The team
The OVERCROSS team
Whoever leads a region for us has ridden it themselves. Here are the people behind the trips, their story and their tours.
- 17
- people on the team
- 83
- countries ridden ourselves
- 8
- languages
- 2,150,000
- kilometres ridden
- 730
- expeditions led
- 164
- tours on offer
The team
Everyone who makes an OVERCROSS trip happen: who leads it, who plans it, who builds it. Sorted by department.
Guides & tour leaders 9
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Founder & Creative Engine of Overcross
Joe Küster
"Jack of all trades, almost all!" The driving force and idea machine behind Overcross.
- Africa
- Egypt
- Angola
- Ethiopia
- +38
After more than 1,000,000 kilometres through the bush, jungle and deserts of this planet, I can count myself a millionaire in experiences: every tour has been a wild adventure. For me Overcross is the best drug there is, I stayed hooked and became dopamine dealer No. 1.
It all started with a single trip that was meant to be a holiday and turned into a company instead. Out of the wish to share the feeling of that first big ride, Overcross was born, an operator for people who don't want to travel past the world, but straight through it.
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Europe I have covered by car and by motorcycle. The motorcycle journeys that left the deepest mark on me were Kyrgyzstan in Asia, the crossing of the African continent on the western route and then again on the eastern route, one of my very first big rides right across the USA, and my travels in Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Peru.
Among the adventures without a motorcycle are the crossing of the Congo on the Congo River, the crossing of India, the crossing of Oman, Egypt and Libya, as well as the USA, Japan and China. I have been on the road since 1996 and at some point I stopped counting: the countries, the flights, the kilometres on the bike and in the car.
In the field of experience travel I was lucky enough to see Africa from the overland 4x4 truck that my partner, who has since passed away, ran successfully for 30 years. And yes, the luxury trips in business class and in the best 5 star hotels in the world were an experience. Compared with the 1000 star hotels of an adventure journey, though, they are almost interchangeable.
Alongside organising trips I have had the privilege of working for film companies. In Tunisia and Libya I supported and organised productions, among them the Stauffenberg documentary and the Great Man Made River Project in Libya. In various countries I have also run training for special forces across different climate zones. Organising and delivering those courses ranks, together with the Trans Africa tour, among my absolute highlights.
Today there's a piece of me in almost every tour: a route I've ridden myself, a partner I trust, a camp where I've sat by the fire. I plan, test, turn the wrench and lend a hand. And when a guest climbs off the bike at the end, exhausted and grinning, I remember exactly why I do all this.
Looking ahead, my main focus is on organising trips. I want to get the coming generation excited about motorcycle travel and offroad travel, and I want to train guides. Not to some certificate, but to a certain professionalism: being able to organise and lead a tour and to create real value for the country and its people.
My main expertise lies on the African continent, in parts of Asia and of course in Europe. What makes me proud is that we have been able to travel for 30 years, and that we have given many thousands of participants a memory to carry through life, one they have not forgotten in decades and still value today.
- 30
- years guiding
- 140
- expeditions completed
- 45
- countries visited
Tours
- Africa Motorcycle Expedition: TransAfrica GO WEST
- Transafrica Expedition: 4x4 Western Route to Cape Town
- Angola & Namibia
- Motorcycle travel West Africa: Togo & Benin - Villages & Voodoo
Languages German, English
More about Joe -
Head of Motorcycle Tours & Tour Guide Central Asia
Georg Winterberger
Runs the motorcycle-tour programme and personally leads the toughest routes across Central Asia.
- Kyrgyzstan
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
- Tajikistan
- +6
Georg is responsible for the entire motorcycle-tour programme at Overcross – and yet he's happiest where there's the least tarmac: in Central Asia. He knows the Pamir Highway, the passes of Kyrgyzstan and the vastness of the Kazakh steppe from dozens of trips.
As head of the programme he keeps many tours on track; as a guide he's in the saddle himself. That double role makes him the calm centre of the team: he knows what a tour needs in detail because he rides it to the end himself.
