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"On the search for new adventures I thought of Africa as my first destination, because what could be more obvious than to travel to the "black" continent with its 53 states and 1001 languages? No other continent has attracted researchers, adventure travellers and the rally scene as much as this one! Everyone who has travelled to Africa knows how diverse this continent is.
Thierry Sabine, the inventor of the wild rally from Paris to Dakar made many dreams come true. With his motto "if life gets boring, risk it" he led the rally in a real rough ride over 6000 kilometres to Dakar. This Africa Expedition laying ahead of you takes 45 days of travelling and more than 15,000 kilometres across the entire African continent and demands everything from you! This Africa crossing is probably one of the last actual adventures for enduro & motorcycle travellers. Thousands of dusty kilometres full of hardships, efforts and dangers lie ahead of you...
This is one of the last real adventures that we can still experience in the fast developing African continent. This enduro trip is only suitable for participants who are ready to enjoy lungs full of dust, their bags full of sand and the pure adventure in their bones. This trip is certainly one of the craziest, most strenuous and most dangerous you'll ever do, but if you're still reading, you probably already decided to join us!
"If life is boring ... - it's probably time to leave the comfort zone and trade the mere reading about the couchpotato style adventure for the real Africa adventure." - Joe Küster, founder of OVERCROSS.
The typical participants of such an expedition are participants who think that dust smeared faces, sleeping in the dirt and limited choice of at most a few T-shirts, underpants, socks (for weeks) are very sexy......... and with this exquisite thought still have to grin! ;-)
"Only guys like you and me should be part of this unique expedition", Joe Küster Bj. 1966, founder of OVERCROSS, threefold father and tour guide on the Trans Africa expedition, on which he failed in 2014. But giving up is not an option and so he successfully did it for the first time in 2016/2017. "With well over 100,000 kilometres of Africa experience, I can say with a clear conscience that this Africa crossing is far away from what is known as a package tour. In all its professional preparation and preparation, this tour is a hundred percent EXPEDITION! That means: A voyage of discovery of the continent and one's own borders. People, who look at one of the large brand travel enduros as an entrance ticket, can be sure that the brand image will use them little on the route. A good mix of travel & enduro experience as well as mental stability are prerequisites to participate in this Trans Africa expedition."
We flew through the night to land at the OR Tambo International Airport around seven in the morning, where we will meet the rest of the team. From Johannesburg we fly on to Cape Town and arrive at the Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in the morning. Afterwards we drive to the camp which is 30 kilometres away, where we are already expected with the customs papers and the motorcycles. All thats left to do is unload, unpack and sign the Carnet de Passage (ATA). After we have prepared the motorcycles, we don't go to the check-in at the Cape Grace Hotel for a delicious five-star dinner. Far from it: we drink a cold South African beer, eat crocodile at "Mama Africa" and sleep with our bikes in a warehouse "over the roofs" of Cape Town!
At kilometre 0 at the Cape of Good Hope we make the start picture after the sun rises above South Africa. 15,000 kilometres across Africa lie ahead of us!
Passing Cape Town we drive to Sommerset West. After a short stop for a breakfast "to go" we continue to Chapman's Peak. Afterwards we drive on the legendary Garden Route until we reach Mosel Bay to finally eat some good food. Breakfast and dinner will be the only meals we will have for the next days and weeks. An advantage for all those who have a few pounds too much on because they will start to lose them day after day. In the late afternoon before sunset we will reach Knysna Park. And eventually the first day of motorcycle travel will finish on a wildlife safari with a South African sundowner.
Here some visual impressions of South Africa.
We pack our tents for the first time and start with our bikes to the bridge 50 kilometers away. Today we will have 211 meters of free fall for breakfast. After an adrenaline rush from the highest bungee jumping spot in the world, we are ready for the day and the next stop. We hang you on a cable car that will catapult you through the forest at a height of 30 meters! For those who are still hungry waits a well-deserved breakfast. Afterwards it finally goes on the road again. Along the Garden Route we enjoy life and that we are still alive. After about 500 kilometres of asphalt and gravel we reach the grave of Harry Potter in Cradock.
Time to lie down, because tomorrow is a new day with new adventures waiting for us in South Africa.
