ITCHY FEET-WEST AFRICA ANYONE?

So I hear you say ‘well that didn’t last long’

I’ve been in one place for nearly 2 months and I have to say I am LOVING it. 

I love my place, I love ‘my’ shopping centre, I love the new friends I am making, I am loving my semi-retirement status and this may I have led to having too much time on my hands to have planted the seed, but now that it IS planted I just can’t stop the forward motions of booking another trip.    

In my defence it has been a section of the world that has been on my hit list since my last African Overland back in 2011.  It was also my back option if things didn’t work out as planned with my move to Africa and I want to make it clear that I am not using this as my backup option but I have a few reasons behind my thoughts. 

  

ONE:

It was an Intrepid tour that I was on then and they had their African brochure in the truck and there were a group of us that showed an interest in the West Africa itinerary.

TWO:

I am in Africa and I need to make the most of my time while I am unemployed, single and ready and able to do this tour.

THREE:

By the time I actually travel ON the trip I would have been in the one place for nearly 9 months.  Not a bad effort if I say so myself.  So what is the trip?

FOUR:

You only live once and I have seen more than once that life is short and that we need to make the most of the time we have.

So, in saying all that I am on the verge of making the booking this week.  I guess the main thing that is bugging me is the cost of the tour.  I made a promise to myself once I moved that I would live within my budget now that I had stopped travelling and here I am looking at booking a 70 day overland tour.  I just want you to know that I have compromised my original plan.  I was originally looking at doing the whole West African continent which is a 6 month tour, and as much as I would LOVE to do that, cost is one factor and then everything I have worked so hard for to date would be hard to let go of for 6 months with the thought of starting from scratch again.  Not so much my house as I would be keeping that while I was on the road, but my friends, routine and people that I am getting to know would all go down the way side.  I then think of my mum who said she was always going to travel to Canada and kept putting it off each year and then she passed away at 52.  Yes I think life really is too short.  I have been a little proactive and I emailed the tour company, Dragoman, and introduced myself and put a proposition to them asking for a discounted/free tour with the promise of me blogging my trip for them.  I think I have some pretty good blogs to back up my ‘blogging’ experience and I am now painfully waiting to get a response.  The catch is that I can’t wait too long as the trip is split into 3 sections and the middle section is on its last availability.

There are only 3 departures a year for that part of the world and I want/need to get on the first one of the 3 that departs in early September.  There are 2 main reasons why and one is that the September departure finishes in the middle of November, giving me a week back home in Kenya before heading on a plane to Australia for Christmas.  If I do the November departure I won’t be home for Christmas, which means I would have to head to OZ in September and the Elkins are heading to the USA, so this wouldn’t work and the second reason is with my trip booked to London in May, I may be able to get 2 of the nine visas required for the trip.  Actually there are only 5 that NEED to be obtained before the tour, 2 can be obtained at Consulates as we travel, Australians don’t need a visa for The Gambia and Togo we can get on arrival.  Visas are the bane of a travel holiday and they can be quite stressful getting them.  Out of the 5 that I have to get Senegal seems to be the trickiest.  I can’t get the visa while I am in London as the visa will expire before I have a chance to use it and as there is not a Senegalese Consulate in Kenya, it leaves me with 3 options.  I can travel back to London later to get the visa which cost and journey time would be crazy.  I can ask the London Consulate if they will give me a longer validity on the visa while I am in London or the last option is I will have to travel to Ethiopia, as they have an Embassy there and get the visa that way.  As I am heading to Addis Ababa on Tuesday next week, I will make a phone call to the Embassy there and make sure that they issue visas for Australian passport holders and then that will help decide on which option will be the one for me.  I also emailed the Senegal Consulate in London asking what they suggest I do, so let’s hope they reply back.  It is a long shot and if they don’t reply, I can always go in and see them when I am in London.  And the joys of getting the visas begins.

So what countries will I be going to and where will I get my visas?

