Hitchhiking to Serendip

It is the 1950s. The final years of colonialism in Africa and the beginning of the long struggle for independence. A young and very naďve RAF serviceman stationed in Rhodesia (Simbabwe) ignores warnings that white men never hitchhike in Africa, takes a map, a pack, and his insatiable curiosity and sets off to see Africa. In this lively, evocative, richly drawn travel account, author, writer, and world trekker John Fulford shares his pre-revolutionary wanderings through Northern and Southern Rhodesia (present day Zambia and Zimbabwe), Nyasaland (Malawi), Mozambique, South Africa, and the Belgian Congo (Zaire). He accepts every invitation by every stranger that he meets and explores tobacco farms, copper mines, and sugar plantations. He clashes with border officials, meets a long-lost uncle, is stuck on the banks of the Zambezi for days, learns a great deal of history, and is very nearly court-martialed. Along the way he meets everyone from drunks and missionaries, to black laborers and white salesmen. And through endless conversations with this diverse swath of humanity, he confronts racism, paternalism, and Apartheid, slowly grasping the pulse, rhythm and extraordinary complexity of this magical land --- caught in a critical moment in history. Whether travel reader, history buff or Africa-phile Hitchhiking to Serendip will satisfy and delight all --- reaffirming the exhilarating nature of exotic discovery, captivatingly obscure corners of history and, above all, the pioneering travel spirit.