Sunrise: We dismantle the expedition camp and set off for Hofmeyr, 60 kilometres away. In this dreary transit city we stop for breakfast, fill the enduro tanks and pack provisions for today's marathon stage. Today's 650 kilometre stage will be one of the toughest stages of the first week. Via federal roads through the state of KwaZulu Natal we reach the border to the Kingdom of Lesotho after about 250 kilometres. After the border formalities and a lunch snack, we will be on gravel roads across the kingdom at up to 2800 meters of altitude. Now it gets exciting for the first time: We cross the highlands on offroad passes, incredible pictures and impressions will shape the second part of the day. Following that we will reach Bob`s Campground in the heart of the kingdom. Bathing in the Matebeng River is the only luxury we will get today. Due to the night temperature, which lies between +5 & -10°C, we’ll decide in the evening whether we’ll sleep in- or outside.
At an altitude of 2800 meters the sun rises for us above Africa. We arrived at the highest point of our Africa motorcycle expedition and enjoy this cold morning with a cup of hot coffee on the plateau. Like every morning we start the engines of the Enduros and the support vehicle which will be our constant companion on the motorcycle expedition. A new day a new adventure, more than 1000 meters of altitude we will descend today. Reaching the most exciting of all South African passes the Sani Pass the most photographed and most frequented road pass in Lesotho. Many enduro riders of the last African tours thought that this pass alone was worth a trip.
At the foot of the Drakensberg mountain region we reach the border to South Africa again. After our third border crossing on this Offroad expedition through Africa we stand on the "Battlefields" in the former kingdom of the Zulu. The Zulu War of 1879 was an undeclared war between the Zulu and the wild tea drinkers. After the British Empire had defeated the Zulu in the Battle of Ulundi, the Zulu kingdom ceased to exist as a sovereign state. In the midst of these battlefields our fifth day of travel through Africa ends.
Morning Ceremony: Short look at the map, starting the motorcycles and then on to the next coffee. On the road again: We disappear on South Africa's country roads with our Enduro motorcycles into the Highveld. On almost only asphalt it goes through wide plains which begin in the Highveld that slowly descends to the north, changes into the Middleveld and finally ends in the Lowveld.
The new year in Africa begins with a hangover breakfast: coffee, aspirin and a counter beer. Back on the Enduros we start the engines and descent to the sobering stage along the Kruger Park. After more than 3000 kilometres we have crossed the states Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo and are now on the last kilometres to the border of Zimbabwe. At sunset we reach a authentic Guesthouse from 1919 where we will spend the night and give our motorcycles the well-deserved rest.
Welcome to Zimbabwe! The border crossing takes place at the crossing of the Limpopo River which has to be timed depending on the water level and the waiting crocodiles. After we have passed the customs formalities with the Enduros and the off-road vehicle, we can continue. The next destination is Masvingo, which we approach via the main route. About 40 kilometres away we make a stop in “Great Zimbabwe” and immerse ourselves in a piece of African history and culture. The Rhodes Matobo National Park, founded in 1926 and called Matobo National Park since 1953, is the oldest park in Zimbabwe. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003. It became famous not only because Cecil Rhodes is buried here, but also because of its impressive granite rock formations. 2000 years ago the Shona ethnic group lived on the holy hills and left a rich legacy of rock paintings, which we visit on foot, as we want to leave footprints as well instead of only tire tracks.
In the country ruled by Robert Mugabe until 2017, life expectancy has dropped from 55 to 44 years within a decade like in no other country in the world! 50% of the people of the country are under 16 years old and the average age is about 19 years! It remains a question of time if the new generation makes the country Rhodesia again, what it once was in the "old days". You can find a small insight on our OVERCROSS Youtube channel - this video of an Overlandtour with truck.
