FLANDERS cycle tour - summer 2011 - photos

FLANDERS cycle tour - summer 2011 - photos

EQUATOR EXPEDITION ITINERARY Latest

THE EQUATOR EXPEDITION projected itinerary by ANDREW WRIGHT

1. Taxi from home to Manchester airport Terminal 1. Fly to Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta airport with Emirates on 15th Jan

2. Arrive Nairobi at 19:15 hrs, collect bicycle, and to be met by driver from 'Nairobi Airport Stop Over House'. Guest house Tel No. 254 722 787 182 Stay at guest house for the night of 16th Jan.

3. Find bus station for direct bus to Marsabit in northern Kenya.

4. Reach Marsabit. The great 20th Century explorer Wilfred Thesiger spent a long time in the Marsabit area in his later years, living among the Samburu tribe. Possible meeting with the Methodist Church in Marsabit (no exact contact at the moment). Possible meeting with the British Army who have a camp in the area. Northern Kenya is an arid area confounded by drought and famine. There is also the 'Turkana' tribe in the area.

5. Start cycling south on the main road. If there is no food or water I may take a lift on a bus or private truck. Will see.

6. Reach the Equator. Stand with one foot in both hemispheres.

7. Move south and then west. Mt Kenya National Park area.

8. Cross the Aberdare mountains by bicycle.

9. Move west to Lake Victoria.

10. Cross into Tanzania by one of two road crossing points. Or, take ferry down Lake Victoria from Kenya to Tanzania.

11. Cross Serengeti National Park, probably by bus. It is unlikely that the park rangers will allow me to cycle across the Park.

12. Move east towards Kilimanjaro.

13. Possible climb Kilimanjaro. Mt. Kili. is over 5,000 mts high. The guide fees to climb the mountain are $500. It will take at least five days for the trek if I go ahead.

14. Move toward Dar es Salam.

15. Travel among the Masai tribe.

16. Ferry from Dar es Salam to the fabled island of Zanzibar.

17. Possible ferry to Pemba Island.

18. Ferry to Mombassa in Kenya.

19. Make contact with the Methodist Church of Northwich charitable project near Mombassa. My contact is from Rev. Charles Makonde (UK tel: 01606 44613). The contact is Hero Ole Saitoti, a young Masai tribesman. His local phone no. is: 0711561041. The Project and time in Mombassa will probably be two or three days.

20. Take the night train from Mombassa to Nairobi. Travel second class.

21. Reach Nairobi and do some sight seeing.

22. 11th March take Emirates flight EK722 to Dubai and thence on to Manchester to reach there on the 12th March.

23. Cycle or take train home to Northwich.

24. Hero's reception in Northwich for AW ;-).

25. Meet with JR for de-brief of Equator Expedition.

SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM 1935 Edition

Today, Sunday 1st January 2012 I went to visit Dug of the Mid-Cheshire Footpath Society. I spotted on his shelves this 1935 edition of the 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom'. What a beautiful treasure to own. What a great surprize to find.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom

WASHINGTON PHOTOS - Summer 2011

Possible T E Lawrence link Akaba

Today, Saturday 31st December 2011, I was contacted by a lady called Betty of Weaverham, Northwich. Her uncle, a Mr Gerald Preston served with the Royal Signal Corp in Arabia, or Mesopotamia, or possibly Aquaba itself, during WWI. Mr Preston named his house in Greenbank, Northwich, 'Akaba'. I went to see 'Akaba' today (see photo). I hope to meet with Betty later this week to learn more about Mr Preston, his war service and his possible connection to Lawrence. It may even be possible that there is a Lawrentian head dress in her family. But however it may now be lost to posterity. Will see.

JOHN CARTER - A QUOTE:

"Do not go anywhere unless you know where you are going". Not sure who originated this quote, but it was delivered to the RWWH's Leader's Conference, in Cambridge December 2011 by John Carter of 'Wish You Were Here' and 'The Holiday Programe' fame.

A very good tale

Ramblers WW Holidays - odd snaps

My room at Robinson College, Cambridge. Leaders conference, December 2011.

My room at Robinson College, Cambridge.





Ramblers WW Hoildays Leader conference. Lecture hall.

Group of RWWH guests having lunch on 24th December 2011. A finer bunch, I have not met.

SONS OF THE DESERT - Tent 26

Yesterday, Wednesday 28th December 2011, on my way home from Buttermere in the Lake District I stopped off to visit the Laurel & Hardy Museum in the town of Ulverston. It was marvellous to see and I whole heartedly recommend a visit if you find the chance.

The last ever photo of Laurel & Hardy together. A treasure.

Andrew Wright with the statue of Laurel & Hardy in Ulverston, Cumbria.

WISDOM

'Wisdom hath builded her worthy house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars', The Bible.

A Thought from "Great Thoughts"

"You can not dream yourself into character: you must hammer and forge yourself one", said J.A.Froude. Wishful thinking will not take us far on the way to self-mastery. Determination to build definate characteristics into life is needed. And this must be followed up with persistent striving.

Published: Northwich Guardian, Friday, Jan 5th 1934, page 6

PROGRESS ON EQUATOR EXPEDITION

On 15th January 2012 I will be setting off on a long trip called 'Across the Equator to Zanzibar'. It will be a journey using different modes of transport and travel ranging from bus, train, foot and principally bicycle. It will involve upto 1,000 miles of cycling. The ultimate objective is to reach the fabled island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania. The trip will hopefully raise donations for the 'African Support & Assistance Project'.

The aim of ASAP is to raise £50,000 to finance the building of a new school in the remote land-locked African kingdom of Lesotho. ASAP is based at Mid-Cheshire College. There is approximately £42,000 in the bank already and prospects are good of gaining the remaining funds. Many enterprizes are taking place to raise funds. If you would like to donate to ASAP in can be done by texting ASAP11 to 70070 or by sending a cheque made out to 'The African Support & Assistance Project' to:

John Reilly (ASAP),

Mid-Cheshire College,

Chester Road,

Northwich,

Cheshire.

CW8 1LJ

TeL: 01606 720515

THE FUTURE & A BRIGHT 2012

To my dear readers, sorry Ive been away for a long while. 2011 has been a rather quiet year on the travel front. Just a trip Washington, a week long cycle tour in Belgium and a week youth hostel wardening in Pembrokeshire at Newport hostel. I have been very conscious of the economic situation and the need for belt tightening. However, life must go on and in 2012 I am planning a number of bold initiatives on the travel and adventure front which I hope to share with my readers through this blog.

In 2012 look out for 'Across the Equator to Zanzibar' and the Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (known as RAGBRAI).

Many thanks

Andrew

THANKYOU FOR ENCOURAGING COMMENTS

I would like to thank the number of people who have made encouraging comments about this blog. It has cheered me enormously. I feel that I may be emerging from a difficult period which involved what I think could be described as writers block. Thankyou again.

Andrew