Africa - beautiful, chaotic and free

We’ve already received updates on the road from Geoff from his experiences in China and Turkmenistan, the trek to Tibet and his time in war torn Ukraine.

This update has been sent to us as Geoff lives out a long held dream to make his way through Africa.

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This story belongs to anyone who has an open heart, a love for freedom and a spirit of adventure.

Remember Jonathan Livingston Seagull? You can fly as high as you want – just believe in yourself.

It is a cold, dark and windy morning. The faithful surrender themselves to the dulcet tones of the muezzin.

I surrender myself to the sandman, but not from the rocky floor where I have camped my tent, which is nestled on an outcrop on the Western Sahara Desert; but rather from a deep slumber.

A dream some 40 years in the making is now in my grasp. I hold it tight and close to my heart. Touch me now, Africa. I am yours.

I am on a 186-day overland adventure through West Africa, travelling from Fez, Morocco to Cape Town, South Africa.

There are 33 of us - a mixed bag of ages, personalities and expectations.

We are heading south down the main highway from Essaouira, a small, inconsequential fishing village on the Moroccon western shore.

We are eager to reach the cool breeze of the coastline.

It’s a hot, dusty, dry, four days, bone cracking, bra strapping, energy sapping drive through the rocky parchment of the great Western Desert.

We cross the 26th parallel at the Tropic of Cancer. We pass the disputed zone which theoretically divides Morocco and Western Sahara.

Moroccan flags flutter down the highway unashamedly.

We then turn coast wards as if summoned by an ancient mystic, speaking a language lost in the vacuum of time.

It is not long before our truck picks up the scent of a fresh sea breeze and our speed reaches an impressive 50km/h.

Here we meet and stare in wonder at the sparkling blue waters of the Atlantic.

If Africa is a mixing pot of cultures, then so are we a mixing pot of nations.

There is no discrimination in age, culture or language. We are The Overlanders.

We come deliberately, with passion, to these western shores.

Some come for adventure, others seek an elusive silence.

For a few, it is a journey of exploration, others a challenge, or perhaps it is as simple as curiosity itself.

Mandy, a 29 year-old Canadian, is a journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporting on international news. She comes for adventure.

She specialises in reporting drought, wars and earthquakes, to mention a few.

Molly, a 30 year-old American, has come seeking exploration.

Reto, a 33 year-old financial planner from Switzerland, is a mountaineer and a mystic who seeks challenges to take him further and higher.

Dave is the oldest of the group at 80 years of age, a retired self-professed bean counter from New Zealand.

Our communal altar, like all families, is centred around the kitchen. We cook in teams on a rotational basis.

There are protocols to follow, and potholes to avoid, seat belts are installed and everyone is encouraged to wear them, especially during periods off-road.

We love our truck - a double axle Scania with sliding windows and power sockets to keep our phones charged.

We have complete confidence in our driver Sam, and our tour leader Gayle.

Both have a passion for adventure and at their young ages are already veterans in the industry. We trust them with our lives.

In among the chaos, we will be subject to poor sanitation.

Sourcing fresh fruit and vegetables will be challenging and subject to availability in local markets.

There will be periods of no clean water, lack of medical facilities, not to mention border crossing and visa challengers.

Oh, and did I mention digging our way out of dunes and the possibility of floods?

West Africa, for all its beauty and chaos, is not to be dismissed or ignored, but to be embraced.

So, if there is a little bit of Jonathan Livingston Seagull left in you, let him loose and follow your dream.

An overland adventure awaits you.