Another day, another challenge. A new stage begins on our guided motorcycle trip across the black continent. Pack the tents, have a sip of coffee, a biscuit and get on the bike. On- and offroad in direction north-northwest. Stopover at Hwange National Park and depending on the tour, group dynamics and interest we will go on safari in Hwange National Park. Motorcycle and enduro tours are rather unusual in Zimbabwe, enduro routes are actually unknown and will remain so for the coming countries! BEFORE you book, be aware that you are going on an enduro expedition that will provide many surprises both on and off-road! We visit Zimbabwe during the rain season, which means that the average temperature will be at about 33°C. With round about 5 rainy days a month. If it rains, its going to be a torrential rainfall so be prepared for that. The gravel passages will be mud passages, the connecting roads will be greasy and the roads dangerous and slippery. Route 1, 2 or 3? What adventure would you like to have today? The end of the Zimbabwean crossing will be the Victoria Falls Bridge at the Zambian border, where we will pump our veins with adrenaline at the world famous Victoria Falls! We recommend to jump into the valley with the "Gorge Swing" or paddle the Long Way Down rafting tour - one of the most intense rafting tours in the world!
With the sunrise our morning ritual starts, cup of coffee, motorcycle check, discuss the daily stage and go: In 128 meters of altitude we cross the Victoria Falls Bridge built in 1903 in England with English steel and wooden beams. In 1903 Cecil Rhodes had ordered this bridge and had it transported from England by sea and rail to the Victoria Falls to set another milestone for the Cape to Cairo plan. After only 14 months of construction, the bridge was inaugurated by George Howard Darwin, Charles Darwin's son. The Zimbabwe exit stamp is "hammered" into the passports! We cross about 200 meters of exciting history and follow an imperialistic idea: to cross the continent of Africa. After renewed clearance at the Zambian customs it is time to rest on a unspectacular asphalt road before we dedicate ourselves to an off-road shortcut towards the northeast and travel through the rain season which hopefully won’t be one at the end of the day.
Zambia: On the Copperbelt plain we travel north towards Lusaka. The fertile land (at least for women with 5 children on average) ranks 141 out of 187 in the Human Development Index. Young Zambia (independence in 1964) is one of the countries with the highest HIV infection rate in the world and, with around 740,000 AIDS orphans, is one of Africa's country orphanages. English is spoken as an official language, which helps us through the different ethnic groups and languages such as Nsenga, Tumbuka, Ngoni or Bisa. Along the Lower Zambesi National Park we follow our own trail on the Enduros towards the Luangwa Bridge. Zambia was formerly known as Northern Rhodesia, offers a variety of animals and plants in large national parks. We cross the land of waterfalls which will also come from above during the rainy season.
With the first rays of sunshine we set off for the last kilometres in northeast direction through Zambia and to cross the border to Malawi. Our travel day is only interrupted by the waiting time at the border post, which we can use to have breakfast, refuel, brush our teeth and write postcards. With a lot of luck we get our turn quickly, so that we will be quickly back on our motorcycles and thus avoid the postcard writing. After the completion of the Malawian border formalities the crossing of Malawi begins. On relatively well developed roads we drive to Lake Malawi and afterwards down from the road along the Malawi Lake to our lodge. The last stage is full of surprises when it comes to driving! Our Enduro trips are known for a "fight day" and this part at Lake Malawi has definitely the potential to become one! But at the end of this adventurous stage our lodge waits for us which means: Jump into the lake, lick wounds and eat delicious crocodiles.
Over a cup of coffee we enjoy the sunrise over Lake Malawi. The route leads along the western flank of the approximately 30.000 Km² large Malawi Lake and we will approach the border to Tanzania in the usual way "pole pole" (Swahili: slow). In the time, in which the border formalities are completed, we can enjoy the "delicacies" of the Songwe border river and once again let us remind the impressive scenery’s of the last days, before we leave Malawi on the Enduros. As always we refuel, eat and write postcards before we get back on our motorcycles and drive through a new African country. For this afternoon we still have endlessly hard African kilometres on the track ahead of us. This day will be long stuck in our bones with its demanding sections. Past extinct volcanoes we pass fertile land with tea plantations, mango trees and banana trees and at sunset we reach the coffee region of Tanzania, where after a long day of driving we finally hit the sack.
Breakfast with freshly brewed coffee directly from the plantation - if not now, then when? We will need the push-up effect of the coffee for the ride on the Enduros over the endless expanses of Tanzania. The day's destination today is the famous Ruaha National Park, which we reach via more or less well-developed Tanzanian tracks.
