Did you know...

1. •The highest point in Gambia is just 53 metres above sea level.
   

2. •Liberia is the only country in Africa never to have been colonised by Europeans.
   

3. •By contrast, Togo has been colonised by Portugal, Germany and France.
   

4. •Ghana has about 40 ‘slave castles’ along its coastline.
   

5. •Voodoo began in Benin, where it still flourishes.
   

For most Westerners, Coastal West Africa is a rarely visited and largely unknown part of the world.  Nonetheless, it has a vast array of rich cultures, beautiful landscapes , and unique perspectives to share about its varied history.

This richly illustrated presentation will open up a selection of five countries in Coastal West Africa — Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Togo and Benin.  You will have an armchair travel experience of nations that may be among the economically poorest countries on earth, but which have a richness and wealth of culture that deserve to be the envy of the rest of the world.

Download an application form by clicking the blue-framed brochure picture to the right of this page.

The lecture will be held at 2:00pm on Sunday 6th May 2018 at

Norths, 12 Abbott Street, Cammeray, Sydney, Australia

This lecture will be the latest in a series of illustrated talks Stephen has given for the Geographical Society.  Earlier lectures have looked at Eastern Europe in 1989, Irian Jaya in 1990, the former Soviet Union in 1992, Bolivia in 1994, Burma in 1996, Mali in 2005, North Korea in 2006, Iceland in 2007, China’s Ancient Tea Horse Route in 2008, Ethiopia in 2009, The Guardians of the Red Sea (Yemen, Eritrea and Djibouti) in 2010, Middle East Hotspots (Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria) in 2011, the Last Threads of the Iron Curtain (Transnistria and both sides of North Korea’s border regions) in 2012, Iran in 2013, Beyond Siberia (Russia’s Wild Far East) in 2014, Tunisia and Algeria (Springs of the Arab Spring) in 2015, the African Sahel (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso) in 2016, Three Pacific Micronations (Kiribati, Nauru and Palau) in 2017, and Turkmenistan (also in 2017).

The covers of the brochures of Stephen’s previous talks are below.  Where indicated, click the yellow tab beneath the cover to read a summary of the talk that is hosted on the Geographical Society’s website.   Click on any cover to see an enlarged image.