Five Weeks in a Balloon is basically a satire on the then modern books about African travel. As far as the geography, the inhabitants, the animals and the characteristics of the countries are concerned, the description is completely correct.
The scholar and explorer Dr. Samuel Fergusson, accompanied by his servant Joe and his friend Richard Kennedy, sets off to travel across the African continent with the help of a hydrogen-filled balloon, which has not yet been fully explored. During his adventurous journey, the protagonists experience numerous exciting and dangerous scenes.