Trans-African Overland Map
 

When looking up the potentially best route from Europe to Kenya I came over this map one might find interesting.

http://i.imgur.com/ECgR2xt.png

Is the map reflecting the actual situation?
Which route is actually most common or recommended going from Europe to Kenya.

Cheers,
Wauschi

This map is quite old. Paved road from Morocco to Nouakchott was made few years ago.

Nice find - needs updating
 

I'm thinking it would be great if we could put together an updated version of continental maps based on most recently traveled routes.

My versions from forthcoming AMH7
(Other routes are available)

Can't wait
 

Chris
Can't wait for the amh7 aka 'the bible'. Am using 6 at the minute for my forthcoming rtw (on a cb500x with level 3 RR!).
You are a bad (good) influence!
Am based in Croydon (noticed you got your X from dobles).
Keep up the good work!
Michael

[QUOTE=Wauschi;522027]When looking up the potentially best route from Europe to Kenya I came over this map one might find interesting.

http://i.imgur.com/ECgR2xt.png

Is the map reflecting the actual situation?
Which route is actually most common or recommended going from Europe to Kenya.

cant wait to see updated map with new roads and political situation nowadays

The actual situation as it was several years ago, before even South Sudan or the sealed road to Nouakchott.
Europe to Kenya is Route 4 as shown - still the same bar the complications of actually getting to Egypt.

I guess the map is pretty theoretical at present...

Route 3 would definitely be out for the foreseeable future, and I believe Route 2 also.

Route 5 passes some very sketchy parts of northern Nigeria, but I guess it could be adjusted fairly easily.

Routes 6 and 8 are what really interest me (especially 8). I think there have been a few people to make Route 6 recently. I also read a blog a year or two ago about a cyclist who did Route 8. I'd love to do that by car.

Route 7 goes through places which have been affected by Ebola, not sure if there is any restriction on entering though.

Not sure about Route 9, has anyone crossed from Angola to DRC there? I;ve read quite a few accounts of people taking the road across southern DRC after failing to get an Angolan visa.

So I would say only Route 4 is practicable in its entirety.

And as for paved / unpaved... that seems a very minor technicality.

Interactive map
 

This site summarizes the different roads possible (roughly) on an interactive map. This is all roads taken by actual riders, not theoretical or speculative like the above.

Overlanding: Africa Routes

Cheers,
Laurent

Nice map Laurent, much better than that old map which I'm sure was based on actual journeys too, it's just way out of date, that's all. It happens to all maps, even your one is not keeping up. To do so is a big commitment.

I have to say the red 'dangerous' zone is rather liberally applied. What's dangerous about northern Chad, Algeria or the Mauritanian Adrar? (Or Dagestan for that matter, at least on the coast, as Eurasia will tell you).
But as for the Lake Chad 'corridor' shown; I wouldn't fancy my chances on that one right now. Boko activity (including suicide bombings in Chad) is not neatly limited to Nigeria.

I would not think that if I was trying to get from Dolosie to Brazza, or tackling the Lumbumbashi track in the wet on a GS12 on Anakees. While it lasts, it makes a huge difference to accessibility in equatorial Africa, just as it did in the Sahara, or even rural Morocco.

Here are some other updates for the interactive map; a good one on which to base the proposed communal HUBB effort:
• the once notorious Ekok to Mamfe (Cam) now all new tar
• same from Oyo up to Ouesso and Sembe (Brazza)
• and up to Moyale (Kenya) now or very soon. (Watch the Ohlins and Showa shares tumble.)
• No ferries from Turkey to Egypt afaik,
• The 'Greek' route in SW DRC via Kapanga and Kolwezi is said to be less hassle than the well known Kamina one (see my map 2, above)

Plenty more I'm sure. It's a never ending task ;-)

OK, I see what you mean :D

But the distinction between doable and not doable still seems more important than paved / unpaved, I'm sure you'll agree.

The linked Google map is not much cop for Eurasia... Dagestan is safer now than it has been for ages. I was there earlier this year (drove in from Azerbaijan as the border was recently opened to third-country nationals) and my friend there was telling me how the FSB cleaned up many of the troublemakers for the Sochi Olympics, and that many more have left to fight in Syria. Makhachkala felt a lot calmer than on previous visits. As a point of interest, the coast was usually where shootings / bombings etc would happen. The mountains are (with very few exceptions) very tranquil and safe, and one of my favourite places in all the former USSR.

