Afritracks
Bernd & Sabine
January 2001 – January 2003
Expedition Trip Details
Two month in Chadacross CAR and the South of Sudan. Bernd and Sabine travelled 2001 - 2003 with their bush-taxi (or Troopy) Toyota Landcruiser BJ75 19 month from Ulm (Germany) to Cape Town and back. Stories facts coordinates costs and tips.
Despite the incomprehensible size of the black continent a crossing today is only possible on very few routes. Not only the rainy seasons when whole regions are flooded are the problem of an Africa-overland. A single collapsed bridge or sunk ferry can cause that a route become dead end so that several thousand kilometres detours have to be driven. Rebels civil wars or only political huff between two countries can make an Africa crossing impossible. Thats why only few travellers leave the main tracks and try something completely new. For years Bernd dreamed to take the legendary but long forgotten route across the Congo. While in the 60s one need only three days from Kisangani to Nairobi enjoing the comfort of a road cruiser today whole truck convoys frequently sink in the mud and get stuck for months. With two Lada Niva and its study colleagues Bernd tried to cross the Congo in 1991. At that time their attempt failed because of the beginning of the civil war in Zaire (today Dem. Rep. Of Congo). Ten years later we tackled this goal again. Ulm - Capetown and back. Like a first mountain ascent we planned to explore a new route on our way down. Instead of crossing the Congo this time our way led us into the South of Sudan...
Despite the incomprehensible size of the black continent a crossing today is only possible on very few routes. Not only the rainy seasons when whole regions are flooded are the problem of an Africa-overland. A single collapsed bridge or sunk ferry can cause that a route become dead end so that several thousand kilometres detours have to be driven. Rebels civil wars or only political huff between two countries can make an Africa crossing impossible. Thats why only few travellers leave the main tracks and try something completely new. For years Bernd dreamed to take the legendary but long forgotten route across the Congo. While in the 60s one need only three days from Kisangani to Nairobi enjoing the comfort of a road cruiser today whole truck convoys frequently sink in the mud and get stuck for months. With two Lada Niva and its study colleagues Bernd tried to cross the Congo in 1991. At that time their attempt failed because of the beginning of the civil war in Zaire (today Dem. Rep. Of Congo). Ten years later we tackled this goal again. Ulm - Capetown and back. Like a first mountain ascent we planned to explore a new route on our way down. Instead of crossing the Congo this time our way led us into the South of Sudan...