Hi everybody,

We hope you’re all well and that you’ve had an enjoyable summer (or winter, depending on which hemisphere you live in!)

David (Hatter) and Al have been super busy in the UK workshop completing the last few jobs on Aminah in preparation for the upcoming season of trips. With a recon engine and a new clutch assembly fitted, new camping stools made, new leisure batteries fitted, a respray of the cab and locker level and a successful MOT pass, we certainly have put in the hours!

In just 3 weeks time Zoe and Adam will pack up the equipment and drive south for the big journey down to Dakar for the first trip of the season…..not long to go now!

Below you’ll find a selection of pictures of just some of the work that Hatter and Al completed over the past few weeks. Enjoy!

A big thank you to G and Charlie at Dragoman (as always) for allowing us to work on Aminah in their workshop, and to G for putting the new paint on for us! Thanks also to Darren, Pettsy, Nick, Amber and Jordan for helping us for a couple of hours taping Aminah up for the spray job!

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We wish you all a great autumn, and remember, if you can join us on either our Accra to Ouagadougou or Dakar to Marrakech trips, please contact us via our Enquiry Form and we’ll send you over all of the relevant booking information.

Cheers!

David (Hatter) Oades, Al Goodridge, Jimmy Corrigan and Aminah

 

Hi everybody,

We hope you’re well wherever you are in the world at the moment, and we hope you had a very happy Christmas holiday and a good start to 2018!

Many of you have been in contact over the past few months asking about our trips in 2018-19. We’re pleased to let you know that we’re now ready to take bookings!

If you’re still interested in booking a trip with us, please send us an Enquiry Form or reply to the initial form you sent, so that we know what trip/s you want to book onto.

Please note that nearly all of our trips have now sold out….there’s literally just a few places left on some of our trips!

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Please note we have tweaked the trips ever so slightly to take into account what has and hasn’t worked in the past – so please have another look at the updated itineraries on our website before booking.

One noticeable change is on our Accra to Ouagadougou trip, on which we will no longer spend any time in the east of the country – we will instead drive over to the west to see some of the Banfora region.

Please remember we have a discount structure in place if you book more than one trip with us, and all of the dates, prices and itineraries can be seen on the trips overview page by clicking on the trip maps image below:

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Please note we will endeavour to respond to your emails/enquiries within 24-48 hours of you making contact with us, and often much sooner – but please bear in mind we are expecting a lot of bookings in a short space of time so we appreciate your patience in waiting for a response. We have already sold over 30 seats since we opened the bookings 1 week ago!

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We really hope you can join us for our next season of trips, and please do share the message on social media and with anybody you know who might be interested in travelling through West Africa with us.

We look forward to hearing from you soon – and wish you all a very happy 2018!

David Oades (Hatter), Al Goodridge, Jimmy C and Aminah
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Hi everybody,

If you’ve still got some annual leave to use up, or if you’ve had enough of work and fancy taking off for a bit, then come and join us in West Africa for one of our trips this season!

We still have 2 seats available on our Accra to Ouagadougou trip starting next month, visiting many of the highlights in Ghana, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso. This trip runs over the Christmas and New Year period (19 December – 16 January) meaning it should be easier to convince your employer to let you take 4 weeks off work!

We also have a few seats available on our Accra to Freetown trip starting on 06 February 2017. This 42-day trip is full of cultural highlights as we travel through Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea (Forest Region), Liberia and Sierra Leone. Please note you will need to obtain at least 3 visas in advance so it’s worth booking as soon as possible in order for us to send you the relevant paperwork for your visa applications in good time.

Further ahead in April 2017 our Dakar to Marrakech trip also has a few seats available. This trip is a real contrast to our other trips in that it crosses from West Africa into North Africa via Senegal and Mauritania, before visiting numerous places in Western Sahara and the far south of Morocco. Crossing the Sahara desert truly is one of lives epic overland journeys, and one we guarantee will stay with you forever!

