My name is Dan Grec, I previously drove a TJ 40,000 miles from the top of Alaska to the bottom of Argentina. (JeepForum Thread here, summary and details of the trip on my website here)
It's been a long time in the making, and I'm bursting with excitement to announce my next Overland adventure:
Two years circumnavigating the African continent in my 2007 JKUR with custom diesel conversion, camper setup and more.
The Jeep build and all the details for preparation will be covered exclusively at JPFreek Adventure Magazine.
Sorry to hear about the bribery incident. Africa is a lawless place on balance and I had a feeling that you'd face such occasion eventually - just glad no violence was involved.
I won't ever go back to Africa (as I posted earlier); it's not a part of the world that can be described in one post ... just brutally behind the rest of the globe in greater part. Still very tribal to this day; plenty of kind people, despite abject poverty, but also lots of horrible people with utter disregard for fellow man. It's a huge roll of the dice to venture through such lands.
I have made my way South in Ivory Coast, and the roads deteriorated very, very quickly.
10 hours of driving for 40 miles. Trucks stuck for a week.
This is the West Africa I dreamed about !
Who ever held you up, stole the jeep, took your stuff, laptop etc. and is taking the time to maintain your online persona to keep the authorities at bay is doing a great job. Keep up the good work :rofl: :thumbsup:
Who ever held you up, stole the jeep, took your stuff, laptop etc. and is taking the time to maintain your online persona to keep the authorities at bay is doing a great job. Keep up the good work :rofl: :thumbsup:
Original plan was 2 years total, so something around 16 months remaining if I stick to that.
As long as the money holds out, it makes no difference to me if the trip runs 2.5 years total
Good journal entries ... your comments about "White man; give me something," as a fairly common greeting (in passing) is exactly what I experienced in Africa and among a long list of reasons why I will never go back.
It will be interesting to hear/read your take a few months after you've returned home. I have no doubt that you'll take-away a lot of great memories (namely those of the scenic and humbling variety) and no regrets for having made the journey. The real question is whether you'll care to venture back again.
I think you have dropped in here multiple times to say you will never go back.
You are writing off an entire continent, with over 1 billion people and over 50 separate countries because of your experience in just a couple of countries - which is nuts.
If I went to Chigaco and had a crappy time, would it be in any way sane to write off the entire USA? Of course not, and that's just one single country.
I get that you will never go back. Please stop saying it, you are not really adding anything here.
As for me coming back, I already know with 100% certainty I will be back on the West Coast. There are so many places to explore, and I had made so many friends that will be with me for life, it's impossible to think I will never come back.
I have a lot to learn here, and 2 years won't be enough.
I've been to a few countries within Africa, hence the reason why I can validate not wanting to go back. It's obviously a very broad and diverse part of the world.
Nigeria alone has nearly 200 Million people and upwards of 40+ major ethnic groups (depending on where lines are drawn).
I've been to a few countries within Africa, hence the reason why I can validate not wanting to go back. It's obviously a very broad and diverse part of the world.
Nigeria alone has nearly 200 Million people and upwards of 40+ major ethnic groups (depending on where lines are drawn).
So you are aware it's a "broad and diverse" part of the world, but you are willing to "never go" to something like 50 countries because of your experiences in a few? You would miss out on the experiences of around a billion people, mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, animals, culture and food because you didn't like a few countries?
Yes, I've seen "enough" of Africa to make an adult decision that it's not a worthwhile part of the World for which to return and spend money. It's my opinion; same can be said for a handful of individual countries outside the African continent: India ... over 1 Billion people and very diverse; no matter - prevailing atmosphere is not appealing.
I'd rather provide perspective to would-be travelers that includes BOTH the good and bad. The likelihood of getting mugged, bribed, kidnapped, or worse is high in many parts of Africa. I would think that most people would do their homework and plan any trip with diligence, but alas there are many tales of grandeur that can all too easily cloud the full picture.
I'll respectully refrain from further posts in this thread; even though this forum is meant for discussion and varied opinion + feedback. I fully realize that my viewpoint and experience doesn't jive with your narrative.
Yes, I've seen "enough" of Africa to make an adult decision that it's not a worthwhile part of the World for which to return and spend money. It's my opinion; same can be said for a handful of individual countries outside the African continent: India ... over 1 Billion people and very diverse; no matter - prevailing atmosphere is not appealing.
I'd rather provide perspective to would-be travelers that includes BOTH the good and bad. The likelihood of getting mugged, bribed, kidnapped, or worse is high in many parts of Africa. I would think that most people would do their homework and plan any trip with diligence, but alas there are many tales of grandeur that can all too easily cloud the full picture.
I'll respectully refrain from further posts in this thread; even though this forum is meant for discussion and varied opinion + feedback. I fully realize that my viewpoint and experience doesn't jive with your narrative.
Thanks. It's not that your viewpoint doesn't jive with my narrative, it's just that you are not adding anything each time you say it.
You stop in here every month or two and say "I will never go back", which is exactly what you said last time. Saying it over and over does not make it more true or more useful.
And to read about all the repairs, upgrades and maintenance I recently performed over here checkout my article in the latest FREE edition of JPFreek Adventure Magazine: http://currentissue.jpfreek.com/
I drove in, through an interesting Immigration post and did not get any paperwork for my Jeep at all.
I really hope that does not become a problem..... http://theroadchoseme.com/into-nigeria
Ahhhh, I got the website fixed, sorry it's been offline.
When in doubt, turn off code you wrote yourself
For those that missed it, the journey across Nigeria has been amazing, here are a few links to the pages you might not have seen while the site was down:
Crossing into Cameroon at a border where the Immigration officer had never seen a single foreigner in his three year posting! http://theroadchoseme.com/into-cameroon
I love reading your adventure, thanks for sharing and I'm glad the expedition is going well!
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