Anyone else completed westcoast Trans 2013
 

Hi
We just completed a overland tour from Reykjavik Iceland to Capetown SouthAfrica, we traveled via the west and central Africa.
staring in January and ending in July

When we were on the road, we only came across one other group ( a couple of dutch guys) who were coming the other way

there were a good few people trying to make there way south when we were in Morocco and Senegal, but non of them looked like they carried on ( shipping or turning back)

Also we did hear of another overland truck a couple of months ahead of us, but seeing that its hard to cross the ferry from Brazziville , i dont know if they made it ether...i was asking around and noone had seen them

we were in a old ex army Bedford 4x4.....it may have been slow but it was strong

we went via Morroco, Mauritania, Senegal,Guinea,Ivory coast,Ghana, Togo,Benin,Nigeria,Cameroon,Gabon,Congo,DRC,Angola ,Namibia,SouthAfrica

i cant belive that we are the only people to have made it recently

does anyone know of people who made it without shipping

I forgot to say
we were www.vikingsacrossafrica.webs

but the site does not have much info from the trip

You have posted the wrong URL of your trip:

http://vikingsacrossafrica.webs.com/
I had follow your Blog before you had started - i like your idea how you offer that experience in a group (at budget) bier There was a long time no update - i was not shure if you really had started the trip! I hope you will share your trip and your experiences. I`m shure you had some fun in a such a big group :eek3:

We was on the way at November 2012 - January 2013. Here is the link to our blog: http://transafrica2012.blogspot.com

There was severall Overlanders on the way at this timeframe. We have collected all Overlanders who wrote a Blog and doing the west-route from 2012 upwards.

Trans-Africa: Gerade Unterwegs...

We meet two of them, the rest we found in the guestbook of the Sleepingcamel, Hippocamp or within Google. Also some guys are currently on their way.

Surfy

hi
this is our site sorry i had the wrong url

http://www.vikingsacrossafrica.webs.com/

sorry i did not update the site ever....but i was trying to fix visas for 17 people totaly and fix the truck...and a bunch of other things that comes along with being the tour leader of a big group...i think i was online maybe only one every month...and then i only checked the news and the hubb

our fb page is
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vikin...39299959447052

but that did not get updated very much eather

the best page to look at would be one person on the groups blog....its a very good blog with tons of photos and in english and italian its

Kolmanskop, Namibia ghost town

its a real good blog

In big millys in ghana, there were a couple of RSA girls who crossed the N1 in DRC.. lumbashi to kinshasa .i got a lot of respect for them...but i never got to meet them....but there seems be be almost no overlanders who did the west coast in 2013...just 2012....i keep looking to see any who made it

in the hippocamp the guest books last entry was a couple of months before we arrived....but its still a great and valubule book tons of info, especaly from people who were coming north....good info about the Boko back road to DRC , i think it took us 3 or 4 prity rough days........i love the old frounter marker on the road that says Belgian congo/ french congo

Thank you much for the MyfirstImpression Blog! That will feed my "hunger" :thumbup1:

On the Blogpost linked in my Post above are 6 individual Overlanders who are writing a blog - and are on the way at 2013. This list isnt complete - but i`m working on.

There are severall more on the way - i know two of them - but they just wrote some "threads" in smaller language specific communitys.

Surfy

ive just been trying to read a bit about the spanish guy on the bmw bike...how the hell did he make it to togo from spain in 1 week....we were 3 months...well i gess it works going fast if you already have the angola and nigerian visa...good for him

i will check out the others now

you did some good work with the links about other travelling in 2013....i see atleast 4 other made it this year, and the year is still only halfway

im thinking about organising anouther trans african via the west in January 2015 or if i have energy march 2014...next time im thinking a volvo tgb20 6x6 with 12 passengers

one problem with that is i only sore 2 volvo tgb in all my time there ( and only a few volvo cars), but i believe that there are a few interchangeable parts with landrovers especially the breaks...anyone have any idea about that

With a truck you have the chance to carry the needed replacement parts - something we can`t in the small 4x4. Do you really had to fight repairs with a big truck when he is well maintained? To drive down is just arround 20`000 - something what is nothing for such a vehicle.

Did you got stuck with the truck, that you think about an 6x6 - or was your last vehicle also an 6x6?

I guess that not many overlanders write a public blog, when i compare the Informations i had collected or picked up on our trip in Overlander spots like sleeping camel, hippocamp and so on.

To collect all travellers who write a blog is like to look with one eye. But better than nothing. And it is special to read this blogs, specially when you was there at your own :cool4: *flashback*

You should also look at the posted links about the 2012 started trips - because some of them are still on their way!

Surfy

Hi
we atualy did not take much in the way of spare parts....because its a big truck the parts are big aswell, pluse we did not have much spare space as we had passengers and there bags...

but the truth is i knew that we would be able to get the parts out there ( eventualy) so theres not that much need to take stuff along for a bedford as they are still around a bit....not everywere, but they were around....probley on the trip i sore bedfords in half of the countrys we went to ( so parts would always be avilable in the country next door, if they wernt there)

as for the volvo...they are cheap and not too big, but if something breaks ( like the transfer box did on the bedford) i dont know how easy it would be to get a part...i dont imagin the local scrap yard will have much for it.....but if some of the parts are interchangeable with the landrover then it will help a lot

glad to see that you made it all the way down successfully!

