Loving being back on the road in West Africa!

Our first trip of the season started in Dakar a few weeks ago after the long drive down from the UK. It's great to be back in the region we know and love so well and running trips again after so long away due to the sad events of the past year!

A warm  welcome to  Janet,  Wendy,  Kathy, John, Theo, Tim, Mehmet, Baz, Sam, Martin, Steve, Ray, Roy and Adrian, it's great to have you with us! Above are shots taken on Ile Goree, which many of our passengers visited as a day trip from Dakar.

Not far from Dakar we passed this truck being towed along. It looks like it's seen better days and the truck towing him didn't look to have been having a much easier time of it either! Fortunately the driver didn't appear to have been hurt in the crash.

The first truck lunch of many to come! An easy drive day bought us to our first bush camp, and the first night of torrential overnight rain. It ought to have finished raining a few weeks ago, but the rains this year have come late and are lasting longer than normal. We're hoping the dry season we plan our trips around comes soon. C'est l'Afrique!

Gambia is split in half by the River Gambia, and with no bridges over it, a lengthy wait for a ferry is an inevitable part of overland travel here. 

Tendaba Camp is a real highlight of the time we spend in The Gambia, with a great selection of birds viewed from the camp and on the numerous boat trips our passengers took. A comfortable spot to settle into the relaxed pace of life!

Konteh Kunda School of Music have only just opened, and we were delighted to be one of their first groups to visit. Established to celebrate and promote the Griot tradition and musical talent, and to provide a school for foreign students, we were overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome we received and the energy of the music and dancing we witnessed. Above and below are shots of a Kora and Balafon performance soon after our arrival.

We danced for much of the evening to Djembe drumming, before witnessing an indoor performance from the family. Several of us also took part in Kora lessons.

A short drive down to the Casamance region saw us back with Simon and Khady in Abene. It was great to be back after so long and to see everybody again, and the Koumpo dance we witnessed on the first evening was as stunning as it has ever been!

The Koumpo is a forest spirit, particularly feared by local children, and often used to warn those in a village who may have digressed, such as children picking mangoes too early. A spike comes out of the Koumpo's head, which he plants into the ground and spins around on - a truly stunning sight to witness!

Kafountine is a busy fishing port that attracts workers from far and wide. Dozens of boats come in on a good day, and the men unloading the fish are paid per crate, which explains their frenzied pace of work!

Some of the catch is sent to market by refrigerated truck, but the vast majority is smoked, or salted and air dried. Dried fish provides a main protein source for many of the countries which make up West Africa.

The beach in Abene gave a great afternoon's relaxing, and Jase and Baz managed a quick surf!

Another night in Abene and another night of great music and dancing! We were joined by the same stilt dancer who'd given our previous groups such a great performance 18 months ago, but this time with a new costume he'd just finished making!

After a short stop in the main city of Casamance, Ziguinchor, we were back to the coast, visiting local villages by boat, looking for wildlife, and enjoying stunning sunsets. 

We're now in Bissau city, as relaxed and friendly as ever, enjoying some rest and western luxuries before the rough road east into Guinea begins. The heavy rains won't have helped the roads, but should make for some stunning waterfalls! 

Many thanks to Tim, Theo, Baz and Wendy for letting us share some of their photos!

Less than 2 months from the start of the 2015-16 season!

Hi Everybody,

There's only a few seats left on our Southbound trips starting in October 2015, so now is the time to get in touch if you want to experience the magic of West Africa with us! If you do want to join one of our trips please remember that you will need to obtain a number of visas in advance before you travel, so you will need to book as soon as possible to ensure you can get all of the necessary visas in time.

After such a dreadful year in 2014 with the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra  Leone and Liberia, it's great to see the West African region finally returning to some sense of normality. There are now just a handful of cases being recorded each month, all of which are confined to a very small area (geographically speaking). Contact tracing is now much more efficient than before and has played a significant role in combating the spread of the virus. The vast majority of each of the 3 affected countries have been Ebola free for many months now, making travel through the region possible once again. 

