Fuel Stops Tunis - Djanet

[IanC]

Planning on hitting the tarmac from Tunis to Djanet next March.

Main question: What's the maximum distance between fuel stops? Also food/water/bed?

Also, does anyone know wheteher it'd be possible to transport a road bike over from Djanet to Tam (either on a truck or by air?), in order to ride back up a different way, or would this be ridiculously expensive? And maybe the route would not be suitable or as good and so I'd be better coming back the way I came? Everything I hear about the Tunis to Djanet road sounds brilliant. Oh, and one last question - how do you pronounce Djanet?

[This message has been edited by IanC (edited 03 December 2002).]

[RichLees]

check out the Michelin 953: it has a little x for fuel and distances between towns. last year, the fuel pump was broken at Bordj Omar Driss so we had to go really steady to Djanet. accommodation? you'll need to be prepared to rough it.
its a beautiful route whether you stick to the straight and narrow or not.

[IanC]

Thanks Rich. I have the 953, and have seen the X's, but I found when I went down the Atlantic route a few months ago that there were far more pumps there than Michelin and also than Sahara-Overland indicated. I just wondered if the same was true here. On the Atlantic route I found a few stations out of action, so I suppose it's best to always cover yourself to miss at least one with comfort.

Do I need to be carrying amounts of water and supplies to cover me for a couple of days at a time, or would there be food and water available, within perhaps 300 miles or so? I tend to cover a fair distance in a day, usually between 350-700 miles depending on the scenery and roads.

I am right in thinking it's tarmaced all the way now, aren't I? 290kg of road bike's not much good on sand, as I learned trying to get to Nouadhibou!

[RichLees]

in southern Algeria, the x's are pretty all there is and that's before shortages ;-)
some villages without x's will have fuel, but its not much of a guarantee with the current shortages down south.
if you're sticking to the roads, you'll get to Djanet without much bother: potholes and blown sand, but no dune crossings
as with any remote route, carrying a couple of days of water makes sense just in case you break down: you may not see any other vehicles all day! make sure you stop at the Bermuda Triangle and stay clear of the dogs!http://www.jabbering.demon.co.uk/sah...os/bermuda.jpg
Rich