After 30 days on the road our first trip of the season has arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone!
We’ve just waved goodbye to Chris, John C, John B (aka Judge John), Connor, Daniel aka Muppet (what else would you call a Swedish chef?) and Peter after a great trip down from Dakar.
A warm welcome to our new passengers for the next epic trip through West Africa, where we hope to be the first commercial overland operator to travel through Liberia: Hilary, Carlee, Cynthia, Ruth, Dirk, Ali, and Alice, a true adventure awaits!
Since the last update we spent a couple of nights in Bissau, enjoying the laid back and friendly atmosphere of this seldom visited country. Some of us went to the fishing port, dominated by the crumbling colonial buildings in the background. Others spent time in the vibrant and hectic markets, and all of us dined well knowing there was a long stretch of camping coming up. It also became clear at a great hotel doing a buffet dinner why what we know as an "eat as much as you like" restaurant is known by some Americans as an "eat as much as you can" experience!
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| Boats in Bissau Port (Photo From Passenger Ian Johnson) |
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| Ian Plays Football With The Kids By Aminah |
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Beers With Some Of Group: Daniel, Nev, Phil, Ant and John
(Photo From Birgit) |
We then headed up-country in Guinea Bissau to relax at a tiered set of waterfalls, wash off the dust and prepare for the road ahead...
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| Watch Out Will Strong Currents Here! |
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| Fisherman After A Catch By The Falls In Guinea Bissau |
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Phil's New Shorts, Unfortunately Spouting
A Suspicous Looking Hole Already! |
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Overlanding Through Guinea's Fouta Djalon.
It's A Long Bumpy Drive, Even When You're
Not On The Roof! (Photo From Birgit) |
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| Chris Getting His Bearings And Keeping Track Of The Journey (Photo From Ian) |
The journey between Guinea Bissau and Guinea was truly spectacular. Several days driving on dusty bumpy roads watching the dramatic Fouta Djalon mountains slowly emerge ahead of us was a real treat. With rainy season not long over, the green and lush landscape was beautiful, and we were warmly welcomed in the markets, at the village water pumps, and at several curious police checkpoints.
Great bush camps seemed to present themselves at just the right moment. One night we watched a bush fire rage in the distance, and another enjoyed camping by a cool stream, though it will long be remembered as the night the cold beer ran out.
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Huge Lizard Warming Up In The Sun As We Drove
Past In Guinea (Photo From Ian) |
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After Much Discussion, The Group Decided These Were
Termite Mounds, Literally Hundreds Of Them About! |
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We Struggled To Find A Cake For Birgit's Birthday So The
Group Improvised. However, The Novelty Soon Wore Off
When The Candle Playing Happy Birthday Wouldn't Turn Off! |
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| En Route In The Fouta Djalon (Photo From Birgit) |
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| Ian, Phil, John and Will Filling Aminah's Jerry Can's - The Water Pump Is A Great Workout! |
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| One Of Our Beautiful Bush Camps En Route Through The Fouta Djalon, Guinea |
We were endlessly entertained by watching how well the sept place taxis are loaded up. Even on Aminah it’s a long, bumpy drive in a seat with plenty of room, let alone lying on the roof, crouching in the boot on sitting on the bonnet!
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Aminah Boards The Ferry In The North Of Guinea. It's An Incredible System Of Pulling The Ferry Over The River
By A Manual Winch, Hard Work For The Boys! |
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Will Filling The Water Jerry Can's With
Some Locals Judging His Performance! |
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Our Trips Are Timed To Avoid The Worst
Of The Rainy Seaosn! |
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| Winching Aminah Across The River, Guinea |
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Cab View Of The Main 'Highway'
Connecting Guinea Bissau and Guinea! |
After several drive days we reached the relative luxury of taps, which (sometimes) had running water, cold beer and (occasional) electricity. Ian was delighted to find a bottle of ‘Try Me’ with an alluring picture on the label....it turned out to be a litre of ‘pineapple spirit’ costing less than a euro. Fortunately, he can still see clearly!
Unfortunately, some of the group have developed a like for these spirits that taste like meths mixed with nasty flavourings. The coconut was little better, unless you like ‘Suncream Flavour’...
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| Al And Nev Check Out The Ferry Crossing In Guinea |
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| Nev Drives Aminah Off The Ferry With Sascha, Ant, John, Warren, And Ina Looking On |
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| John Inspecting A Bog Hole En Route In Guinea, Which Would Have Been A Challenge A Few Weeks Before! |
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Goats Seeking Shade By Aminah...They Weren't Happy
To See Us Leave After Our Market Shop! |
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The Fula Huts The Group Spent The Night In Whilst
Trekking In The Beautiful Fouta Djalon, Guinea |
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Sascha And Tania Get A Ride From The Kids In A Wheelbarrow.
They Insisted 100kg Was The Maximum Weight Limit! |
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| Tania And Our Guide Take Some Time Out From Trekking For Some Acrobatics! |
Now began a week of exploring Guinea’s beautiful Fouta Djalon region. Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, gorges, escarpments, crafts markets; It's a magical area that would be a huge tourist draw anywhere else in the world. We trekked to a number of waterfalls, enjoyed cooling swims and hair raising taxis rides, and took some time to relax after the challenging roads to get to all of the various places we visited.
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| Warren Takes To The Vines! |
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| Birgit Helps Pound The Beans For Dinner! |
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Judge John Squeezes Through A Tight Gap
In The Fouta Djalon - Sadly The Sound Effects
Are Missing From This Image! |
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| Relief As Judge John Makes It Through! |
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| Our Group Trekking Through A Gorge: Sascha, Tania, Warren, And Ant In The Foreground |
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| Narelle Climbing The Vines! |
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| Al Balancing Before The Big Climb Up! |
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| Big Al Highlighting His Mountaineering Skills In The Gorge! |
We then set off for Sierra Leone via a night camping by the river to wash off. We received a famously warm welcome in Sierra Leone, and made our way past many comical and curious police checks before arriving at the beach.
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| Al Peeking Through The Rocks |
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| Ant And Narelle Kicking Back In The Village After Trekking |
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| Soaking Up The Views Before A Swim To Cool Off! |
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| The Group Making It's Way Along The Small Waterfalls Leading Upto The Big Drop! |
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| Willl And Daniel Relaxing In The Rock Pools After Trekking |
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| The Coldest Set Of Waterfalls Yet - A 60 Meter Drop! |
Having made good progress we spent 2 nights camping on a beautiful beach along the Freetown peninsula. The group enjoyed walking along the beach, swimming in the warm water, chuckling at the surf school instructing people with no waves, eating freshly caught barracuda, and enjoying cold beers at sunset. A great way to finish our trip!
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| The Leather Workers Products On Display (Photo From Birgit) |
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| Lizard In Camp (Photo From Birgit) |
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| View From Our Beach Camp In Freetown. One Of The Few Places Where The Moutains Meet The Coast In West Africa |
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| A Quiet Day For The Fishermen When We Visited But They Still Caught Some Barracuda For Our Dinner! |
A short drive brought us through Freetown’s bustling markets and crowded streets to the city centre. We've spent the last few nights visiting a chimpanzee sanctuary, enjoying craft markets, trying to learn some Creole and stocking up on a few western luxuries before the journey ahead.
The start of our next trip from Freetown to Accra will see us visit wildlife reserves in the east of Sierra Leone, before our adventure through Liberia begins. Access to the internet will be patchy over the next few weeks, but stay tuned for our next update!
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| Arriving Into Freetown For The End Of The Trip. Narrow Streets With Traders Everywhere! |
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