Hi Horizons Unlimited,

My name is Jeroen Eggebeen, 22 years old, from the Netherlands. Last year I went to Norway on a motor-vacation and found out that I wanted to do something more adventurous: Traveling from The Netherlands (or a country closeby) to Ghana (or another West-African country). Or vice-versa. I am looking for someone to travel with (may be multiple persons as well), or people that can provide me with tips or information. The whole journey is still a rough sketch so I am open for input. It seemed favorable for me to start the trip in Ghana as I have built some contacts there. (Someone from Nurses on Tour, a dutch charity organisation, see: Stichting Nurses On Tour - Home).

The plan is to fly by plane to Ghana (The price for your motorcycle is a bit below the average person-price). Because I have never been in Ghana (Or Africa for that matter) it seemed like a good idea to travel along the West-African coast, bypassing Sierra-Leone and Liberia, and maybe Côte d'Ivoire. As stated above I have already had some contact with someone in Ghana and he went through Mali and Mauritania by car a few years ago (He went from The Netherlands to Ghana). But he advises against this due to the current situation in Mali and the Touregs. So any input is welcome.

My original routeplan was: from Ghana to Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Senegal, Gambia, Senegal again, Mauritania, the West-Sahara and Morocco and then back to Europe. This plan is completely subject to change, and as stated above, Mauritania and Côte d'Ivoire might not be such a good idea after all.

Because of the great deal of country's where French is the primary language, it would be a big advantage (if not a necessity) if my travelcompanion masters the French language, which I do not (at all).

What I can however:

- Some offroad driving (I am going to take an additional course for this though)
- Survival tactics (I have 8 years of scouting-experience, of which 4 years as staff member, and it lies in my general interest)
- The English language (be my judge)
- I can certainly do basic repairs to my motorcycle, but I am going to take an additional course for this as well, in order to really know what I am doing at all times.

So do you have any suggestions, tips or are you interested?

I'll be glad to hear from you.