to View - Griffith College Dublin

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when she was 14, pregnant. She had been
multiply raped by the Lords resistance army
and we met her when she had just managed
to escape. She had lost her childhood, had
never been to school, been shot twice,
raped and so had this war lord child. No man
would ever touch her from then, she would
never be married ad she’ll always live on
the outskirts. And I sat there interviewing
her, and your looking at her and she looks
like she’s 28years old, and she’s 14. And it’s
times like that just destroy you, and it just
breaks your heart you have to leave someone
like that behind, but hopefully in the safe
knowledge there are people like UNICEF (The
charity that sponsors all the trips) there to
help.
What was your greatest trip to date
30
From Indonesia to Papua New Guinea..
Charlie Boorman: Mainly know for his
hugely popular Motorcycle-travel series
‘LongWayRound’ and its sequels, the Irish
TV adventurer, writer and former actor sat
down with us to share some interesting
stories from his travels, working with Actor
EwanMcGregor and his fear of camping..
Tell us how the whole motorcycle -TV series
first came about
Well I suppose the motorbike thing is very
fun and Ewan and I have been passionate
about Bicycles, we met about 14 years ago
now, on a film called ‘The Serpants Kiss’
which I’m sure you’ve seen You know it
was one of those films that didn’t even go
to DVD because they didn’t think it was
worth the money! And we had all sorts of
stuff with bikes and then we started talking
about doing a trip ourselves and we spoke
about it for a couple of years and eventually
decided to do something about it and finally
got our shit together when I released I didn’t
have the money really to leave for 4 and a
half month’s with 2 kids and a wife, and a
mortgage so someone suggested about a
book. And the book deal came quite easily
for us but it was the TV deal that was the
tough one, I remember going to America to
the tv stations and saying this is what it’s
going to be like and they were like I get all
that but who get svoted off Or if someone
falls off theor motorocycle more than the
other do they get their motorcycle crushed
at the end of it, and we’re going like “Nooo,
that’s not that point!”
You have a very good friendship with Ewan,
what’s it like travelling with someone for so
long that you almost end up killing them
Out of the film we did together came a great
friendship and a passion for motorbikes and
we did all sorts of stuff together before the
TV series but of course it does get wearing
and I mean when your travelling together all
the time like Ewan and I were, and not just
Ewan but Claudio, Russ and Dave and the
others, it can get tough but at least we were
on the motorbikes and you could put the
helmet on if the other guy was pissed at you
could go off and just scream it I your helmet
and he’d never know unless you had your
finger on the walkie talkie, which occasionally
did happen!
You had a lot of time to yourself during your
travels with being on the motorcycles for so
long, you obviously enjoyed that aspect of
things
I think because your on the motorbike on
your own, one of the great things about
riding motor bikes is that you have the time
to yourself and especially on a trip like this. I
remember I lost my sister to cancer not long
before I did ‘Long way round’ my wife and I
had a kid just as my sister died and so we had
another kid straight after that so we were
busy and I never really had that much time
to grieve for my sister so I remember when
we did a long way round, and being on the
motorbike and spending all that time on the
motorbike, I mean all sorts of things come to
mind, because you’ve got plenty of time to
think.
My sister kept popping into my head all the
time and it was a great way to be able to
sit and have a bit of a cry for my sister and
think about her, and to always just have her
sitting on my shoulder laughing at me like she
always did, hahs, with that funny little cackle,
I definitely felt her being around and you
do think of all sorts of other stuff riding the
motorbike.
Papa new Guniu must have been a
challenge; it’s supposed to be an incredibly
difficult country especially going up land.
Tell us a bit about your travels there
Yeah Papa New Guniu’s and amazing place I
think after we done ‘By any Means’ and had
gone all the way down through from Ireland
to Sydney you know I kind of was desperate
to do the pacific rim and I had always wanted
to go to Papa New Guini, and you know you
hear all these stories abut places, (sinister
voice) Papa new Guniu and they eat people
and the big cooking pots and all that kind of
stuff.
But my experience now is that all the places
we’ve been to, that those stories are never
true. Like most places in Africa, Papa New
Gunin all these places we’ve been it’s just
been wonderful and the people we’ve met
have been fantastic and hospitable. So
getting there was fascinating but it’s quite
a tricky place to get food because it’s very
underdeveloped, it’s very tough to get
around. One thing I’ll never forget is that the
guys on the other side had gotten completely
drunk and were teasing the guys on our side
and they were screaming and shouting and
one another, and trying to throw rocks and
each other and then big Machete’s were
coming out and I remember the truck driver
telling me: “I think you better pick up a rock
at this point because I think their going to
attack us.” And I remember casually just
just going arching down to get a rock! it’s a
dodgy, beautiful place though.
I believe your a very reluctant camper
I was a very reluctant camper in the
beginning and I did everything possible
not to camp at all. And eventually we had
to camp and I had no choice and I was so
petrified I made Ewan and Claudio ride
back three miles a the side of the road and
miles out to nowhere. But I’ll never forget
it, we were putting up the tent and I was so
consumed by that, and the though of having
to camp, and I remember putting the tent
up and looking over at the lake, the sun was
just setting and it turned the whole Russian
steps we were sitting on and the lake, pink.
And there was the most incredible thing I had
seen and I just thought, Oh my God this is
why people camp.
I though it was quite weird in the long way
down ( the re-edited version) when Ewans
wife joined you…
Yeah well I have to admit I felt like a third
wheel. And I hadn’t had sex in aaaages. The
song ‘All by myself ‘comes to mind. At first I
was a bit shocked but I think Eve really just
wanted to see what the passion was and
why you wanted to do it. It was a huge goal
for her to come out to Africa, to learn to
ride a motorbike and to go camping which is
something she never really did before. I think
for it was huge and it was for a short period
of time, I really enjoy Eve’s Company and I
think it definitely gave something else to the
tv show.
What the hardest thing you experienced
while you were travelling
Apart from missing the family, I remember
we met this one little girl Sarah, who was
seven when she was taken and she escaped
It’s very difficult to say, because they’ve all
been very different. The Dacar rally is one
I’m most proud off. I think even to get to the
start line was a massive achievement. The
journey getting there was just so hard and
just the logistics, the training. I broke loads
of bones getting bike fit for it and we finally
got their. And once you get to the frontline
you’re already a winner and everyday after
that is a gift.
When your kids are older, would you let
them do something like this
Absolutely, I think everybody should do it.
There should be a government policy that
all children should be given at a certain age
to go to somewhere third world to work
on a project. I think it’s vital that young
people get out. But I think children today
have everything, telephones computers,
it’s all very easy, but to go there and see a
contemporary child in the slums of Nairobi
would put things into perspective.
When are doing your next outing
I’m in talks with the bbc at the moment. It’s
one of those things where you know you do
all these things but your completely at the
mercy of the people watching it and ratings.
So every time you do it your just back to
square one, just waiting. It’s like the show on
BBC 2 Sunday night 9 oclock, and even if you
don’t watch it because you can buy the dvd
later, on the 16 th - just in time for Christmas,
haha.
Hopefully there’s going to be something next.
We’ll wait and see.
____________
By Jenny McShane & Brendan Kildea.