We have to step on the gas. But 50km/h in Tanzania really means 50km/h - from sign to sign. Every km/h too fast costs. And the speed cameras hide creatively in bushes and even on trees! Therefore we cross Tanzania along the East African rift valley as far as possible away of the asphalt with the aim to take along a safari in the Ngorongoro crater in the north, which is even a UNESCO World Heritage site and bristles with biodiversity. Please note that the safaris are not included in the travel calculation and must be paid by everyone themselves!
Here we have now reached the geographical centre of Africa and at least in this respect we’re over the hump.
When the sun rises behind Kilimanjaro, it is time for us to say goodbye. There won't be time to visit the Serengeti on our motorcycle tour, but we will certainly come back sometime. Passing Mount Meru we continue to ride on our motorcycles. Due to the eternal vastness, euphoria remains the only highlight until Mount Longido appears. On arrival we take a break before we reach the border to Kenya. After crossing the border from Tanzania to Kenya Nairobi is not far away, where we are already expected at the jungle crossing with spare parts. After about 6000 Africa kilometers we have, if necessary, the afternoon to equip our motorcycles with new tires. Our "Online"-Guide Jojo will organize everything else from the "Office". In the evening we will dine with some bikers from Nairobi and the Royal Enfield importer in the Kroko Bar. What we can’t manage to eat, we take with us as a "Dogi Bag" to eat it on the road. In the evening we get to the bar and rinse the dust with cold beer until the doctor comes! We have time to sleep once we get home.
Our next destination is the border to Ethiopia. 1001 km of Enduro driving. Pure 1001 km across Kenya until the sun sets and we set up the camp. A day that can hardly be more difficult. The night in the tent, no shower, no breakfast and demolishing kilometers. Our companions are elephants, giraffes and the other lunatics ahead of you on the travel enduros, which will come today to their limits once again. The sun over Kenya rises and the day begins like the last one ended until the border to Ethiopia is reached. The largest landlocked country in the world in terms of population, which ranks 173 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index, awaits us. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world which has been ploughed down to the hunger line by deforestation and the fall in coffee prices with subsistence farming. The question arises whether one should travel to a country in which, according to WHO and UNICEF, not even every second Ethiopian has access to clean drinking water? A clear YES: Through individual tourism, as we carry it out (especially on this tour), foreign exchange reaches the people who need it the most. According to the World Bank, 56 percent of the population lived on less than $1.25 a day in 2000. In the same year, the IDA (World Bank Fund for the Poorest) rated 60% of the roads as good or satisfactory. This data is certainly outdated, we will experience the current situation on our motorcycles as we cross Ethiopia. We should be prepared for the fact that the infrastructure in this underdeveloped country will become a long and arduous road into the night. This country together with Sudan will surely be an indescribable experience on the motorbike expedition through Africa.
The tollgate to Ethiopia rises and we start towards the Omo Valley and Mago National Park. The barren landscape becomes greener and juicier, an area with a high population of lions, hyenas, giraffes and elephants and sometimes catastrophic tracks and roads. There is plenty to see and photograph, though we are riding for 10 hours. Stops for photos and national parks, if we are "in time" for our schedule! Time to rest will be more or less limited, if we cross the African landscape from horizon to horizon hour by hour, kilometre by kilometre. And the expedition leads us further north through Africa. In the north a merciless desert is waiting for us.
Avoiding the urban jungle of Addis Ababa as far as possible and freshly supplied with water and bread we make our way on our motorcycles over the Ethiopian slopes. Our next goal is a piece of history, culture and religion united in one: Lalibela.
The Timkat festival with the procession and celebration of the baptism of Jesus Christ is one of the most important holidays in Ethiopia, which takes place according to Ethiopian calendar every year on 19 January of our western calendar. On this day thousands of people flock to the holy cities of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. One thing is for sure: We don't want to be in a bigger city on this day (or on these days, because the festival takes more than 3 days), because the streets are more filled than usual and the processions with crowds dominate the streets. However, we want to experience the "spirit" of Africa in this expedition and will therefore join such a procession in one or another village.
Luckily, we will come to Lalibela only after the big event so that we will be able to see the UNESCO World Heritage, which is a real gem: The rock churches!
