travel in mauratinia
 

is it safe to visit atar we are grup of 6 with 3 teenage boys in 3 land rovers

Atar and the surrounding area is regarded as safe. As always keep an ear to the ground, but there is no cause for worry.

travel in mauratinia
 

Hello
I was in Atar this jan. It was wery quiet. Planning going there next jan too (own car), so maybe we meet up.
regards
grove

Hi Grove

We will be in RIM after jan 1 we are 3 discoverys with Irish reg plates it is hard to miss us ........ what will you drive

Did you tun left at RIM Maroc border and follow piste along side railway or what route did you take to Atar ?
Will this be your route next jan ?
Is there another piste to Atar from the north from Layounne to Bir Morrein and south to Atar ?


Maurice

to Atar
 

Hi Maurice
I will be in RIM around the second week i jan in a LR 110 td5.
In practice there are only two turist routes, along the railway and down south from Chooum og the tarred road to Nouakchott and from there to Atar (asy driving). Done both. I think I will go along railroad, best with min. two cars. Done it alone with a local guide.
The piste You mention is not possible.
For futher info contact me by pm :thumbup1:
Regard
Grove

Hi Grove

We may see you beside railway next jan

best wishes
Maurice

Hi,

There is, but the border is closed.

Going to festival in Mali
 

Hi all

We'll be going to the festival in timbuktu on 9th to 11th Jan and so will also be traveling the atar route around 1st Jan 09. We are traveling in a Toyota Troupie. Pleased to meet up with others going some or all that route

Hi,
I also think about travel to Mauratina, but isn't it too cold in Jan ? What festival will take place in Timbuktu?
We wonder if it's safe to go there with our 5 years old son (was on desert a few times already).
We got Defender 90.

Festival au Desert - Essakane near Tombouctou
 

Hi there

The Festival au Desert is a malian music festival. Been going about 8 years. Apparently it is a bit touristy nowadays, however, possibly still worth going to. There is another one in Segou in Feb which is supposed to be better. I have not been to either, but have traveled in that area before. The weather is OK. Better than UK and Poland in Jan! I would think that it would be quite safe to take a youngster.

cheers

John

Hi John,
Which way will you go there and how many cars are supposed to go?

br,
Piotr

Festival au Desert
 

Hi PIotr

We will pick up visas in Rabbat for Mauritania (multiple entry) and Mali. (single entry).

Go through Western Sahara to Mauritania.

Turn left to Atar and Chinguetti. From there take Chris Scott's R10 route to Tidjikja.

From there we would like to take Chris Scott's R11 to Nema and go south to Mali and Bamako, but fuel restrictions (or prices) and the need for another traveling vehicle(s) might restrict us to going from Tidjikja south to Kiffa and then west to Ayoun el' Atrous to cross the border to Bamako.

Bamako to Douentza is all paved road until heading north to Tombouctou.

Does anyone know of a better route?

There will be three of us - My wife and I and a Jack Russel dog.

We have a well prepared Toyota troupie, however despite considerable 4x4 experience, desert travel is relatively new to us.

how about you?

Cheers

john

Hi John,
...hmm your planned travel to Nema is what I wanted to do in 2002 in group of 3 Defenders. Unfortunately two others droped out so I decided not to go alone :(.
I have a lot of offroad experiences but mostly in Europe. The only desert expiriences I have are from Tunisia. In November I will go to Libya with friends of mine (around ten cars) so I will have some expirience after that. Anyway I think two cars is not enough to your trip.
What is the estemated time for your whole trip ?

C U
Piotr

Hi Piotr

Only just starting to put a plan together, however our thoughts are that we will leave in early Dec with a plan to arrive in Tombuctou about 9th of Jan. That is about 30 to 34 days for the trip descibed in my last.

VERY roughly that means about 10 days to get to the Mauri border. 15 days of travel to cover the Chris Scott routes, leaving 9 days or so to get to Tombuctou.

