I saw that Ewan was starting to plan a trip down through Africa called Long Way Down (IMDB news June 1). Does anyone know any more about it? I know it was mentioned briefly in LWR, but this was the first actual news report concerning it that I had seen.
share hey, i heard about this too, apparently the guy who plays aniken in starwars wants to go with him, i hope its jst ewan and charley that go though..
~** i'm not a manic depressive paranoid schizophrenic, so i don't need your advice**~
same... no offense to hayden but he doesn't seem like he could make the trip.. i can imagine him whining and crying, LOL
it would be fun as hell tho to see obi wan and anakin going on a safari trip!!
~Rhea
"To know about the Giggle Loop is to become part of the Giggle Loop"
Unless Ewen is planning on relying on his support team far more than he seemed to in "Long Way Round," he should take someone with at least as much experience riding and fixing bikes as Charlie along. Who knows, Hayden C. might have the requisite experience. I'd really like to see "Long Way Down" if they made it but I imagine that it will be MUCH harder to make for at least two significant reasons.
1. The road conditions in many parts of Africa are FAR worse than even those that they experienced in Asia. Except in parts of North Africa and South Africa, they will rarely find paved roads in rural areas.
2. Similarly, stability/security in many African countries is at such a low level that they really couldn't ride through with just two people on bikes. They would need to have some sort of private security firm (i.e., mercs) ride along with them in several countries. That would probably detract from the overall experience.
yeah it's probably as dangerous as if they rode through Russia during the Cold War I'm guessing..
maybe they could map out the trip so that they avoid the violent, political turmoil areas as much as possible? I dont know anything about Africa's political geography however..
~Rhea
"To know about the Giggle Loop is to become part of the Giggle Loop"
Actually, if they road through Russia during the Cold War (assuming that they had prior permission from the government of course), it would probably have been safer than their 2004 trip because the Soviet regime had a fairly iron grip on the populace at the time.
The safest route for an land-based African trip would be to stick to the Eastern side of the continent and go through Egypt and Sudan (sticking close to the Red Sea), then through Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, and, finally, South Africa. Again, that's probably the safest route but driving $50,000+ bikes through the poor and unstable countries is just a risky idea in general and they would almost certainly need some sort of mercenary force to provide protection along the way in certain countries. They would see many more countries if they went along the western side of the continent but they would have to drive right through a few EXTREMELY unstable countries like the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and the DRC. Even South Africa is, in a general sense, a death trap. It's rural areas have little to no real government presence at all and many of its major cities boast some of the highest murder rates of any country on Earth.
Given all this, it might be a lot smarter to just do a trip through Latin America. Ewan and Charley would basically have to skip Columbia entirely (they could fly/sail from Central America to Ecuador) but the rest of the countries are fairly safe.
I think they'd be bonkers going through Africa too, it's a really sporadic environment, plus the fact they'd have to go through the equator - i don't think they'd be able to take that amount of heat with the motorbike leathers - and well, Egypt's getting bombed. They'll probably end up driving over landmines or something and then that will be it.
Goodbye Ewan and Charley.
It's a good dream - but I don't think it's feasible.
[deleted]
From what I hear, it is Ewan and Charley making the trip.
And Charley will be (again) more experienced with the terrain, as he is currently training for the Race to Dakar. He said sand is really hard to drive on, but he's learning. I hope he finishes!
P.S. Claudio and Russ are part of the Race to Dakar team, as well. I'm pretty sure Claudio is in charge of filming and Russ is producing.
"Compared to the life I lead, the last man in a chain-gang thoroughly enjoys himself."
I started reading the book, got about two thirds of the way through and loved it so much that I bought the Special Edition DVD from Amazon. I know nothing about motorbikes, but I am totally in love with this series. I live in South Africa and I'd love to see these amazing guys journey through Africa.
It might be worth their while to read or see Michael Palin's 'Pole to Pole' because he journeyed down through Africa about 10 years ago, though not on a motorbike - he used local transport, which came with its own set of interesting hiccups. He's got a pretty good grasp of how things work in Africa.
We've recently had a TV series here called 'Going Nowhere Slowly' which is about a two or three local South Africans travelling southern Africa in a big old red car, followed by a support vehicle with camera crew, etc. They travelled to some incredible places - some of which were quite scary and others incredibly spiritual and idyllic. The series was all about encouraging people to 'get outside of your dialling code' with stopovers in interesting places, not generally where tourists would bother to go. And yes, some of those roads are pretty hairy! Don't know if it's available overseas, but I know they had a website about it.
