Getting Ready For Our African Adventure.

After travelling through western Africa a few times, the idea to visit Sudan, the Central African Republic and the back then called Zaire (nowadays Democratic Republic of the Congo) stuck with me. In those days, most of the western population has never even heard of these countries. Beside the occasional cruelty report of course (e.g. King Bokassa of the Central African Republic doing shitty things, or President Mobutu Sese Seko becoming a megalomaniac, of course the first Ebola outbreak and Aids was linked down there as well…). This idea of mine went into the final stage with the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz Unimog 406 truck – only the best would do for this trip (until then, we’ve travelled Africa with an Dodge WC52, a Mercedes-Benz Unimog 411 truck, a Gräf & Stift truck, and and outside broadcasting van from the Austrian Broadcasting cooperation). We added a huge tailored aluminium cube onto the back that served as our miniflat; bedroom, kitchen, storage, sink and closet. The roof rack was used for the transportation of fuel, water supplies, spare tyres and a place to set up the tent at night when the weather was fine. This also gave us some sort protection, because from the top of the vehicle we could scan the area around us better. Nisa’s baby cot was stored between the front seats. I have to admit that everything was a bit cramped, but we were happy to set off to these countries that were hardly ever visited by people just for fun. Oh and of course we had a dog with us as well. The Maier family was set and ready to leave.

This is how we travelled through Africa: a Mercedes-Benz Unimog 406 truck, a tent, a dog and lots of food, water & Diesel supplies.

Entering Egypt In Alexandria And Continuing To The Nile Valley.

We drove down to Greece via former Yugoslavia. From Athens to Crete by local ferry and from Crete to Alexandria with a huge car/passenger ship. In Egypt, the real adventure started.

It took quite some hours to get the permission to enter Egypt with a private car. We had all the relevant papers (Carnet de Passages, etc.), but in Egypt one needed local number plates as a temporary registration with a local insurance…to cut a long story short, we waited for hours to get all these requirements. The only issue that we had worried about before, turned out to be a non issue at customs: the dog.

We spent the first night sleeping on our roof rack right in front of the pyramids in Giza. It would have been a stunning night, but the barking dogs around us made it impossible. We were told that there are occasional dog chasers if things ran out of control (rabies was a big issue). Sometimes we even had hordes of dogs following us when driving along the Nile river, and at times it was impossible to get out of the car. And when there were no dogs around, we were immediately surrounded by hordes of children once we stopped. It was an exciting trip through Egypt indeed, nevertheless the Nile Valley is one of the densest populated areas in the world, so we didn’t have a single moment without people – even when sneaking behind a bush for our private business one had interested company…

Egypt has been called the gift of the Nile, for without the river it could not exist as a fertile, populous country. Its character and history have been shaped by the stark contrast between the fecund Nile Valley and its Delta, and the arid wastes that surround them.

A main attraction of Farafra is its White Desert, known as Sahara el Beyda. The White Desert is a national park. The deserts centrepieces are the snow-white to cream coloured rocks.

The desert landscape in Egypt sometimes really looked like out of space.

Off We Were To Aswan To Enter Sudan On A Barge.

Contrary to the Nile Valley, Dhakla and Farafra Oasis in the western part of Egypt are remote. Only sparsely populated villages can be found here. For hundreds of kilometres not a single soul can be seen along the road. It was quite a unique experience to camp between strange rock formations without any noise at all except our own heartbeats. The only light came up from the sky (I’ve never seen more stars than that night).

Finally, after visiting the valley of the Kings in Luxor, we arrived in Aswan, home to the Abu Simbel temples and the reservoir dam from where you can travel to Sudan by barge. This is how we wanted to enter Sudan. We’ve done exactly the same a few years before, back then with a smaller car, which made the shifting onboard easy. But now with our big truck, the complications started. First they always tell you that is ‘s possible, but for how much money? Secondly, the timing wasn’t ideal: our Sudanese visa was almost expired, and we were told that you have to arrive in the country a certain amount of time before the visa expires. And thirdly, this barge that would have carried our baby really looked a bit too worn out.

Aswan has always been an important strategic point. For us it would be our entering point to Sudan.

The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, located beneath the cliffs at Deir el Bahari on the west bank of the Nile near the Valley of the Kings.

Making New Friends & Decisions.

Decision needed to be made. We sat in Aswan on the one and only campground (if that’s what you want to call it), in the middle of the town with hustle and bustle day and night. It was rather an empty lot where the occasional overland traveller took shelter. The decision was made the next evening when a big MAN truck, followed by two BMW cross-country motorbikes, pulled in.

