- Overview
- (+ earlier Reports)
- Route Map
- Countries
- New Reports
- (+ new Pictures)
- Reports
- Picture Galleries:
- North America
- (Caribbean)
South America - Europe
Africa - (Indian Ocean)
Asia - Southeast Asia
- (Far East)
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- Website statistics: 'Webalizer' has been shut down in February 2013. 'Google-Analytics' is now the current counter.
- 'Google-Analytics' showed 19'829 pageviews during September. The visitors come from 233 countries!
- ('Google-Analytics': August = 21'308 pageviews / July = 18'703 pageviews)
- 'Logaholic' shows now the following figures in September 2015: 17'623 visits / 81'749 pages
- ('Logaholic' August = 19'154 visits / 87'237 pages; July = 17'941 visits / 84'779 pages)
- Record day since 12/17/1998 = the birthday of our website: on 11/5/2007 = 13'407 visitors and 787'456 hits ('Webalizer')
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- Since our armed assault in the night of July 31st, to August 1st, 2015, again two months passed by. Slowly we get readjusted
- to the different sounds at the campsites – is it from suspicious barking of dogs or from "stumbling" watchmen with their flashily
- LED torch. At the same time we have driven 1'760 miles [2'800km] through two more countries: Tanzania and now Kenya. As
- we visited both of the East African States thoroughly back in 1991 and because – according to our view – they "didn't improve
- since then considerably" but only "increased in price extensively" (without fail we have been disappointed in many 'departments'),
- we didn't go anymore to the main tourist attractions (Serengeti/Ngorongoro/beaches, etc.). The real nice national parks became
- for "non-African" tourists (i.e. whites) nearly unaffordable, at least with an own vehicle. Anyway, it is striking that the pricewise
- discrimination increased in a huge degree since our visit back in 1991, according to the motto "the white has money"! We paid
- at many places a multiple of a local, although the latter often drove a "better" car than the likes of us. Slowly we get the
- impression that traveling as an individual wants to be limited – group tours can be easier controlled.
- Thus we arrive at our "current" activity: Bureaucracy at no end! While the southern African states seem to like tourists, it looks
- to us that this is no longer the case since Tanzania. We then received – except for the former Portuguese colonies of Angola
- and Mozambique – an entry visa at the border, if it was not even visa-free. Kenya just introduced on September 1st, 2015, the
- e-visa, a process that isn't without complications. Of course, a lot of information can be checked much better; unsurprisingly it
- didn't work and has been "temporarily" suspended. A bit more to the north lies Ethiopia, which is demanding nearly invariably
- from all travelers that the visa has to be obtained in the homeland, respectively country of residence. "Nearly" was used in our
- case, because we were classified as "nobles", presumably because we are listed in the Guinness Book. Certainly we didn't
- receive this "honor" just like that, but because an Ethiopian journalist who likes to do an interview with us, had connection to the
- Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Sudanese visa would be easier to get in Nairobi, but it expires after two months, which is too
- early for our planned visits in the Horn of Africa. Hence, the only options remain in Addis Ababa/Ethiopia or in Djibouti – both
- versions won't be easy to crack!
- Fortunately Liliana's hearing problems were easier to solve. She wasn't able to follow conversations properly for some time
- already. We assumed that either her hearing worsened, or her hearing device Phonak that she bought nearly five years ago in
- Singapore conked out. Because Nairobi has a branch office of the Swiss company, Liliana made an appointment resulting that
- her eardrums could be laid open again what enabled a new adjustment of the devices. Now she is able to follow again every
- "talk show".
- Our four (!) LPG gas bottles could be refilled here in Nairobi, although each bears another system, respectively thread. Here
- we have seen the advantage of East Africa – more to the south or in "white" countries this would never have been possible.
- Unfortunately we also find that nowadays there aren't anymore the same kind of "African Travelers" we met e.g. here in
- Nairobi 24 years ago. While it was at that time 'Madame Roche's Camping', it's today the 'Jungle Junction JJ's', where the
- north-south and the south-north overlanders meet. The west-east alternative, which led back then through challenging Zaïre
- and Uganda, doesn't exist anymore – it's simply too dangerous to cross DRCongo. Either one chooses the western Trans-
- Africa version from Morocco via West Africa to Nigeria and afterwards "somehow" onwards to Namibia. or one drives the
- eastern option through East Africa. Regarding road conditions both versions might have the same challenges – however
- bureaucratically (the visa red tape) Western Africa is somewhat more difficult: It is not "only" Ethiopia and Sudan (both only
- difficult if approached from the South) that require running around for paperwork, the West offers the three problematic
- destinations of Nigeria, Congo (DRC) and Angola. Therefore also here in the East, like in Southern Africa, there are parking
- places where "tired" Transafrica Travelers are able to lodge their car and fly back home, respectively interrupt their trip
- otherwise. In the "old days" – once the crossing of the continent started in North Africa – one was forced to continue to the
- far South (or vice versa). As a consequence real long time travelers with their corresponding different psychological attitude
- became a rare species – actually a pity! Instead more and more "travelers" are just hanging around and try to survive somehow
- without money, if possible at the expense of a third party, because the situation in their homeland doesn't motivate them
- anymore. Is this probably also a reason that the host countries are restricting more and more the entries into their territory and
- as a consequence put almost unsolvable problems into the way of serious travelers?
-
- After the above mentioned critical comments, our planned itinerary looks as follows: North to Moyale and over to
- Ethiopia, afterwards to Djibouti. If the security situation for Somaliland looks promising (currently it does), we wouldn't
- exclude a visit of this "not or not fully recognized state" (analogue Abkhasia, Nagorno Karabakh, Transnistria and Taiwan).
- After having seen this East African corner we shall continue northwards to Sudan, if we should get somewhere the visa.
- And now a novelty: At the top of this page – "website statistics" (2nd line far-right) – it's possible to click on 'countries' to see
- from where the visitors of our website are originating since April 1st, 2010 (e.g. Germany 1st place = 225'321 visitors –
- Tuvalu 233rd place = 1 visitor). 5½ years ago we started with "Google Analytics".
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Tongatapu Island |  |
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Rarotonga Island |  |
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Temples, Pagodas, Shrines | |
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| The visit of 6 countries with and 1 island without our LandCruiser | Middle East | |
| The visit of 10 countries with and 1 without our LandCruiser | Southeast Asia | |
| The visit of 4 countries with and 1 islandl without our LandCruiser | Indian Ocean | |
| The visit of 4 countries with and 1 without our LandCruiser | Far East | |
| The visit of 14 Pacific Islands with and 1 without our LandCruiser | Pacific (Febr. 2008-Jan. 2010 + Aug.-Sept. 2010) |
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| The visit of 13 Caribbean Islands with our LandCruiser | Caribbean (June 2003-Dec. 2004) |
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| + added from the United Arab Emirates: | Fairytale Wedding in Dubai (March 1999) |
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| + added from a earlier visit to the USA: | Las Vegas (Millennium change) |
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| + added from our Arabian Peninsula round trip: | Pictures from Yemen (May-June 1996) |
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| + Flashbacks of our Worldrecordtour: | Pictures from "all the continents" (Oct. 1984 - April 1997) |
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