Remember, discounts apply if you book multiple trips. If you’re interested please send us an Enquiry Form and we can send you all of the relevant information.


On The Road Again!

We’re pleased to say our first trip of the 2016-17 season from Dakar to Freetown is now well underway. Aminah, Zoe and Jason left the UK in late September and arrived in Senegal a few weeks later after a long drive south through France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania.

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After meeting Lisa, Jeremy, Robert, Vicki, Stefanie, Brian, Zinzi, Andy, Knut, Eva, Candace and Kent in Dakar they headed south towards Gambia and the Casamance region of Senegal.

One of the highlights of the trip (so far!) was a stay at Simon and Khady’s campement, a wonderful place where our group gets to witness a traditional koumpo dance amongst other festivities.

Check out these fantastic photos from Simon Fenton at The Little Baobab, our co driver Jason Parry and passenger Lisa Vitaris!

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West Africa Tourism Organisation at World Travel Market

Overlanding West Africa TourismIf you’re keen to learn more and/or play a role in helping promote the countries of West Africa as a travel destination, then why not visit World Travel Market in London next week?

West Africa Tourism Organisation, headed by Ola Wright, is hosting a press conference at the Novotel as well as a dinner at the Crowne Plaza (see the flyer on the left for more details).

The aim of the press conference and networking dinner is to introduce the new ECOWAS regional tourism policy. This is aimed at promoting the countries of West Africa to operators and travellers alike, as well as identifying and addressing the issues the tourism industry in the region is up against.

Ministers of tourism will be in attendance as well as Ambassadors and journalists. Dave the Hat is a member of the organisation and will be at the dinner representing OWA and playing a role in the proceedings. Come and lend your support!

David Oades (Dave the Hat), Al Goodridge, Jimmy C and Aminah 

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Hi everybody,

It’s been quite some time since our last post – and as you can imagine a lot has been going on at Overlanding West Africa since then.

Curious to know more? Then read on to find out all the latest:

2015-16: Another Successful Season!

We’re incredibly proud to have operated another successful season between October 2015 and May 2016 throughout the West Africa region.

As you may know, we were the first overland operator to return to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since the Ebola outbreak came to an end. Al and some of our passengers even made an appearance on the BBC News as our Dakar to Freetown group were filmed on the golden-sand beaches of Freetown on the day Sierra Leone was officially declared ‘Ebola Free’!

Over the 7 trips we operated we were joined by 56 passengers from Canada, Norway, Germany, UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands – all of whom experienced the warmth, hospitality and friendly welcome from the people of the 14 countries (and 1 disputed territory) we travelled through.

Aminah, Al and Jason arrived back in the UK at the end of May and took some time out for a very well earned rest and a chance to catch up with life. You can see a small selection of photos from the trips at the bottom of this page which gives you a good idea of some of the amazing places our passengers got to visit.

If you like the look of what you see in the photos then please send us an Enquiry Form to book yourself onto a true overland adventure trip with us in late 2016/early 2017!

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Our Revamped & Responsive Website

Those of you who’ve visited our website before will notice there have been a few changes! Noting that Googles preference is for ‘mobile friendly’ and ‘responsive’ websites, Dave the Hat has spent countless hours over the past few months transferring the website content over to a new custom-made and fully responsive theme that our web hosting company devised for us.

As you can see, much of the website is exactly the same as before, except now all of the content should be ‘fully responsive’ for mobiles and tablets and make life easier for those viewing our website ‘on the go’!

We hope you like the new look and that each page loads faster than before. If you spot any errors or issues with the functionality of our website then please do send us an email to let us know – despite all the hours Hatter has put in I’m sure there are still some glitches that will need attention!

UK Turnaround For Aminah

For a couple of weeks in August 2016, Dave the Hat went up to the Drago workshop to get Aminah turned around for the upcoming 2016/17 season in West Africa. George and Charlie were, as always, incredibly generous to rent some space at their UK workshop to OWA for the work on Aminah to be completed.