It only took a bottle of whatever and a bit of brainstorming and our goal was clear. Since there was no chance to get a permission to enter Sudan from Egypt legally (officials had told us there were some incidents with lost travellers in the past), this Austrian-German-Canadian convoy would cross the Egyptian-Sudanese boarder illegally through the desert.

Our Austrian-German-Canadian convoy that would cross the Sudanese-Egyptian border illegally: our Mercedes-Benz Unimog 406, a MAN truck and two BMW’s motorbikes.

Our Plan: Map, Compass & Sand Dunes.

Our plan was to leave the road into the desert at nighttime. The two Canadians with their BMW’s would drive in front; they were a lot faster and able to check for possible traces of presumed border patrol cars. Our trucks would follow and we would wait together every 5 kilometres. We would do this until our first night stop. It was going to be an exciting and also dangerous trip, yet our Mercedes-Benz Unimog 406 truck, our desert experience and our ability to navigate with nothing but a compass and map (that was all we had) convinced us that we could do it.

First, we decided to drive down to Abu Simbel to look at the possibilities where to get off the road. In Aswan at the checkpoint one had to show papers and in Abu Simbel you had to report to the police station and fill out lots of paperwork. So, as it was a full moon night, we decided to pretend to leave Abu Simbel just before the checkpoint closed in the evening. We told the officers that we’d sleep along the road and drive up to Aswan again the next day. This would give us some time to disappear into the desert.

After being out of sight of the checkpoint, and with no other traffic on the road, we turned off our lights and drove off into the vast desert landscape. Only the moon guided us, with the BMW’s in front. Like this we drove for around 30 kilometres in the southwestern direction to our first night stop; no lights, no fire, nothing that could alert anyone who might be in the area as well.

Sudan Here We Come.

With some of the best sleep we’ve had in a while, we woke up well rested and exited that we already made it this far. We didn’t want to waste any time, so we skipped breakfast, packed up and set off with the same pattern. We only crossed one car track that looked pretty recent, other than that we were on our own.

Our map showed a small mountain range along the border of Sudan and until we reached it, we drove over 10 hours – the distances are unbelievable. We came to the mountain range and drove right through it, in between rocks and sand dunes we finally reached the Sudanese border. There were no signs of course but we were sure that we’ve made it.

This night all of us got out our best food and of course whatever drinks we had. We reached Sudan and now it was just a few more days until we’d arrive in Dongola to do the paperwork for customs. Those nights in the desert, without a single trace of life, not even a single fly was truly an unforgettable experience and it still lasts until today. But it would soon be over.

This is the first photo I took after crossing the mountain range were we entered Sudan. It was just us, our trucks and the vast desert landscape. And some cheap booze…

Camping in the middle of the Sahara desert in the Sudan, just after crossing the Sudanese-Egyptian border.

The First Sudanese Villages Came Into Sight.

We spotted the first signs of the Nile river again; a few palm trees, the first small fields along the banks, and finally the first Sudanese working in his vegetable garden. He was surprised to see us, waved at us and pointed South after we asked for Dongola. We passed more villages along the river, stopped here and there and came across the first bakery in Sudan. The bread we bought here, called Aish merahrah in Arabic, tasted absolutely amazing after all the days with tin food. The it didn’t take long for the first invitation. The family that invited us into their home was so generous, offered great food and an unbelievable hospitality. Actually the entire village was up to get a glimpse of us strangers, especially Nisa and the dog got all the attention. It was one of the few times that the dog had to stay in the truck because we were afraid he’s attack someone with all the shouting, laughing and screaming.

These were some of the first Sudanese men we came across after entering Sudan.

The entire village was on their feet to get a glimpse of us.

This was the clay crafted entrance to the families house that invited us near Dongola.

“Welcome To Sudan”.

After yet another remote night in the desert we arrived in Dongola and drove straight up to customs. At first they didn’t know what to do with us, but we showed our documents and the visas and explained that we needed stamps here and there. After some talking we all got the documents stamped and with a Welcome to Sudan we were released. From here on our routes separated, mainly because everyone had different ideas about the travel speed. We always took it easy and stayed in Dongola for a few days, camping in the police station’s yard while drinking tea in the evenings with the officers. We were simply relieved that we had made it to Sudan without a big hassle.

We stopped at a “road house” along the NIle river in Sudan for some great mint tea and immediately caught the attention of the villagers.

