Let’s face it: we’ve all fantasized about leaving our jobs to travel, but not many of us have the means to actually do it.
I’ve definitely fantasized about taking a year to experience all that the world has to offer, but I’ve accepted that it just isn’t in the cards for me — at least not in the foreseeable future. After seeing what one man made possible after years of planning, though, my hope and thirst for travel has been completely renewed.
Redditor skebanga saved up for six years before quitting his software engineer position he was lucky to get through the Pensacola staffing firm, and setting off on an incredible journey across Africa with his partner and friend. He has these amazing pictures to show for it.
This military truck would serve as their home for the next 19 months. Its previous owner had removed the flatbed…that’s when skebanga got ahold of it.
Wanting a true living space that would be able to stand up to all kinds of weather conditions, they had a horse trailer company build this aluminum shell.
They added storage space and sitting areas, and when all was said and done…
Well, you can say they wouldn’t be completely roughing it. They added a gas oven, stove, and fridge.
They even had their own bathroom with hot and cold water!
It would certainly be a cozy living space for them during their travels, but they had the whole continent at their feet!
With the truck ready, it was time to get going.
After taking a ferry from Spain to Morocco, they began their journey.
One of the first (and slightly terrifying) things they came across in the Maghreb region of northwest Africa was Fantasia, an exhibition of horsemanship performed during cultural festivals.
When they reached the Sahara Desert, they camped in this beautiful spot.
The lucky travelers also slept near ancient pyramids in the Sahara.
And in the western part of the Sahara, they stayed right next to the sea.
Their trip didn’t come without it’s problems, though — just before they got to Senegal, their truck sank into the ground. But, with the help of some locals, they were back on the road in only a few hours.
Among the amazing sights they witnessed was the Djenne Mosque in Mali, which is the largest mud structure in the world.
They also saw the heartbreaking Door of No Return in Benin, a monument honoring all the slaves brought from Africa to western countries.
They even got to see one of the most amazing sights Africa has to offer — the Congo jungle.
But they ran into another snag when the truck broke down in northern Angola, leaving them stranded for three days in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, a couple they had been traveling alongside found a mechanic who got it running again.
Their truck was absolutely tiny when compared to these giant sand dunes in Namibia.
Not only did their adventure show them stunning areas on land, but it also included diving with tiger sharks near Aliwal Shoal in South Africa — which isn’t exactly something I’d want to try.
They also went to Lake Malawi and captured this gorgeous photo.
While in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, they came across this fierce predator.
In Kenya, they had the pleasure of visiting the Nairobi Elephant Orphanage, where baby elephants whose parents were killed by poachers are raised and then returned to the wild.
They saw pretty much every animal you’d ever want to see in Africa, including these guys on a gorilla trek in Rwanda.
They were also exposed to many different African cultures, including that of the Turkana tribe.
The Mursi tribe in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia absolutely amazed them with their lip disks.
Their lips weren’t the only slightly shocking thing about them — they also carried assault rifles and babies at the same time.
The travelers also found that medieval castles weren’t only in Europe when they stopped by Gondar in Ethiopia.
Their last stop in Africa was Egypt, where they saw the amazing Abu Simbel temples.
And of course, a trip to Egypt wouldn’t be complete without going to the Great Pyramid of Giza.
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