IF being attacked by violent robbers, having an AK-47 pushed in your face, experiencing endless problems with obtaining visas and rushing to a remote hospital with only the basic surgical equipment for an emergency operation are not enough, they also had to face 99 police controls of which some turned out violent and were arrested four times.

These are only some of the more dangerous and nerve-wrecking adventures Paul and Maria Eberhard had to face on their 11-month journey through Europe and Africa.

True adventurers at heart, the couple - married for 14 years - travelled 24 954km through 22 countries, using 4 700 litre of diesel and living for 24-hours seven-days-a-week on a mere 10 square metre.

Inspired by the movie The Bucket List, their journey started when they left Jeffreys Bay in February last year behind the wheel of their faithful companion Monty - a truck specially manufactured in Knysna for the Eberhards, which include living facilities.

In Cape Town they boarded a multi-purpose vessel and set of to Europe where they spend three months. Here Maria fulfilled her bucket list: enjoying real French wine in a real French wine cellar, seeing snow on the mountains in Switzerland, visiting Venesia, drinking traditional Weiz bear in Bayern, eating a pizza on the piatza in Piza, as well as eating real paella with rabbit meat.

During their stay in Europe, they were honoured with the Internatio-nal Expedition Truck Festivals trophy in Munich.

But this joyful leg of their journey, also had its troubles.

“When we arrived in Morocco we could not get a Visa for Maria,” said Paul. “After consistently visiting the Embassy for 10 days we had a break-through. On May 18, a day before I turned 66, I asked one of the personnel at the Embassy to make me a present, one hour later Maria had her visa.”

From their they embarked on Paul’s bucket list: travelling north to south through Africa - a bucket list riddled with life-threatening experiences, but also a 8-month-long bucket list to be forever remember for both good and bad.

“In Nigeria we had to go through 99 police controls of which seven turned very ugly, we were arrested four times, Monty was confiscated three times and I even had an AK-47 in the nose. Most of the time we got out by talking big, except for one time where they threatened to cut our tyres and dismantle the truck. We had to pay a big bribe before they released us. We were even two times attacked by robbers, who grabbed onto the side mirrors and tried to smash the windows,” said Paul.

Even nature gave them a hard time. In Ekok, Cameroon Paul and Maria had to concur a 42km dirt road which took them no less than four days to complete.

“In Bamenda, Cameroon we got the fright of our lives. Maria all of a sudden suffered from extreme stomach pain, and I had to drove her with a taxi to the maternity clinic - the only hospital there,” said Paul.

“One-and-a-half days later I told them to cut my wife open - which turned out to be just in time. Six hours later and with a scar stretching from her chest to her naval, her burst appendix was removed. Without any nurses there, I had to feed and clean her. We only had one roll of toilet paper and a bucket I bought at the market.”

Maria was transported to Douala, where they spend five weeks before taking the road to Gabon where they visited the famous hospital of Dr Albert Schweitzer.

Still, their bad luck and troubles were not over.

In Congo Brazaville, Point Noire they were forced to spend ten weeks on a single parking site while waiting for their visas to enter Angola.

Faced with yet another setback when attempting to drive to Cabinda, they managed to secure a plane which loaded Monty and them and safely off-loaded them in Luanda.

“From Luanda we drove safely back to the most incredible country: South Africa,” said Paul.

The couple also saw the train of Mauritania - the longest train in the world - and experienced a true jazz festival in St Louis.

Paul and Maria arrived back in Jeffreys Bay on January 13, 2012. “Despite all the dangers and setback, travelling through Africa is an adventure of a lifetime filled with wonderful memories, people, landscapes and experiences. We will not let the few negative experiences we encountered cloud our journey through 22 amazing countries,” said Paul.

The completion of this gruelling, yet wonderful, trip was just another item to strike off their bucket list. Although their last major trip through Africa, Paul and Maria still plan to explore the country extensively behind the wheel of Monty, including a visit to Nelspruit and the Kruger National Park.

“Life is still full of bucket lists,” said Paul.

In 2009 they embarked on their first trip with Monty. Paul and Maria also travelled through Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ruanda, Berundi, Zambia, the DRC and Zimbabwe.

To read more about their adventures through Europe and Africa, visit their website http://travelinafrica.shutterfly.com or send and e-mail to paul@algoanet.com.