OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
يوم جيد في اللغة العربية My route over the last few days. , After meeting up with Dave again in Dakar, we decided to try some of the best fish around and get some pics of the most western point in Africa. We were ready to roll too Lac Rose, the finishing point of the famous Dakar rally. The traffic…
Hi Guys, My route over the last couple of days. Leaving the Sleeping Camel was an early affair. I got out of Bamako at 7am and filled up the bike and all auxiliary fuel cans. I was taking a new road from Bamako to Kenieba, the border crossing with Senegal. Its a new tar road and not listed on Michelin…
Ani Soko Ma, (Bamara- Good Morning) My route over the last 2 weeks. Before you shake youre head and brand me a lazy blogger on vacation who has complete disregard for his small amount of followers, let me try and explain the reason for my absolute lack of updates over the last 2 weeks. As I met up with Dave…
Hi Guys, Sorry for the slow blog. I had a couple of, lets call it interesting days. My route I left Douala relieved that I was on my way again. Not my favourite means of travel but at least making some ground after being stuck in Douala. I left Foyer du Marin and headed for the airport. The bike left…
Serrekunda, Banjul, The Gambia. We crossed the border with Guinea and drove into Senegal. To us, after roughing it in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire for over a week, this was civilisation: the roads were suddenly excellent, sponsored by the generous people of the European Union, we started meeting other overlanders, and luxuries like internet were available once again. We then…
Labe, Labé, Guinea. Forgotten by the rest of the world, yet proud to be Guineans. Richly endowed with resources, yet among the poorest countries in the world. Upon independence, they said “au revoir” to France while President Ahmed Sékou Touré steered the country in a socialist direction, isolating it from the rest of the world. He ruled until 1984 when…
We crossed into Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and within hours drove into Abidjan, a Manhattan-style city that arose from poverty and reconstruction after several civil wars. We drove past it completely astonished. The road turned into a European-style two-lane freeway in almost perfect condition, which is unique in West-Africa. Côte d’Ivoire had been a model former French colony under President…
Cape Coast, Central, Ghana. “Gold Coast.” Even the name conjures up images of unimaginable wealth right there for the taking along with palm-fringed beaches and natives who will bring it all to your feet. The reality, however, is more brutal. The Portuguese arrived in what is now Ghana in 1471 and started building forts around 1590. After that, the British,…
Tamale, Northern, Ghana. About seven years ago I (Twan) raised money from friends and family to build a school in Tamale. I was 17 years old and travelled to arid, dusty, Islamic Northern Ghana to make a difference to the lives of the children who live in the Yapalsi-area of Tamale. In 12 weeks I built the Choggu Yapalsi Islamic…
2 April 2013 Jeffrey de Visser Natitingou, Atakora, Benin. We entered Benin through a minor border crossing, because the main border with Nigeria (Seme) was meant to be a nightmare. We then drove from Lagos to Cotonou in one day and spent two nights with Sander, a Dutch guy living with his family in the city. The next day we…
Hi Everyone, I have been discharged from the hospital today. After 3 days of Coartem treatment I was not getting better so I checked in at the hospital. I am trying to find a hotel for tonight to rest some more. Should be back on the road soon! Cheers …
Cotonou, Littoral Department, Benin. Roadblocks, otherwise known as checkpoints, are a daily occurrence on the roads in Central and West Africa. In fact they’re as common as the corruption that keeps them going, unfortunately. We will briefly try to explain the process and provide the reader with several tips on to how to negotiate them without paying a bribe. First…
“Nigeria is a very dangerous country”, or so we had been told by many people throughout Africa. Indeed, if we can trust the free press, it certainly is. Countless kidnappings of expats in the south of the country, especially around Port Harcourt, had resulted in extreme safety measures on the part of the party who had to pay the ransoms:…
Bonjour, I have been out of it the last 2 days. I have been on the road little over 2 weeks and I have allready contracted Malaria. I am healing slowly. My route I left Dolisie rather casually, first stopping at the internet café and then the garage. Please understand I am no slacker I was up at 6am, against…
Bonjour, I am in Dolisie, I am typing on a french keyboard. Spelling will be poor… My route View Larger Map I am at an internet cafe, internet is very slow. I keep losing my posts… Here is some photos for yesterday! Will update post asap… Videos are done just need to upload on fast connection… Road was good tarmac,…