Since we last posted a couple of months ago, Al and David (Hatter) have been busy getting Aminah ready and all of the paperwork in place in preparation for the upcoming season. We're pleased to say she passed her MOT first time with no advisories (that's her annual mechanical check for the non Brits out there) and also her tachograph calibration. All that's left to do is to stock her up with spare parts and food supplies for the big journey ahead. Not long to go now!

For those of you who don't already know, Jason Parry will be joining Al as the co-driver for our upcoming 2015-2016 season. We know Jason from his time working for Dragoman Overland, and though he has been away from overlanding for the past few years doing a 'normal' job in the real world, he is itching to get out on the road again!

We'll let the man himself do the talking:

"I fell in love with Africa when I spent 4 months working in South Africa back in early 2000. Since then, I have travelled independently in South Africa, Kenya and Namibia, as well as leading trips for Encounter Overland between 2006 and 2008.

I reluctantly left the road in 2008, intending to knuckle down for a couple of years doing a ‘proper job’ to secure myself some sort of financial security. My intention was always to return to overlanding, and after too many years of masquerading as a grown up, I am finally in a position to do just that. Hatter approached me earlier this year and could not have timed it any better.

I know Dave (Hatter) & Jimmy from my time working at Dragoman, last seeing them in person just prior to their first OWA season in 2012. Having recently met up with Al in preparation for the season ahead, I cannot wait to get back out on the road, and am looking forward to meeting all of the passengers and immersing myself in the diverse cultures, customs, and terrain of West Africa!"

As you all know we always love to highlight a more positive image of the region, and to support that initiative we recently found this superb article entitled "The Top 10 Least-Visited Countries in Africa" written by 'Travel Geek UK'. We're really pleased to see so many countries in West Africa represented, highlighting just some of the many reasons why you should visit West Africa. Click on the photo from Sierra Leone below to read the full article and to see more beautiful images from around the region!

We have recently partnered with 'Friends of Conakry Refugee School', where 26 staff offer an education to 500 students, provide them with a meal each day, and help with safe housing for the vulnerable. Guinea has historically received rather less international assistance than some of its neighbours, so it's great to see a UK organisation involved with such a valuable project.

Many of the children at the project are orphans from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire and simply can't afford to go to school. FCRS are setting up small business initiatives such as catering and soap making, and running IT and English classes for the local community in order to subsidise the education of the poorest. We plan to visit the school on our Freetown to Dakar trip, bring out supplies from the UK, and make a financial donation to the project.

You can see more information about the project here on the Friends of Conakry Refugee School website.

We're really looking forward to returning to West Africa and meeting all of you who are booked onto our trips in a few months time. To keep you going for now, check out the video below from our trips between Accra and Dakar in 2014 - showing off just some of the best places we visit in West Africa!

Dave the Hat, Al, Jimmy and Aminah

Overlanding West Africa

Bookings For Trips In 2015/16 Are Now Open!

Hi everybody,

We hope you're all well wherever you are in the world at the moment, and that this post brings as much of a smile to your face as it does to ours!

Many of you have been in contact with us over the past few months asking about our trips in 2015/16. We're pleased to let you know that we are now ready to take bookings!

Typical Market Scene Full Of Friendly Faces In Guinea, West Africa

What's The Latest Situation?

It has been a very tough year for us at Overlanding West Africa as you can imagine, though nothing compared to the tough year that the region we know and love so much has experienced. It has been truly heartbreaking to see so many communities we visit on our trips affected by the awful Ebola outbreak.

Thankfully the situation has now drastically improved!

Liberia has pretty much beaten the virus, with less than 5 cases since February. The East and South of Sierra Leone has been Ebola free for many months, and finally the rest of the country has caught up and started to report just a handful of cases a week for the last 6 weeks. Guinea has been more complex, with much lower numbers overall, but geographically more widespread. Thankfully that trend has reversed since February with only a handful of cases persisting around Forecariah and Boffa in and around Conakry.

Ivorian Stilt Dancer In Action At An Incredible Ceremony We Get To Witness!

Our Freetown to Dakar Group Bush Camping Between Guinea and Guinea Bissau

But Isn't There Still A Risk?