To do a number of the heavier jobs on Aminah, Hatter was helped at various stages by Nick Fulford and Dave Pettsy, as well as Adam, Jemima and Sara (the 3 trainees) – all of whom played a role in helping get Aminah turned around for next season.

We want to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to G and Charlie for lending Hatter some of their staff for a few days, as some of the jobs really do require 2 people so we truly are grateful – cheers guys!

Here are a few pictures of just some of the work that was done to Aminah over the course of the fortnight – and to such a good standard Aminah passed her MOT again first time with only 1 advisory – hoorah! (An MOT is the UK-based annual vehicle test for those that don’t know).  As you can imagine, the roads in some of the countries in West Africa do take their toll on the old girl, especially on the axles and suspension, so though a painful and tiring amount of work it’s good to get Aminah ship-shape and in good condition again for the upcoming season ahead.

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Replacing a rear wheel bearing and hub seal after the rear springs were taken off and rebushed

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A new diaphragm for the rear brake pack – which alas still leaked so an entire new pack was purchased and installed!

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Re-setting the valves/tappets to ensure the valve clearances were correct

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Front wheel bearings re-greased after new front springs fitted – with new brake linings too!

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Replacing the belt tensioner and swapping the pulley over

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While the wheel bearings were off Hatter fitted brand new brake linings on both axles

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2 new sets of front springs ready to go on and bearings ready for fresh grease!

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Inflating the new tyres after the rims have been given a fresh coat of paint

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Dave the Hat inserting a new bush into the rear spring swinging shackle

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Freshly painted wheel rims with new tyres on ready to go back on the axles

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The front torsion bar after being repaired and rekitted – no more play!

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Rear brake pack repair attempt round 2!

Hatter will return to Drago in a few weeks time to finish off the interior jobs in Aminah and to ‘tart’ her up outside, whilst Al will bring the equipment and remaining tents that he has been busy cleaning whilst away.

Not long to go now before Aminah sets off for the long journey south to Senegal and the start of our first trip of the season from Dakar to Freetown!

Bookings For Trips In 2016-2017

We’re incredibly pleased that our trips are selling so well again. Each of our trips currently has an average of 12-15 passengers booked on, and fresh enquiries have been flooding in over the past 10 days so we are hopeful that most of our trips will sell out very soon.

If you want to join us then please send us an Enquiry Form and we can forward you all of the relevant booking information. Remember, we offer discounts if booking multiple trips, and it’s important to book sooner rather than later to ensure you can get all of the necessary visas in time before flying out to West Africa for the start of your trip/s with us.

Need convincing? Then check out the selection of photos below from our overland trips last season. Many thanks to passengers Alexi O’Brien, Alice Lowry, Alice Richardson and Alice Goodridge for letting us share some of their photos.

In addition, you can check out Al’s excellent OWA Travel Blog which highlights exactly why an overland adventure trip through West Africa with us is something you will never forget!

We hope you can join us for the adventure!

Dave The Hat, Al Goodridge, Jimmy C and Aminah

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Hi everybody,

Our first trip of the season started in Dakar a few weeks ago after the long drive down from the UK. It’s great to be back in the region we know and love so well and running trips again after so long away due to the sad events of the past year!

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A warm welcome to Janet, Wendy, Kathy, John, Theo, Tim, Mehmet, Baz, Sam, Martin, Steve, Ray, Roy and Adrian, it’s great to have you with us! Above are shots taken on Ile Goree, which many of our passengers visited as a day trip from Dakar.

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Not far from Dakar we passed this truck being towed along. It looks like it’s seen better days and the truck towing him didn’t look to have been having a much easier time of it either! Fortunately the driver didn’t appear to have been hurt in the crash.

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The first truck lunch of many to come! An easy drive day bought us to our first bush camp, and the first night of torrential overnight rain. It ought to have finished raining a few weeks ago, but the rains this year have come late and are lasting longer than normal. We’re hoping the dry season we plan our trips around comes soon. C’est l’Afrique!

