Take On Africa

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Mali is famous for it’s music but I haven’t heard much and haven’t tried to find it.  I’ve been singing my own song and I’d have to say it’not very soulful.
Having had a bout of literary diarrhoea after two weeks of paddling a pirogue down rapids and through shallow waters, I am now suffering, in [...]

List of Books read during ‘Take On Africa’, in order read. (Those with an asterisk * are related to Africa and those in bold I enjoyed most and would highly recommend):

Wide Sargasso Sea – Jean Rhys

Lolita – Nabokov

A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene

The Last Templar – [...]

For some numbers relating to our Niger River boat trip,  see the article posted over at The Travelers Notebook:
http://thetravelersnotebook.com/by-the-numbers/by-the-numbers-paddling-the-niger-river/

This is just a short clip of me and Lars paddling through one of the faster sections of water.
Shortly after this clip ends, when we’re just out of camera view, we run into the bushes and I fall out, losing my sunglasses and flip-flop in the process.

This is my first ever video upload and I [...]

Day 14: 19th Feb 2010
Fast rapids – Boat unload – Stuck! – Decision to quit in Kouroussa
It was a successful start to the day, with calm open water which Joliba II glided over with considerable ease.
Boosted by our progress and steady rhythmic paddling, when we heard the distinctive white water ahead and then saw the [...]

Day 11: Feb 16th 2010
Warthogs - Broken boat - Hippo encounter - Bush fire – Bat exodus – Uniformed and uninformed – Poacher or American?
A long, hard morning paddle – at least we were paddling and not pushing or dragging, but the wavelets on the river surface were tiresome. With the ripples lapping at [...]

Day 7: 12th Feb 2010
Ou tu vas comme ca? - Bee island - Frogs and splashes
Nearly a week into the trip, about 100km downstream of Faranah, getting close to the National Park and the number of people we are seeing has diminished – just the occasional onlooker from a riverbank and lone fishing boats. We [...]

On day 10 of the Niger River boat trip, we came across a Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Sanctuary.
Here are some photos from our visit…

For more information on chimpanzee rehabiliation and the Sanctuary, visit The Project Primate website

Day 4: 9th Feb 2010
Quiet morning – shallow maze - near-disaster - crocodile island
Following a quiet morning on the river where progress was slow but steady, the afternoon brought with it a maze of rocks and shallow waters that slowed progress drastically. We would stop paddling and stand up to get a better view downstream, [...]

Day 1: 6th Feb 2010
Departure – 3 beers – Boh’s helping hand – will we make it to Bamako?
It’s Saturday in Faranah; our boat is built and afloat on the river, our belongings have been wrapped and packaged in plastic bags ready for the trip, we have cycled into town for breakfast and bought [...]