Return trip to Ouaga - Dec 2016 - Bit out of touch!!

[andybee]

Hey people,

So after an overlanding hiatus of almost 10 years (apart from European/US road trips and a quickie to Morocco) it's time to get back in the saddle! I feel terribly out of touch and have some questions

I'm planning to kick off with a return trip to Ouagadougou - over 5-6 week starting late December this year. Idea is to take in some of the great pistes in Morocco, head down to Mauri, do the Atar piste, do an 'eastern' crossing into Mali (e.g. Nema/Nara) and then head across/down Mali to Burkina. Do the same on the way back but with less piste-bashing.

As this is the first time I've logged onto the HUBB in 5 years (can't believe my account still works!) I have the following 'orientation' questions:

1 - Can you get a multi-entry Mauri visa at the Maroc border (as it's a round trip). I've read the sticky about getting a visa for Eur120 at the Maroc border but I don't know if you can use it to enter the country more than once.

2 - Are Mali visas still a case of going to Nkt? Again, can I get a multi-entry for return? What's the score with getting into Burkina?

3 - Clearly Mali has had some bad troubles in the last 10 years. Which areas are still to be avoided?

4 - Need for a carnet?

5 - Any exciting developments in the field of multi-country insurance or do you just not have any south or Maroc?

6 - Before I'd have ridden to Nouhadibou on road tyres and changed them for knobblies. Have there been advances in tyre technology such that I could fit something in England/Spain and not worry about it for the trip?

7 - Any 'missed opportunities' with the proposed route? For instance is Rosso now a paradise?


I think that's it for now.


Cheers,


Andy

[priffe]

1. No, unfortunately. No multiple entry visa anywhere. Hope that will change.
2. You need to get Mali visa in NKt and Burkina in Bamako, no visa at the border anymore or prohibitively expensive.
3. Nema- Nara is to be avoided +the rest of the north. Stay south of the Niger and dont go past Sevaré. You should be able to go to Bandiagara and pays dogon but we dont get many reports from there anymore. From there cross into Burkina. Northern Burkina is also off limits, esp north of Ouaga.
4. No carnet
5. You need to get separate insurances for Moro and Maure. Then carte brun from Mali on.
6. Dunno. Pavement now all the way to Nouakchott.
7. Rosso is lovely as ever. You could perhaps go Atar and then continue to Chinguetti - Tichit - Oualatah, if you want to do some piste and desert. Then you are almost in Nema, and should probably go west and then south to Bamako. If you dont go to Nkt, get your Mali visa in Rabat. If so, get your Maure visa there too, perhaps they wil have reintroduced the multiple visa by then.
Mauretania is your best bet for good pistes.

[andybee]

Thanks priffe - that's really helpful reading - but sad to hear about the 'no go' areas. I thought that the Eastern bit of the Bandiagara Escarpment and the ride from Douentza down to Koro was a real high-spot when I went there before.

So based on your guidance, I could maybe go as far as Segou (I really liked it there before) and then head into Burkina at Koury - riding from there to Bobo D and Ouaga?

For the Mauri/Mali border the map shows one at Kubanni/Gogui but I don't know it. Is that still too far East? I'm trying to avoid Senegal if possible as I think it's a bit tiresome

I'm guessing that return visas are just a case of Mali in Ouaga and Mauri in Bamako?

Thanks again - it's amazing how much things change in Africa...

[priffe]

Kubanni is on the Route d'Espoire, the 'normal' entry to Mali, also the most tiresome with gendarmes and douanes, I avoid it. Further east is possible, but like Bandiagara you will have to check the situation at the time. Segou shouldnt be a problem. There's been a spread of islamists, new groups like Macina in south of Mali. And several attacks even in Bamako.
The best entry to Mali is taking the piste from Selibaby or Kiffa to Kayes. Customs in Melge. There are several threads about it.
I think you can get multiple entry visa for Mali.

[andybee]

Thanks priffe. I can make a (hopefully) viable plan out of all that! Now for the fun part of picking which pistes to have a go at

[laurent wydemans]

Hi Andybee and Priffe,

I'm planning to go to Burkina too. i was reading your posts with lots of attention.
My question is: do i have to buy and old bike like Yamaha Tenere (light weights) or can i go with my BMW GSA (2016). Security, weights and so...
I was in march in merzouga and the GS was really hard to control in fesh fesh, that's why im looking for a lighter bike. But if you tell me that all the way to Melge customs is paved, i can spent my money to go far away..

[andybee]

Hi Laurent,


I think it maybe comes down to which pistes you might want to ride on the way. I'm planning to do some of the longer Moroccan ones (like Rissani to Zagora) and also the Nouadhibou-Atar and Atar-Chinguetti pistes and so I'm taking a lighter bike (KTM 640 Adventure). If I wasn't doing this I would probably take my 990 Adventure and just be a bit more comfortable. I guess that riding pistes in the desert and going motorcycle overlanding are sometimes slightly contradictory activities, in terms of what so of bike is best?!


Cheers, Andy