Another Super Safari (Approx. 8k miles)- YW, BW and J0J0

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:35 pm

I love a good story! Good job guys.... But the ethics... oh wait never mind, I do hope he has fun Smile

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:59 pm

Simba wrote:

Which suggests that he is going to drive from Burkina Faso, through Benin, right the way across Nigeria, through Cameroon, and eventually reach Congo where he is going to catch a flight to Kenya...??

Oh, and it also just happens to be the rainy season across West Africa right now, just to make driving even more of a nightmare.

I don't see anything wrong w/ this route. Sounds like a perfectly good way of getting the flight to Kenya to me. Obviously this lad is off the charts genius. Laughing

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:21 pm

As a person who isn't all that fond of road trips, even on smooth interstates with good weather and A/C and cruise and a nice CD player and lots of rest stops, I can't imagine the hell that the mugu must be going through on his drive. Am I correct in assuming that the roads are quite a bit more primitive and there are fewer amenities where he will going? I don't know what kind of a vehicle he has, either, but my vision of it isn't that great. Any chance of finding out what kind of a POS he's in?? Does it have 4WD? A/C? What does he plan to do with it when he flies (NOT!!) back?
Keep us posted!

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:16 pm

^^^ What roads? What ammenities? What A/C? What spare spare spare tyre for when the spare spare goes flat? Laughing

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:22 pm

I'm sure there must be an equivalent to our AA patrols, who will come out to him with a spare spare spare spare, and fix his air conditioning, or take him to the nearest Kwik Fit.

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:23 pm

This will give you some idea of the road network during the rains...

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol20no3/203-highways.html

I hope he has something more suitable than a Fiat Punto... Laughing

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:51 pm

Do you guys know what car he's driving? I can't imagine it would be cheap for him to rent a car for this journey, and as it seems he plans to fly part of the way I assume he's not going to abandon his vehicle if he owns it...

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:54 pm

I have no idea what car he has. I will be inquiring on all these things soon.

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:59 pm

Quote:

I assume he's not going to abandon his vehicle if he owns it...

He may end up selling it if he hasn't got enough money to get home. It may be a bit more second hand by then, though.

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:52 am

I hope he's going to drive though Bennin. He should also be encouraged to drive at night, to maintain secrecy...

US State Department wrote:

With the exception of the road linking Cotonou in the south to Malanville on the border with Niger in the north, and from Parakou in central Benin to Natitingou in the northwestern part of the country, roads in Benin are generally in poor condition and are often impassable during the rainy season. Benin's unpaved roads vary widely in quality; deep sand and potholes are common. During the rainy season from mid-June to mid-September, dirt roads often become impassable. Four-wheel drive vehicles with full spare tires and emergency equipment are recommended.

Gasoline smuggled from Nigeria is widely available in glass bottles and jugs at informal roadside stands throughout Cotonou and much of the country. This gasoline is of unreliable quality, often containing water or other contaminants that can damage or disable your vehicle. Drivers should purchase fuel only from official service stations. There are periodic gas shortages, which can be particularly acute in the north of the country where there are few service stations.

U.S. citizens traveling by road should exercise extreme caution. Poorly maintained and overloaded transport and cargo vehicles frequently break down and cause accidents. Drivers often place branches or leaves in the road to indicate a broken down vehicle is in the roadway.Undisciplined drivers move unpredictably through traffic. Construction work is often poorly indicated. Speed bumps, commonly used on paved roads in and near villages, are seldom indicated. Drivers must be on guard against people and livestock wandering into or across the roads. Nighttime driving is particularly hazardous as vehicles frequently lack headlights and/or taillights , and brake lights are often burned out.

With few exceptions, Cotonou and other cities lack any street lighting, and lighting on roads between population centers is non-existent. The U.S. Embassy in Cotonou prohibits non-essential travel outside of metropolitan areas after dusk by official Americans and strongly urges all U.S. citizens to avoid night driving as well. There have been numerous incidents of carjacking and robbery on roads in Benin after dark, several of which resulted in murder when the driver refused to comply with the assailants' demands. The National Police periodically conduct vehicle checks at provisional roadblocks in an effort to improve road safety and reduce the increasing number of carjacking incidents. When stopped at such a roadblock, you must have all of the vehicle's documentation available to present to the authorities.

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:52 am

I'm almost jealous of this lad... he's doing a REAL african safari... something I am really looking forward to doing myself. Imagine all the cool things he's going to see (not that I imagine he'll appreciate them) and the amazing people he will meet... oh and the incredible feeling of despair when he fails miserably and ends up with no money and no way to get home.

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:10 am

Hmmmm�. I wonder if these aforementioned bottles are labelled �Leaded� �Unleaded� & �Diesel�

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

To everyone involved.

--J.D.

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:34 pm

Interesting article about the roads, Simba.