Ghana- can be obtained in Nairobi

Togo- can be obtained on arrival

Benin-can be obtained online and then on arrival (hopefully) after talking to the consulate 

Ivory Coast-can be obtained in Nairobi (if they would answer their phone)

Guinea-will be obtained on route (this one looks tough if not done on the road)

Sierra Leone-need to phone if the consulate is still in Nairobi if not then London

Guinea Bissau-can be obtained on route (another tricky one otherwise)

Senegal- hoping I can get an extended one in London, if not then Ethiopia

The Gambia-not required!!!!

**so there is a lot of stress in the above 9 lines***A LOT***I HATE OBTAINING VISAS*** 

I also need to keep a track of how many pages I have left available in my passport.  When I started my World Odyssey in 2011 I had a brand new 60 page passport.  I now have 22 pages left, I need 11 pages for the 9 visas, I need a page for Ethiopia next week and 3 pages for my entry back into Kenya for the next few trips, so it’s going to be close to make sure I have enough room in my passport.  I wonder if I should get a new one.  I’d have to do that here in Kenya-hmmmmm let me think on that, it would be scary to not have a passport for a few weeks, or however long they take to get processed here.  I think I’ll call the Australian Consulate tomorrow.    

So what’s involved joining an overland trip? 

On an overland trip you're more than just a passenger, you're part of the crew, and everyone gets involved to help with setting up camp, pitching tents, shopping for food and even cooking. There are also a number of other responsibilities that are part of the overlanding lifestyle, for example collecting water and firewood, loading luggage and helping to keep the truck clean and tidy. This idea of ‘pitching in’ as a group has always been intrinsic to overlanding – generations of overlanders have revelled in the experience of being part of an adventure rather than just a passenger.  These tours are designed to offer freedom and flexibility, so there's a route to follow rather than a strict hour-by-hour itinerary or even day by day itinerary. Our vehicles allow us to get off the tarmac road and to travel the road less travelled.  It may be a 3 day journey across the high Bolivian Altiplano to Argentina or perhaps a side trip to a bushman village in Namibia, but this ability to go beyond the tourist infrastructure is intrinsive to overlanding.  Truck based overland journeys, or overlanding, is all about taking the road less travelled and getting away from the tourist trail. 

BUT this isn’t just any overland trip.  It is a part of the world where only a few tour companies operate.  It is a primitive part of the world.  This epic and challenging trip takes you right the way through some truly off the beaten track destinations.  As well as including the highlights of Senegal and Gambia you also delve into the lesser visited countries of Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire. Unlike their more visited neighbours these countries are 'hidden gems' and are still unspoilt by tourism; they boast a huge arts and craft scene, are packed with colourful and vibrant markets and provide the adventurer with a rare opportunity to experience a more traditional way of life.

So with all that said I emailed ‘my’ travel agency back in Australia to make my booking. 

I’m doing it.

Life is too short.

There is so much of this beautiful planet to see including this magnificent continent of Africa.

I’m going to book with my agency back home.  Whether you book online direct or through an agent, it is the same price, so where I can I flip them the business.  I don’t worry so much about the point to point airfares as I know that there is little/no money to be made on them, but the tours can bring in some nice commission for not much work and by the time I have emailed the office, I know what I want, what dates and I pretty much have all the information-it is literally just booking it through them to let them make a buck.  This trip maybe a little more involved than normal as I need invitation letters and more documentation than you can poke a stick at to get the visas-but all my other trips have been pretty easy, so it’s time to take a hit.    

It is just a waiting game now as the 8^th of September departure is not guaranteed. 

I HATE that as well as I can’t book flights yet and I pretty much am on a holding pattern until the tour goes 100%.  But due to the nature of the visas I am hoping that they will give enough notice and then I’ll look at the 16^th November departure if I have to which means I won’t be home for Christmas, but I’ll just push that back till the end of January 2014. 

ITCHY FEET-WEST AFRICA ANYONE?