In Cameron With Egbert

by Dervla Murphy

This is an account of a trip which the author took with her daughter and their horse named Egbert to the remote West African country of Cameroon, little known apart from being the shelter of six million refugees from Chad. The book recounts their travels though grassland, dense jungle and the high mountain country. It relates how they found themselves by accident among the nightmare horrors and wreckage of the poisoned volcanic Nyos, where they were arrested. One of their anxieties was the mysterious disappearance of their beloved Egbert, but as ever the Murphys made friends among the people whose paths they crossed and found much human kindness in unlikely places.

Genres: Travel, Africa, Cameroon, Nonfiction, Memoir

282 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Dervla Murphy’s first book, Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle, was published in 1965. Over twenty travel books followed including her highly acclaimed autobiography, Wheels Within Wheels.

Dervla won worldwide praise for her writing and many awards, including the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize, the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing and the Royal Geographical Award for the popularisation of geography.

Few of the epithets used to describe her – ‘travel legend’, ‘intrepid’ or ‘the first lady of Irish cycling’ – quite do justice to her extraordinary achievement.

She was born in 1931 and remained passionate about travel, writing, politics, Palestine, conservation, bicycling and beer until her death in 2022.

Reviews

[Sportyrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Irish travel writer and “her” daughter booze their way through Cameroon with their newly acquired dear horse Egbert.

Arriving on the coastal town of Douala, they head through the highlands on foot and horse. Using an old airforce map, and asking passerby for directions along the way, they try and trek around without getting too lost.

The journey is a few months long and typically involves walking from one destination to the next, either camping along the way, staying with random strangers as their “guests” or in dingy hotels. Most human interactions are with their hosts or with their new friends at the bar and occasionally some border official.

This experience is different from other travel stories, not just because the destination is well off the beaten track but because the author is so brutally honest. I imagine people these days would be more unforthcoming about their controversial views on race, colonisation, slavery, gender equality and AIDS but this author goes right out and says it. There was a fine line between expressing a contrary opinion and being racist etc or being insensitive. For me, the latter crept in a few times and made me question whether to read on. I’m glad I did.

Egbert is a delightful horse who has quite an epic journey of his own. This was the peak for me. I desperately needed to know what was going on with him. No spoiler.

Places visited include Bamenda, Mt Ocu, Mayo Darlé, the Tchbal Gangdaba, N’gaoubdere and the capital Yaoundé.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes travel stories written by unafraid people.

[Dovofthegalilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an insightful book and filled with Irish whit [dry]. Although this book was penned some twenty-five years ago it is sobering to hear just how backwards Cameroon/ Africa is post-colonialism. If anything they've only worsened in this past two and a half decades and the government has all but abandoned the people.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murphy is at her best when describing the history and countryside. I found her philosophical digressions into the African mind a little disturbing. I would still recommend this book for anyone who enjoys stories of independent travel and/or who wants to learn more about the geography of Cameroon.

[Jasper Klapwijk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going to Cameroon

[Kijani Mlima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently Devra Murphy is a renown travel writer, traveling the globe and writing about her adventures since 1962. Cameroon with Egbert, is the first book of hers I ever read. Mostly because of my interest in Cameroon, having discovered that I am descended maternally from the Masana ethnic group in Norther Cameroon/Southern Chad. Unfortunately for me, her travel route does not go far enough north, and she does not encounter interact with any Masana. The villagers they do encounter are almost all extremely accommodating, and share whatever meager provisions they have with two complete strangers and provide grazing for their horse.
Ms. Murphy is an impressive traveler, hardy, tenacious, and with a keen sense of direction. She and her 18 year old daughter travel from village to village with the help of a stoic Fulani Bay stallion they name Egbert. She is a keen observer, and the book brims with details of every aspect of their travels: from the terrain, food, people and some politics. The most startling, horrifying, haunting aspect of the book for me, was when Dervla and her daughter inadvertently trek right into the heart of the Lake Nyos disaster.

