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Vol 1 No 1

August 2001

.Contact..Lisa & Carla Hackett, correspondents

Carla and Lisa Hackett are a unique mother-daughter team -- Daughter Lisa's bent for exploring the world grew out of a natural wanderlust and a characteristic fearlessness. Her fascination with Africa began in adolescence watching NOVA, reading National Geographic and t.v. specials about Africa. After a trip together to Spain and Morocco, Lisa set her sights on distant realms - starting with a trip to Europe. In the late 90's, the duo went to Kenya, East Africa on Safari. Carla kept a journal and Lisa took the photographs. From that trip several things happened - Carla, a writer, published several magazine articles about the trip including Lisa's photography; Lisa decided to return, not as a tourist, but as a traveler (backpacking, staying for long periods and living as closely as possible with the people of the country), and to document her love of Africa, its natural beauty and people, through journals and photographs.

Lisa has been to Africa four times as a traveler since her initial safari to Kenya, each time in different situations - a year abroad, from England to Kenya, spending three months in an apartment in Cairo, an adventure tour from South Africa to Victoria Falls; a re-union with friends in Cairo, a short jaunt to Morocco and the city she adores - Essaouira - to meet new friends on the beach who just happened to be in the throes of building and launching a boat.

The end of the twentieth century has been a tumultuous time for virtually all of the African continent: from the end of Apartheid in South Africa, to continuing subcurrents of the Cold War, revolts and upheavals in Rhodesia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Sudan, from Egypt to Libya, Algeria and Morocco, and still more revolutions down the western coastal nations such as Cote d' Ivoire, Congo/Zaire. Indeed, it is impossible to name an African nation that has not experienced vast changes over the course of the twentieth century--with no change in the pace as the continent enters the new millennium.

More on Lisa's and Carla's adventures will appear in following issues of The Spiral Sea.

To BACKPACKING AFRICA - ON MY WAY TO ESSAOUIRA