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Altitude, cold, endless tracks – where others reach their limits, that's where the real appeal begins for Georg. And he has the rare gift of passing that enthusiasm on to a whole group.
- 18
- years guiding
- 160
- expeditions completed
- 30
- countries visited
Tours
- Kyrgyzstan Offroad Trip – 4x4 Adventure with Rental Car
- Offroad adventures from the Gobi to the Orkhon waterfall.
- Guided Mongolia Motorcycle Tour through the Gobi Desert
- Motorcycle Expedition in Iran
Languages German, English, Russian
More about Georg -
Russland-Spezialist
Moritz Dietrich
Russland: so nah und doch so fern. Nach sieben Jahren im Land wächst die Lust, weiter zu entdecken.
- Russia
Russland - So nah und doch so fern. Europa aber doch völlig unverständlich. Und viel mehr als nur Roter Platz und Kreml. Das sind so die Eindrücke die bleiben wenn man sich längere Zeit in dem Land aufhält.
Nach 7 Jahren hab ich schon einiges gesehen, doch die Lust weiters zu entdecken und zu erkunden wächst beständig. Und immer wieder die Erkenntnis: "Na das hab ich jetzt aber noch nicht erlebt"
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Motorrad-Tourguide Frankreich
Kai Jahnke
„Der Eisbär“: Motorrad-Tourguide für Frankreich und Rechtsverdreher, seit 2005 aus dem Hintergrund.
- France
Der Eisbär
Motorrad-Tourguide für Frankreich und Rechtsverdreher. Zuständig für Recht & Ordnung agiere ich mit vorliebe seit 2005 aus dem Hintergrund und halte den Joe an den Zügeln.Nach dem Motto: Zuckerbrot für die Mitarbeiter und Peitsche für den Chef, steuern wir täglich neuen Abenteuer mit viel Spaß entgegen.
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Tourguide Westalpen & Indien
Nitin Ullal
Seit 2011 mit Joe unterwegs, 10 000 Westalpen-Kilometer später heute mit Royal Enfield in Indien.
- India
- Switzerland
- Italy
- France
Die ersten Touren mit Joe waren (2011) in der Schweiz und Deutschland, von Kurve zu Kurve, bis zum verlust des Profils ;-)
Über die Jahre habe ich immer wieder versucht Joe und ein paar andere Motorradfahrer auf eine Westalpen Tour zu bewegen. Nach vielen Jahren der Freundschaft und 10 000 Westalpen Kilometer später haten wir die ein oder andere legendäre Westalpen Tour! Heute bin ich über die Westalpen hinaus gefahren und mittlerweile in Indien von Highlight zu Highligt mit Royal Enfild on tour.Read the whole story Show less
Hier ist das Abenteuer und ich freue mich wenn Ihr mit dabei seit, wir sehen uns in Indien.
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Tourguide Nepal & Nordindien
Otto Dinkelacker
Tourminator für Nepal und Nordindien, Ansprechpartner für Bergtouren und Abenteuertrekking.
- Nepal
- India
"Ansprechpartner für Bergtouren und Abenteuertrekking in Südostasien. Und Motorradfahren natürlich, und das am Liebsten in Ländern ohne Verkehrsregeln!"
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Tour Guide Romania
Hans Paul Buchfellner
At home in the Carpathians – leads Overcross groups over Romania's finest passes and tracks.
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Serbia
- Balkan
- +4
Romania is Hans Paul's territory – and anyone who has ridden the Transfăgărășan or the lonely tracks of the Carpathians with him understands why he has stayed loyal to the country. He knows the switchbacks, the shepherds' paths and the little guesthouses where no one speaks English in the evening and everyone laughs anyway.
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As a tour guide he leads groups with a mix of calm and dry humour that makes hard stages easier. He rides up front when it matters and at the back when someone needs time.
For Hans Paul, a good tour isn't one where everything goes smoothly, but one where the group has grown together by the end. That's exactly what he pulls off, trip after trip.