[Janice Pono · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first started reading Dervla Murphy's travel books when I was traveling in Southeast Asia. Now, she is one of my favorite all-time authors. It's difficult to find her books though especially in Seoul.

I've probably read Cameroon with Egbert about five times. Before I read this book, I didn't even know where Cameroon was much less the history of Western Africa.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dervla Murphy doesn't fail to entertain. I really adore her books.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every so often I pick up some travel writing and enjoy some second-hand exploration of a place I could never afford to visit. I wasn't sure what to expect from this, having never heard of the author and not knowing much about the country, but they were travelling with a horse and that will always appeal. Unfortunately, Egbert doesn't actually feature all that much (actually gets lost/stolen for most of the latter part), so we don't ever really learn much about him, except for how much he put up with the Murphy's ability to get lost and pick ridiculous routes for walking!

The writing is good - just the right mix of describing the scenery, telling stories of the people, adding in a little history and then adding in their personal adventures. The chapter describing the disaster at Lake Nysu is a harrowing read - and proof that modern news networks choose what to report as I had absolutely no recollection of that happening. Dervla and her daughter find a surprising number of helpful, friendly people - only falling foul of the odd bureaucratic snafu and delays caused by a people who lead a life less concerned by the turning of a clock hand.

[zunggg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I basically have one requirement of travel writers — that they spend more time talking to the locals than describing the scenery and chatting to expats and fellow-tourists. Murphy kills it, digging up interesting stories wherever she, her 18 year old daughter and their pack horse Egbert wander, despite frequent language barriers. The three of them are indefatigable, routinely covering twenty miles a day through unforgiving terrain and surviving on bananas, mangos, gallons of local beer and the wheat dumplings and vegetable mash served up by the hospitable locals with whom they lodge when not sleeping in some pestilent thicket. Murphy’s prose is equally energetic, always on the move yet keeping up a steady supply of elegant images and sarcastic quips often arising from her inevitable misgendering and resigned breast-baring to set the record straight. Adventure of the first order, topped by the twosome’s (I won’t give away how they go from three to two) inadvertent visit to the ghost town of Nyos, depopulated eight months before when the local lake emitted a cloud of noxious gases killing approximately 2,000. Now I suppose I’ll have to go and read all her other books.

[MJ Brodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A snapshot in time of travel that would not be possible today. The indomitable Murphies (mother & daughter) trek through mountains in the Cameroonian hinterland, staying in local compounds along the way benefiting from tremendous hospitality and kindness. Would their journey, reliant on the kindness of strangers, be possible today? It's hard to believe it would but it is entirely possible that Cameroon has retained its hospitable culture despite the developments of the last 40 years.

This was an enjoyable read also because of the mother-daughter relationship. Since she is now 18, Rachel has sufficient independence where the reader doesn't have to agonize about her safety as in the earlier books in Peru and Baltistan where she is a vulnerable child. Rachel proves herself to be every bit as hardy (and foolhardy) as her mother and the depiction of their relationship is endearing. A great read, only marred a little by the outdated discourse on African 'development' and some hair-raising risks taken by the traveling duo.

[Mrs Reddy Mallender-Katzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was happily reading away though each village sounded quite similar to me so not that interesting, until i got to chapter 10 and i suddenly thought 'do i really need to know more about Camaroon 20 years ago' the answer was no and i couldnt bring myself to continue: one thing i will say though is there are just a couple of jem discriptions here and there and photographs would have been wonderful. i have always wondered why there arent any more photo's in Murphy's books ?

[Marije · Rating 3 out of 5]

M'n eerste travel-writing. Interesting, jammer dat ze niet langs Babessi komt.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

a wonderful account of a determined woman and her teenage daughter who travel for 90 days in Cameroon. walking.

[Lisolachenonce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While at times interesting, this memoir (of the author and her daughter traveling across Cameroon on foot with a horse) was just a tad to slow for me.

[Erica Hudson]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13001370

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only Dervla Murphy I've read...felt sorry for poor old Egbert