Nice thought but I’m so glad there wasn’t a film crew!
So happy! The audiobook version of Into Africa is now live again on Audible. Many people have been in touch to ask where it and Under Asian Skies had disappeared to. That is a long story which happily doesn’t involve us mucking things up!
I’m delighted it’s live again, so that makes it available from Audible (only 3 reviews so far!) Spotify and i-Tunes.
My reference in the title to a film crew relates to this media review. ‘For Sam Manicom, the motorcycle was the means to see Africa, not an end in itself, but he soon becomes a biker. He’s also a compelling writer with a real story to tell. There is plenty of adversity and problems, but encounters with the people along the way illuminate the darker times like shafts of sunlight. It’s a shame Sam Manicom didn’t have a camera following him, it would have made for compelling television in places, but his books create compelling pictures of their own.’
If you haven’t listened to the audiobook version of Into Africa yet, here’s the info:
One Year from Cairo to Cape Town.
LANGUAGE- English
NARRATED BY- Sam Manicom
FORMAT- Unabridged Audiobook
LENGTH- 10 hrs and 49 mins
RECORDED BY- Kite Studio Cambridge
‘An experienced traveller, but with just three months practice on a motorcycle, Sam Manicom is in search of new adventures. Wanting to give his life a ‘damn good shaking’, he sets off to ride the length of Africa. His twelve month journey takes him from the British Channel Island of Jersey and on through Europe. A short ferry passage across the Mediterranean ejects him into the unknown of this vast continent.
Riding through fourteen countries to Cape Town in South Africa, and narrated by Sam, the story throws you straight into a situation that every overlander fears, and hopes will never happen to them. But he rapidly pulls the listener into the sheer joy of the open road on this magnificent continent. He graphically describes the extreme challenges encountered, and delves into all the things that go to make such a journey as this succeed; the people, the cultures, the roads to ride, the personal fears and high points. With a clarity that will have you there with him, he describes those moments of fascination that are unique to such a potentially hazardous exploit.
It’s the tale of an enlightening, yet daunting (and sometimes downright harrowing) expedition, told in an open-eyed and very honest way. Listeners will be drawn in by Sam’s gift for describing people, places and events, and at times it’s the seeming insanity that makes this book such compelling listening. For those who dream of making such a journey, hints and tips are gently threaded into this portrayal of the adventures that can be had where a traveller is open to all the possibilities.
Sam faces the challenges of a Sahara sandstorm, and lives in a remote village where his manhood is questioned by the chief’s wife. Though he’s thrust into a brutal jail cell in Tanzania, shot at, is knocked unconscious in the Namibian desert, escapes a bush fire and survives near death from malaria, his narrative clearly shows that disasters are not common occurrences.
The almost Buster Keaton-like humour of the locals will have you laughing with them, sometimes actually at Sam himself and at others, quite simply because something wonderfully bizarre has happened. As a bonus, his easy storytelling style will introduce you to other travellers on the road, and at times his warmth and enthusiasm for the continent will have you pondering some thought-provoking questions.
Sam encounters the constant kindness of strangers, and gains real value from the mishaps. He says, “Disasters are just the start of a new adventure. Every time something does go wrong, something special happens as a direct result.” Sam obviously enjoys the contact with people along the way, and as the story unfolds you hear how much there is to learn and appreciate from time spent with the local people. It’s the good rather than the grim times that shine through.
The pleasure and pain of a long trip by motorcycle? It’s all here in this very honest account of the good and bad days of riding; the adrenaline burning fun and moments of pure terror, the mishaps, dust, heat and the thrill of overlanding.
The success of Into Africa inspired Sam to write and record three more highly-rated adventure travel books: Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns and Tortillas to Totems.