Hi, just wondering if anyone has any information about these border crossings and if they are open at the moment to foreigners?

Thanks.

Hey trans-african.

you are looking for the hard way, aren't you.
I did this section 4 years ago and have been in CAR easter/09 last time. So, I am not really up to date. Hence things changing there not that fast, my comment might be useful.

Do you know what to expect in CAR? It is the salt in the soup, once you are through. While you are in you might dam yourself for entering.

Since there are only a few travellers, and almost all of them just driving Yaounde-Bayanga return, you rely on the informations you got on the road.

Generally the north espacially the north-east of CAR is not under control of the government. What ever that means. The road from Bangassou to Sudan border is getting worse with every K eastward and cumulate in a trekking path from Obo to Bambouti. This section is passed by 20 vehicles per year, maybe. Unfortunately there might be the LRA around. Ask frequently about any incedents and try to avoid to meet them. Usally they hide in the jungle and operate on a hit and run. So once they hit, the road might be clear. Your are also able to cross the border to DRC (if you have a valid visa) in Bangassou, Rafai, Zemio by crossing the river with pirogues. You shouldn't be east of Bangassou earlier than end of november or early december due to the weather conditions. If you have to spent some time do it in Bayanga you will not find a similar spot.

Back to your question. As I mentioned before you are relying on the informations you get on the road. But I can tell you that these border crossings are so remote that there is no general policy of closed and opened. And the persons in charge are always in need of good money. They would be stupid denying you. If they are really closed for a day or two than for a good reason and you might not want to go on the other side.

Well, I guess I talked too mutch. Any further questions?

Looking for some road descriptions and fotos: http://www.traveller-tracks.com/en/travelledcountries/show/7-zentral-afrikanische-republik

Cheers Peter

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Thanks for the reply, I am aware of the situations in the area, it was really just the actual border crossings I was wondering about. Your website looks interesting, did you do the trip in the camper shown in some of the pics? It looks an impressive travel route.

Do you think all of the route is passable in a 4x4? and also:

How long would you estimate this particular route taking to cover?

Thanks.

So you are going in a 4x4. You should better ask, with which effort it is passable and that depends heavily on the weather conditions. Where are you now and when do you plan to go there?
Except the leg between Obo and Bambouti the roads are comparable good in the CAR due to the light traffic. In Southern Sudan they were worse when we passed them. 30K behind Maridi you get a better road to Yei and Arua.

When we passed Obo-Bambouti I was desperately missing a second car for backup. Not in the river bed descendings and ascendings which were like trial passages on solid rocks making the car jump around while driving with snail speed but sometimes half the road was washed away leaving a more than 1 meter deep canyon going zick-zack from one side to the other making you drive with two wheels on the vertical slippery wall. Just one minor mistake and you are stucked there for a month or so due to the lack of helping traffic. Actually I am not that experienced in such situations. Maybe it just was the potential danger. And at least we did it. And there are others too. Between 2001 and 2005 there were 4 tourist vehicles passing this route as far as I know. One of them was afritracks auf Transafrika. Mit Buschtaxi durch Sahara & Afrika. . Usually MSF, UNICEF, the army and lots of bycicles (supplying CAR with flip-flops and clothes) are using this route.

From Moundou (Chad) to Arua (Uganda) it took us nearly one month as you can see here Africa Again 05-06| Routes, Tracks, Waypoints, Embassies . There you can also see the particular times on every leg. The shown times are just driving times without any rest.

BTW if you like to get such an interactive map with your driven tracks on your own site, you just have to upload them at Traveller-Tracks.

Yes, we made this trip in the red van the always understimated VW syncro together with our kids.

Sorry, for the long comment but its quite difficult to draw a realistic picture with just a few words.

Are you going further south? At the moment we live in South Africa, maybe I can offer you a or a good coffee.

Cheers Peter

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Thanks, some good info in your post.

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inyang

Port Harcourt, Nigeria