It's important to put the outbreak into context and remember the following:

- Well over 6,000 people have managed to recover from Ebola, and the continued advice from all sensible authorities remains clear - travellers are considered to be at very low risk, it is predominantly health care workers and those who care for infected loved ones who become infected themselves.

- We have to remember that Ebola is actually quite difficult to catch, being considered a highly infectious virus but not a highly contagious virus, unless you come into contact with the bodily fluids of a victim who has to be displaying symptoms of the virus.

- Senegal, Nigeria, and Mali all had outbreaks of varying degrees and managed to prevent it from spreading. Remember, there has also been numerous major outbreaks of Ebola in Uganda, Sudan, Gabon, and DR Congo over the past decade or so, and it hasn't deterred travellers from visiting these countries.

A good article that helps put the risk that the Ebola outbreak presents into context can be found here: Ebola: What Are the Risks?

Ali, Liz, and Lindsay Jumping For Joy In Guinea Bissau!

What Next?

Aminah (our truck) is ready to go for next season. Just 6 months to go before she heads out of the UK with Al and Jason for another adventure through West Africa with a seasoned bunch of travellers!

If you are still interested in booking a trip with OWA please email us via our ENQUIRY FORM or simply reply to the initial form you sent us so we know what trips you want to book onto. Many of you who were booked onto the season we had to cancel already have a deposit with us which means some of our trips have limited availability!

We will endeavour to respond to your emails within 24 hours of making contact with us, often much sooner, but please bear in mind we are expecting a lot of bookings in a short space of time so we appreciate your patience!

Remember we have a discount structure in place if you book more than one trip with us. All dates, prices and itineraries can be seen on our website HERE

We really hope you can join us for the adventure later in the year, please do email if you have any questions at all, and please do share the message on social media and with anybody you know who might be interested in travelling through West Africa with us.

Help us promote a more positive image of the region and play a small role in helping rebuild the tourism industry there!

Dave The Hat, Al Goodridge, and Jimmy C Overlanding West Africa

The Countries Of West Africa Where We Operate Our Trips

New Trips In 2015-16 And The Unite4WestAfrica Initiative

Hi everybody,

After many weeks of planning, writing, and HTML, we're pleased to announce our new itineraries for late 2015-early 2016 are ready to go and now live on the website! All of our trips can be viewed here or you can navigate to the trip that interests you by hovering over THE TRIPS tab at the top of each page. This will bring up a sub menu to take you to any of the trips we operate.

Mauritanian Nomads Taking Tea In The Sahara Desert

All of our existing trips are still there, but with some minor changes:

Dakar to Freetown - stays the same

Freetown to Accra - much the same as last year, except we will visit the south of Ivory Coast instead of the north, and not visit Burkina Faso

Accra to Ouagadougou - very similar to our Ouagadougou to Accra trip, but visiting more of Togo and the east of Burkina Faso

Accra to Freetown - stays the same, but includes a visit to the Gurunsi homes of the Kassena people in Tiebele, Burkina Faso

Freetown to Dakar - stays the same

Dakar to Marrakech - Brand new trip, taking in northern Senegal, some of Mauritania, Western Sahara, and southern Morocco

Marrakech to Tangier - Brand new trip in Morocco, visiting many of the key highlights in the Sahara desert, Atlas mountains, and Rif mountains

Everyday Life In A Moroccan Medina

Our Trips And The Situation In West Africa

The ebola outbreak continues to affect lives and communities in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. From watching the mainstream media news channels, the situation seems as bleak as ever.

However, all this doom and gloom is not a fair representation of the facts and decidedly unbalanced. There has been a huge improvement in all 3 affected countries since December 2014:

• The rate of new cases being reported throughout Liberia has drastically reduced in recent weeks, things really are looking alot better there now
• The east of Sierra Leone around Kaliahun and Kenema (where the outbreak first surfaced in Sierra Leone) has improved dramatically, with only 1 or 2 cases being reported per week over the last month. In and around Freetown and the west of the country, the number of new cases being reported has declined by a huge amount
• The outbreak continues to rumble on around Guinea, though at a much lower level than before, with the number of new cases reported being significantly lower than in Liberia and Sierra Leone

Alot more is being done by the governments and the international community to help improve the situation, though there is of course alot more work to do. It does appear slowly but surely the outbreak is being brought under control, and we are very hopeful that the region will return to some sense of normality very soon.

