Having driven around Lake Tchad about 1 month ago on the way to Sudan (we are in Khartoum at the moment), I'd say the difficultys are very exaggerated. We drove with 2 other cars, but not because it was needed. I'd drive around it again alone without hesitation. But, as mentioned above, Bol is a BAD place. Unfortunatly, when coming east, this is where you have to do custums and do the police paperwork that you've already done in Badou, over again! This is a minor hassle, but the main problem is that all the village kids, and I'd say quite a few grown-ups are very agressive. We had rocks thrown at the car, and in the end my wife had to get out and walk behind to keep them from breaking a window. She herself then became the target... No real damage was done, but she got some bruises.
N'djamena is a very dangerous city and 2 couples we met got robbed in broad daylight on Charles De Gaulle avenue. People around just stood there watching.
When driving from Adre in Tchad to El Genina in Sudan, you will look back at the Lake Tchad tracks as an easy highway. The border track to Sudan is much worse. Not to mention that when we got to El Genina, the police told us that 3 cars had been held up that same day and they closed the border after we entered. Some tourists on the Tchad side had to sit and wait while the "goodguys" went "hunting"... Either we passed the bad guys when they were off the road or they passed us when we drove off the road for a break!
Generally speaking, people in Tchad were far more aggressive than any other country we've been through.
More info is being added to our website at the moment and maybe you might find it helpful. Good luck!!!

Erik D.

www.dunia.no


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