Overland through Niger, Chad, Central African Republic

[Xenobian]

Continuing from Chad..... south into the little explored Central African Republic. Long known for being a hotbed of chaos, little has ultimately changed. Timeless in so many ways.

The Central African Republic route:
Entering from Sahr, Chad
Bossangoa
Ndele
Monovo-Gounda-St Floris National Park
Sibut
Bangui
Zinga
Bouar
Carnot
Berberati
Dzangha Sangha National Park
Exiting towards Bertoua, Cameroon

This is a country which brings a whole different set of challenges to in Chad (which is more from a driving standpoint). C.A.R. is chaotic, complicated and fragmented to the point of being effectively without governance outside of Bangui and the surrounding area. Obviously there are many complicated dynamics with many international players, firstly the French (of course), the Americans (https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...or-us-troops/2012/04/29/gIQAasM6pT_story.html) and more recently, the Russians - an interesting movie to see about this is Tourist, 2021, in Russian (put subtitles on, on YouTube, not the greatest though....)
Arriving in the 3rd Arrondissment of the small town of Bossangoa. Long a center of instability, it came back under government control (of sorts) in February 2021. All seemed quiet, though.


Houses in Bossangoa


Unusual structure in Bossango, I regret not checking it out a bit more carefully as I still don't know what it is....


People in Bossangoa


Carrying firewood along the road from Bossango, north towards Ndele and the Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park

 

[Xenobian]

Politics change and what is possible on day is impossible the next.

Got the trou up on Google maps right now. Bravo on a great trip! Color me jealous!

Yes exactly, especially in Africa. You have to seize travel opportunities there when there is small window that allows it, with this trip, that window was for Chad. C.A.R. is always dicey, so it was the only big variable on the trip. Once in Southern Chad, things looked OK, so we went for it. The alternative was to skip it all together and just head into Cameroon early.

Thank you for the kind words, it was an excellent trip without a doubt

 

[Xenobian]

Thank you so much for posting this and giving us some glimpse of hope that we can go visit one day. My wife did a bit of work in the CAR and I have been interested since then.

Where did you start the trip? Did you drive/ship your Land Cruiser from the UK? Or rented it in Cameroon?

The trip started in Dakar, Senegal. I shipped it in from the UK (I am US based but had it stored there), then drove across Dakar - Kayes, Mali - Bamako - Segou - Djenne - Dogon Country - Mopti - Gao - Niamey - Maradi - Zinder - Diffa - N'guigmi (all quite quickly, as we had been in much of this area before and had a burning desire to get to Chad quickly) After Chad, CAR, then out to Cameroon (Bertoua, Yaounde, Douala - not so much exploring in Cameroon, we used up a fair bit of time for the Tibesti). Then shipping out from Douala (a hassle).

Central African Republic is a deeply interesting country, which I visited a few times previously. I didn't come across any other overlanders for the entire route, and I certainly wouldn't have expected it in C.A.R. expats, NGOs, diplomats etc mostly fly between towns, rather than drive, and in my instances that is probably not the worst idea.

 

[Christian P.]

The trip started in Dakar, Senegal. I shipped it in from the UK (I am US based but had it stored there), then drove across Dakar - Kayes, Mali - Bamako - Segou - Djenne - Dogon Country - Mopti - Gao - Niamey - Maradi - Zinder - Diffa - N'guigmi (all quite quickly, as we had been in much of this area before and had a burning desire to get to Chad quickly) After Chad, CAR, then out to Cameroon (Bertoua, Yaounde, Douala - not so much exploring in Cameroon, we used up a fair bit of time for the Tibesti). Then shipping out from Douala (a hassle).

Central African Republic is a deeply interesting country, which I visited a few times previously. I didn't come across any other overlanders for the entire route, and I certainly wouldn't have expected it in C.A.R. expats, NGOs, diplomats etc mostly fly between towns, rather than drive, and in my instances that is probably not the worst idea.

Thank you so much. I worked in West Africa and we had friends based in Kayes. I was under the impression that this area was off limit currently because of terrorism activities.
Glad to see you made it through!

 

[Xenobian]

Arriving in Ndele, C.A.R. Upon hearing there are foreigners in town, naturally an invitation is immediately dispatched by one of the local sultan's personal emissaries. We received and offered some shade and coca cola in the courtyard of the Sutan's 'Palace'/residence.


Life as lived by the people of the town


Bustling trade in the centre of Ndele


The road further north, looking back at Ndele as we head towards the Manovo Gounda St Floris National Park

 

[Xenobian]

Thank you so much. I worked in West Africa and we had friends based in Kayes. I was under the impression that this area was off limit currently because of terrorism activities.
Glad to see you made it through!

