Tour d'Afrique
It always seems impossible until it is done. - Nelson Mandela
What is the Tour d'Afrique?
The Tour d'Afrique is a biking expedition goes from Cairo to Cape Town - that's 11,800km from north to south along the east coast of Africa. Some people actually do the whole thing (yes, insane people), which crosses 12 countries in about four months. But for the slightly less insane, the route is divided into eight legs. That's where I came in.
Biking for BEN-Namibia
My participation in the Tour d'Afrique was a fluke - an amazing adventure that arose from the generosity of one person (Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet, who sponsored out TDA team). I realized that I had an opportunity and an obligation to do something really productive, not just for myself, but for the communities I would be riding through. I decided to raise money for the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN), a grassroots organization in Namibia. Thanks to the generosity of family and friends I donated 45 bikes to be used by healthcare workers and social workers in rural Namibia. Read more...
Meet the Lonely Planet Team
The Lonely Planet team consisted of 16 people who rode in a relay from Cairo to Cape Town. Together we traversed 12 countries and 12,000 kilometers. Each individual rider had a unique experience, facing different challenges and revelling in different highlights. Click here to see our impressions from each leg of the journey...
What is BEN?
Let's go to the video
Want to see some action? Watch the videos on Lonely Planet TV. (So far, only the first three stages are available on video. Stay tuned for more!)
Mara Vorhees is a writer and photographer who blogs about food, music and adventure around the world.She has written guidebooks about Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Morocco, New England, Poland and Russia for Lonely Planet. Click here to read more about Mara.
