The Second Great Journey

THE SECOND GREAT JOURNEY

(January 1990 -April 1990)

West Africa

Mt Kilimanjaro

Borneo

Mt Kinabalu

Palau

The Second Great Journey

The Flights of The Second Great Journey

Date Day From/To Airline

31-Dec-89 Sun Brisbane to Singapore via Melbourne Singapore

31-Dec-89 Sun Singapore to London Heathrow Singapore

2-Jan-90 Tue London Heathrow to Brussels Sabena

2-Jan-90 Tue Brussels to Lagos Sabena

13-Jan-90 Sat Accra to Monrovia via Abidjan Ghana Airways

17-Jan-90 Wed Monrovia to Freetown Ghana Airways

20-Jan-90 Sat Freetown to Conakry Ghana Airways

23-Jan-90 Tue Conakry to Banjul Ghana Airways

26-Jan-90 Fri Banjul to Dakar Ghana Airways

15-Feb-90 Thu Lagos to Douala Ethiopian

17-Feb-90 Sat Douala to Malabo Cameroon

2-Mar-90 Smuggled overnight from Malabo to Doula by boat

3 -Mar-90 Sat Douala to Nairobi Ethiopian

17-Mar-90 Sat Nairobi to Moscow Aeroflot

18-Mar-90 Sun Moscow to London Heathrow Aeroflot

21-Mar-90 Wed London Heathrow to San Francisco Trans World

31-Mar-90 Sat San Francisco to Los Angeles Trans World

1-Apr-90 Sun Los Angeles to Tokyo Singapore

8-Apr-90 Sun Tokyo to Taipei Singapore

13-Apr-90 Fri Taipei to Manila China

14-Apr-90 Sat Manila to Koror Continental

15-Apr-90 Sun Koror to Angaur via Peleliu & Palau Paradise Air

15-Apr-90 Sun Angaur to Peleliu via Palau Paradise Air

16-Apr-90 Mon Peleliu to Koror via Palau Paradise Air

17-Apr-90 Tue Koror to Manila Continental

18-Apr-90 Wed Manila to Bandar Seri Begawan Royal Brunei

21-Apr-90 Sat Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuching Royal Brunei

23-Apr-09 Mon Kuching to Sibu Malaysian

25-Apr-90 Wed Sibu to Miri Malaysian

25-Apr-90 Wed Miri to Kota Kinabalu via Labaun Malaysian

28-Apr-90 Sat Kota Kinabalu to Manila Malaysian

29-Apr-90 Sun Manila to Singapore Singapore

30-Apr-90 Mon Singapore to Brisbane via Darwin Singapore

BUSH TAXIS - Below

SMUGGLED OVERNIGHT

CLIMBING MT KILIMANJARO

CLIMBING MT KINABALU

Bush Taxis in West Africa

One of the best ways to travel around countries in West Africa is by 'Bush Taxi'.

Find the central spot/area in a town or city and you will find Bush Taxis. They are usually Peugots like the one pictured on the left.

Know your destination, negotiate the fare, wait for the taxi to fill up with other travellers, and off you go. The ride can be hairy at times as well as interesting. An unscheduled stop for the 'call to prayer' is not unusual

- Bush Taxis Lagos to Accra

- Ghana Airlines Accra to Banjul

- Bush Taxis Banjul to Dakar

- Train dakar to Bamako

- Bush Taxis Bamako to Lagos

- Ethiopian Airlines lagos to Doula

- Cameroon Airlines to Malabo

Benin/Togo

Senegal

Mali

Burkina Faso

formally Upper Volta

Refreshments outside Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso

Smuggled Overnight

1. After spending an incredible week on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, in February 1990, I found myself in dispute with Customs officers at Malabo airport resulting in My Cameroon Airlines flight to Douala leaving without me.

2. With only 2 flights a week to Douala, and needing to be in Tanzania in a few days to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, I was directed to the port and as a result, managed to arrange overnight passage to the Cameroon coast on a barge transporting european 'seconds clothing'.

3. The captain, and his crew of four, were friendly and happy to raid the bales for a sampling of nicely fitting clothes.

The trip was uneventful, except around midnight, when collison with a large freight liner was carefully avoided (we had no lights on the barge).

4. At around 3am we reached the Cameroon coast, a distant torch light guiding us to the shore. I thanked the crew and was lead to a small hut to rest until daylight. As the sun rose I saw no evidence of the barge or its crew.

The flight from Douala to Nairobi ensured I was on time for Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

March 1990

Horombo Hut with

Kilimanjaro

in the background

Extract from the 'Guerba Expeditions' brochure. The whole journey was extremely well organised.

Gillmans Point at 5,685m is on the rim of Kilimanjaro Crater. The views into and beyond the crater are spectacular. I opted not to walk around to Uhuru Peak at 5,895m - I was stuffed. From our group of 16, 4 did not reach the crater rim. One fit Swiss guy had walked too quickly the day before and altitude sickness kicked in.