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Gambia is split in half by the River Gambia, and with no bridges over it, a lengthy wait for a ferry is an inevitable part of overland travel here.

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Tendaba Camp is a real highlight of the time we spend in The Gambia, with a great selection of birds viewed from the camp and on the numerous boat trips our passengers took. A comfortable spot to settle into the relaxed pace of life!

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Konteh Kunda School of Music have only just opened, and we were delighted to be one of their first groups to visit. Established to celebrate and promote the Griot tradition and musical talent, and to provide a school for foreign students, we were overwhelmed by the warmth of the welcome we received and the energy of the music and dancing we witnessed. Above and below are shots of a Kora and Balafon performance soon after our arrival.

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We danced for much of the evening to Djembe drumming, before witnessing an indoor performance from the family. Several of us also took part in Kora lessons.

A short drive down to the Casamance region saw us back with Simon and Khady in Abene. It was great to be back after so long and to see everybody again, and the Koumpo dance we witnessed on the first evening was as stunning as it has ever been!

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The Koumpo is a forest spirit, particularly feared by local children, and often used to warn those in a village who may have digressed, such as children picking mangoes too early. A spike comes out of the Koumpo’s head, which he plants into the ground and spins around on – a truly stunning sight to witness!

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Kafountine is a busy fishing port that attracts workers from far and wide. Dozens of boats come in on a good day, and the men unloading the fish are paid per crate, which explains their frenzied pace of work!

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Some of the catch is sent to market by refrigerated truck, but the vast majority is smoked, or salted and air dried. Dried fish provides a main protein source for many of the countries which make up West Africa.

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The beach in Abene gave a great afternoon’s relaxing, and Jase and Baz managed a quick surf!

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Another night in Abene and another night of great music and dancing! We were joined by the same stilt dancer who’d given our previous groups such a great performance 18 months ago, but this time with a new costume he’d just finished making!

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After a short stop in the main city of Casamance, Ziguinchor, we were back to the coast, visiting local villages by boat, looking for wildlife, and enjoying stunning sunsets.

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We’re now in Bissau city, as relaxed and friendly as ever, enjoying some rest and western luxuries before the rough road east into Guinea begins. The heavy rains won’t have helped the roads, but should make for some stunning waterfalls!

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Many thanks to Tim, Theo, Baz and Wendy for letting us share some of their photos!

Hi Everybody,

There’s only a few seats left on our Southbound trips starting in October 2015, so now is the time to get in touch if you want to experience the magic of West Africa with us! If you do want to join one of our trips please remember that you will need to obtain a number of visas in advance before you travel, so you will need to book as soon as possible to ensure you can get all of the necessary visas in time.

After such a dreadful year in 2014 with the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra  Leone and Liberia, it’s great to see the West African region finally returning to some sense of normality. There are now just a handful of cases being recorded each month, all of which are confined to a very small area (geographically speaking). Contact tracing is now much more efficient than before and has played a significant role in combating the spread of the virus. The vast majority of each of the 3 affected countries have been Ebola free for many months now, making travel through the region possible once again. 

Since we last posted a couple of months ago, Al and David (Hatter) have been busy getting Aminah ready and all of the paperwork in place in preparation for the upcoming season. We’re pleased to say she passed her MOT first time with no advisories (that’s her annual mechanical check for the non Brits out there) and also her tachograph calibration. All that’s left to do is to stock her up with spare parts and food supplies for the big journey ahead. Not long to go now!

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For those of you who don’t already know, Jason Parry will be joining Al as the co-driver for our upcoming 2015-2016 season. We know Jason from his time working for Dragoman Overland, and though he has been away from overlanding for the past few years doing a ‘normal’ job in the real world, he is itching to get out on the road again!

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We’ll let the man himself do the talking:

“I know Dave (Hatter) & Jimmy from my time working at Dragoman, last seeing them in person just prior to their first OWA season in 2012. Having recently met up with Al in preparation for the season ahead, I cannot wait to get back out on the road, and am looking forward to meeting all of the passengers and immersing myself in the diverse cultures, customs, and terrain of West Africa!”

