West Africa 2010

Hi Guys,

I am planning a trip through Africa via West Coast. I am also going to be filming a sort of documentary of the whole trip, as we are going to visit some charity organizations and youth projects.

I am going to travel from Vienna, Austria to Cape Town, South Africa early 2010 (feb.) in two Landrovers, with my cousins, who have already overlanded East Africa.

The Route (rough sketch):

Austria - Italy -Tunisia -Algeria-Mali-Senegal-Guinea-Sierra Leon-Ivory Coast-Ghana-Togo-Benin-Nigeria-Cameroon-Central African Republic-DC of Congo-Angola-Namibia-South Africa.

I have only traveled sub-Saharan Africa, so my experience with the west coast is very vague. So I have a few questions...

- How long will this take ? East Coast takes about 3 Months...is it similar to that ?
- Will film equipment cause a hassle on the boarders?
- Which GPS works best on this coast...Tracks4Africa certainly did the job for sub-Saharan Africa.


Hope you guys can help me out...cheers,
Nic

Any replies ?
I really do need some first hand advice.
Which websites are helpful... ?

Many people claim the west coast to be extremely dangerous...on the other hand a lot of people have told me, that both coasts are pretty much the same, just that most choose the east, cause it has less boarders, and the terrain in the west is a little bit more difficult due to wet seasons.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
cheers,
nic

theres a young guy on here that does what your talking about, search rustyrhinos on the forum search and check him out, PM him too maybe?

Good luck.

Check your border crossings. I dont think there is an official crossing from Algeria - Mali for example. For north africa information look at Sahara-overland site. upto date info (for example southern Tunisia is offlimits to tourists due to recent kidknapping of Austria couple). east coast as you said is known to be a little more difficult. mostly again due to borders, how is your French? film equipment may prove difficult, i would work on the proviso that your kit may be aprehended at some point in the journey. Still camera's you may get away with. Might be worth seeking official clearence for your kit through the right channels for the country's you are crossing. Then you will have documentation in place should border patrols or military checkpoints stop you.

As for time, why rush? 3 months sounds about right. i would budget for 4 due to volotile countries. Why dont you go for 6? take your time and enjoy. You may never get around to it again.

other helpful sites include the HUBB, UKGSer's, sahara overland, lonely planet (online) is a good resource.

have a look at the links pages on my website. a little limited as your going further afield but you may pick up some info there.

HTH?

G

uhhh Thx a lot GriffDowg... the lonely planet website is an awesome resource. Good to finally have some updates on boarders...
seems the middle-west coast is pretty closed up, which is a bummer, but I will keep a close eye on the updates.

I am planning on 3-4 months max. don't have more time than that. My French is alright, have to refresh it a bit though, but my bros french is pretty damn good...so that's the least of our problems.

I would like to visit Football Projects in Africa, as football is a means for people from different backgrounds to come together and find a common ground. It gives projects the opportunity to teach kids valuable lessons on aids/hiv...etc...
So I am busy, planning possible routes to the most well known football countries (Tunisia, Ghana, Togo, Ivory coast...), and I am trying to find contacts from various football help projects.
I am also trying to raise donations to support each project that I am going to visit. So that's the plan for now

Any more advice is MOST WELCOME...
But for now, thanks a dozen!
cheers,
n.

Ok, after having looked at the Boarders, this route seems to do the job.

Austria-Switzerland-France-Spain-Morocco-Western Sahara-Mauritania-Senegal-Guinea-Sierra Leone-Liberia-Ivory Coast-Ghana-Togo-Benin-Nigeria-Cameroon-Gabon-Congo-Angola-Namibia-South Africa

Estimated Time: 4 Months

What do you guys think ?

cheers,
nic

Rusty Rhinos are over there at the moment... when I say over there I mean the Sahara of course. Check out my sig to take a look at their blog. It has details of some of the work they have done to their vehicle, the route and the problems thus far. They are runing a SMS blog too so you can always message them for more info.

Just checked the latest from the GPS tracker and they were at El Qued or there abouts at 4:36 this afternoon.

Ryder RR are going through Tunisia and Algeria.

The chap above is doing Atlantic coast route past the Sahara region. very different places.

G

Nic. Morocco has excellent roads down the west side of the Atlas. you should be able to get from the north coast to Western Sahara in about 2-3days. There is no border between morocco and WS as it is all pretty much run by Morocco! The region of WS is however the 3rd least populated region in the world after greenland and the falklands. You can take the N1 down through WS which is a well used route by truckers. so there is plenty of fuel/stops etc. Border at Mauritania should be straight forward providing your paperwork is in order and i have heard its an easy country to travel.

dont stray off the roads in southern morocco/western sahara as there are still thousands of landmines in place.

any help?

G

Griffdowg said:

Ryder RR are going through Tunisia and Algeria.

The chap above is doing Atlantic coast route past the Sahara region. very different places.

G

Click to expand...

My mistake... I know precious little about African geography as you can probably tell!

Well I am heading as far as sierra leone on this route in August so I will let you know how I get on!