What's it all about?

Welcome to Mind The Elephant, the website detailing the ins and outs of our (at this stage proposed) "big camping trip".

We are Hannah and Will, two late twenty-somethings (just), currently living and working in London, with a plan...

We have given ourselves 9 months to travel overland across Africa in our trusty Land Cruiser, Stanley, starting in Stockport (there is method in our madness), driving through Europe, down the west coast of Africa and then up part of the east. We're hoping to get as far as Mombasa in the time we've given ourselves, leaving in December 2008.

This website contains information about our trip - our route (intended and actual!), preparations and a diary of our progress.

Why?

This is a common question, and the only real answer is why not? Warm sunshine, diverse cultures and adventure was calling. Travelling across Africa seemed like a better idea than tolerating London's overcrowded transport system twice a day, just so we could afford to keep paying far too much to experience far too little.

On top of that, in this rapidly shrinking world there are few true adventures still left. "The Dark Continent", still vastly untouched by the hand of tourism is still there to be explored.

We often get asked about charities, there are hundreds of Africa related charities we could be raising money for, but we're not going to ask for any of your money, actually getting out there and spending real £ with real people, injecting money into these economies at the bottom end is some of the best help the country can receive. It's no coincidence that the countries with the most tourists in Africa are also some of the wealthiest. Unfortunately for the poorest this can be a catch 22, where they can't attract the tourists without the money and can't raise the money without the tourists, but it's got to start somewhere, so we'll give them a helping hand! Maybe you should too?

Where did it start?

Will's parents set off on a London to Cape Town trip on 10th December 1972, this is probably where the first seed was sown. It's just one of those things that you'll never have time to do, so you just have to go ahead and do it.