Until today camels are important for transporting goods through the desert. All the impressions of this trip, which was almost 30 years ago, are sill in my mind as if it were yesterday. Those were the true African adventures I’ve always dreamed about, and until today, I’m grateful to have experiences this!

The entire village followed us around in Dongola. It was quite an experience and we decided to stick around for a couple of days. Back in those days, only very few tavellers crossed this part of the world and when thinking back, a trip like this wouldn’t (unfortunately) be possible anymore today…

The next part of our adventures through Africa will follow. We’ll write about the trip from Dongola down to the border of the Central African Republic.

After a couple of hours, Orodara came into sight and just before the village, we spotted a nice looking hotel – turned out later that it was a really good choice to go for this one; we had a huge room with a nice balcony on both sides. But since the bus continued driving, we needed to make our way back there. It was definitely too long to walk with all our luggage, therefore we stopped a passing donkey cart. The cart driver was more than surprised to have “blancs” (means white people) as load, but the money we offered convinced him to take us on…

Orodara was a small town with a big market and quite a lot of merchandising going on, where lots of trucks on their way to Mali passed through. We spent a few hours walking around, buying fresh mangoes, bananas and oranges and enquired about possibilities of continuing to Banfora. We were told that this was only possible with a “taxi brousse“. So we made a reservation at the “bush taxi“stand for the next day.

On this donkey cart we were on our way to the hotel in Orodara, Burkina Faso.

Fresh oranges and the most delicious cashew nuts at the market in Orodara, Burkina Faso.

Transporting dead pigs on a motorbike in Orodara, Burkina Faso.

Ready, Set, Go!

A gut feeling told us to be prepared for such a trip, so we stocked up on bananas, baguettes and water. The distance to Banfora is only 80 kilometres on a gravel road, so that – normally – shouldn’t be a big deal for a good car. But bush taxis tend to always need major repairs, and then 80 kilometres can turn into a great distance. Our bush taxi looked exactly like all the others: a lot of luggage on the roof rack, some goats stuffed between a motorbike and lots of baskets of chicken. It was fully loaded, to get the maximum out of the trip. 20 fellow passengers with some kids sitting on their mothers laps. Children travel for free, but don’t get extra seats, so it gets pretty tight.

The kilometres started passing and the taxi stopped from time to time to let someone out or to take on new travellers. There was always a great movement on the roof with loading and unloading, so there was no chance of taking a little nap…

Big Bang Theory.

As if the noise level wasn’t already high enough with the engine being at the end of one’s rope, the constant, very loud & full of vim and vigour blabbering of our fellow passengers in local lingo, was definitely a challenge for our eardrums. While we where trying to figure out what in God’s name they where all talking about, it was abruptly quite after a big BANG followed by the cars standstill. But the silence didn’t last very long … maybe only a gimps of a second, because everyone seemed to know what happened: A broken tyre was the reason. When looking at it, we wondered how it actually made it this far…

The driver apologised to us for this interruption but we weren’t really bothered. The tyre was quickly off and we pointed at the 2 spare tyres on the roof … but these were flat as well. Our input if these tyres were just for decoration didn’t really help to ease the situation. But Africans are used to such incidents, so the boy in charge took the flat tyre and drove off with the next passing motorbike. Now it was time to wait; we and all other passengers settled under the nearby trees to get some shade. Some fell asleep instantly and we opened our “lunch bag” to have a nice bush pick-nick.

Bush taxi-break-down Nr. 1 in Burkina Faso.

Ready to get a new tyre for the broken down bush taxi in Burkina Faso.

This wasn’t going to be our day.

Surprisingly enough, it didn’t take too long for the guy to return out of nowhere with the repaired tyre. It took 5 more minutes to put everything back in place, and then we continued our journey… But not for long. After only 10 kilometres, another tyre went flat – or to put it the right way: it was ripped into pieces. The driver started swearing in his local dialect and the boy in charge got the broken tyre off and disappeared again with the next passing motorbike.