- 11
- years guiding
- 95
- expeditions completed
- 8
- countries visited
Tours
- Motorcycle trip through the Carpathians - Romania
- Guided 4x4 discovery tour through the Carpathians
- Romanian Carpathians: 4x4 Camping Trip
- 4x4 Comfort - Offroad trip through the Carpathians - Romania
Languages German, English
More about Hans Paul -
Product Manager and Tour Leader South America
Eduardo Nogueira
“The guests do the riding.” The product manager behind our South America tours, and the man who is there when they run.
- Tunisia
- China
- Germany
- France
- +13
I have worked in tourism for fourteen years, building products for South America. One thing I'll say straight away, because somebody would find out sooner or later: I don't ride a motorcycle myself and I'm not behind a wheel either. My work starts long before the first stage and it only stops once the group is home again.
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Whether it is motorcycle travel, a 4x4 expedition or a mountaineering expedition, none of it is made out on the track. It is made in months of preparation. I pick the partners on the ground, negotiate the terms, check the permits and put the stages together so that they actually work in the season they are sold for. If a route in April and the same route in October are two different tours, that belongs in the programme and should not come as a surprise halfway through.
So I talk to the people a tour like this really depends on: the workshops, the drivers, the cooks, the places we sleep and the authorities. Spanish and Portuguese alongside German and English are not a line on my CV, they are the tool. One phone call in the local language settles in a few hours what an email takes three weeks to do.
I don't stay at my desk for that, though. I go along with groups on the ground and look after how the tour runs, the accommodation and the incidents that always come up out there. The guests do the riding. I'm the one making sure that in the evening everything is where it should be, and the one who knows who to call when it isn't.
At altitude one thing counts above all, the pace and the break. Above 4,000 metres it is not riding technique that decides how a day ends, it is the planning beforehand: when a group acclimatises, how long a stage really takes and where the break belongs. That is my part of the work and I take it seriously.
South America is my main ground, but it is not the whole of my work. I also build products for Europe and I look after our mountaineering expeditions in Peru, in Bolivia and across the rest of the Andean region. In mountaineering there is even less room for guesswork at the planning stage: acclimatisation, weather windows, hut capacity and the qualification of the mountain guides decide whether a group reaches the top or does not. What I have set myself for the coming years is simple: build tours that still deliver what the programme promises when the wind has been in your face for three days.
- 14
- years guiding
Tours
- Motorcycle Tour Tunisia: Sahara Desert Adventure
- Motorcycle Tour through Tunisia: New Year's Eve in the Sahara
- Enduro Tour Through Tunisia: Ride the Sahara Desert
- 4x4 expedition to Libya
Languages German, English, Spanish, Portuguese
More about Eduardo -
Tour Manager Europe
Maya Schiessler
Plans and leads Overcross tours across Europe – from Sardinia to the North Cape.
- Italy
- Spain
- France
- Greece
- +8
Europe is easy to underestimate – until you've been out with Maya. She plans and leads the Overcross tours of the continent and proves that the finest roads are sometimes only a day away: in the Alps, on Sardinia, in the mountains of the Balkans or up at the North Cape.
As tour manager she holds both ends: the planning at the desk and the group on the road. She writes the roadbooks, hunts down the passes with the best corners, and on difficult days she is calm itself.
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What her guests value most is the feeling that everything has been thought of – and that there's still room for the unexpected.
- 10
- years guiding
- 130
- expeditions completed
- 20
- countries visited
Tours
- Offroad motorcycle journey through Sardinia - Italy
- A guided motorcycle tour through Sardinia with rental motorcycle
- Tunisia 4x4 Offroad Tour: Sahara with Family
- Sardinia 4x4 Offroad SUV Trip
Languages German, English, Spanish, Italian
More about Maya
Product & planning 4
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Koordinator Motorradreisen Südostasien
Roland Spruijtenburg
Koordinator für Motorradrundreisen in Indonesien, auf den Philippinen und in Sri Lanka.
