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ATVing across Africa

This is the tale of a newlywed couple’s record-breaking ride across more than 27,000 kilometres of African soil

By Kirsten Armleder

Most couples spend their honeymoon in some exotic location, sipping margaritas and bathing in the sun—but not Josh and Anna Hogan. After getting married on May 19, 2007, the adventurous newlyweds went to Africa for an eight-month ATVing trip. While they rode in support of better health care in Africa, the Hogans also broke the Guinness World Record for the longest journey on a quad.

A shared dream

The adventure started on August 24, 2007, but Josh and Anna’s story began in the summer of 2005 in Greece. Josh was travelling through on a motorcycle trip around the world and Anna was doing an internship in hotel management. A week after they met, Josh invited Anna to ride along with him as he completed his world tour. She accepted and the pair have been inseperable ever since.

Two years later, after deciding to get married, the couple began planning their African adventure. The plans included quitting their jobs, packing enough gear for eight months, purchasing ATVs and getting them shipped to Africa. The quads had to be outfitted with pack boxes, signal lights and other adds-ons to make them street legal. Josh and Anna also alerted Guinness and Top 1 Oil Products Company of their plans.

“(Top 1) was very excited about us breaking the record but I think they were more excited that we were partnering with the charity Riders for Health,” said Josh. “It was that combination that really was the draw for them.”

Once the details were finalized, Josh and Anna flew to Nowy Targ, Poland, got married and then went to Africa. The journey took them from Nairoba, Kenya, down through Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia and up across Angola, Niger and Algeria to Tunisia. They ended up, however, in Elche, Spain on March 17, 2008—having travelled across 17 countries and 27,141 kilometres. With the help of the Internet, the Hogans stayed in contact with Top 1 throughout the entire trip. If they needed supplies, it was delivered by DHL to the nearest capital city. Through letters of support, Josh and Anna were able to raise approximately $18,000 in the name of Riders for Health, an organization that works to broaden the reach of much-needed health care in Africa by ensuring that health care workers have reliable motorcycles to transport them into remote rural areas.

The Hogans returned home to San Francisco, California, shortly after the trip but it wasn’t until later that they realized the magnitude of their achievement.

“When you’re doing a trip like that, every day there is a lot of routine . . .,” said Josh, “ . . . and it’s kind of hard when you’re doing it to look at the big picture. It took a couple of months after we got back to understand what we had done.”

Highs and lows

Quadding across Africa is no easy task; catching malaria and breaking down added to the challenges Josh and Anna faced but the weather also played a big part.

“To make it through Angola, you have to do it at a certain time of year,” said Josh. “If you go in the rainy season it can become extremely difficult because of the conditions of the roads.

“The second one was we had to be through the Sahara Desert before April/May because it gets too hot,” said Josh. “Temperatures between 130 and 140 degrees (Fahrenheit) is too hot to travel. When we were there, there were days it was maybe 110.”

The Hogans also went gorilla trekking in Central African Republic, which was an ordeal in itself. Locals and disgruntled police and military made travel in this country very difficult and by the time they reached their destination, Josh and Anna felt like they had gone through hell. It was all worth it though.

“We hired some pygmy guides and spent the morning trekking through the Congo jungle to reach where the gorillas were and then we spent about three hours with a family of lowland gorillas,” said Josh. “It was absolutely amazing—just being in the middle of the Congo jungle with the pygmy guides and these unbelievable creatures.”

Obviously, the rewards of the trip far outweighed any challenges the Hogans encountered. When asked why they decided to go to Africa for their honeymoon, Josh’s answer was simple.

“The reason we chose Africa was that sense of adventure,” he said. “I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world where you get that same sense of adventure . . . There’s no safety net there. If something happens, it’s up to your own wits and sense to make it through—so that was kind of the draw for us.”

The experience also brought them closer as a couple.

“When you travel with somebody, you learn so much more about them because you’re with them 24 hours a day,” said Josh. “And on top of that, being in life and death situations you get to see how the person reacts. I think we were in situations that people who have been married for 20 years have never seen their partner in.”

To see more photos of their trip, go to www.quadsacrossafrica.com.

This site is part of the Koocanusa Publication Inc. network.