Bonjour from the Congo, Here is how my last 2 days played out. Red is when I was on the boat. So yesterday morning I got a call from Basilio that one of his guys managed to organise me a boat going to Cabinda. The main ferry that goes to Cabinda is broken. So I hung around the whole day…
Bom Dia, My route for the last 2 days! Day 10 I left Ferdie and Luanda early this morning. I was onto the ring road just before 8am and headed North towards Nzeto. The ride out wasn’t to bad, the traffic was bearable and the road was good tarmac. Ferdie, my host in Luanda! Dankie Ferdie was awesome gewees! I…
Ola, My route over the last 2 days. I’ve had 2 very relaxing days in Luanda with my host Ferdie Nell. We were putt in contact through Deidre’s dad. They knew each other from a long time ago back in Namibia. Day 7, I got up early saturday morning, packed up my gear and headed for the petrol station just…
Ola, The route the last 2 days. Where do I start… Lets start with a goodbye. Nellie and I left Etosha at 7am. He was heading back to SA via his uncle’s farm in Aranos, Namibia and I was heading for the unknown. The day started out really good. There was a nice cool breeze keeping the pants and jackets…
Howzit! (Hello in South African slang) We had a long and hot day in the saddle. We did just over 600km from Divundu to Etosha. The roads are in extremely good condition with almost zero potholes. The local road guys really do a good job looking after Namibia’s roads. Map of today This is how our day started. We headed…
Ngepi! (Hello in Thimbuaushu) My day today… We arrived safe in the heart of the Caprivi today at Ngepi Lodge. This is how my day started. This will give you an idea why I had a really good day on the bike! The road was AMAZING! I never knew that the Caprivi would be so cool. We left Kasane this…
As promised, we have been tracking trip costs so that others have some idea of what may be incurred. Of course, at the end of the day, it does all depend on your own choices. The Central African Franc (CFA) is the currency in Senegal and other parts of west Africa. It is apparently pegged to the Euro at 650…
Two very important points: 1) Africa changes quickly; 2) It isn’t about what you know, it is who you know… We were in Tambacounda in Senegal when the French decided to intervene in Mali, and we were at the campsite in Palmarin when the five people were killed in Casamance. It really confirmed our decision to ship our vehicle from…
Hotel SouSoum, Dakar After the tranquillity of Djidjack, Dakar was bound to be a bit of a culture shock. In fact, it wasn’t that bad. Once we tuned in to its own unique rhythm, it was a likable city, and surprisingly affordable (if you knew where to look). We were recommended a charming little hotel by Jean-Paul at Djidjack. It…
Meeting in Rabat There aren’t a lot of travellers out there at the moment – so it is always a special treat to meet up with other adventurers. We first met Dan & Kumi in Rabat in December last year when we were all sorting out visas for Mauritania. I noticed Dan on his bicycle because he had a little…
All too soon (or so it felt) we decided it was time to start moving again. Destination Dakar to sort out the next leg of the adventure. Palmarin is located on a land tongue with the Atlantic on the one side and the Saloum river on the other. This makes it a very nice location for Hotels, Auberges and Campements.…
Campement Djidjack, Palmarin, Senegal, We were sitting behind our car, watching the birds at the birdbath, reading, and listening to the sounds of nature. Then, our campsite was not so quiet any longer. In came more overlanders. Not just one couple, but two couples and a guy. We have, since our journey started, wanted to meet up with other overlanders.…
Djidjack, Palmarin, Senegal It does just take time. Unwinding, relaxing, recovering, emerging from Lariam delirium … We have been here at Djidjack for a week now. It has truly been a week of very little activity. We have mainly been reading, and reading and reading … and watching the birds drink and bath in the improvised birdbath we have resurrected…
Djidjack, Senegal Our new home for the next little while is Djidjack, a delightful campement run by a Swiss couple in Palmarin which is on a long spit on the edge of the Sine-Saloum delta, south of Dakar. Campement is aterm used frequently in Senegal, for which there isn’t really a suitable English translation. Essentially, it is a property which…
At first I thought it was travel fatigue. Then I thought that the new country was causing me some anxiety. I also thought that maybe I was a little bit homesick, which was making me feel a bit down. A casual discussion with a chap at Wassadou was the final nail. If only I’d had the hallucinations, I would have…