I first fell in love with Africa when I spent 4 months working in South Africa back in early 2000. Since then, I have travelled independently in South Africa, Kenya and Namibia, as well as leading trips for Encounter Overland between 2006 and 2008.

I reluctantly left the road in 2008, intending to knuckle down for a couple of years doing a ‘proper job’ to secure myself some sort of financial security. My intention was always to return to overlanding, and after too many years of masquerading as a grown up, I am finally in a position to do just that. Hatter approached me earlier this year and could not have timed it any better”.

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As you all know we always love to highlight a more positive image of the region, and to support that initiative we recently found this superb article entitled “The Top 10 Least-Visited Countries in Africa” written by ‘Travel Geek UK’. We’re really pleased to see so many countries in West Africa represented, highlighting just some of the many reasons why you should visit West Africa. Click on the photo from Sierra Leone below to read the full article and to see more beautiful images from around the region!

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We have recently partnered with ‘Friends of Conakry Refugee School’, where 26 staff offer an education to 500 students, provide them with a meal each day, and help with safe housing for the vulnerable. Guinea has historically received rather less international assistance than some of its neighbours, so it’s great to see a UK organisation involved with such a valuable project.

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Many of the children at the project are orphans from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire and simply can’t afford to go to school. FCRS are setting up small business initiatives such as catering and soap making, and running IT and English classes for the local community in order to subsidise the education of the poorest. We plan to visit the school on our Freetown to Dakar trip, bring out supplies from the UK, and make a financial donation to the project.

You can see more information about the project here on the Friends of Conakry Refugee School website.

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We’re really looking forward to returning to West Africa and meeting all of you who are booked onto our trips in a few months time. To keep you going for now, check out the video below from our trips between Accra and Dakar in 2014 – showing off just some of the best places we visit in West Africa!

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Hi everybody,

After many weeks of planning, writing, and HTML, we’re pleased to announce our new itineraries for late 2015-early 2016 are ready to go and now live on the website! All of our trips can be viewed here or you can navigate to the trip that interests you by hovering over THE TRIPS tab at the top of each page. This will bring up a sub menu to take you to any of the trips we operate.

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All of our existing trips are still there, but with some minor changes:

Dakar to Freetown – stays the same

Freetown to Accra – much the same as last year, except we will visit the south of Ivory Coast instead of the north, and not visit Burkina Faso

Accra to Ouagadougou – very similar to our Ouagadougou to Accra trip, but visiting more of Togo and the east of Burkina Faso

Accra to Freetown – stays the same, but includes a visit to the Gurunsi homes of the Kassena people in Tiebele, Burkina Faso

Freetown to Dakar – stays the same

Dakar to Marrakech – Brand new trip, taking in northern Senegal, some of Mauritania, Western Sahara, and southern Morocco

Marrakech to Tangier – Brand new trip in Morocco, visiting many of the key highlights in the Sahara desert, Atlas mountains, and Rif mountains

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Our Trips And The Situation In West Africa

The ebola outbreak continues to affect many lives and communities in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. From watching the mainstream media news channels, the situation seems as bleak as ever.

However, all this doom and gloom is not a fair representation of the facts and decidedly unbalanced. There has been a huge improvement in all 3 of the affected countries:

  • The rate of new cases being reported throughout Liberia has drastically reduced in recent weeks, things really are looking alot better there now
  • The east of Sierra Leone around Kaliahun and Kenema (where the outbreak first surfaced in Sierra Leone) has improved dramatically, with virtually 0 cases being reported over the past month. In and around Freetown and the west of the country, the number of new cases being reported has declined by a huge amount
  • The outbreak continues to rumble on around Guinea, though at a much lower level than before, with the number of new cases reported being significantly lower than in Liberia and Sierra Leone

A lot more is being done by the governments and the international community to help improve the situation, though there is of course a lot more work to do. It does appear slowly but surely the outbreak is being brought under control, and we are very hopeful that the region will return to some sense of normality very soon.