Happy Ladies In Their Finest Clothes In The Forest Region Of Guinea

We want to reiterate that we cancelled our trips in late 2014 - early 2015 due to the closure of a number of key borders throughout the region. That was the only reason we cancelled - the logistics of operating multi-country trips became impossible.

All sensible advice from health professionals continues to be the same - the risk of travellers contracting the virus is considered very low, you need to come into direct contact with the bodily fluids of somebody showing symptoms of the virus to become infected.

Launch Of The Unite 4 West Africa Initiative

Since October 2014 we have played a key role in setting up and promoting the Unite 4 West Africa initiative, along with West Africa Discovery, Barefoot Liberia, and Another World Adventures. The aim of this collective effort is simple - to challenge the mainstream media portrayal of the affected countries in West Africa, and to raise funds for organisations working on the ground to combat the outbreak.

Nigerian Minister Of Tourism Sally Mbanefo Speaks At The Unite4WestAfrica Launch, World Travel Market 2014

Lots Of Journalists Attended The Unite4WestAfrica Launch At World Travel Market In London, 2014

The Unite 4 West Africa initiative was launched to the media at World Travel Market in October 2014. We're pleased to say it was a huge success, the room was heaving with journalists interested in hearing what we had to say!

On the panel were the Ministers of Tourism for Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria, as well as Ben Keene from Tribewanted Sierra Leone, Dr Ron Behrens from the London School of Tropical Medicine, and David Oades (Dave The Hat) from Overlanding West Africa. Everybody gave a 10 minute presentation about the situation in the region.

In addition to helping put the outbreak into perspective, Unite 4 West Africa is raising funds for organisations who are working hard in the region to help combat the spread of the virus:

• 50% of the money raised will go to Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders), who have worked tirelessly from the moment the outbreak was confirmed as ebola back in March 2014
• 40% of the money will go to 3 grass roots organisations in each of the affected countries, being TINKISSO in Guinea, KRITERION MONROVIA in Liberia, and WELT HUNGER HILFE in Sierra Leone
• 10% will be distributed to other grass roots organisations who are doing great work who might approach us for funding - if not, this 10% will instead go to the 3 organisations receiving 40% of the funds raised

All money raised will go directly to the organisations listed above. All of the time we have spent setting up and promoting Unite 4 West Africa is entirely voluntary.

David Oades, Founder Of Overlanding West Africa Speaks At The Unite4WestAfrica Launch At World Travel Market

Larissa Clark, Founder Of Another World Adventures Launches The Unite4WestAfrica Initiative

We're pleased to say we have secured the support of a large number of other travel operators and organisations who run trips and have an interest in the countries of West Africa, including Exodus Travels, G Adventures, Explore, and Intrepid Travel. We're proud to say we've raised over £4,000 since November 2014 and hope to raise much more.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations who have donated to the initiative so far, and all the individuals who have made a personal donation - thanks so much to everybody!

Please visit the Unite 4 West Africa website to learn more about the initiative, and help promote a more positive image of the countries in West Africa. There is also a Unite 4 West Africa Facebook Page and a Twitter Page where you can keep up to date with all the latest news. Please use the hashtag #Unite4WestAfrica when posting about the initiative.

Organisations Lending Their Support To The Unite4WestAfrica Initiative

With so much negative media coverage coming from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia in recent months, there is a real danger that these countries will be associated and stigmatised with this image for years to come. We all need to work together to help promote a more positive image of the affected countries and the West Africa region in general.

Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia were just starting to develop a tourist industry, something we want to see flourish once again as soon as possible.

Remember: A huge number of people throughout dozens of countries all over Africa rely upon tourism for their livelihoods, and many are now starting to struggle due to a decline in tourism. Nearly every major tour operator is saying bookings for trips all over Africa are down. Lets put this in perspective - only 3 countries have been significantly affected by the ebola outbreak to date, just 3!

Africa is a continent, NOT a country, help us put the situation into perspective!

