THE JOURNEY
18,000 miles, 25 countries, 19 breakdowns and 3650 prescription pills
Travelling alone, Guy interacted fully with the communities he passed through. While security issues had been front of mind at the planning stage, during the journey Guy rarely felt unsafe. He highlights, “I experienced nothing but extraordinary kindness and generosity. I may have attracted more help by being in greater need than most because of my Parkinson’s, but the lengths people went to on my behalf left me humbled”.
Guy was deliberately flexible when planning the journey, recognising that issues would be arising constantly along the way and therefore plans would need to be adjusted. His key priorities were to:
Identify and prepare a suitable vehicle
Establish a preferred route, research travel and visa requirements and consider Diesel supplies, food, water and accommodation
Decide methods for navigation, communication & media capture
Establish opportunities and contacts to raise awareness of Parkinson’s Disease
“This perilous journey would be a huge undertaking for anyone, but for someone living with Parkinson’s, it is a remarkable challenge.”
THE ROUTE
From Dorset to South Africa
Three principal routes exist to travel from the North to the South of Africa, all three finishing at Cape Aquilas, 100 miles southeast of Cape Town. Taking account of the complex security issues and border controls within the region, only the western route was open to Guy. As it happens, this was the route he had always dreamed of travelling.
Guy’s Chosen Route
Northern Africa
Western Africa
Central Africa
Southern Africa
“What I was looking forward to was to have the sense of a continent unfolding in front of me as I headed south. To eat local food, drink whatever was on offer, to download local music and to witness the regular changes: different looking people, different languages, an ever-changing landscape, scenery and vegetation, even the shifts in weather.”