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We want to reiterate that we cancelled our trips in late 2014-early 2015 due to the closure of a number of key borders throughout the region. That was the only reason we cancelled – the logistics of operating multi-country trips became impossible.

All sensible advice from health professionals continues to be the same – the risk of travellers contracting the virus is considered very low, you need to come into direct contact with the bodily fluids of somebody showing symptoms of the virus to become infected.

Launch Of The Unite 4 West Africa Initiative

Since October 2014 we have played a key role in setting up and promoting the Unite 4 West Africa initiative, along with West Africa Discovery, Barefoot Liberia, and Another World Adventures. The aim of this collective effort is simple – to challenge the mainstream media portrayal of the affected countries in West Africa, and to raise funds for organisations working on the ground to combat the outbreak.

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The Unite 4 West Africa initiative was launched to the media at World Travel Market in October 2014. We’re pleased to say it was a huge success, the room was heaving with journalists interested in hearing what we had to say!

On the panel were the Ministers of Tourism for Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria, as well as Ben Keene from Tribewanted Sierra Leone, Dr Ron Behrens from the London School of Tropical Medicine, and David Oades (Dave The Hat) from Overlanding West Africa. Everybody gave a 10 minute presentation about the situation in the region.

In addition to helping put the outbreak into perspective, Unite 4 West Africa is raising funds for organisations who are working hard in the region to help combat the spread of the virus:

  • 50% of the money raised will go to Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF – Doctors Without Borders), who have worked tirelessly from the moment the outbreak was confirmed as ebola back in March 2014
  • 40% of the money will go to 3 grass roots organisations in each of the affected countries, being TINKISSO in Guinea, KRITERION MONROVIA in Liberia, and WELT HUNGER HILFE in Sierra Leone
  • 10% will be distributed to other grass roots organisations who are doing great work who might approach us for funding – if not, this 10% will instead go to the 3 organisations receiving 40% of the funds raised

All money raised will go directly to the organisations listed above. All of the time we have spent setting up and promoting Unite 4 West Africa is entirely voluntary.

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We’re pleased to say we have secured the support of a large number of other travel operators and organisations who run trips and have an interest in the countries of West Africa, including Exodus Travels, G Adventures, Explore, and Intrepid Travel. We’re proud to say we’ve raised over £4,000 since November 2014, and hope to raise much more. We want to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations who have donated to the initiative so far, and all the individuals who have made a personal donation – thanks so much to everybody!

Please visit the Unite 4 West Africa website to learn more about the initiative, and help promote a more positive image of the countries in West Africa. There is also a Unite 4 West Africa Facebook Page and a Twitter Page where you can keep up to date with all the latest news. Please use the hashtag #Unite4WestAfrica when posting about the initiative.

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With so much negative media coverage coming from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia in recent months, there is a real danger that these countries will be associated and stigmatised with this image for years to come. We all need to work together to help promote a more positive image of the affected countries and the West Africa region in general.

Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia were just starting to develop a tourist industry, something we want to see flourish once again as soon as possible.

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Remember: A huge number of people throughout dozens of countries all over Africa rely upon tourism for their livelihoods, and many are now starting to struggle due to a decline in tourism. Nearly every major tour operator is saying bookings for trips all over Africa are down. Lets put this in perspective – only 3 countries have been significantly affected by the ebola outbreak to date, just 3!

Africa is a continent, NOT a country, help us put the situation into perspective!

Cheers guys, we hope you are all well, and we hope to see you on Aminah in late 2015-early 2016 for another adventure through the countries of West Africa!

Dave The Hat, Al Goodridge, and Jimmy C

Unite 4 West Africa Travel Campaign

Hi everybody,

After leaving the UK 7 months ago for another expedition down to Ghana and back, Aminah is home! Our last trip of the season (Freetown to Dakar) arrived into the Senegalese capital a few weeks ago, and Al and Aminah began the long journey north through Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Spain, and France to the UK.

