We begin with the Festival on the Niger, the best music festival in west Africa, arguably the best in Africa. On the banks of the river Niger in Segou, the former capital of the Malian empire of the 15th Century, you will kick off your trip with Salif Keita, Tinariwen, Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal - many of the top artists from West Africa.
From Segou you take a pinasse river boat on the River Niger for three days to Djenné, a world heritage city with the world's largest mud structure, the Grand Mosque.
From Djenné we drive onto Timbuktu and continue along the river Niger through the Sahara to Gao. The sands of the desert to the north meet the Niger river as we travel this very beautiful route through Tuareg and Fulani country to the colourful port town of Gao.
From Gao we move on into Niger and gradually across the country towards Lake Chad.
Lake Chad is one of my favourite areas of Africa. Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon all share borders on the Lake and it is a great meeting point of the various tribes that live around the lake. It is considered by some to be possibly the location of the Noah’s ark story. 
Once a great inland sea and the sixth largest lake in the world, Lake Chad is now a tenth of the size it was in the 1960s. Lake Chad was certainly a very important site for the emergence of humanity.
Our route will take us across the old lake and around its former shores, now undulating desert through ancient communities who very rarely see foreigners passing through. Camel is the predominant form of transport here, and at times you will understand why. After a couple of days we will reach Bol and the present shores of Lake Chad that till now have seemed a distant dream.
Out of the lake and the desert we will arrive at Ndjemena, Chad's happening capital city on the border with Cameroon.
A village chief, Lake Chad
Once we enter Cameroon, we will visit the Wasa Game reserve, probably west Africa’s best savannah game viewing and a great birding experience, before travelling on south through the strange Mandara mountains.
After the mountains we hit a savannah plateau before descending down to equatorial forest and the beginnings of the great Congo basin.
We travel across the forests of south Cameroon to at last arrive at the coast and Limbe, at the foot of mount Cameroon.
Limbe is one of the most pleasant towns in west Africa. With Mt Cameroon towering behind it and the Atlantic before it, this quiet, friendly fishing town is the perfect place to end our trip. After a long hot ride from the desert through the sahel, down through Savannah and the forest we arrive at the coast. Relax on the beautiful beaches or challenge yourself to climb west Africa’s highest mountain.
There will be an option for anyone joining this journey to extend your stay in Cameroon and come with me to Esu and the Kingdom at the End of the Road trip.
Next trip dates: 5 February to 20 March 2012
Price: €2950 per person
(This covers all transport, guidance and camping costs. It does not include flights, visas, food or accommodation.)
Note:
This is a tough trip. It is not for everyone.
It is not a wildlife safari, though there may be some game viewing en route.
It takes you though parts of Africa rarely visited by tourists. Sometimes your accommodation may be basic. There are long days of driving, sometimes you will arrive hot and dusty and tired.
The itinerary is almost certain to change.
You need patience, adaptability and flexibility.
You need to try to live in the moment.
If you can do all this, or try to, you will have the trip of a lifetime!
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