Bush taxi-break-down Nr. 2 in Burkina Faso. Nr. 3 was only a matter of time…

Yet again, a passing motorbike was our only way out…

Time passed and when he came back, he proudly showed everyone the brand new tyre he just bought. Now nothing seemed to stop the car once more. But we cheered too soon, because the one of the two remaining tyres decided that this was his last ride, and we got stuck again. As before, all passengers settled under a huge mango tree and some vendors came along with fresh fruits for sale. After an hour or so, we decided to stop the next passing car to get a lift to Banfora, because it was only about 20 kilometres and we were sick of being stuck in the bush. We were not along with this thought; one of the passengers – a very very old man – joined us as we stopped a Peugeot 404, which had the cargo area turned into passenger seats. Off we were, waving goodbye to our astonished bush taxi driver…

Unfortunately, we were out of luck, because this cars engine sounded weird right from the beginning with hicks and backfires all the way. 3 kilometres before the centre of Banfora, another loud BANG rattled the car and the engine took its last breath. The driver shook his head in despair and this way it for us. We got out and decided to walk the remaining kilometres to our hotel…

After 8 hours of journey time for only 80 kilometres, we reached the hotel “La Canne du Sucre” – a beautiful place with pool – completely exhausted from this bush taxi adventure…

More bush taxis in Burkina Faso:

Fully loaded bush taxi in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – A couple of tyres in tow just to be on the safe side…

“Bon Voyage” – A Bush taxi in Burkina Faso.

A bush taxi driving though an alley of trees in Banfora, Burkina Faso.

Another bush taxi in Burkina Faso.

And another (smaller) bush taxi in Burkina Faso.

Trucking ia also a very popular way of getting from A to B in Burkina Faso.

Fully loaded truck in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – Chicken in tow as well.

As you all know, ticket prices go through the roof this time of the year, therefore a fly-away holiday was out of question (especially last minute). So after scanning the atlas for hours and thinking about our past travels through Africa by truck, we soon came to the conclusion that it was time for one of these adventures again. We checked out some shipping lines and managed to get a ticket on one of the many ferries that ply the Italian-Tunisian routes. Yes, Tunisia was our desired destination; orient, hookah, herbs, culture, nomads, camels & desert here we come!

A few days before Christmas Eve we were on our way to Genoa, where the ferry set off. The distance is around 1.000 km from Vienna and it took us 10 hours to get there – sounds pretty long but since we were travelling with our Pinzgauer truck, we couldn’t go faster than 100km/h.

After arriving at the port, we immediately got our truck in line with the others. These ferries are huge and up to 300 cars fit into the giant belly. Every centimetre counts and depending on the size and height of the car, you’re assigned your space on the ferry. The entire embarkation process took a few hours, so we had lot’s of time to spare. While waiting, we came across some nice little local tavernas in the port area, where pizza, pasta and the followed cappuccino just tastes a lot better than at home. The Italian atmosphere is simply magical :)

The ferry trip.

The ferry took about 25 hours from Genoa to Tunis, therefore a cabin is advisable. Unfortunately in our case, all cabins were booked already when we bought our ticket, so we took our hammocks and sleeping bags from the truck and started exploring the ship. You’ll find restaurants and bars, as well as enough entertainment, where travellers from all over Europe meet. Most of the tourists travelling by ferry are “off-roaders” because Tunisia by car or truck usually contains heavy off-road driving.

Anyway, after a quiet night on the ship, a bright and sunny morning greeted us. Customs was very easy, without the slightest hassle. After all, with so many cars disembarking, customs has to speed up as well. Soon after arrival, we were on our way down South.

Our route.

We wanted to get out of Tunis asap, since driving through the sand dunes was the most fun. Be patient though … if you expect sand dunes right after Tunis, you’ll be disappointed; it takes an entire day of driving until you reach them. We actually planned to drive to Tozeur (an oasis in the South-West of Tunisia) and further on to Douz by crossing the salt lake Chott El Jeridh. Douz itself is known as the “gateway to the Sahara” and an important starting point for desert explorers. Our desired destination was Ksar Ghilane because you have to cross high sand dunes about 150 km from Douz to get there.

Needed Gear.

When deciding to cross the Sahara, be sure to have a good compass, a GPS device and a fine map. There’s basically no road, only tracks (that can lead nowhere) and this can get confusing at times. It’s advisable to travel with a second vehicle if you’re not an experienced desert fox (like us haha). As said, some tracks lead to nowhere, so it’s good to check your position every few kilometres to make sure you’re on the right track.

We managed to arrive in Ksar Ghilane without any problems (no flat tyre, no sand digging and no unnecessary kilometres) after around 7 hours, just right in time to spend Christmas Eve with some other travellers at the camp ground. A nearby restaurant served delicious Tunisian food and after a few glasses of champagne we set up the hammocks between the cars and slept under the stars.

Some Impressions:

Camels are the lifeline in any desert.

Camping in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

At a market in Tunis, Tunisia.

Sand dunes in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

A public toilet in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

A nomad near Douz in the desert of Tunisia, Africa.

Arriving at the oasis Douz in Tunisia, Africa.