Katherine Scott
Tell us a bit about yourself... this information will appear on your page. NKOverland
UK to South Africa by Landrover
On 3 November 2004 Neil and Katherine will set off from Plymouth on the cross channel ferry to Santander, Northern Spain - destination Capetown. We plan to spend a minimum of 6 months driving overland through Spain, Gibralter, Morrocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkino Faso, etc, basically we'll be planning the route as we go along! We'll be travelling in a vehicle well equipped for the job - a 10 year old Landrover Discovery - with our very own roof tent. We hope to be posting regular travel journals and photos on this site as we go along, so please add this link to your favourites.
Travel Blog Posts
January 23rd 2005
Having sorted out flights home to the UK - $550 US return with Monarch Charter to London Gatwick - I left Neil and the Landrover in Accra while I headed for Kokrobite, about 30 km west of the city. I was heading for Big Milly's Backyard Camping, which came highly recommended by our German friends we'd met in Morocco, and also by the LP. Deciding to leave at the crack of dawn, to try and avoid the traffic jams was a good idea, and I got there bright and early - 7am! Even though I'd brought a tent with me, I decided to treat myself to a room - it was cheaper than our camping in Accra. What can I say about Big Milly's? It's a fantastic oasis of beach huts, bar and restaurant right on ... read more
January 20th 2005
We arrived in Accra on Tues 4 January after an arduous journey from Cape Coast...they're resurfacing the road and the traffic jams were a nightmare most of the way. We then hit Accra and more or less stood still for a couple of hours! We eventually made our way to Osu - 'Accra's most happening area' - and found a hotel with a garden, where the Manager agreed to let us camp for a reasonable sum (we had also chosen Accra's most expensive area!). The Comforts Hotel is accustomed to hosting the Peace Corps, and we had access to a shared bathroom. We were also really centrally located, with the main Cantonments Rd a 2 minute walk away. With fast food joints on every corner, western supermarkets, super fast cyber cafes, bars, restaurants...it was rather a ... read more
January 16th 2005
We left the humidity of the Jungle behind us and made for the coast. I personally could not wait...and I was not disappointed...the Gold Coast of Ghana is like a tropical paradise. We headed for Cape Coast and stopped at a few beach resorts to enquire about camping, but were unceremoniously turned away...until we arrived at The Coconut Grove Hotel where they agreed to let us camp round the back of the complex for $8 US - a complete bargain as the room rate was nearer $100 US per night. We truly felt we had arrived in paradise...palm trees as far as the eye could see, acres of golden sand and the sea was warm! The only negative was the Harmattan - the dust from the Sahara that blows over to Ghana once every year during ... read more
January 10th 2005
Disappointed at missing out on the sacred lake, we headed south on new year's eve, for Kakum National Park and their canopy walkway in the jungle. The roadside scenery was getting pretty spectacular by now and we passed through miles and miles of jungle - palm, banana, plantain and cocoa trees stretched for as far as the eye could see. I was also starting to struggle with the humidity. ...and started feeling quite faint and nauseous every time we stopped driving. We passed a sign for 'Wexford Goldfields Limited' and, although we thought it highly unlikely, Neil decided to go and ask if there was any chance of a guided tour....but no, we didn't have an appointment...so on we drove...until we reached another Goldfield and a road junction. We were just deciding which route to take, ... read more
January 9th 2005
We departed Mole National Park on Tues 28 Dec, en route for Kumasi - I was desperate to find a cyber cafe to update the travel blog & we needed to stock up on basic supplies. We'd heard that Kumasi, once the capital of the Ashanti Kingdom, was a vibrant, fascinating place to visit, but to watch out for the permanent traffic jams! We couldn't really miss them...we crawled into town and spent ages queing at the central traffic-clogged roundabout, Kejetia Circle. Eventually we made headway...and made for the recommended cybercafe, but where to park the vehicle? We made enquiries and oddly enough were directed to the police station at the top of the hill, where we were welcomed and shown a parking spot in their carpark - free of charge! Alas, the cybercafe's server was ... read more
January 6th 2005
After stopping in Leo, Burkino to make some Christmas phone calls home to friends & family, it wasn't long before we were crossing the border into Ghana - and you wouldn't have known it was Christmas Day at all - everyone was very low key, which was a refreshing contrast to the UK. We were making our way to Mole National Park in the north west of Ghana - we were promised Elephants, Monkeys, Antelope & possibly some Lions! It wasn't long before we left the dry plains behind and forests started lining the roadside - and with them came the humidity. We camped in a clearing after watching the most amazing sunset and spent a very hot & humid night in the forest. We deliberately decided to take some back roads to the National Park ... read more
January 5th 2005
We left Ouagga on Christmas Eve, en route for Sabou, about 90 km west of Ouagga and on the way to the Ghanian Border. We thought it was about time we tried to see some big African wildlife and had read of the sacred crocodile lake at Sabou, which sounded quite naff in the guide book: 'you arrive, you're assailed by kids from whom you buy a live chicken at a sacrificial price, it's fed to a croc which lumbers out of the water and photos are taken of you, them and, grinning the widest, the croc'. So, prepared for a real tourist trap we tentatively drove into town - but where were the kids assailing us with their live chickens? I think we must have picked a very quiet day because it was all we ... read more
January 5th 2005
After my 3 day trek in Dogon Country I returned to Bandiagra on Tues 21 Dec to find Neil waiting for me at a campsite just outside of town at Hotel Toguna. Unfortunately his trip had been cut short on day 1 - he'd got stuck in a swamp, used the Diff Lock Gear to get himself out, but then been unable to take it off afterwards. He'd decided to abort his trip, anxious about the possibility of causing lasting damage to the gearbox. That night, as we swapped stories of our separate adventures, we were surprised to find the campsite fill up with other travellers - the most we'd encountered since leaving Morocco. There was a huge truck with about 15 travellers from the UK, Europe and USA who were travelling to South Africa on ... read more
January 4th 2005
After the hassle of Bamoko we headed east to Severe, Mopti and Dogon Country. We'd both decided to do our own thing for a couple of days - Neil wanted to go off-roading with the Landrover in swampland, maybe even get to Timbuktu & I wanted to spend some days trekking in Dogon Country. So, with Mac's Refuge at Severe as our base we set off on our trips. That was after I'd spent a whole hour changing travellers cheques at a bank - I'm still at a loss as to how it took that long but that long it did indeed take! My first adventure was taking the bush taxi to Bandiagra - one of the gateway towns for the Dogon Country - I basically had to buy my ticket and wait for....2 and 1/2 ... read more
December 16th 2004
We eventually made it to Kidira last Friday - 10th December and what a contrast the border crossing was - we had to hunt out all the officials & one of them even let us film him stamping the vehicle carnet! But, it all turned out to be too good to to be true...we arrived in Kayes & promptly got stopped by the Police who were not nice at all...they were very upset with the dodgy insurance we'd bought at Rosso in Senegal. After 1 1/2 hours of debate, we finally acknowledged that our Senegal insurance for the whole of West Africa was worthless & paid out another 30 pounds for a months worth of insurance for Mali - this should hopefully cover us for Burkino Faso & Ghana as well though! Highlight of the day ... read more
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