Hoe is hetom bijna te verdrinken in een rivier die door de meest legendarische woestijn op aarde stroomt? Dat wil Kira Salak dolgraag weten. Zij treedt in het spoor van de Schotse ontdekkingsreiziger Mungo Park, die twee eeuwen geleden werd vermoord tijdens zijn poging om het geheim van de West-Afrikaanse rivier de Niger te ontraadselen.
Kira besluit haar onmogelijke reis per kajak te maken. Zij peddelt in haar eentje vanuit de Malinese stad Oud S u naar Timboektoe, een tocht van bijna duizend kilometer.
Tropische stormen, agressieve nijlpaarden, wispelturige watervallen, hitte, honger en dorst, niets kan Kira tegenhouden. Elke avond stapt zij aan wal om te overnachten in een van de modderige dorpjes aan de oevers van de Niger. Meestal wordt ze hartelijk ontvangen, maar er zijn ook minder vriendelijke ontmoetingen met mensen die haar de verkeerde kant van hun machete laten zien. Wanneer Kira tenslotte haar bestemming bereikt, kan zij haar wens vervullen. In Timboektoe koopt ze twee Bella-slaven vrij van hun Toeareg-meesters.
Naar Timboektoe: het onvergetelijke reisavontuur van een jonge vrouw die even spannend schrijft als ze leeft.

Quite the adventure story of a kayaking trip on the Niger River in West Africa. It's hard to appreciate there are so many places with so little, that so much could stay the same as it was in the early 1800's. The writing is vivid, strong on detail & empathy. My favorite part is the description of the various tribal villages where she stops and how these villages change the closer she gets to "civilization". There are several asides that I didn't find quite worked, but overall an enjoyable read. As to the people that ask "why do this?", might as well ask why she is a writer. Neither is something I would choose to do, but still a wonderful read. ( )

Salak is a good writer and a very determined person. Overall, this was an interesting travel/adventure book. But the book's weakness is that Salak wants this to be more than what it really is, a physical challenge with some unpleasant cross-cultural encounters. She seems to want to convince both the reader and herself that this was some great experience of enlightenment, even if she can't offer any evidence that this is the case. Also, she over-emphasizes her lack of preparation or research. She claims to be without contact with the outside world for most of the trip, without any access to medical or physical assistance. Excuse me, but wouldn't that fancy photographer's boat have had access to a satellite phone? And was there any reason you needed to tear off down the river vomiting and with a fever, rather than resting up a couple of days in a friendly village, as the villagers suggested? This was a good read, but it could have been great if Salak had been more forthright. ( )

4.5 stars. I wonder if "freeing" a "Bella" actually works?!? I love adventure stories, and this is no different. Kira had quite an adventurer here, but the last couple if chapters really got me... ( )

Ms. Salak is one gutsy lady putting herself through a great deal of physical and mental stress to retrace the steps of an explorer 200 years prior to her adventure. She kept asking herself "why" and I was asking that also. It seems that National Geographic Magazine requires a lot more from their journalists these days as they often put themselves in harm's way. It was a fascinating travel down the Niger River, and I wonder if her efforts to free two slave women in Timbuktu had a happy ending for them. ( )