Take On Africa

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(Joliba Fila - Joliba meaning ‘Great River’ and Fila meaning ‘2′ in Manding)
Travels down the Niger River – 350km, Faranah to Kouroussa (Guinea)
6th - 22nd February 2010
The Idea
The idea of a boat trip came about during discussions with Lars, way back in the early days of cycling through the Western Sahara. Several long days riding [...]

Some views of the Niger River; photos taken during the two week paddle from Faranah to Kouroussa in Guinea…

We expected it to take 10-14 days to paddle down the Niger River from Faranah to Kouroussa in Guinea. It took 15 long days. It was hard work and tough at times but great fun too and an amazing experience.
I will of course be writing a full update, but for now, here are some pictures [...]

Having spent nearly a week in the small but friendly town of Faranah in Guinea, we managed to get built a river-worthy wooden pirogue and buy suplies to keep us sustained for the two weeks it was expected to take to get to Kouroussa, the next place along the river…

Leaving Freetown
We had arrived in Freetown on the bustling streets of Kissy Road in the East End lined with stalls selling everything from second-hand shoes to fake Sony radios; and had navigated our way through the commercial district centred around the towering cotton tree, down along Congo Road and across the poor shanty district of [...]

And finally….the final part of the journey, from No Man’s Land to Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown.
Noises in the Night
Camped in No Man’s Land, I woke numerous times in the night to a rattling sound coming from underneath the tent, which seemed to come from the left of my head one moment and then further to [...]

This second part of the journey from Labe to Freetown, takes me from Kindia to the border with Sierra Leone, where I camped the night in No Man’s Land.
The final part of the journey, from the border to Freetown, I’ll post in a third update.
Sorry it’s taking so long – there are too many distractions [...]

This is the first of two updates about the journey from Labe in Guinea to Freetown in Sierra Leone. This part takes me as far as Kindia, where I had a short rest before continuing across the border.
Leaving Labe
We left Labe late in the afternoon having gorged on a cheap lunch of rice and a [...]

The ride from Labe through the heart of the Fouta Djalon hills towards Kindia in the south of Guinea was simply stunning. The photos don’t really do the place justice unfortunately, but perhaps they give an idea of what it was like. The journey took longer than expected, primarily because one day we ended up [...]

3 weeks, 4 countries, 7 boat rides, 1200km cycled.
There have been good days and bad days, the best days and worst ones. At times it’s been tough and tiring, and yes there have even been tears. At times it’s been thrilling and exciting, and I’ve thought I must be the luckiest person alive. All times [...]