About 2000 years ago 400.000 San lived in Africa, 100.000 of whom still live in southern Africa. In 1652 the Dutch began the destruction of the pygmies in the Cape region from which we started. Today we arrive about 10.0000 kilometres further north, at the end of their hunting area. Surely a single San did not roam the whole of Africa for hunting, yet a single San hunter covers 4,000 kilometres per year!
Passing Lalibela it means ripping down miles again! Passing Gondar, the former royal city of Ethiopia you suddenly leave the mountainous highlands of Ethiopia and descend from over 3,000 m to 200 m altitude above sea level: Welcome to the Sudan Basin!
From the Sudanese border to Al-Gadarif our concentration is put to the test. Because the ride continues on an asphalt road perforated with potholes which does not deserve the name road, the we carry on north into the next bigger city and then off into the Wildcamp. Until the Sudanese capital Khartoum you can try to rest a bit on the motorbike, because it is a rather long and monotonous way along the blue Nile on well-developed tar roads.
Along the "Sudan Express" we will cross the Nubian desert which was also called "Taseti" (sandy arch country) by the Copts, on approx. 1000 kilometres through the former kingdom of Nobatia. The desert area between the third Nilekatarakt and Khartum, is considered as high culture of the old Egypt. In the desert land of the tall Nubians we encounter cultural-historical relics of the ancient pyramids, grave towns and temple ruins, which originated from the cultural bloom of the kingdom of Kush.
One last time we fill the water and fuel tanks in Sudan. Our motorcycles filled with fuel we return to the merciless desert, which will surely demand our last strength before we reach the border to the Kingdom of the Pharaohs at railway station 1.
Luckily everything works quickly with the border management so that we can go on to the last stage of the Africa expedition. On the whole Trans Africa Enduro Tour the borders and especially the bureaucracy will be our nemesis in terms of time. The border situation between Egypt and Sudan costs every tour operator the last nerve! Maybe this is the reason why nobody offers the crossing? We leave Lake Nubia and cross the border into Egypt to reach Lake Nasser. In front of us is the portcity Abu Simbel and a marathon with the authorities engages to insure that the motorcycles arrive safely in Egypt. With our new Egyptian number plates we can then drive into Abu Simbel for the long-awaited shower.
We leave Abu Simbel on tar roads heading north along the Sahara. The desert world with its scattered volcanic craters alternates with the monotonous mirages of the Sahara and the boredom of the tarred road that stretches beyond the horizon. After 250 kilometres we reach the checkpoint Aswan. Finally a few curves and we arrive at the dam of Aswan. On the Khazan Assuan Road we cross the Nile and follow it northbound to the Valley of the Kings. Luxor, Upper Egypt's largest city, will be our last supply base. From Luxor it is only a "stone's throw" through the land of the Pharaohs. We will spend the night not far from the Karnak temple and decide on the following day whether we take a boat on the Nile to get to Kairo or cross the country as planned, on the motorcycles.
We leave the green Nile belt and dive in the early morning hours into the arabian desert (part of the Eastern Sahara). We cross the desert tongue of Quena on our motorcycles, as far as the track- and our physical condition allows. Along the Nile we travel on to our destination: Cairo. The streets become busier and you can literally feel the metropolis announcing itself with the crowds of people on the streets. West of the Nile we can already see the pyramids of Gizeh from a distance. The big goal of the Africa expedition is reached. As we are standing in front of the Sphinx and the pyramids the stage goal Africa is finished after about 15,000 kilometers. We have crossed the "black" continent in its total length! Time for a good cold beer.
The last kilometres through Egypt will be relaxed. The route from Cairo to Alexandria consists of well constructed asphalt roads. Time to lay back and think about the journey and its adventures once more. We are received in Alexandria by Ali with whom we go to have dinner before we check in. The next day we are going to bring the motorcycles to the nerve-racking Egyptian customs, where the ship container is already waiting for us and the motorcycles.
To get back home we are going to catch our flight in Kairo.
Click me to get to our videos of the Trans Africa Expedition!
Der Reiseveranstalter OVERCROSS® ist seit über zwei Jahrzehnten mit der Insolvenzabsicherung nach §651r und §651w für den Reisenden abgesichert!
Der Reiseveranstalter OVERCROSS® ist seit über zwei Jahrzehnten mit der Insolvenzabsicherung nach §651r und §651w für den Reisenden abgesichert!