Cheers guys, we hope you are all well, and we hope to see you on Aminah in late 2015-early 2016 for another adventure through the countries of West Africa!

Dave The Hat, Al Goodridge, and Jimmy C

Jane's Adventures Between Accra And Freetown

This is a guest post from Jane De Le Vega, a recent passenger of ours from Australia, who had a great time on our overland trip from Accra to Freetown in January 2014.

"Earlier this year I went on the Accra to Freetown trip with OWA, a six week trip from Ghana to Sierra Leone, through Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Liberia. It was a most wonderful trip, and as I sit down to write this feedback I can only think of positives.

Kids were always fascinated by Jane's sketching; some colourful characters visiting our bush camp in Ghana.

The slow and peaceful pace gave us time to soak in the amazing landscapes and cultures we were passing through: I sketch, so a slow pace suits me. The crew had a thorough, extremely well organised and professional approach. This had been obvious from the beginning, from their comprehensive website, and prompt, clear responses to initial questions. 

It became even more apparent once we all arrived in Accra where, on meeting Al our leader, any tiny worries one may have had in relation to safety were put to rest.  Al’s experience and understanding of West Africa - its trials and tribulations, as well as its wonders and wobbles - and his quiet  passion for it all was impressive. Impressive  also was his  calm, cool persona which I liked. I felt very confident. He was the perfect leader. His offsider, Neville, was also perfect.

Sights, sounds and experiences in West Africa always keep you on your toes!

Looking at the photographs on OWA’s website says everything that needs to be said. I am sure that anyone considering travel in West Africa is doing so because they already know it is a diverse, complicated, different and sometimes difficult part of the continent, and they know that a trip there will be fascinating, intrepid and adventurous. A one-off- not tame. That was why I chose the trip, and it came up to all my expectations. Perhaps even better than I had anticipated. 

Good times on the Domes de Fabedougou in Burkina; Jane takes advantage of Valentine's day;
Niansogoni's former troglydyte settlement which we trekked to

I had asked only two questions to OWA before booking, and these may be helpful to others considering the trips.  

The first question (because I am 67 and therefore a fossil) was whether they normally had fossils on their trips, and what generally was the average age? I didn’t want to end up granny-loser-fossil-lonely-no-friends amongst 19 teeny boppers! The answer was that their groups were mostly of mixed ages, the average age being about 40, and always some fossils.  As it turned out, this was the case on my trip and, indeed, there were a few fossils.

Andy with Jane's great birthday card, which he drew

The second question I asked was which nationalities the groups were usually made up of. I  asked this question because I had noted from the website that much feedback was from Australians. Being an Australian myself, when I travel I am naturally more interested to meet people from other countries, and therefore I was hoping the group would be of mixed nationalities. This was  the case. Our group of 20 included people from Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, America, Canada, the UK, and 3 Australians of which I was one. 

West Africa's beaches are a real highlight of our trips: Bureh beach Sierra Leone;
bringing in the catch; and driving along the Ghanaian coast

So it was a wonderful mix, a wonderful trip, and it was a sad moment when we parted in Freetown at the end. After all, we had done a lot together. 

We’d rattled over endless rutted third world roads together, often at only 30 kms an hour, with Africa passing by out the truck windows; we’d sat together in the truck at tricky border posts in midday sun while Al did endless paperwork with the officials; we’d all helped fill the truck water tanks from precious village wells once Al had done the negotiations, many onlookers, tiny sleeping babies strapped to so many backs;  we’d rejoiced together as we washed our bodies and clothes in a beautiful waterfall that we found ourselves camped beside; we’d sat together at night around a fire swapping stories; stomped through fabulous local markets with our cook group in tow, looking for things to turn into dinner for that night; decamped excitedly out of our tents and into basic hotel rooms with showers when available; argued in the dark, over a steaming pot, with someone in the cook group who thought two packets of rice wasn't enough; rushed into markets and bought far too many gorgeous batik african textiles, perhaps thinking that one day, back home, we could look as beautiful as the African women who wore them so gracefully (alas no!); camped in villages at night, surrounded by 100 inquisitive locals, waking the next morning to watch daily African life- women tending babies, the stew in the pot, the grinding of grains, the water carrying, the cows being herded out to their fields.

