Our Journey

Who are we?

We are Tom and Charlotte, a son and his mother, driven by the same curiosity for the world and for human encounters. A photographer, filmmaker and adventurer at heart, Tom had dreamed for years of crossing Africa by road. Charlotte passed on to him her love of travel and of the African continent. Together, we decided to turn that dream into a life project.

With no mechanical training, no camping experience, and nothing but the will to leave, we prepared our Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 and hit the road in November 2024. Our goal was never to set a record or achieve some feat. We wanted to take our time — time to get lost, to learn, to listen, and to understand.

The project

This crossing quickly became far more than a trip. Mile after mile, we sought out artists who use their creativity to help their societies move forward.

From Sanae Arraqas in Morocco to Amy Sow in Mauritania, by way of Patrick Tagoe-Turkson in Ghana, each of them opened the doors of their world to us and shared their vision of it.

We also met associations working every day to improve life in their communities. On Gorée Island, Fallou Dolly and Cheikh Bamba reminded us that commitment and solidarity can change lives. In Ghana, Surf Ghana uses sport as a powerful tool for inclusion and empowerment.

Water, a recurring thread

Another subject naturally kept coming up along the journey: access to clean water. In several villages, we tried to understand what life was like when every liter of water demanded hours of effort. These conversations became one of the throughlines of this adventure.

Of course, there were also the unexpected moments: endless tracks, police checks, broken-down ferries, nights spent in the middle of nowhere, mechanical problems, and times when everything seemed to fall apart. And yet, it’s often in those moments that we met the most extraordinary people.

Welcome to the road

Through this book, we don’t just want to show you the landscapes of an exceptional continent. We want to take you along to share the daily life of the people who welcomed us, the stories they entrusted to us, and the emotions that turned this crossing into a deeply human adventure.