunteer house where we lived was right on the edge of Lake Malawi, also known as ‘The Lake of Stars’, so we could swim in its crystal clear waters each day.  Although the location may have been idyllic, Malawi is listed as one of the least developed countries in the world based on life expectancy, literacy, and standards of living. The average daily income is about 50p and that figure is not representative of the extreme poverty in more rural areas.  One of the reasons we were keen to return here specifically was the great potential of the medical, education and sports programmes to improve the quality of life of the people in the area in which we were based.

For example, the malaria project involved distribution of mosquito nets, spraying inside homes and basic education and awareness.  These simple actions had amazing results, dramatically reducing death rates and the incidence of the disease in the villages where we worked.  The cost of treating and distributing each net was only about $5.  We were also able to get a few laptops donated from well-wishers in the UK and started up computer classes, teaching the teachers, so that they in turn would be able to teach the children in the future.  This was a first in this region of Malawi and attracted a lot of interest from the local government, resulting in a special launch of the programme attended by several dignitaries.

We made many good friends in Malawi.  Although managing the volunteer programmes could be hard work, emotionally challenging and sometimes frustrating, it is one of the most rewarding things we will ever do.

The End or a New Beginning?

As the end of our time in Malawi approached we were faced with a predicament.  We were now in southern Africa with a Land Rover and somehow had to get back home.  There was only one real option; we would just have to drive back again, but this time through Central and West Africa!  This was a totally different and more challenging experience, a journey of cultural discovery and with its own share of tales.  Those will have to be told another time, but yes we did make it to Timbuktu!

In April 2010, after a stormy six hour ferry crossing and looking out at the grey, rainy Dover coast Bob seemed to share some of our sentiments and refused to disembark from the ferry!  We waited while everyone else was off-loaded and Bob was jump-started back to reality.  Hilda, much as she loved Africa, had decided she would prefer to return to England with us after all.  30 African countries, 75,000 km, 18 months and one unimaginable journey of a lifetime later we had arrived back in the UK! 

More news & features