Curtis on a the few remaining vine bridges in Guinea; chimpanzees at a rehabilitation centre in Sierra Leone, and in the wild in Guinea, close to our camp

We’d visited wildlife sanctuaries, ex-colonial coastal forts, Cote d’Ivoire’s version of the Vatican, and marveled at the quirky, crazy, pink and turquoise corrugated iron shacks in Liberia built by the freed returning slaves from America - New Orleans style!

And finally, things like just walking with a new friend along a remote and very long African beach, and coming at the end to a fishing village, with men scaling their catch beside brightly coloured fishing canoes, all painted various shades of turquoise and blue with crazy red dedications to Jesus on their hulls. Photographs, photographs!

Captivating sights and sounds at the village we stay in to witness an incredible stilt dance, in Cote d'Ivoire

So, together we all shared this really wonderful experience in West Africa. And we couldn't have done it without OWA.

Thank you very much,  OWA. You do a really excellent job.

And to anyone else... YES, DO IT!

Many thanks to Jane for taking the time to write us this great post! Looking forward to seeing you on another trip in the near future Jane!

Busy Times Preparing For The Adventure Ahead

We've had a busy few months since getting back to the UK with Aminah at the end of April. There's only a few seats left on our Southbound trips this coming season, starting in October, so now is the time to get in touch if you want to experience the magic of West Africa with us!

Al and Hatter have been busy getting Aminah spick and span for her next adventure. She's now all spruced up, safely parked up in the UK, and ready to head back down through Europe in a few months time.

We're in the process of having some videos made from all the footage taken on our recent trips. We'll be releasing these on our You Tube Channel over the next few weeks. Below is the first of the videos, showing off some of the incredible dancing and singing our Dakar to Freetown and Freetown to Dakar groups got to witness at Tendaba camp on the banks of the river Gambia....what a night, check it out!

Stay tuned for more inspirational footage highlighting the music, dancing, colourful characters, epic roads, truck life and more from our recent adventures. Many thanks to all of the passengers who provided some of the footage used in this video we really appreciate it!

We're very pleased to announce that Jason Parry will be joining Al as co-driver and mechanic for our upcoming 2014-2015 season. We know Jason well from his time working for Dragoman Overland; he has been away from overlanding for the past few years doing a 'normal' job in the real world, and is itching to be out on the road again!

Jason fixing a passing donkey cart, and taking some down time!

We’ll let Jason introduce himself:

‘Africa has been under my skin since I spent 4 months working in South Africa back in early 2000. Since then, I have travelled independently in South Africa, Kenya and Namibia,, as well as riding solo for most of my time running Encounter trips for Dragoman Overland between 2006 and 2008.

I reluctantly left the road in 2008, intending to knuckle down for a couple of years in a ‘proper job’, and secure myself some sort of financial security for my future years. My intention was always to return to overlanding, and after too many years of masquerading as a grown up, I am finally in a position to do just that. OWA approaching me earlier this year could not have been timed any better.

I know Dave & Jimmy through Dragoman, last seeing them in person just prior to their first OWA trip. Having recently met up with Al in preparation for the season ahead, I cannot wait to get back out on the road, and am looking forward to immersing myself in the diversity of cultures, customs, terrain, and of course passengers!

Jason making sure nothing goes to waste!

We have recently partnered with 'Friends of Conakry Refugee' School, where 26 staff offer an education to 500 students, provide them with a meal each day, and help with safe housing for the vulnerable. Guinea has historically received rather less NGO assistance than some of its neighbours, so it is great to see a UK organisation involved with such a valuable project.

Many of the children are orphans from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire and simply can't afford to go to school. The school is setting up small business initiatives such as catering and soap making, and running IT and English classes for the local community so it can subsidise the education of the poorest. We plan to visit the school on our Freetown to Dakar trip, bring out supplies from the UK, and make a financial donation to the project.

There is much more information about the project here on the Friends of Conakry Refugee School website.

Stay tuned for more travel videos in the next few weeks, like this short one of Al and Nev driving through the jungle in Ivory Coast, and we hope to see you onboard Aminah in West Africa later this year!