Ten tons of hovercraft arrive in the West African republic of Senegal, and the first stage of the expedition, the journey from St Louis to Bamako, begins. Africa, between the towns and villages, is like outer space... and we, in our heaving, hissing, belching machine, are like comic astronauts exploring the great void, unaware of the fact that no man has ever touched upon the land and water which we merrily detonate in dust and spray, as if our purpose is to wake up a sleeping age and then disappear. Written by John Pilger