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol20no3/203-highways.html

This is just a bit off-topic, but reading articles such as that makes me realize just how incredibly different Africa and its multiple countries are from the US and Europe. Totally different mentality, expectations, everything.
Also makes you realize just what lengths these lads are willing to go to to get their hands on some $$$. We usually think of them as lazy, but to make such trips requires lots of time, planning, guts (stupidity?) etc.

Keep us up to date, travel agents!

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:18 pm

^^ The road quality for the most part is almost indescribably bad. And having been stopped by a group of officials w/ big guns several times, well it doesn't give you that safe & secure feeling. That being said, I am sure the lad is having a smashing good time on his pan-African road trip. Twisted Evil

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:47 pm

He claims he is in Lube (???)- current IP 193.220.48.98. I think the last time he emailed me he may have still been in Naimey. I looked at the map at the bottom of the WHOIS and it shows Naimey: http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/ipall.ch?ip=196.28.242.14

Can anyone tell me where this map is: http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/ipall.ch?ip=193.220.48.98. That is his current location.

Quote:

Brother nice to hear again from your anwser .
yes this is what i need from you so that i will kept them with me inorder not to make any mistake ok.
well i have had all what you said and i will take your direction as soon as i get there.
it has noted with me, therefore keep hope as i update you on my arrival to nairobi.

Yes right now am out of niger while heading to far east.
Brother i never knew how long it will took me to get there but i believe it will not take a long time since am on my trip already.
brother the road is too far, but we shall soon achiev our goal since we are working together.

( Mt. Elgon National Park ) is a well knowed park i can see, so immediately i get to this park then i will go straigth to the cave. So you mean that when once i get to the park getting to the cave will made easy isn't it? ok.

Then from Bongo hotel to the cave do i need any transport to the cave? or would i make it by foot? brother don't worry immediately i get to the park i will let you know since i can cominicate you from there, again i will let you know the exact day of my arriving to the park/cave ok.
am writting this mail from Lube very close to cemerooun.
i think my jorney to nairobi is getting closer, therefore keep me informed always so that we can understand ourselves well.
thank you.
Urs xristopher.

Should I tell him to walk by foot? Twisted Evil

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:50 pm

The walk by foot would probably be the best way to avoid the park rangers that are there to prevent poaching. We don't want one of them asking our lad about why he is there, do we?

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:51 pm

Consider it done!

EDIT: Here is what I sent-

Quote:

Honeslty, I think walking to the hotel would be the best. You would avoid any park rangers. There are a couple that walk around and try to prevent poaching, as people are savages and they kill the animals here. But you won't have a gun or anything, so that is not an issue. But I would recommend going by foot, just to be safe.

Once you get to the park, finding the cave will be no problem. You want to be as stealth as you can though. I will put the money in a black duffle bag. I will wrap it in a shirt and some clothes inside the bag. It will look like you just have a bag of clothes.

Again, take pictures along the way. Please. Also, where exactly is Lube? I could not find it on any map.

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:01 pm

That reminds me, once the lad goes to the cave to find no money, I wonder if we could contact the park authorities to warn them about the poacher that is running around out there setting snairs? This is a common problem in that park and one that I am sure the rangers would appreciate help in combatting.

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:02 pm

You mean, once he goes there, goes back, and then goes back once again? Yes, I think that is a nice plan. Twisted Evil

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:06 pm

Remember, we still have that high-res "photo" (the one that Big Worm took) of the duffle bag sitting in the cave. We will want to send him that once we "place the money" as an extra source of credibility.

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:09 pm

IP 193.220.48.98 appears to be in Burkina Faso from several sources. Not far from Niamey but in the wrong direction....

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:11 pm

^^^^

I know that is what it says, but look here: http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/ipall.ch?ip=196.28.242.14

That was his previous IP address. It says Burkina Faso. He said he was in Naimey at the time. Look at the map at the bottom of the page. It shows Naimey, NOT Burkina Faso. Maybe that IP covers a wide range?

Yes, YW- I will be sending him that photo soon. That is why I want him to email me when he is going, so I can send the photo.

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:13 pm

^^^ Yeah I am getting the same as Ratter. Burkina Faso is where he is. He needs to move along.

That map is Lithuania?? That is an odd pull on that IP. Here for another map - notice Minsk and Vilnius

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:23 pm

Was just about to say the same think, Ook. Lithuania is where the IP appears in some records, from Jojo's ref above:

Registrar (per ASN): RIPE
Country (per IP registrar): LT [Lithuania]
Country Currency: Unknown
Country IP Range: 193.220.0.0 to 193.220.255.255
Country fraud profile: High
City (per outside source): Unknown
Country (per outside source): BF [Burkina Faso]
Private (internal) IP? No
IP address registrar: BOGUS

I'd guess that provider serves a wide area around Naimey.

Another Super Safari (Approx. 8k miles)- YW, BW and J0J0	View next topic View previous topic