Traversa

I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot going for it (in terms of appealing to me): it is slightly unorthodox travel, it is written in a relaxed and easy style, it is very funny, and the author doesn't hold himself up for glory.

So, what did he do? He completed the Traversa.
Page 2: While many Victorian explorers became obsessed with the notion of being the first white man to set foot in some particular place, a few individuals came to regard crossing Africa overland from coast to coast as a goal to rival the discovery of the source of the Nile. This overland crossing of Africa became known as ‘the Traversa'.

For the author's Traversa, he not only planned this as overland, but was walking, carrying his own pack and equipment. Commencing in Namibia, on the Skeleton Coast at the Atlantic Ocean coastline, through Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania to reach the Indian Ocean.

This is quite the epic stroll. Over 5000 kilometres, through desert (extreme hot and cold), through the Caprivi Strip to the Zambezi, and to Victoria Falls, where food was largely unavailable, through wet season downpours, up the west side of Lake Malawi and on to Bagamoyo, and his goal.

There are trials and tribulations - a small donkey, a donkey cart, a mule - there are insects, lots of insects! -there are medical situations, mostly related to feet and insects - and there is that 40kg pack.

For me,he got the writing bang on. Enough history to be informed about the places he is, and quotes from and talks about the more famous explorers where they cross his path. He also does not fall into the trap of repetition. He calmly states “Four days later, I arrived at...” without feeling he had to labour over four uneventful days. For a journey of over a year, this was essential to being able to document his travel. He also uses self-deprecating humour, and isn't afraid to question his own actions, which is refreshing. It is also apparent that the author has a genuine affection for Africa and its people.

A quote - P221
And new physical problems are arising almost daily. I'm getting problems from a painful trapped nerve in my shoulder, where my rucksack strap has been pinching it, and I can't straighten my arm above shoulder level - soon I will be limping like Richard III. By now my back is covered with eczema, the result of a perpetually sodden shirt and rucksack pressed against it day after day in this heat. In one place my pack has rubbed a painful hole in my skin through the eczema; carrying my rucksack was unpleasant before, but now it is purgatory. This eczema must be partly due to eating bad food for so long - I never had this problem at home. I'm expecting my teeth and hair to start falling out before long, and I've got more or less a permanent acid indigestion from eating so much junk. Week after week I've lived on lukewarm Coca-Cola, stale buns and doughnuts, slurps, green bananas, powdered milk and far too many cigarettes. With all the rubbishy food and sugar soft drinks I've been consuming, I'll see the east coast through a hypoglycaemic haze.

Great stuff, five stars.