Sometimes Eric and I would have to work a buddy system, with one of us processing data for submission on the satphone internet rig and the other scouring the bush with a torch for the glow of predatorial eyes.
In Murchison Falls our work was interrupted by the bellows of a belligerent young bull elephant and in Isasha by the bad-tempered ‘hurrump’ of hippos and the sniggering of hyena. In Kidepo we worked almost every night to the soundtrack of roaring lions and one evening even ended up cooking our campfire sausages with the whole pride ranged across the rocks barely 70 metres away.
I remembered Turnbull telling me about his selection process: ‘It fascinated me how many aspirant volunteers sought confirmation that camping in these far-flung places would be safe from animals. As you know, very few parks outside South Africa have fences around their perimeters, let alone around the campsites. This is the wildest continent on earth and mapping it is always going to bring a few surprises.’
The old colonials had a phrase when they were travelling in the great MMBA (‘miles and miles of bugger-all’): ‘AWA’, they said – Africa Wins Again. In what was once called the Dark Continent anything that can go wrong probably will go wrong. Any overland trip through Africa is sure to churn up a few dilemmas, dramas and, potentially, downright disasters and Turnbull is philosophical about the challenges of Phase Two, and the campaign for the rest of Africa.
‘My guess is that it could prove impossible to get teams to work in Liberia or northern Mali and Madagascar is logistically complicated. But Africa is invariably much more accessible to those who know it and are prepared to have a bash.’
It has clearly been a huge learning curve for all involved in the project and as plans now slip into place for Mapa’s Phase Two, and the mapping of North, Central and West Africa, I asked the project’s founder what he thought of ideas for going even farther afield.
‘It’s worth thinking about – I mean Australia would be a fantastic place to do this, Central America, too – but right now it seems like we have enough to be getting on with, don’t you think?’
For more on the aims, objectives and achievements of the Mapa project go to www.mapaproject.org
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