Africa Overland
Through the eyes of a 22 year old Australian, we get to hear firsthand the trip of a life time as he crosses the African continent from north to south with a group of fellow adventurers with a specialist overland travel company in 1971. Crossing the Sahara desert takes weeks as obstacles are overcome and the harshness of desert life is experienced. This is followed by navigating almost impassable roads in the former Belgian Congo before entering the vast plains and game parks of East Africa. Living and working in apartheid South Africa we are told of the experiences encountered and people met. The final part of the journey is returning to London but by unconventional means. Who would ever think of hitchhiking between Jo’Burg and Nairobi on a shoestring budget before getting a Charter Flight back to London? Numerous photographs, maps and other paraphernalia are provided to assist the armchair explorer capture the spirit of adventure of the amazing journey.
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I enjoyed this book, recollecting the authors trip from the UK to South Africa, in a truck with an organised group, in 1971. I have a few friends who have done this trip, in fact I know more drivers than passengers, all with this company (now defunct).
The most surprising thing with this book is the lack of conflict within the group... I don't know of many trips like these where there isn't some animosity or fallout from being stuck in close proximity with a bunch of people you don't know. These sort of trips really don't work for me... I am fed up with most of the people (and vice versa I am sure) within about 3 days!
But back to the book, the most interesting aspect was the political / cultural situation in 1971, which is before my time, and most of those I know were about 15-20 years after.
A good read, and although diarised, it reads well and the photos, despite not being the greatest quality or reproduction, really help with the context. The maps, travel distance tables etc all add to the readability.
Downloadable free from Smashwords, so no excuses to not download it and read it.
