The First Ever Overland Truck-Based Trip Through Liberia!

It's been a long time in the planning, but we've done it! We're proud to be sending this latest blog entry all the way from Monrovia, Liberia! It's a great feeling to have made it here, the first ever overland truck-based company to have done so! What a fantastic country Liberia is, we've been enjoying a very warm reception from everybody we've met. As you can imagine, such a large group of travellers passing by in Aminah causes quite a reaction from the Liberian people!

The First Ever Overland Truck Based Trip Through Liberia - December 2013!

After leaving Freetown, where this latest leg of the trip started, we headed up-country to Kabala on the recently upgraded road. We planned a bush camp en-route but ended up camping for the night in the grounds of a Catholic church, where we were warmly received. In retrospect, Saturday night was not the best time to camp outside a church for those among the group who do not appreciate dawn starts!

The climate in Kabala was a welcome change; maybe not quite cold as the locals claim, but certainly less humid and with some relief from the heat in the evenings. Many of the group enjoyed hiking in the nearby mountains, and some visited the cloth weavers and dyers. This is a skill that was rather lost during the war years, but one that is making a comeback through local initiatives combined with support from a number of NGOs to give viable employment once again to many of the people around Kabala.

Loading Up The Canoes At Tiwai Island

Bush Fires (Photo From Ant And Narelle)

Al Meets The Village Elders At Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone 

Building A New Shelter, Tiwai Island

Ready For A Canoe Safari, Tiwai Island

We passed through Makeni on the way south from Kabala, and all enjoyed watching a car without wheels causing traffic mayhem as it was pushed sideways down the main street on a trolley!

Our next nightstop was Sierra Leone's second largest city of Bo where we camped at a nightclub. Fortunately being the only guests, the music went off early and we were happily tucked up in bed by 9 pm as per usual when bush camping! 

From Bo the journey continued to Tiwai Island, where we unloaded our luggage and camping equipment onto a boat to transfer across to the island nature reserve. We spent 2 nights here, relaxing in the shade during the day, and choosing between wildlife walks and boat safaris in the early mornings and late afternoons. One boat safari was cut rather short when the outboard motor failed; this also made returning us and our equipment to the truck rather more complicated, so we had to use a series of small and delicately loaded canoes instead! We saw a wide variety of primates and birds during our time on the island, but the pygmy hippos which the island is famed for remained elusive.

A great time had by all, many thanks to all the staff at Tiwai Island for making us all feel so welcome!

Upon leaving Tiwai we were invited to stay in a local village, where the village elders told us many stories about their culture and traditions. We were also taken on interesting tours of other surrounding villages. The local food we were fed was excellent, mainly fish in pumpkin or groundnut sauces, with locally grown rice or pounded cassava.

From the village we headed for Kenema, and experienced some exciting driving on incredibly narrow and overgrown tracks taking us into the far east of Sierra Leone. Here we stocked up on supplies in the busy market, and spent the night at a beautiful camp spot in the spacious tree-filled grounds of a local mission.

The road south from Kenema to Liberia was as bad as we expected; we averaged about 12 km/ph as we headed into the jungle terrain, battling bog holes, large pools of water, deep ruts, suspicious bridges and some unusual holes caused by water washing away the road. We saw very little traffic on this route, though there were a few overloaded taxis. At a bush camp en route we were payed a visit by a night fisherman, who was as surprised to see us as we were to see him!

Sierra Leone To Liberia Highway! (Photo From Hilary Wheeler)

Finally we made it to the Liberian border where we were met with a mixture of surprise and excitement. The immigration officials were very friendly and helpful but also intrigued by our 'mission'. It took quite some time to persuade a number of officials that we were not missionaries, nor aid workers, nor the military, but indeed tourists, keen to see their country, meet their people, and share their pride in a nation rebuilding itself after so many years of hardship.

R&R in Monrovia - Overlanding Luxury!

Will, Narelle, And Nev On The Beach

Group Bushcamping At Kpatawee Falls, Liberia

Not A Bad Camp Spot!

Beautiful Kpatawee Falls, Liberia

Everybody absolutely loved the few days we spent along the Liberian coastline. It truly is a fascinating country starting to rebuild itself after an awful chapter in it's recent history.

Now we head north in Liberia towards Guinea and onto Ivory Coast. Expect another exciting blog entry in the next few days. Happy Christmas wherever you are in the world!

The Beautiful Beaches Around Monrovia, Liberia (Photo From Alice Hubbard)