By brandon wilson, with photos by the author

Dead Men Don’t Leave Tips:

Adventures X Africa

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FOLLOW YOUR DREAM?

Quite a bit, if that dream involves crossing Africa.

That’s what one couple discovers when they set off on a seven-month, 10,000+ mile overland journey from Morocco to Cape Town. As dedicated independent travelers, they’d already traveled around the world. But was a trans-African odyssey too much for even them?

WHO DO YOU “CADEAU?”

How do you create tantalizing dishes from grubs? Or avoid having a spear tossed through your camera?

Against their better judgement they join an English do-it-yourself overland safari. Flung into the midst of twenty-one odd companions, they’re shocked to discover that many of them have never even camped before. And their “guides” know Africa as well as the dark side of the moon. After watching their dream turn into a nightmare, they decide to set off across Africa alone–and that makes all the difference.

THE REAL JOURNEY BEGINS 

Join the adventurous couple as they meet mountain gorillas face-to-face. Melt down during a blistering Saharan breakdown. Hunt dik-dik with Pygmies. Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain. Feel the raw power of the Serengeti. Hop the “gun-run” through a civil war. Rush down thundering Class V Zambezi Rapids and dive into South Africa’s cauldron of turmoil.

Dead Men Don’t Leave Tips is filled with a passion for travel, spontaneity and unbridled adventure.

SOMETIMES FUNNY, OFTEN ANGUISHED, ALWAYS REAL

Nothing is held back or glossed-over: from the hustle and hassle of the souk to shady dealings in black-market alleys, from border extortion to the thrill of sandmatting the Sahara eight feet at a time.

WRITTEN WITH A KEEN EYE FOR DETAIL AND UN-SANITIZED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

It takes you onto the crazed roads of Africa, as well as into the lives and hearts of its people.

Join them for a long trans-continental journey…through the everyday ups and downs, and see once again that the real joy of travel is the moment to moment thrill of getting there.

“It used to be only the British mastered the art of spinning the sweaty traveler’s tale. Along comes Brandon Wilson who teaches us that an observant fellow from Hawaii can deal with Africa’s grime, dysentery and uncertainty with superior grace and wit. Dead Men Don’t Leave Tips is honest, gritty and insightful. Best of all, it makes the world’s most exciting continent read just like that.” ~ John Heminway, author of No Man’s Land: A Personal Journey into Africa 

“An expert storyteller who masterfully weaves a story of a seven-month odyssey across Africa. His exciting writing style keeps you on the edge of your seat as you journey to the heart of Africa. The detailed descriptions bring the story alive with the sounds, scents and sights of a real-life adventure… the best travel writing I’ve ever read and his adventurous spirit is inspiring.” (5 stars)~ The Rebecca Review, Rebecca Johnson, Amazon Top Ten Reviewer

“… Both a delight and a puzzlement – the delight being the tale itself, the puzzlement being why they (Wilson and his wife –whom I equate with Tarzan’s Jane only less snobby) were so very determined to make this wild and wacky and often dangerous trip… It is, as many trips go, the end that really whomps you…” ~ Marilis Hornidge, The Courier-Gazette, ME