The adventure began when a young British photographer, Kevin Muggleton, suggested driving from one end of Africa to the other–“You know, the old ‘Cape to Cairo’ sort of thing.” For the renowned feminist writer Ann Jones, it soon became an expedition with a mission: to find the legendary Lovedu, a tribe ruled by a great rainmaking queen and dedicated to the “feminine” ideals of compromise, cooperation, tolerance, and peace. Setting out from Tangier in a battered old blue-and-yellow Land Rover, Jones and Muggleton face daunting physical challenges, from shifting sand in the Sahara to deep mud wallows in Zaire. They encounter severe food shortages in Mali, military roadblocks in Nigeria, and corrupt border guards all over. In Mauritania they meet a young girl who offers to give Jones her baby sister. As they pass through the ever-changing face of Africa toward a meeting with the Queen of the Lovedu, Jones is perceptive, funny, moving, astute–everything a good travel writer should be. You’ll feel you’re right there beside her, meeting the people, marveling at the physical beauty of the land, sharing in the grand adventure. “Beautiful writing . . . Riveting [and] often funny.” – Philadelphia Inquirer “Jones writes with pungent observation and wit.... She is an engaging and venturesome traveling companion, one whose encounters with Africans are touching and surprising.” – The New York Times “[An] entertaining and enlightening book.”– St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Jones provides wonderful snapshots of Africa’s history. . . . An exceptionally interesting book.” – Ft. Worth Star-Telegram The adventure began when a young British photographer, Kevin Muggleton, suggested driving from one end of Africa to the other–"You know, the old ‘Cape to Cairo' sort of thing." For the renowned feminist writer Ann Jones, it soon became an expedition with a mission: to find the legendary Lovedu, a tribe ruled by a great rainmaking queen and dedicated to the "feminine" ideals of compromise, cooperation, tolerance, and peace. Setting out from Tangier in a battered old blue-and-yellow Land Rover, Jones and Muggleton face daunting physical challenges, from shifting sand in the Sahara to deep mud wallows in Zaire. They encounter severe food shortages in Mali, military roadblocks in Nigeria, and corrupt border guards all over. In Mauritania they meet a young girl who offers to give Jones her baby sister. As they pass through the ever-changing face of Africa toward a meeting with the Queen of the Lovedu, Jones is perceptive, funny, moving, astute–everything a good travel writer should be. You'll feel you're right there beside her, meeting the people, marveling at the physical beauty of the land, sharing in the grand adventure. The adventure began when a young British photographer, Kevin Muggleton, suggested driving from one end of Africa to the other-"You know, the old 'Cape to Cairo' sort of thing." For the renowned feminist writer Ann Jones, it soon became an expedition with a mission: to find the legendary Lovedu, a tribe ruled by a great rainmaking queen and dedicated to the "feminine" ideals of compromise, cooperation, tolerance, and peace. Setting out from Tangier in a battered old blue-and-yellow Land Rover, Jones and Muggleton face daunting physical challenges, from shifting sand in the Sahara to deep mud wallows in Zaire. They encounter severe food shortages in Mali, military roadblocks in Nigeria, and corrupt border guards all over. In Mauritania they meet a young girl who offers to give Jones her baby sister. As they pass through the ever-changing face of Africa toward a meeting with the Queen of the Lovedu, Jones is perceptive, funny, moving, astute-everything a good travel writer should be. You'll feel you're right there beside her, meeting the people, marveling at the physical beauty of the land, sharing in the grand adventure. Ann Jones received an M.A. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Her travel essays and photographs have appeared in many newspapers and magazines, among them The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, Town & Country, Women's Sports & Fitness, Outside, National Geographic Traveler , and Spur . She is the author of five other books. Ann Jones lives in New York's Hudson River Valley. CHAPTER ONE the mission The Queen was an afterthought. Long before we heard of her, we hatched the scheme in Africa—in Zimbabwe, on the Zambezi, in a canoe. In the long white afternoon, the intensity of the sun propelled us, lightheaded, into a reedy little backwater to rest. We drew the four canoes together, and Dave, our guide, opened a cooler and pitched us bottles of warm Coke. I dipped my bandana in the river, wrapped it around my eyes, smarting from the glint of sun on water, and lay back against the thwart, half dozing, embraced by my friends’ banter. Images of the African morning played upon the inside of my eyelids: Elephants showering in the shallows at the river’s edge.