Monday, 7. January 2008, 20:47:08
On the back of their latest awfully big adventure, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman tell Simon Mills that the best thing about Africa was the people - but they also managed to knock the self-esteem of the Hollywood pin-up
How to camp in sytle ... 'think Gucci when you are camping'. Photograph: BBC/Long Way Down
For their mammoth Long Way Down adventure, best friends Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rode their motorbikes from John O'Groats in Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa, travelling through 18 countries on two continents and covering over 15,000 miles. Both riders insist that they didn't have a major argument at any time during the trip.
You travelled all through Africa. Did one country particularly stand out for you?
Ewan Borders are just lines on a map and even when you cross them there usually isn't much marked difference in terrain and climate. But there were some surprises. One day we were riding across Sudan, which was tough going — very hot and lots of sand. Then, when we crossed into Ethiopia, it suddenly turned, green, wet and cold.
Charley The traffic in Ethiopia was quite a shock, too. Up until then we hadn't seen much in the way of vehicles, but suddenly there were trucks and sheep and cows and goats and people everywhere.
Ewan Oddly enough, you really notice men's bodies out there. They are incredible. Because they don't eat any shit and they walk everywhere, as I believe we were designed to do, their bodies are surprisingly ripped. Looking at them can really be quite bad for your self-esteem.
Charley And when you come back to Europe, you really notice the difference in people's sizes.
Did you fall in love with Africa?
Charley Both Ewan and I found it quite difficult to leave. Each country had its moments but most of all we loved being with the people in the busier places. For instance, Namibia was vast and stunning, but we missed the bustle, the human traffic of East Africa Kenya and Rwanda.
Ewan The further south we travelled, we found that black Africans became less accessible somehow. In places like Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia, they had been everywhere, but in the south they were cleaning tables at restaurants, which seemed odd. We both preferred being in the middle, in the backwoods. So, after we finished the trip in Cape Town, we met up with our families and went straight back to Kenya.
Did you come across any danger?
Charley People warned us off lots of countries. Someone would say, for instance, "Stay away from Sudan. It's full of thieves." And we'd say, "Have you been there then?" "Er, no."
Did you have any rows along the way?
Ewan It would have been extraordinary to have travelled such a long way and not fallen out at some stage, but there really wasn't any big bust up...
Charley No more than you'd have with your wife.
Ewan, your wife came along for some of the ride. How did that work out?
Ewan My wife actually learned to ride a bike to join the trip. She rode with us through Malawi and Zambia, and it was lovely to share some of the journey with her. It's easy to come home and tell stories of the people you've met and events that have happened, but what's difficult to convey is the actual nature of the journey and how it feels. She experienced all that and absolutely loved it. She said it made her feel 20 years old again, like a proper traveller.
So will family holidays ever be the same again in the McGregor household?
Ewan I guess we've become used to staying in hotels when we go on holiday with the kids, but I think this trip has changed us. We'll now go and do more adventurous, outdoor stuff with the kids.
You slept under canvas most nights. Are you happy campers?
Charley We discovered that often it was better to sleep in a nice familiar tent than to go off and look for a hotel. You need to think Gucci when you are camping — make things as luxurious as you can.
·The final episode of Long Way Down will screen this Sunday on BBC2 at 9pm
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Opening on January 18th is the new Woody Allen movie “Cassandra’s Dream.” And just like his last two films – “Match Point” and “Scoop” – the movie is set in London. 
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