The Road Chose Me: Driving a Jeep Wrangler 80,000 miles around Africa for 2 years

[PetitFrereArmada]

Great report. All the information above my post are spot on. Good info you are sharing, @DiploStrat.

Dan, awesome trip so far. You are finally in Cameroon! NW Cameroon is in turmoil now. I hope you stay safe from that political unrest there right now.

I was in Cameroon 2 years ago and was in NW (Bamenda area) and Littoral (Douala). If you are going to Douala, I can send you contacts of family members who could help you out. They can be of great assistance to you, if you need anything. You may not see my post in time, but if you do and want any help or anything, I can send you contacts of reliable family members to help you.

Here is my thread of my trip. I know you may not have time to stop and read it, but I have family there and if you need anything, I can send you contact numbers.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/145276-My-short-2-weeks-vacation-to-Cameroon-in-West-Africa?p=1880616#post1880616

 

[DiploStrat]

Douala gets a bum rap as a big, expensive, rainy city, but it is the major seaport and has much better facilities than Yaoundé. So, if anything is broken, or you need anything, go to Douala.

And drive your Jeep up Mount Cameroon. The trail leaves from Buea and the views are amazing.

Limbe, Victoria in my day, has good seafood, etc., but most of the black sand beaches are now private.

Up north, visit Rey Bouba if you can. It is an amazing walled Sudanese village; right out of Beau Geste.

Sorry, Cameroon was always a special place.

 

[Dan Grec]

Great report. All the information above my post are spot on. Good info you are sharing, @DiploStrat.

Dan, awesome trip so far. You are finally in Cameroon! NW Cameroon is in turmoil now. I hope you stay safe from that political unrest there right now.

I was in Cameroon 2 years ago and was in NW (Bamenda area) and Littoral (Douala). If you are going to Douala, I can send you contacts of family members who could help you out. They can be of great assistance to you, if you need anything. You may not see my post in time, but if you do and want any help or anything, I can send you contacts of reliable family members to help you.

Here is my thread of my trip. I know you may not have time to stop and read it, but I have family there and if you need anything, I can send you contact numbers.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/145276-My-short-2-weeks-vacation-to-Cameroon-in-West-Africa?p=1880616#post1880616

Thank you very much for the offer, that is extremely kind. I will keep it in mind if I need something.

-Dan

 

[haven]

Dan,
Thanks for taking us along on your travels. Which language have you found most useful in West Africa?

 

[Dan Grec]

Dan,
Thanks for taking us along on your travels. Which language have you found most useful in West Africa?

You are very welcome!

No question, French.

It's an official language of almost every country from Morocco to the DRC.

In countries like Ivory Coast there are over 90 languages spoken, though every person speaks French.
It's the universal one that unites everyone from different regions and countries.

I have been learning it on the road, and it's similar enough to Spanish that I am finding it easy.
My trip is now so much more rewarding and enjoyable because I can easily talk to locals on the street.

While you don't have to learn French to do the trip (I have met people that don't speak a word), I highly, highly recommend it!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

I am absolutely loving the mountains of Cameroon.
Warm days, cool nights and almost no humidity.
Sleeping through the night is a novelty!

Also, the people are fantastic!




Read more here: http://theroadchoseme.com/cameroon-mountain-wanderings

Sooner or later I will have to drop back down to sea level.. it's going to be a shock!

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hi All,

I am continuing around Cameroon, loving every second of the cooler mountain air.

The scale of Chinese road construction here is staggering, the jungle is being smashed down faster than my brain can comprehend!

Read More: http://theroadchoseme.com/chinese-road-construction



-Dan

 

[MavFox]

Thanks for the update Dan! Cheers!

 

[CHeath]

Dan I have a few questions about your travels that I hope aren't to personal. What do you do when nature calls and you are away from a bathroom? Did the AEV suspension increase the payload?

 

[Dan Grec]

Dan I have a few questions about your travels that I hope aren't to personal. What do you do when nature calls and you are away from a bathroom? Did the AEV suspension increase the payload?

I wonder.. are those two questions related... haha. , no worries.

Q1: There is a very large about of wilderness in West Africa, and I have a shovel which gets used often, but not yet to dig out the Jeep....

Q2: Officially, I think not, though my plan all along was to only really ride at stock height, allowing the extra 2.5" of lift to sag down a little with all my additional weight.
Given how heavy it turned out to be (I was hoping for 5500, but it's 6000) and given how nasty the roads have been, and I want some friends and family to visit, I am starting to think about going up to the AEV 3.5"

-Dan

 

[Dan Grec]

Hey All,

I am still absolutely loving Cameroon!

In a single day I hiked to the summit of Mount Cameroon and back down again, over 20,000 feet of elevation change in a singe push.
To say that it kicked my *** is an understatement!
More: http://theroadchoseme.com/mount-cameroon-summit-day-hike



After that, I went in search of some R&R, and found great camping on the black-sand beach near Limbé.
Amazingly, the oil refinery right next door did not diminish the beauty.
As usual, the ocean is bath water warm.
More: http://theroadchoseme.com/around-limbe



-Dan

 

[DiploStrat]

Stop it with the great photos! The memories are killing me!

 

[scott7022]

Made me remember how much I missed Africa. Getting close to my operational area of SL and Liberia. Things are better but be safe and head on a swivel. You'll have more experiences with minefields in Mozambique. I was there in 99/00 when the Ottawa accord on land-mines was signed and it was fun to be a Canuck in Maputo in those days...Golden actually, loved the country and the people. The Eiffel house is close to the main road in the city and if your going north to Beria a short detour is worth it both for crafts and home made hootch. Same guy that built the Eiffel house built the Paris landmark. On the market beach side you'll notice some shamrocks in the paving. Homage to a few IRA types that ended their lives in the african sun and away from home.

 

[robert]

Good to see the updates. I'm assuming the Jeep is still doing ok i.e. any mechanical issues?

 

[Dan Grec]

Good to see the updates. I'm assuming the Jeep is still doing ok i.e. any mechanical issues?

Hey Robert,

The Jeep is running great!
You can read more here: http://theroadchoseme.com/jeep-stuff-africa
and in the latest issue of JPFreek Adventure Magazine (Free): http://currentissue.jpfreek.com/

-Dan