Pelican 16
 

Hi All,

Next Month we are going through Western Sahara on our way to Mauritania and would like to visit Pelican 16, any advice on route conditions, safety and fuel would be appreciated.

many thanks

There was a Kiwi couple that went there a few months ago. Apparently there were soldiers there that weren’t happy to see them

Pelican is in the PFZ, so you would have to enter from Mauritania.

I heard similar recently - don't think it was the same group (it was Nick T, below).
At worst they just send you straight back 15km to the RIM border.

Hi all,

Have you read this ? It´s from 2017

https://pistenkuh.de/reisen/afrika/m...rzes-feedback/

Friend of mine was there in January and will be back early 2020 for another visit.

Pelican 16
 

Hi,

Thanks for the replies, We will give it a shot and see what happens?

If you encounter Polisario, which you likely will, do as they say and dont try to run away from them. They control the land. You are in their hands.
Best is to go to Fderik and take the piste from the N1.
We cut across south of Fderik and went to Agounit, which wasn't the best idea. Even if it turned out well.
You can also come in from the south, but best is from Fderik.

Approach from the Choum-F'derik road, about 20 or so km south of F'derik just turn west. There are tracks everywhere in all directions so just use a gps waypoint and head straight there!
We only met civilians in 2wd cars meandering about in the area. None at the actual crash site.

We were there in February 2019 and it wasn’t a friendly welcome.

We approached from the Fderik side and followed well-worn trails. As we approached Pelican 16 we saw a new building and a “technical”, a 70 Series pickup with a .50 cal mounted in the rear. As we were pretty close at this point we approached being as friendly as we could be and 3 soldiers came out of the building and had us reverse about 30m from their compound - nothing more than a few rocks 20m from the building.

We tried chatting them in the English style (lol that never works, not even in England) the fluent Spanish speaker we had with us could hardly communicate with them and our bad Arabic made no headway. They were clearly pissed off at us and we’re in two minds whether to make us wait for El Jefe to turn up or just be rid of us.

This process took maybe 30-45 minutes. They weren’t aggressive but it wasn’t a great vibe and we felt bad being the Western tourists just showing up and expected to be entertained. Poor buggers were only doing their job at what must be a fairly crappy posting.

Anyway, while I’d love to have another go, I’d try and find a way of having permission (rather that forgiveness) as I think just turning up doesn’t present us in a good light. I have no idea how you’d get permission though...

HTH
Nick.

We turned up unannounced in Agounit with three vehicles, an hour or two before sunset, and the local command was startled.
We had brought a guide from Choum, and he said we wouldnt have any problems, but as it turned out he was not useful neither in finding a good piste nor helping out with formalities. It appeared he was mainly interested in a free ride so he could see his family.

For a while it was a tense situation. The captain in charge said we needed to have a permit (visa actually - I asked where to find a SADR embassy?) to be there.
He made us wait while he contacted his superiors and we weren't sure if we would be turned back or put behind bars.
Then everything turned, and we had a friendly chat and exchanged a few gifts. He told us we would be given an escort, and asked us if we had food. He then gave us bread, box of water bottles and veggies. Did we have meat? He produced a lambs leg, and off we went to the plane. True Saharian hospitality, like so often.
We spoke only Spanish and talked about many things. I asked about the Minusma base marked on the map and suggested they may have Swedish personnel there. He said there was no activity. Right then, a Boeing flew in over our heads, negating what he just said. But he made clear we could not go near the base.
The younger soldiers only spoke arabic and were not chatty.
They stayed with us near the plane, and the next morning we drove back to Agounit together. I then asked if they had fuel, and they let us fill up from their barrels for a low price (but more expensive than Algeria). Good fuel, but gave poor mileage.

We then exited straight south, after an interesting experience.

Had we made a run for it, as some other tourist apparently have, I am not sure it would have ended well at all.

Pelican 16
 

Hi All,

Thanks again for all the replies, the more you read the less appealing it is.

Pelican 16
 

A really good experience