The Epic African Adventure Thread

lmao that map cracked me up now if we can get you in the pyramid with the gopros
looks like your having fun.. so jealous

Looks like a squinting whale dodging the streams of blood caused by severe abdominal bleeding.

Looks like your hippie ass is having fun. Good on ya.

Doing a 2 year "walkabout" takes some balls in a foreign land. I'll give you that.

Just remember, if SHTF and you land in a prison cell somewhere, pick up the phone and tell Mr. Obama to put you through to someone who can actually get shit done.




BTW, did you bring soap?

Ick. Western Africa is one seriously messed up area of the Continent. Good luck threading through that conflicted area of anarchy... not that parts of the east are any better...

Yes I brought soap.

We are avoiding west Africa.

In a day or two my internet access will become MUCH more limited. I'm not dead.

Sounds rough!



In all seriousness, be safe man. We all want you to come back someday.

(our new departure date is Monday, so I have another day or two in town here)

Travel fucking rules.

http://imgur.com/a/XdFo9

So I am currently in the small South African town of Durban. Yesterday my travel partners and I went to get some supplies, and just chatting at the local store we met this guy Sam. Sam is a 67-year-old Indian guy who lives here in Durban, and just three years ago he spent two full years driving from South Africa into the middle east and onto China. He showed us his globe with the route, then brought us to his home to see some photos and news clippings from his route.


One thing he kept telling us was that it was the pictures of Nelson Mandela on his 4x4 that got him out of tight situations, because in all of Africa they just love the guy. He said we should do the same, and we headed off to the local sign shop.


The guy at the sign shop did the signs for Sam as well, and hooked us up AT COST for what would otherwise be many thousands of rand worth of stickers, working late as well. We really just let him do what he wanted to the truck, and he sure did it big, including a photo-chop of us with Mandela himself on the hood!


The next day (this morning) we returned to visit Sam because he had some supplies he wanted to give us for free, and he LOVED the truck. As he said, "This will get you half way there, BELIEVE ME!" And I believe him, I've heard many stories about Mandela images saving travelers, and this ought to work wonders for us.


Anyways, he hooked us up with some 4x4 lights, jerry cans and water jugs, tools, a map, a roof rack and a ladder. This my friends, is travel at it's best.




Also. I climbed this.

That is so freakin' cool Fiddy. Safe travels!

So there is this massive (like, hundreds of thousands) of sparrows that spend the summer at the exact place I'm staying, in the reeds. Last night I was taking HD video of all of them swirling around me, and I just finished editing the video, but it's going to be pretty damn big, too big for my current internet connection. I'm going to try and make a smaller version and see how it looks, and will maybe get it uploaded within a day or two, but who knows.

And man, shooting/editing video is freaking FUN. It's like a fantastic little puzzle and I'm starting to get really into it.

Made this:

[video=youtube;picVnxsVvjU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=picVnxsVvjU[/video]

And a new blog: http://scottsnextadventure.blogspot.com/2012/01/prepping-4x4-and-heading-north.html

That Photoshop of Mandela is hilarious.

The Second War (1899–1902), by contrast, was a lengthy war—involving large numbers of troops from many British possessions, which ended with the conversion of the Boer republics into British colonies (with a promise of limited zelf-bestuur). These colonies later formed part of the Union of South Africa. --> Wiki

I read the title of the video and thought you were involved in a bukake in south africa....

Cool vid fiddy. Don't wanna stand under that for too long LOL.

Just a tip. Loosen up the head on the tripod for more fluid shots/movements.

Keep em coming!

I remember I got my shoulder shat on by a bird when I was doing SWAP (Sheriff's Work Alternative Program). Made for a good laugh and a good excuse to use the bathroom to clean my shirt off.

Yah Lurker, the tripod is a cheapie I got in South Africa for $20, and it was my first time using it

Anyways, life is good. Crazy but good. In the last week we crossed into Mozambique, dealt with road blocks and cops trying to get money/food from us, a hurricane, a scuba dive trip that went all wrong and lots of albinos!

The new blog is here: http://scottsnextadventure.blogspot.com/2012/01/entering-real-africa-and-hurricane-that.html

That's one helluva bug!

the hell do you kill one of those with?

I find it interesting that you say the dung beetle does an important job. Maybe I'm clueless... but aside from rolling shit into a ball and burying it (which fertilizes the soil, sure), what the hell good is it?

Also, if you simply wanted the experience of black people chasing your car asking you for money, you could have saved a lot of money by coming to the south side of Chicago instead of going all the way to Africa.

Just kidding... all crude jokes aside, I've been following your blog and it definitely keeps my attention. It'll definitely be more interesting as you make your way farther into the interior of Africa. Also kind of cool to see that you're running into so many people that are expats, researchers, or whatever from America or Europe. I'm sure that brings a certain sense of comfort... maybe? You should've found out what the guy with the Mariners hat was selling. If it was weed, I would have been curious to see what they're smoking over there, I'm sure it's some real nasty quality shit. Wouldn't buy any of course, because who knows what you might be getting yourself into with that... not worth the risk of finding out.

Also, are you sure that all the prices are high in general... or just high for you? Nahmean?

They enrich the soil, and also are a leg in the food chain.

TRUTH! Except they're a lot less civilized on the South side of Chicago... :lol:

Slow/expensive internet has been found! (the blog will be updated soon I hope)

Today I rolled out of my tent, and at 7am did a 2.5 hour snorkel in the lake. Good stuff.

Checking in from Monkey Bay on Lake Malawi. So far Malawi is fantastic, but we need to slow our roll so we don't blast through Africa too quickly. It is interesting seeing other expats and whatnot, to me it's not a 'comfort' I need, but they are always one of the best sources for information and tips.



(Also, the pot here is garbage)

garbage pot? Well, I heard that there are "other" MA substances in remote areas like Africa and S. America. Maybe you'll luck out and find some other nectar of the gods.

How's the racism been thus far? Do you feel a significant amount of animosity towards you, or are the locals generally accepting?

Has anybody asked you to defecate in a jar for them so they can inhale the vapor yet?

So far I've felt no racism whatsoever. The real problems seem to be in South Africa due to the whole apartheid thing. It's been interesting traveling with two South Africans and talking to their parents (who are Afrikaners btw) and hearing how so much of the politics in the country are "get back at whitey." Other places almost everyone is friendly, even if some of it is just because we come with money to spend. Overall people in Malawi in particular are VERY friendly.

New blog too:

http://scottsnextadventure.blogspot.com/2012/02/goodbye-mozambique-hello-lake-malawi.html