chad travel

[Petr Buchtyar]

hey guys,
in half may i will be travelling in sudan, anyone knows how is the situation right now in chad?
is it possible to rent a car with a driver and guide and get to faya or as far north as aouzou from ndjamena?
thanks a lot
Pete

[ursula]

hi
from NDjamena to Faya no problem. There you might find a local guide with a car, it depends if he will get the permission to visit Tibesti with you. Aouzou Strip is mined, I hope you know the risk.
Renting cars has become very expensive because of all the NGO and GO people needing a 4x4 to drive to the Sudan border.
Good luck!
Ursula

[Richard Washington]

So are tourists managing to travel round in Chad at the moment (or over the last few months)? I've heard that security is bad and that its hard to tell who is a rebel and who is a bandit.
Anyone there right now or been there in the last few months?

[ursula]

hi

I have travelled 4 x in Chad since 1998, last time in 2006.
It was always "hard to tell who is a rebel and who is a bandit"
or military or police or a little bit of all together...
Thats not new.

But I decided a year ago not to visit Chad anymore because people are getting more
and more aggressif. I didnt feel safe anymore at all.

Ursula

[Jose Brito]

Hi,


A well known problem in Chad are landmines.
Lots info in:
http://www.mosquitto.org/index.php?o...=198&Itemid=25

Best of luck,
José

[armadillo]

Javier, a colaborator of H.U. pages, have been in Chad a few weeks a-go. He was traveling alone the Sahara from West to East in a bike with a little trailer with water and petrol.

You can contact with him or,and see the pics in:

www.viajesyaventuras.com

His post is both in english and spanish
As far as I know he had similar feelings about the Chadians as Ursula


José, nice to see the pics, my brother in law works for MAG many years.

good luck.

[javierCarrion]

HI!

well , Id like to point out that TChad is not that bad. It is true that there is a generalized lawlessness and ITs imposible to know if someone is a soldier , a rebel , a bandit , etc..

Safety in NJamena is poor. Everyone got the hell out of the streets as soon as the night approaches. Even well wished Chadians (?) massively advised me against staying in Njamena´s streets after say 8 pm.

having said that .. I didnt had too many problems. Definitely Chad is not like Mali or Mauritania , but anyone which makes it to Chad , has surely a lot of experience in Africa by the time He arrives in chad.

Police was surprisingly friendly . I -as Its becoming my trademark- didnt have insurance , neither carnet de passage , and this last time , I even diditn have a passavant . No problems whatsoever.
Finding a safe & cheap place to stay in NJamena is impossible. At least for me , nothing cheaper than 50.000 a night , I had to plant my tent in Novotel´s parking .. and even that , It was a serious rip-off.

Roads and tracks in Chad are the worse I have ever seen in Africa. Only a few 100 ks of tarred roads , and you need to pay for that a serious toll ..( motorbikes are apparently exempted , or at least this is what I thought , as I diddnt ever stop to pay , he he )

There is only one street in NJamena with tourist amenities. ( I think is Charles de Gaulle avenue ) . with a few bars , restorants , and pattiseries. The only libanese restaurant there "Ali BaBA" is a oasis of peace , security , reasonable prices and english speaking owner. highly reccomended.

Its funny . whenever I am in Africa .. when I am in country A (say Niger) they say "niger is ok -security wise- , but Chad... uhhh , they will kill you for your bike). ok . scared enough, Then when I get to Chad , they say "chad is ok .. but Rep CentroAfrique is -buuuuh- horrible . they will kill you for your watch- and so on.

well , I had a funny (?) experience in Chad. I was just outside Bol .. tired , and getting darker .. so I decide to camp in the bush . I drive off the piste a few kilometers , and plant my tent there. I fall sleep ..

and then .. I heard noises. .people coming at 3 AM with hand torches and big , big clubs like baseball bats toward my tent ! Holy $hit. I nearly $hit my pants !! they were definitely coming for me !! they were so close that It was imposible o get on time on the bike , start it and flee away .

well , basicly I -paralized by sheer terror -(and I am serious ) , just kept still inside my tent , waiting for the inevitable and then I realized what was happening :

What was it?

Simply that a bus (one of these vanettes with 25 people on it ) got stuck in the sand of another track just 10 metres away from my tent !( I was unaware that there was a sand track so close to my tent ) , and then al the passengers were looking for bushes , wood , anything to put on the sand to help to unstuck the bloody bus ! . so they werent´ robbers , just standard bus passenger gathering wood !. They apologized me for having waked me out , and desired me a good night !!!!


Javier

[javierCarrion]

more on Bol .

Bol is a medium size village in the lake tchad route . Actually , Sahara´s Overland ´s track (cant remember the number) leads you to Bol.

I heard lots of horrible stories about bol . Browsing the web , you can find stories about

Maze sprays
children trhowing stones to cars
Someone got hit in the face by a flip flop
Someone´s car apparently was struck by a very real arrow !
everyone ´s carriying knifes ,
Some people hit slighly a child while oppening the door of the LC , and they were charged 1000s of Euros of "compensation"
Someone apparently was relieved of 1500 UKP by some obscure Douannes scam

etc..

so as usual , I was predisposed against this town . For a lot of reasons (fuel , water , and food ) I NEEDED to go to Bol , and so I was ready for a horribly hostile town to the extend of carriying my big knife ready for action on the fuel-tank-bag .

The fact is that Bol is a wonderfull coastal village , with respectable people , in which

1 I slept for free ! (1st time in Africa)
1 I drank to destruction for free ( Chief of the police bought me loads of )
1 I ate for free (the city´s gobernateur insisted on knowing me and invited me to his huge villa , to have amazing food , s , tea
1 next day , in the club (there´s only one ) I meet a lady and .. well , ahem , also for free.


Man , Bol is amazing. anyone that I told those horror stories assured me that they never happened . they are absolutely welcoming people and I here absolutely reccomend going to Bol , instead of keep on driving all the way to NJamena.
Indeed Bol is one of the most friendly towns I have ever been in Africa , and of course in Chad !

Cheers
Javier

[ursula]

Chad has real great landscapes: the Tibesti region, the lakes around OK or Ennedi.
But its quite difficult to get there or even dangerous (mines)
A few weeks ago rebels attacked OK and Gouro
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1375721.htm

Have a look at beautyful Ennedi 2006
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7266438...75288885/show/

Ursula

(sorry - no digi pics of Tibesti)