I actually saw this series before I watched, Long Way Round. I was not disappointed in the least. I was amazed by so many things in this program: the beauty of Africa, the struggles of the people, their openness, the wonderful friendship between Charlie, Ewan and the crew. I loved seeing how completely humble, caring and super funny Charlie and Ewan were especially. What an excellent example of a strong and lasting friendship. I admire their courage and sense of adventure.I thought Eve, (Ewan's wife) joining them for part of the trip was brilliant! To the nay sayers, I say, look at her courage in learning to ride a bike, her dedication and her obvious love and appreciation for her husband. She was an appreciated addition; being friendly with all, and making an effort to keep herself in the background so as to give Charlie and Ewan their adventure time. Why would anyone complain about a wife wanting to join her husband in an epic adventure? Besides, Eve is truly lovely! I highly recommend BOTH series. It's a wild ride of fun, learning and laughter.

Ewan McGregor is likely the reason people initially watch this and then gets on your nerves quick. He ruins the trip by inviting his wife (grow some balls), is "surprised" the roads in Africa are garbage (are you serious?) and fawns over people living in primitive conditions (No Ewan, living in the stone age is not "romantic").I am just surprised at the poor preparation for the trip considering they did this before. 1. Ewan still cannot ride a bike without falling off. (At least Charlie's skills have improved)2. Their riding gear was not water proof. (Yet advertise on their website it was the same company that Che Guavara used?)3. They use BMW bikes again for their supposed "reliability" yet last time had the frames break on multiple bikes, multiple time and now have the shocks fail on multiples bikes. Top that off with a worthless kickstand "safety" switch preventing Ewan's bike from starting. Anything worthless like this that can break on an adventure trek should be removed from the bike before you leave. (or make the cover protecting the switch out something like say... titanium?)Long Way Round was much more interesting, especially in Russia. Africa does not look interesting let alone exciting to visit. The only thing I was surprised about was how good the roads were in Tunisia. Ironically just like LWR the only time they got threatened was in Arab countries. (Ewan seems oblivious to this fact)They needed to focus more time on the gear and bike preparation and give Claudio more camera time. Claudio, Charlie and the crew are much more interesting than whining Ewan. Fast forward past the UNICEF parts... boring

I saw Long Way Round on DVD, and when I heard about this follow-up documentary series I was very excited to watch and be engaged with it. The programme documents the 15,000-mile (24,000 km) journey of actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman as they ride their BMW motorcycles from Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa, travelling southwards through the UK and Africa. With the support of their crew in four-by-fours, director/producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, and cameramen James Simak and Claudio Von Planta, the boys travelled through the UK, Italy, Egyprt, Libya, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopa, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, ending in South Africa. Through the six part series you saw their struggles, success and exploration of each place they were in, for them, it was not just an experience travelling the world and riding bikes, it was for their families. I will admit it was not as gripping as Long Way Round, but this series had plenty of highlights, e.g. the animals, a President of one of the countries, and all the sights. Very good!

Watched the whole of LWD on Love film after catching most of it on the TV. I was just left mildly interested, but ultimately uninspired. I still can't quite put my finger on it, other than say to LWD just didn't deliver.The reasons for this I feel are 1. Six episodes, as opposed to 10 on the extended LWR DVD. So felt rushed, someone said they went though three countries in one hr on one of the episodes? The guy's said they didn't want to be away from their family's for an extended period of time- no problem with this but the schedule compromised the quality of the show. A lot of moaning in particular.2. Support crew were a main character as much as Charley & Ewan- this of course completely understandable in Africa where they were often in unstable territory, so need to stick together, but from an exploration/enjoyment point of view made it a less appealing show.3. Ewan's wife, Eve, being a part of the trip- just didn't understand why they allowed a rider with virtually no experience to ride in a really tough environment- also no explanation of when she passed her bike test, we see her doing her CBT & then nothing? It was quite clear that Charley was not in favour, although he cover this well, so as not to upset Ewan. I think most of the crew, other than David Alexanian were think the same thing.4. Lack of detail- LWR seemed to cover a lot more & seemed more "from scratch" whereas LWD was more corparate & rushed. I don't think the audience cared so much for the characters & where didn't seem t be in so many compromising situations.I watched Race-to-Dakar as well. Also read the book, and found that more interesting, though not enough to buy it.LWD did have some good points in it though. Seeing the ferry from Italy to Tunisia, as described in Ted Simon's Juniper's travels was great; seeing how different counties dealt with not having medical care- as we know it; the great work that Unicef do & the history of the conflict that went on- & is still going on in Darfur.Love watching these guys & hope they take more care with Long Way Up!