Centre-Sud

William, Ricardo and I ride to Nazinga national park in Burkina and absolutely hit the jackpot. We meet a Spanish guy, Consalo, with a pickup touring the area, this means we don't need to hire a 4x4 and can spread the cost of the mandatory guide between us. Still in this part of the world the national parks offer no guarantee of seeing anything given the hunting for bushmeat.

Wow, were we lucky though, after a few brief glimpses of antelope, we stumble across a family of about 40 elephants walking right past us! In our few hours out at dusk and dawn we also see plenty of antelope, buffalo, warthogs and a few baboons. Unfortunately being perched on the back corner of a pickup while it bumps up and down is not always conducive to good photos, especially for the baboons that quickly run away. It is also not the best position for comfort or frankly for staying in a moving vehicle - numerous times I almost fell off!

Afterwards we head to Tiebele a local royal court where we visit the palace and its intricately decorated buildings - after the now standard haggling on price.

William and Ricardo now head to Ghana, as I head on towards Togo, but I'm sure we can meet up again.Read more