Tour d'Afrique

The biggest mental challenge is the enormous variety of the tour. No two countries are the same, every border crossing means a complete reorientation. Culturally, climatically, emotionally and in terms of transport.

The daily routine is suitably strict for a continent crossing. The alarm clock rings at five, then it's time to take down the tent and stow the equipment on the lorry. Breakfast is served at six, and at seven we hit the road to escape the heat. At the finish, we quickly pitch the tent and look for some shady relaxation, which is not always easy. At six in the evening, there's a briefing for the next day. Then there's dinner, and by eight at the latest: off to bed. It's a damn manageable life.

The route is pragmatic. Fluttering orange ribbons indicate where we have to turn off. But most of the time we don't have to turn off at all, because the Tour d'Afrique follows this eternal dream of a direct connection between Cairo and Cape Town, which the British colonialists already had and which has still not been realised. There is usually only one road, which we have to share with other road users. In addition to lorries driven by brute chauffeurs and jam-packed shared taxis, whose bodies are held together by rust and cable ties, Africa's traffic includes all kinds of exotic things: donkey carts that sometimes drive on the wrong side of the road, cows, goats and dogs whose lives take place on the road, as well as cyclists cranking their way through the countryside on vehicles of the "China" or "India" brands loaded to the rafters with goods.

You can find the entire adventure travel report as a PDF download below. The 2011 tour ran along this route:
Cairo (Egypt) to Khartoum (Sudan) - Khartoum to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - Addis Ababa to Nairobi (Kenya) - Nairoba to Mbeya (Tanzania) - Mbeya to Lilongwe (Malawi) - Lilongwe to Victoria Falls (Zambia) - Victoria Falls to Windhoek (Namibia) - Windhoek to Cape Town (South Africa)

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Downloads:
PDF: Africa: Tour d'Afrique