Dan Grec
Expedition Leader
Awesome to hear, happy to have you on board!
I only have two cameras with me - a Go Pro Hero 3, and a canon 60D DSLR. I have two lenses for the Canon, a trick Sigma 18-35 f/1.8, and a cheap-o zoom, 18-270.
I have a good manfrotto tripod, invelometer, Polarizing filters, etc, so I'm trying to get the most out of what I have.
Also a couple of random requests. I would like to get your general thoughts on vehicle capability and the need for modifications / lack thereof, now that you've seen a fair variety of road surfaces in W. Africa. I'm currently considering choice of vehicle for a trip like this a few years down the road. Family of 3 so thinking Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 or Nissan NV Quigley 4x4 van. Is diesel power a big cost advantage to have in that region? Can stock 4WD vehicles get by well and is low-range a must in some spots? How about choice of tires - Mud or All-terrain if you could go back in time and re-do? I have many other questions but don't want to bother you with all of them at this time.
I can answer this not just from my perspective, but also using the info I have gained from all the other overlanders I have bumped into along the way.
(actually, I am writing a book about West African Overlanding right now.. hopefully done in a month or so..)
You could easily drive West Africa North to South in a toyota corolla or similar. Certainly a 2WD high clearance vehicle would be no problem. I'm sure I would have been stuck and used the shovel, though I bet I could have done everything I have done without actually using 4x4.
I bumped into many people in a hurry (whole coast in 3-6 months), and they were genuinely dissapointed in the lack of "adventure" the roads were providing, and had actually only once or twice been in any kind of mud on the whole trip.
If you stick to the highway, there are actually only two sections on the whole coast that are not paved, probably less than 300 miles total.
For example the super famous "Mamfre" road from Nigeria to Cameroon that used to be a week of mud slogging... it's now paved and can be done at 60mp/h.
Of course, if you go looking for it, you will find extremely nasty stuff that will challenge even a well built 4x4 with lockers, but you have to get off the highways.
A sprinter 4x4 or sportsmobile would be ideal.
Diesel has been cheaper in every country except a couple, though often not by a lot. The prices for every single country are in http://wikioverland.org if you want to check it out country by country.
I am extremely happy with my all-terrains, though quite a few people have MTs for the West Coast. Again, it depends entirely on where you want to go, and what kind of roads you want to drive. If you plan to get off the highways, maybe MTs will be better on a vehicle that does not have lockers, etc.
Fire away with any questions you have, I am more than happy to help!
-Dan
