Foreword

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I have dreamt of this trip now since I was a child, Landrover s publicity team did a great job of persuading me that 4x4 s and adventure in exoctic far out countries went together. I knew one day I would be facing this challenge head on and that all my paths, destiny if you like pointed me in this direction. The strength of desire has come and gone over the years alas my nemisis has remained this trip.

For ten years now I have been able to do this trip and twice now it has been cancelled, once over Goerge W Bushe s over reaction to the trade centre bombings and once over a over reaction to my plannned exersion believing that we were meant for greater things together I turned around and came home.

I find it hard to justify the reason of which is to just drive straight into the heart of Africa and await for this great continent to throw as many problems at me as is possible for man and machine to take. I try to surch for the desire the meaning where it all started and can only think it began in my childhood which was spent outdoors searching out new lands at the bottom of our garden, the pathes that led of in either direction went on for child like miles and took forever to conquer, having been back once to see these pathes I would advice you never to do the same, the fantasy that lived in my head was destroyed after 5 mins of walking along maybe 50metres of over grown path, Never Go Back always move on. So as the materialistic roots of the UK become more and more overwhelming as time goes on I make for the wilderness one more time to give those feet a jolly good scratch.

So on the eve of my departure I begin this journal in the local A&E department with a suspected broken ankle after the last minute rush to pack the car, even 29 years of planning it seems is not enough. No turning ack now so what ever the xray shows tommorrow I will be leaving for that ferry to Spain. Although the diagnoses is worse, torn tendons and ligaments which take longer than bones to heal I head off heavily strapped for the ferry.

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Photos

At last those roots of materialism have broken