It is iffy, ish. It is feasible to get to Timbuktu overland, with some hassles and probably police/army escorts forced upon you. A friend did this last year, although going further north is still a no-go. As for Niger, thing are a bit better now (or rather, they "feel" a lot better. Possible to get to Agadez, and even do a circuit of the Tenere and Air (same friend visiting Timbuktu did just this - going as far as Bilma and the Djado plateau with army escorts, going further north towards Madama was off limits). Crossing from Niger to Chad at the lake wasn't a-given, but with patience, entertaining with tea and coca cola, and endless smiles, eventually we made it through The alternative would have been a long diversion through Nigeria (had a visa just in case) and Cameroon. I was really keen to do the Niger-Chad Lake Chad route, so it turned out well in the end!

 

[Xenobian]

I almost forgot, the young Sultan (of Ndele) himself. A friendly face, should you ever roll up into town, looking like you just crossed the Sahara...

 

[Xenobian]

After returning from the Manouvo Gounda St Floris National Park, the road south to Bangui goes back through Ndele. Being in the middle of Central African Republic is the worst place for things to go wrong. We were losing oil, our spare had been stolen, we were unable to source any in town. Without it we did not want to risk heading out of town with no real knowledge of the road ahead. We decided the safest solution was to get it from Bangui. The only practical way to do that quickly is by air.... no FedEx or convenient scheduled domestic flights here..... With the repairs done, we left our car with the Sultan and took a day to see some of this unusual country by air, flying from Ndele to Bria (a few hours on the ground) and then from Bria to a village called Yalina. I found it on an old ONC map of Central Africa, the South African pilots from Bangui said they have no idea of any planes flying there for at least 25 years....perfect.... let's have a look....

(Apologies, this is not overlanding by any definition, most definitely a short perspective by air)

Flying over Ndele


Approach to Bria


Flying over several small villages


Arriving at Yalinga.... yes, this is the runway unseen for 25 or so years... now overgrown and with some huts built on it.... We flew by once more to be sure we saw correctly....then aborted and returned back to Ndele. An exciting day out.


More villages near Ndele

 

[Christian P.]

It is iffy, ish. It is feasible to get to Timbuktu overland, with some hassles and probably police/army escorts forced upon you.

My friends circa 2008...things were different...

Longest Transcontinental Limousine Journey

Suna Taymaz set this world record with RecordSetter, a video network featuring the best in human achievement.

recordsetter.com

 

[Xenobian]

My friends circa 2008...things were different...

Longest Transcontinental Limousine Journey

Suna Taymaz set this world record with RecordSetter, a video network featuring the best in human achievement.

recordsetter.com

View attachment 702900

Well that trumps us all..... clearly they know how to roll up in Timbuktu in style

 

[Xenobian]

Rolling up in Bangui, a bit worse for wear, but thrilled to have crossed the north of Central African Republic. Time to check out the Oubangui River and the famous Oubangui Hotel (formerly Safari Hotel).


Fans of Mads Bruggers film "The Ambassador" will be familiar.... well worth a watch for an interesting take on a different side of life in this mysterious country.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ambassador_(2011_film)

 

[Christian P.]

Keep it coming. You just ruined my day at work.

 

[Xenobian]

Driving down the main drag in Bangui


The Cathedral in Bangui. Or, if you will, The Cathedral Notre-Dame of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.


The center of town


Hustle and bustle in Bangui


The football stadium

 

[Xenobian]

Time to take a stroll down to the Oubangui River... (or the Ubangui River, take your pick of spelling). Lots of exciting things going on. I had the madcap idea to barge the car down to Brazzaville, before thinking better of the idea and sticking to the outline plan. I really wish I had done the barge now.... there is always next time, perhaps.



Army boats and earthworks along the river




Sand diggers


An attempt to make an arty sort of photo - fishermen pirogues in the Oubangui River

 

[Xenobian]

ZONGO, the village across the river, although this is the Democratic Republic of Congo. A lot of local traffic to and from, just a short pirogue trip away. Naturally, the temptation was too great. It was essential to find the DRC embassy and see how simple getting a visa would be. Fortunately, this turned out to be really easy, really fast (next day service) and no invitations, extraneous paperwork, or hassles. A quick trip, a walk around, an a short hop back over to Bangui.


The shores of Zongo


Local traffic between Zongo and Bangui


A pirogue shuttle back from Zongo