I think South Ossetia is perfectly safe, it certainly felt calm and tranquil when I was there. Just need to be careful not to accidentally drive across the 'border' with Georgia.

The corridors through Baluchistan are clearly nonsense, they are as dangerous as the surroundings. And the Makran coast is pretty safe, though foreigners are unlikely to make it there without some subterfuge.

I wouldn't call Iranian Baluchestan dangerous, though there are a lot of guns and smugglers. It's a really beautiful area however, definitely worth exploring. The coast is gorgeous.

Much of Afghanistan is sadly unsafe, as is the central and western portion of Iraq. Syria and Yemen also need some shading, though I haven't personally been to Yemen.

Nice idea however, particularly if kept up to date and not infected with government travel advisories.

That said, there's a lot to be said for making one's own routes. I have no experience of driving in Africa, but certainly in Eurasia, there are fantastic routes which are totally unknown to the majority of the overland crew. Off-piste routes in southern Mongolia, backroads in the Urals, the A379 through the Kyzyl Kum in Uzbekistan, the safe parts of Afghanistan's Northern Road, the Quetta - Zhob - DI Khan highway, numerous backroads in northern Iran etc etc... there are so many great drives well off the Gringo Trails that I would use these main routes only for the most basic planning....

Cheers

EO (Daniel)

It was you I was referring to, but I guessed wrong about the coast then. Liked the sound of Derbent.

Unless Laurent wants to update his map - would not take much - I could compose something similar over Xmas and try to keep it up to date with other HUBBers' help - unless someone else is gagging for the job.

It would basically be my mono book map (above) in colour, online and less vague. Much of it was based on scouring the HUBB and linked reports for days as this is the best resource I know of.
Would be good to put that know-how onto a useful online map like Laurent's. Would be good to be able to embed this google map into a HUBB post. Not sure I've seen that.

For a start would help to clarify what a Dangerous Zone is
• war zone (north Mali, Libya, north Sinai, South Sudan? Somalia?)
• Tourist access restricted (west Egypt, west Sudan, north and east Mori, Algerian Sahara, northeast Niger, Western Sahara berm,
• Highly ill-advised for tourists (Somalia, east Angola, east DRC, CAR, northeast Nigeria, Lake Chad.
I'm sure I missed a few.

I also think the old map's numbered Trans Af Highways is not a useful device. These days there is east side and there is west until you get to southern Africa.

Thanks for the good feedback so far.
Finally I can see a nice route rising out of the mist.

Chris, a whole lot of people would appreciate this late Xmas present :thumbup1:

My planning so far:
Ferry: Sete (France) - Tangier (Morocco)
Tangier - Nouakchott - seem pretty straight forward (3tkm), but...

Nouakchott - Yaounde, there is a number of different route options.
The coastal region seems very populated.

For a scenic and trouble free ride, which route is advisable for this section?
The stretch (Nouakchott - Yaounde) is about 5tkm. Can it be done in three weeks (21 days)?


Cheers,
Wauschi

I've never done it but Nouakchott - Yaounde in three weeks sounds quite brisk, so to do so you'd want to minimise your visas and borders:

• NKT get visa for Mali then down via Nioro or west of there
• Bamako visa for BF (or is it @ border for higher price?)
• Ouaga for Benin or Niger - I suppose Benin would be safer as it dodges north Nigeria
• Then Cotonou for Nigeria and across Nigeria to Calabar for your Cameroon, possibly via Abuja to get visas further down the west side.

Much depends on how these consulates' visa depts respond to your particular nationality and how they feel on the day.

As for the map - depends on the telly ;-) and i'm not sure I want another yet web page to maintain, but all you need to do is pore over the recent travels and links in this forum to get a feel of possible routes. They can be quite broad in west Africa between the two capitals you mention, then it all funnels down a bit via the Congos.

Chris,

thanks for your contribution!
Yes, for sure. Thank you for bringing up the topic of visas.

So far I took this tread as a (visa) reference http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...passport-65422

And took note of the following detail:
Mauritania - Visa on arrival -> Get visa for Mali in Rabat
(This is where Overlanding: Carnet, Visas is wrong!
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_p...Visa_exemption)


Ghana and Nigeria:
The overlandaventure website states "Visa in home country only" for Ghana and Nigeria, which is in contrast to some postings here.
For the planned route, is there any visa or carnet I have to take care upfront?

But there is one more aspect - Carnet:
Senegal asks for a CDP for vehicles older 5 years.
Can this be handled with a "fee" on arrival?

Cheers,
Wauschi