Embraer ERJ 145 Flight Simulator

In 1979, I gave up my job at the council, superannuation, and status, and went to work for Encounter Overland as a Leader Driver.

For the next five years, I led trips through Africa and South America, coming into contact with exotic places, women and tropical diseases (not that sort..)

I travelled through Africa, from Jo'burg to Tanzania, spent six months leading "Brief Encounters", one month safaris through the game parks of Serengeti and climbing Kilimanjaro, then went to South America, where I spent nearly two years traversing the continent before returning to the UK for a short break. I then led two Trans Africa trips London-Jo'burg, Jo'burg-London, during which, in Niger, I contracted Hepatitus A. (Damn that salad with the funny taste...) After a few months recuperating in the UK, ai was asked to lead more trips in South America, finalising my career with a trip organised by the South Africa Daily Star newspaper for 24 South Africans to tour Peru. Unfortunately, I met my wife to be on that trip, and my career with overland travel was over.

Africa and South America have everything, and nothing in common. Generally, you don't have the money, the parts, or the time to fix whatever problem you encounter. The indian Ocean, The Seychelles, The Amazon, Madagascar,sounds exotic. It is.

The overland driver has the best and the worst of both worlds. He (She) is the leader of the group of up to 24 individuals from many lands, the navigator, the nurse and phsycologist, the mechanic, the diplomat, the sorter of paperwork, and above all the inspiration to the group when they are up to their arse in the mud, or something equally sticky.

The selection process is exhaustive, but some of us get through, and years later, thanks to the work of Mike Donkin, we rediscover our contacts, and discover that 20+ years on, we still have more in common than we thought.

What follows is a collection of reminiscences, stories and legends, which I hope you will enjoy reading, and will help the traveller of today to have more courage to explore as much of our world as he can.