I and a few others are planning to head down the W. coast in about 6 weeks time - your success in encouraging...

I've never seen a low cost cooperative trip like this - very cool.

we did it in 2010/2011 more or less the same route as you but skipped Senegal and went via mali, burkina, togo and benin before turning south again. We avoided Brazzaville and took another route about 50km before, though tough going just after the rainy season it was a good adventure and it was great to arrive in Namibia.

for more of the trip see http://www.across-africa.com
I am now planning the next part from Namibia to Dar es saleem this October, so any one looking to tag along welcome

I did it also, although I didn't actually go all the way to Cape Town. Cut across from Namibia to Botswana, Zam, Zim and now Mozambique.

I like the idea of splitting such a trip in severall steps!

But you had to find really save spots for leaving the car alone for a while - or have to look that the car is pretty cheap...

How did you find the save places for the car?

Surfy

There were a couple of us in 2013. Guys I met hate blogging. Hahahaha

@Garnaro... Enjoy mate its going to be epic! Loved the West Coast!

Good to see you made it Van,
we had one girl on the trip who had maleria aswell, unfortanatly in Namibia they miss diagnosed her, told her it was just a bug ( they are not used to Maleria) they advised her to drink lots of coke and get some rest....nuts....anyway after a few more days she went to a better dr, got the test and had 3 nights at the hostpital...all good after that

shame you could not get the nigerian visa and had to fly, but thats how it is more and more in west africa now,we got lucky with that visa...although if i do it again soon i may start printing my own visas

im jeluse about you going to mali...things were to hot when we were in the north and we went via senegal...next time

and u had big balls to take the ferry to cabinda

knak just rolled into namibia. (dutch website).
An elderly couple (in their sixties I guess) drove down the westcoast in six month stages (drive down Africa september-march, fly back home for summer, and repeat as necessary).

Guess they were right behind you....

Hey. There were a few of us cycling from Europe in the spring/early summer, but most cyclists stopped in Ghana. I actually heard about the Icelandic truck at the Nigeria/Cameroon border, I was one week behind you guys...:thumbup1: I had to stop in Douala ( the consequences of malaria ) and fly back to Europe for the summer. I wanted to fly back to Douala and resume my ride south but organizing the DRC and the Angola visas here is a pain in the neck, I am totally bogged down. So thinking of flying to Dar Es Salaam ( 20 years ago I rode from Europe to Dar, then on to the Comoros and Madagascar ) and go south from there and maybe try my luck again with those visas in either South Africa or Namibia. There was a Swedish girl on a pedal bike a few weeks behind me and I think she managed to make it through DRC and Angola. Must still be on her way south to Cape Town.
L.

I did Spain to Angola boarder in 2010 on a KTM 640 and I intend to go from Dakar to Cape Town starting January 2014 on KTM 1190 Adventure R.
How about current situation in Guinea?
Where can one enter Ivory Coast coming from Guinea?
How about going via Cabinda?
Any up to date info is most welcome.
All the best
Albert

Anyone else completed westcoast Trans 2013
 

It's a bit OT but Albert I'm realy interested in your trip just to know how this wonderful bike run. Did you think to open a blog or something similar?

I will not have a blog but will report useful info for fellow travelers en route.
Albert

Hi all,
My sister and I have just got back from our year in Africa.
For the west side we crossed into Morocco early Oct 2012, then Mauri, Senegal, Guinea, Mali (end of Nov), Burkina, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DRC, Angola, Namibia , SA and arrived at Cape Agulhas in May 2013.
http://capetocapeblog.wordpress.com/

We didn't meet many others, one other brit in a Landcruiser, a lone Swedish biker heading north and a French motorcyclist who'd crossed Kinshasa - Lubumbashi.

Happy travels
Sam

Guinee was the highlight of the trip for many of us, it was very un developed,but friendly...real bad roads...and no electricity in most places apart from a few genys, im the bourder we crossed to IC was rough road but real friendly customs guys who let us sleep in the yard.....when you drive east to the bourder, the roads splits, we went left....i think origanaly we wanted to take the other road, but got confused and asked the only guy out there for ivory coast and he said left....not many people to ask out there...anyway it worked.......you arrive on a bourder a day drive from MAN

Niva Say Never, I'm the lone swedish (or actually finnish) biker you met. So you finally made it back home, you have fantastic photos on your blog!

I met many people doing the west coast, most also active here on the HUBB. On my way north, in Namibia I met a team "zwyszomi" going south. In Luanda I met a couple "Indlovu" going south. After that I met you "Niva Say Never" in Luozi. Then in Brazzaville I met a biker "dajg" going north. He later joined with biker "VanGS" (look here above) through Mali. I went myself around Mali and in Guinea I met a couple "sander.en.marianne." going south on two transalps. In Cameroon I met three couples going south.

gazza171, another big scandinavian group "Ronnie79" also went north in late 2012/beginning of 2013.

Greetings to you all! :thumbup1:

Fred

Hi Fred,
Oops, sorry! :oops2:
It's really great to hear from you, i hope you're well and had an amazing adventure.

I'm not doing very well at this posting lark! I forgot we also met Landygirl in Benin & Indlovu in Malawi. Hi guys if you're out therebier

We've been back for a week now....it's all still very weird!

I'd echo Gazza's thoughts on Guinea, a definite highlight for us too:thumbup1:

Happy travels
Sam