Rainy season is fast approaching in West Africa, a time that makes travelling in the region challenging at best, so time for Aminah to have a well deserved break back home!

Overland Truck Tour Morocco

Overland Expedition West Africa

Overland Tour Mauritania

We’d like to say a massive thank you to Nev Kelly who joined Al as the co driver for the season. With OWA being the first ever overland company to operate a trip through Liberia this season, it was important to have good crew onboard. They’re an essential part of any overland expedition, and Nev’s hard work and commitment in working with Al shone through in the overwhelmingly positive feedback we received from this seasons passengers. Thanks Nev!

Overland Group Tour West Africa

Group Overland Tour Africa

You can read some of the great comments the passengers from this seasons trips wrote about OWA, Al, and Nev by clicking on the photo below. Many thanks to everybody who took the time to write such positive feedback for us. Cheers guys!

Overlanding West Africa Trip Reviews

In a few days Al and Hatter are heading up to the workshop to give Aminah some TLC in preparation for next seasons trips. We’ve jigged things around a little to take into account what has and hasn’t worked well on our trips to date. We’re still including all of the same countries, but seeing more of Burkina Faso AND also visiting Benin and Togo on our new Ouagadougou To Accra trip.

You can see all of the dates for our trips in late 2014/early 2015 here: 

New Dates For 2014-2015 Trips With Overlanding West Africa

If you haven’t done so already please send us an Enquiry Form to register your interest and book a trip.

Al has been busy with the official OWA travel blog detailing the journey from Senegal to Ghana and back again. There are loads of entries on our blog site with some excellent photos! The latest entry was from the last couple of weeks of our Freetown to Dakar trip, as the group made their way from Guinea-Bissau to Casamance, Senegal.

Senegal Dancing And Culture

Senegal Koumpo Dancer

Senegal Koumpo Dance

Senegal Stilt Dance Ceremony

Koumpo Dance Senegal

There are some great photos in this latest post, it should whet the appetite for joining us for a trip!

Guinea Bissau To Casamance Senegal: Overlanding Through West Africa

We’ve also updated the videos page on this website making it easier to view all of the amazing footage from West Africa. Check out our short films by clicking on the photo below:

West Africa Travel Videos

Remember, you can keep in touch with all the latest happenings at Overlanding West Africa via our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Pinterest, and Google +) by clicking through to the pages via the icons close to the top right hand side of each page on this website.

We look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you onboard Aminah later this year for another adventure through beautiful West Africa!

David, Al, Jimmy, and Aminah

Here are some excellent photos from Gary Potter, Claire Abery, and Elizabeth Johnson who joined us on our Accra to Freetown and Freetown to Dakar trip this year.Chutes De Dittin, GuineaBanfora Trek, Burkina Faso

Ivory Coast TourismSussex Beach, Freetown, Sierra LeoneLiberia Tourism West Africa OverlandGhana Markets, Overland West AfricaWashing Clothes In River Burkina FasoIvory Coast Tourism

Hi everybody,

What a hectic few months it has been since we last wrote a post for the website! Finally we have the time to sit down and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and fill you in about what’s been happening at Overlanding West Africa.

See what the sign says below? THEY’RE IN LIBERIA!

Group Tours West Africa Overland

Overlanding West Africa are proud to be the first ever overland truck based company to run a trip through the country. Here’s a picture of Al, Nev, and the group as they crossed the border from Sierra Leone a few days ago. Al says the drive from the east of Sierra Leone into Liberia was a long hard slog, the roads were terrible, and it took longer than expected, but in the true nature of overland adventure travel they made it!

Another first for Overlanding West Africa after being the first ever overland truck based company to run trips in Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone in 2012. Well done Al, Nev, Aminah, and all the group, congratulations!

Liberia Overland Tours and Adventure Travel

Well, what else has been happening over the past few months?

After our hugely successful first season, Hatter has settled in the UK permanently to focus upon the operations and marketting for Overlanding West Africa and working to build upon the success of the first few years. Jimmy has decided to move to Australia to focus upon a new business venture and to settle down with his partner Claire.