2 years ago I returned from Mopti to the UK comfortably in 3 weeks.

It does help if you do not have to stop over in Bamako for a Mauri visa on the return trip

Our return to the UK will take appox 3 weeks.

3 vehicles would make a good trip. With less vehicles, or traveling alone we would cut out R11.

Anybody out there with R10 or R11 experience? Please chip in with your comments

Cheers

John

Hi John,
it seems to last very long for me. Too long. I'm not sure if we could go for more then 30 days :( .
Anyway, the idea is still interesting for me. Let's stay in touch.

cheers,

Piotr

Mauri
 

Hi Piotr

It is a fairly long trip - in 30 days however the R10 and R11 elements, returning along the tarmac is manageable (just! - with a couple of long days)

John

stiupid question
 

Hi John,
I'm sorry but I have to ask a stiupid question :oops2:, where I could find the details of R10 and R11. I've got Scott's book but old one and the last route is R9.
Please advice me.

Piotr

R10 and R11
 

Hi Piotr

I found them in Chris Scott's latest edition which I bought only a month ago

cheers

John

Hi John,
that's good news, I mean this is not a problem with me but with shoping only. Is there anything new about Libya if you copmare it to the older edition?
Have you found anybody else for that trip to Mali ?


Piotr

January/RIM
 

Hi there,

It is going to be almost a crowd in Mauri in January :thumbup1: Good for social and safety reasons. I plan to get to Nema sometime in second half of January, so we might see each other somewhere on the track.

cheers

Jarek

Where are you going?
 

Hi Jarek

Where are you off to?

John

Jan/RIM
 

John,

I just plan to make a trip through Mauri and then head back to Europe. Unfortunately I have bills to pay and can't spend more than a month off :thumbdown:.
I should be in Mauri this winter but due to various reasons stopped in West. Sahara. Anyhow, should you be there in January, look for white Landy 110 hardtop (looks a bit like Red Cross).

Jarek

Hi there !
with whole respect Jarek, probably there will be a few dozens of white Landies driving in all directions :clap:.

Piotr

It might be best not to count on that. Last year in the hinterland our group met one tourist car in three weeks - and that was Cyril & Sylvie Ribas... Not much local traffic either. Busier this year maybe. Have a good trip.

Nice pictures Richard. Did you navigate the piste from ATAR to NEMA with the Chris Scott track or you have your own one? What maps do you use? I have old French maps (1:250K) on TTQV and I wonder if those are accurate.

RGDS

Jarek

Hi Jarek,

We used Jose Brito's points (also published in Sahara O, I think); some from Mauritanie Au GPS and one or two of our own from previous visits.

We started from Chinguetti across the erg and made a few other variations, but for 90% of the time we stuck to the main route.

My guess is the piste has stayed roughly the same since the Songhai Empire, but the dunes do move year-to-year so it is sometimes better to read the ground and your maps rather than chasing a bearing.

The IGN 200k maps are good, but better if cross-referenced with another set like the TPC. Google Earth gives some sense of the terrain.

Cheers, Richard

Waypoints
 

Hi Richard

thanks for the link to the way points

Excellent stuff ! Very helpful !

Regards

John

Festival - Mali
 

Hi,
How is your trip planning oing ? have you left ?. I am down in Guinea-Bissau planning to go up for the Music Festival begining of Jan. It would be good to know some others going the same way as I am a Solo Biker (F650 GS Dakar). I have been down in Guinea-Bissau for a year now working as a volunteer for a landmine clearance company and am desperate to streach the legs a little back on to the sand. Dirt Tracks and trees are great but i do love the desert.

Andy

Hi Andy

We will be in Bamako about 5th Jan then on to the festival Stay in touch perhaps we can meet

John

western sahara crossing - piste along the railway
 

hey all,

we're planning to head down western sahara over christmas and then taking the piste along the railway to atar. just scanned through the thread and saw some similar plans. Might be nice to team up

not much time now, but I'l check this again later this week

cheers

Daan and Chris