Backpacking in Africa Jonny Blair
“Go West, life is peaceful there” – Pet Shop Boys. In December 2024, Marek Bladowski and I had a wild dream to backpack to the western most point of Saharan Africa. What even is that? Is there even a point where such a place exists and publicises itself? We dream up the wild things. Life…
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“Love’s a hide and hate display” – Nicky Wire. I never expected to visit 5 bars in the CAR, nevermind double figure it, but here we are, there we were. In my previous few countries – Niger I drinkpacked only 5 bars and in Burkina Faso just the 9, with Mauritania limited to 5 non-alcoholic…
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“They can come true yeah. They can come true” – Gabrielle (Dreams). Before you read this, look at the above photo and watch Omam Biyick’s legendary header below. I watched it live after school in June 1990 in Marlo in Bangor, Northern Ireland. I wanted Cameroon to win. I loved it. I love it. I…
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“Don’t you want me baby? Don’t you want me oooh?” – Mandy Smith. What a city name this one really is. Ouagadougou – Wow! Pronounced phonetically in Northern Irish as “WAGA DOO GOO” so it is, so till spake. Long before I even backpacked this joint, it was a dot on my globe that fascinated…
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“Another year over; a new one just begun” – John Lennon. I found myself back in Ivory Coast at the end of 2024, and this is where Marek and I celebrated New Year’s Eve 2024 and New Year’s Day 2025. I had backpacked through Abidjan and Grand Bassam before, back in 2018. On that trip,…
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“Down the waterfall wherever it may take me” – Robbie Williams. On a hot Sunday, in the heart of Africa, in the centre of Africa and in the middle of Africa, we visited the Boali Falls. Welcome to the centre of the entire continent, if not the world. Central African Republic is a breath thefter.…
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“Here is a sunrise. Ain’t that enough?” – Teenage Fanclub. First things first here – don’t even consider sleeping anywhere else in Bangui. Gust Hotel is your place to sleep in the capital city of Bangui, Central African Republic. This was my home, Marek’s home and should be your home in the enigmatic chaos that…
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Thirsty Thursdays: Watching Kennedy Star Live At Bar Caupa Bangou, Niamey, Niger Well on our last night backpacking in Niamey, Niger, we were served up a treat – local live music – guitars, drums, singing live in front of our eyes with cold beers to boot. It was the final night of a wild adventure…
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“Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (at the end of the line)” – The Travelling Wilburys. I had backpacked quickly through the Mauritanian oceanside city of Nouadhibou in 2022 after completing the textbook Mauritania Iron Ore train journey. That was a trip of a lifetime, and who knew that 2 and a half…
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Backpacking In Africa: Full List Of Countries Here are a list of all the countries to backpack in Africa. I put a tick to state I’ve been and the year of my first visit. Africa Algeria2015 Ambazonia Angola2020 Barawa Benin2018 Biafra Bir Tawil Botswana2011 Burkina Faso2024 Burundi2019 Cameroon2024 Canary Islands2022 Cape Verde2022 Central African Republic2025…
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