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I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

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Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#161

Post by cdhdc »

todd8 wrote: post #108
colmvp wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha! I've travelled to remote parts of South America, Africa, Asia, and the only times I ever experienced getting robbed or deeply fearing for my safety was in Barcelona and Philly.

I've been to Barcelona twice. A beautiful city that I really enjoyed. I never felt threatened in any way (but see next paragraph). I went out at night to local clubs and didn't feel that there was any more risk than going out in a large US city. Take the same kind of precautions, ask people before venturing into areas that you are unfamiliar with at night. Las Ramblas is a large interesting boulevard through the midd…

I've seen the shell game and 3 card monte scams performed on the Las Vegas strip. Also witnessed the shell game in downtown San Francisco.

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#162

Post by fps »

RogtamBar wrote: post #123
codeduck wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I know what it looks like. A hyena will hop up onto the bonnet of that landrover and sniff / gnaw at the canvas up front, and if there's something inside it wants good luck.

Hiding a 12ga inside a car bodywork is easy peasy lemon squeezy and slugs from that reliably put down grizzly bears, which are I believe the toughest land predator currently in existence.

Trying to cross international borders legally with a firearm for self-defense is really difficult if not impossible. If you talk to Overlanders or international ocean cruisers, almost none of them carry weapons. Trying to sneak or bribe your way across a border with a weapon is a pretty serious crime.

[1] http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-65646.html

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#163

Post by DonPellegrino »

DanBC wrote: post #145
forgotpwtomain wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forget the timeline involved. There is nothing surprising about getting stuck 3-4 times on dirt roads over the course of 19 months.

Sure. Wouldn't most people dig themselves out?

This is a "10 tonne truck" we're talking about. They also mention how once they needed 3 trucks to pull them out.

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#164

Post by tspike »

Marthyn wrote: post #113

How did you pay for all of this? And are you back working now?

I find it very curious that expense is the first thing that comes to mind for a lot of people when they hear about trips like this. I understand it is expensive, but so are a lot of things that don't trigger this question. Is it just because it requires eliminating the safety of a regular income? Replacing my roof cost as much as a year of traveling, but nobody ever asked me how I could possibly afford to replace my roof.

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#165

Post by enraged_camel »

mb_72 wrote: post #140
enraged_camel wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Um, Australia is home to some of the most poisonous snakes and spiders on the planet. And outside of major cities, they crawl into people's homes and cars on occasion.

Australian here. What you say is true, but avoid long grass (snakes) when out walking and check under the toilet seat (spiders) before sitting and you'll be fine. More importantly, make sure you look up constantly when around gum trees to avoid sudden and violent drop-bear attacks. The exact number of deaths and injuries caused by drop-bears is keep secret by the Australian government to avoid putting off tourists, b…

"Spiders under toilet seats" sounds terrifying.

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#166

Post by hueving »

bshimmin wrote: post #137
gmunu wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to Spain once, went to Barcelona, and was robbed. I'd still go back to Spain and Barcelona though!

I've only ever been robbed in Italy, but I've been back a lot in the hope of meeting my robber again (he was Italian, he had dark hair, medium height, and was somewhat unshaven - anyone know him?).

Yes, fits the description of an Italian guy I work with. He's now living in silicon valley. :)

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#167

Post by sickbeard »

RogtamBar wrote: post #125
sickbeard wrote: post #56

The most dangerous thing in Africa is running into an armed rebel group or corrupt police/army. The vast majority of strangers you meet will mostly be sympathetic to your cause and help you when they can. You'll also be SOL if you are not handy.

Not in Congo though. http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/50799-Democrat... Multiple times, the travellers found spots where locals would make traps for cars and then ask for money to get the cars unstuck. The only people who were invariably helpful were priests.

Not the worst thing in the world. it's part of being handy, you're going to get asked for money A LOT (if you're white). You're going to be asked for dates or marriage a lot if you're a white woman.

Frankly a lot of their problems related to getting stuck was not having a 4x4

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#168

Post by noobermin »

sickbeard wrote: post #56

The most dangerous thing in Africa is running into an armed rebel group or corrupt police/army. The vast majority of strangers you meet will mostly be sympathetic to your cause and help you when they can. You'll also be SOL if you are not handy.

That's quite something to be honest. If you break down on the side of the road in the US, the most that will happen is people will call 911, they won't help you pull out of a ditch.

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#169

Post by shitgoose »

dragonwriter wrote: post #138
atmosx wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I do want to visit Africa, but all of this driving and getting stuck doesn't really appeal to me. I do want to visit places like Ethiopia and South Africa, but I think I'll take a plane. You're missing the point. It's the adventure, not the trail, not the road you'll chose or the destinations... It's the adversities on the trip, the people you meet, the broken cars, that bus/airplain/boat you didn't catch that will…

> You're missing the point. No, I think the GP is fairly and explicitly disagreeing with what you describe as the point, which is very different than missing it. Clearly you think what is desirable and worthwhile is... > the adventure [...] the adversities on the trip, the people you meet, the broken cars Clearly, GP disagrees that this is desirable and worthwhile, when writing: > I do want to visit Africa, but all o…

Avoiding hardships of road travel is like avoiding hardships of working out while trying to stay healthy. Comparison may be a bit of a stretch, but I for one agree that road adventures are the whole point, rather the physical presence at the destination.

Re: I quit my job, bought an army truck, and spent 19 months circumnavigating Africa

#170

Post by mortenjorck »

pmarreck wrote: post #157
nathan_f77 wrote: post #55

This looks like a nice experience, but I'm realizing that I don't want to do anything like this. I thought I did, but I guess not. That includes driving an RV around America or New Zealand, hiking the Appalachian trail, or any other kind of journey where you travel from A to B and see a few things along the way. I do want to visit Africa, but all of this driving and getting stuck doesn't really appeal to me. I do wan…

There is a little bit of cognitive dissonance in this post, and I'll explain why. "Adventure" is what you get when you don't get what you expected. Such as breakdowns. ;)

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”

–G.K. Chesterton

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