Jet setting Warren Tofts
Jet setting Warren Tofts packed his bags for his most thrilling trip to date… visiting five countries in east Africa.
Warren's latest adventure came hot on the heels of a seven-month backpacking tour of Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
The 21-year-old from Welwyn Garden City saved a large portion of his wages from his job on the checkout in Tesco to fund the latest trip.
On 8 July he headed for Africa, where he visited five countries in 10 weeks. The seasoned traveller was determined to see as many of the sights of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia as possible… even if it did cause mother Pauline many sleepless nights.
Warren, who has spina bifida, told Link: “It was an incredible trip. As a traveller I wanted to visit countries which are completely different to anything I had experienced before, and I certainly achieved my aim.
He planned the journey carefully booking hotels, guides and trips before he left the UK, but Warren hadn't planned on two punctures to his wheelchair tyres - one of which happened in a Sudanese marketplace.
Warren laughed: “Punctures were something I hadn't really given much thought to, and when it happened in the middle of a busy market, I wondered what I would do. But everywhere I went people were so friendly and keen to help. My wheelchair was whisked away and returned within ten minutes, puncture fixed.”
His experiences from the 10-week trip could fill all 32 pages of Link, so we asked Warren to briefly describe the highlights of his time in each of the five countries.
The mammoth tour may be a distant memory now, but Warren is busy working to amass enough cash to fund another adventure. Next stop, South America.
Kenya
“My first point of call. From Nairobi I spent several days in the Masi Mara, visiting villages. I also went on several boat trips and got to within ten metres of a group of hippos bathing in the water. What an amazing sight!”
Tanzania
“I spent seven days in Tanzania and visited, among other places, the Ngorongora crater, which is a collapsed volcano and has been called the 8th Natural Wonder of the World. From there I travelled north to Serengeti and went on safari at the Serengeti National Park, which has stunning landscapes and wildlife.”
Uganda
“In Uganda I fulfilled one of my ambitions - to trek into the jungle to see gorillas. It was a five-hour round trip and ten guides took it in turns to carry me. They had rigged up a special chair, made up of an old deck chair with a couple of poles tied on with string. I thought they were joking at first! But it worked well and I managed to see gorillas close-up.”
Sudan
“I had never seen a desert before so travel from Khartoum to the Nubian Desert was incredible. I travelled north to visit the ancient Pyramids of Meroe. My guide was fantastic, encouraging me to go under the pyramid and volunteered to carry me down.”
Ethiopia
“I travelled through some beautiful green countryside in Ethiopia, which I hadn't expected to see. The history of Ethiopia is of great interest to me and there are some awe-inspiring sights. Lalibella, for example, was fascinating, with churches made purely from rock.”