To enable the trips to keep running, Hatter and Jimmy invited Al Goodridge to buy some shares in Overlanding West Africa and act as the new director, and Al is currently leading our trips in 2013 and 2014 with ex-Oasis Overland driver Nev Kelly.

Aminah needed some TLC after her first run down to West Africa, so Hatter and Al spent some weeks getting her back to her sexy self, including a brand new spray job with a new flag scheme down the side (note the Liberia flag!)

After a full mechanical overhaul, restocking her supplies and spare parts, and passing her MOT, Hatter and Al drove her down to the south of Spain. Upon arrival, Nev flew in to take over from Hatter, and off they went across the straits of Gibraltar to Morocco for the long drive to Dakar.

Overlanding West Africa, Trans Africa Tours

As those of you who follow us through social media will know, our Dakar to Freetown trip is now well underway. The group are currently in the beautiful Casamance region of Senegal enjoying a couple of nights on the Atlantic coastline.

Al, Nev and Aminah left Dakar with a group of 19 overlanders: A warm welcome to John, Ant, Narelle, Sascha, Phil, John, Arnold (Will), Warren, Jane, Robert, Connor, Chris, Daniel, Ian, Peter, Ina, Janet, Birgit and Tania.

Overland Tour West Africa, Liberia Tour

To help us all keep up with the excitement on the road, Al has taken on the task of writing a blog detailing all that’s happening on the trips. If you’re a fan of adventure travel and overland trips you will love Al’s updates! Please do follow our blog through Google+ and all the usual social media channels:

Overlanding West Africa Travel Blog

You can expect regular updates from Al and the group as they make their way down to Ghana over the next 10 weeks or so.

A real highlight of the trip so far was the groups visit to Abene in northern Casamance. Al and Nev took the group to a wonderful campement managed by Simon for an evening of traditional music and dance. The climax of the festivities was witnessing a ‘Koumpo’ (known as a forest spirit) whip up a frenzy on the dancefloor, a real privilege to see.

A massive thank you to Simon, the staff at the campement, and all the performers for such a wonderful evening of entertainment.

Overland West Africa

Back here in the UK, World Travel Market took place at London’s Excel Arena this week. Hatter popped along for the day to visit those stands representing West Africa. Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria were all present, and it was great to put some names to faces after so many years.

We want to say a massive thank you to Ola at ‘Come To West Africa’ magazine for including Overlanding West Africa in the latest edition. Ola was working at the Nigeria stand at WTM helping push the West Africa tourism message, and Hatter was lucky enough to grab a photo opportunity with the editor himself!

Hatter And Ola

Not only is Overlanding West Africa on the front cover with 3 photos, but there is an 8 page feature inside talking about what we are trying to achieve with our trips. Thanks so much for including us Ola we really appreciate it! Also many thanks to ex OWA passengers Rob Kuhlman, Inga Lotta, Wilna Wilkinson, Holly Melanson, and Clare Glade Wright for some of the superb photos used in the article.

Read more about all the media publications Overlanding West Africa has been featured in over the past few months here: Overlanding West Africa In The Media

Overlanding West Africa

Also a big thank you to Christophe Noel for writing a review about us for the superb Overlanders website Expedition Portal. Christophe highlights the fact that our trips go as far off the beaten track as possible and to places well of the radar for most travellers. Thanks Christophe!

Overland West Africa

Remember, you’ll need to book quite soon if you want to take the last available seat on our Accra To Freetown trip in January 2014. We also have just 3 seats left on our Freetown To Dakar trip starting in March 2014. If you can’t join us this season, we will have new dates for our trips in late 2014/early 2015 on our website by January 2014 so keep checking in!

We hope you all have a very happy Christmas wherever you are in the world, and a very happy new year. We hope to see some of you onboard Aminah in 2014 for another incredible adventure through West Africa!

David, Al, Jimmy, and Aminah

Overlanding West Africa