Also good reading would be Kingsley Holgate's 'Cape to Cairo' although I haven't read it yet. He packed his family into a Land Rover, I think, and did it the rough way.
Africa is very different to Mongolia, but I'm sure it would be just as rewarding for Ewan and Charley, provided they do their homework, which I'm sure they would.
I say good luck to them and I can't wait to see the TV series they make from that!
[deleted]
"Even South Africa is, in a general sense, a death trap. It's rural areas have little to no real government presence at all and many of its major cities boast some of the highest murder rates of any country on Earth. "
Sounds like you have never been in SA? Am I correct? I am not South African, so I am not defending the country, but I must say that SA will be the easiest place for Ewan and Charlie...a real joyride. Well, in case they will get that far.
Yes, Ewan is propably planning another trip, but it's just wise not to give out too much (or any) details before the trip is done. I mean a rich movie-star travelling with his bike, there are people around that could start thinking about ransom money or something.
Other than that, I don't think Africa is quite as dangerous place that many here make it to be. Sure, there are countries that should be avoided, but most likely there are lot's of bikers travelling around Africa right now as I'm typing this.
For example, take a look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5iU7twPOio
Subedei:---Well, I just hope they know what they are doing. Any place can be dangerous, But Africa has a lot of unstable places, Hopefully they won't get into any trouble if they do the trip. I know Ewan has been there before for UNICIF, but I'm sure that he was well watched over. Like you say, it's wise not to give out to much detail. We don't want them to be targets!!!
sharemurder is one of the targets out there, plus heat and also animals they roam the African areas, soem of them are major carnviores. Plus, there are fires out there, and not very many places to stop I imagine so.
shareSounds very challenging. I guess Ewan is very adverturous. He did go to the Jungles of Hondorous. I have never been able to view that, but I have read that he and Ray Mears, and someone to film it, were dropped off in the jungle and picked up 10 days later. They lived off the land. So, he has done some dangerous journeys other then his trip around the world. I wish him lots of luck if he does do this "Long Way Down" trip with Charley. The way the world is lately, maybe they will change their minds, or perhaps things will calm down by then, but I think Africa, in certain places, is a very dangerous place!
shareMost likely they will once again be following Ted Simons route. He's done it twice now and Ewan/Charlie seem to be fans of his. You see footage of him in LWR I think where Claudio was buying his new red bike. Anyway, from what other motorcyclists say its not nearly as dangerous as people make it out to be. Although I am sure they will avoid certain places.
shareIts finally going to start filming in September this year. Theres even a proper page for it on this site now. Search for Long Way Down. Cant wait now.
shareI heard Charley talking at the Dublin Motorbike show a couple of months ago about the trip and he said something about Ewan's wife possibly doing a small section of the trip with them.........he also said something about doctors over in Africa who travel around on motorbikes to deliver aid to remote areas and the possibility of them travelling around with some of these doctors,
As for people talking about Africa being a dangerous place, for sure yeah there are some dangerous parts, but i went to Africa last year and they were the nicest people i have ever met, i think its a bit unfair of us westerners to just presume that the whole of Africa is unsafe and that if you go there the chances are that you are going to be murderded or something.........i have to say fair play to Charley and Ewan.....at least they have the balls to get up and do it rather than sit around and say.."oh no its too dangerous"........
yes well, africa IS dangerous man, cause 3/10 countries are in the middle of civil war. and because the have to cross it, its highly likely they'll pass from such a country. also, in S. Afrika, my friend's uncle and family got killed last year. they were driving home and the fell into an ambush. shot them, and burned the car.
nice heh?
i mean, its different to go to maroco, madagaskar and egypt, than going to livia or somalia.
Im not saying that Africa is not dangerous, all im saying is that i really dont think it is as dangerous as people make it out to be and also that i really respect Charley and Ewan for getting up and doing it. These are two very intelligent guys.....and im sure they more than anyone have thought about the risks involved
shareThey were on the road right now.
You can check footage at http://www.bbc.co.uk/longwaydown/index.shtml
Enjoy!
Yup. Its started... I cannot wait. Long Way Round was one of the best programs Ive seen.
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