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Sri Lanka
Motorradbegeistert kann er sich ein Leben ohne sie nicht vorstellen. Seit 2007 hegt er eine echte Faszination für Südostasien und teilt diese Leidenschaft mit Abenteurern durch Motorradreisen. Er ist unser Koordinator für Motorradrundreisen in Indonesien, auf den Philippinen und in Sri Lanka.
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Product Manager 4x4 Offroad Tours
Christian Gunkel
Builds the 4x4 offroad expeditions of Overcross – where the road ends, his programme begins.
- Morocco
- Namibia
- Mongolia
- Island
- +2
When there are four wheels in play at Overcross instead of two, that's Christian's world. As product manager for 4x4 offroad tours he builds the operator's overland expeditions – from desert crossings to overlanding routes through remote regions.
He thinks in recovery ropes, tyre pressures and water supplies where others only see the landscape. He checks every route for what matters: is it really doable with the vehicle, and what happens if something goes wrong?
- 13
- years guiding
- 105
- expeditions completed
- 20
- countries visited
Tours
- Kasbah New Year's Motorcycle Adventure in Morocco
- Motorcycle Expedition from Marrakech to Dakar
- Guided 4x4 off-road trip through Morocco at Easter
- Guided Motorcycle Enduro Tour through Morocco from Marrakesh
Languages German, English
More about Christian -
Product Manager Asia
Pravin Rohra
Indian by birth, German by degree. Builds the journeys across Asia and knows the remote tracks as well as he knows product management.
- India
- Nepal
- Mongolia
- Kyrgyzstan
- +8
For Pravin, Asia is not a market on a map but a collection of worlds: the high plateaus of the Pamir, the rice terraces of Vietnam, the deserts of Central Asia and the passes of the Himalaya. As product manager for the Asian region, he turns them into journeys that are more than a string of sights.
He knows the region first hand, maintains the relationships with local partners and plans routes that hold up at altitude and far from anywhere.
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What draws him is the contrast. A tour crosses desert in the morning and a four thousand metre pass in the evening, and the guests are not the same people at the end as they were at the start.
A route does not come together at a desk. He checks the tracks, the places to stay and the supplies along the way, and paces the stages so there is time to acclimatise between the climb and the arrival. Where reliable infrastructure is missing, he replaces it with people on the ground he has known for years.
What is deliberately not on the programme matters just as much: the stop at a tea house, the detour over a pass with no name, the conversation with a family at the roadside. Those moments are the difference between travelling through Asia and travelling in Asia.
- 14
- years guiding
- 100
- expeditions completed
- 22
- countries visited
Tours
- Royal Enfield Motorcycle Travels India Rajasthan Desert
- Royal Enfield Gujarat Motorcycle Trip
- India Motorcycle Tours: Royal Enfield Motorcycle Tour Rajasthan
- India Himalaya Offroad 4X4 Adventure Travel
Languages German, English
More about Pravin -
Product Manager Africa
Maik Schneider
Knows Africa's tracks, border posts and rainy seasons – and which route actually works.
- Morocco
- Tunisia
- Mauritania
- Senegal
- +5
Africa isn't a destination you plan on the side – it wants to be understood. Maik knows the tracks, the border posts and the rainy seasons, and he knows which route looks good in the brochure and which one actually works.
From the dunes of Morocco and Mauritania to the far south, he puts together the Overcross tours of the continent. He takes care of the invisible things: permits, reliable local partners, fuel and water in places where both are scarce.
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For Maik, riding sand isn't an obstacle but the best part of the day. That enthusiasm is in every Africa trip that carries his name.
Technology & media 4
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Social Media, Design, Video & SEO
Nikita Dashchenko
The "chick of Overcross" – tells our adventures in image, video and search engine.
Nikita is the "chick of Overcross" – the youngest on the team and the voice that carries our adventures to the outside world. What others experience, he makes visible: in images, in videos, in stories that make you want to ride out again.
From the social media story to the travel film to the search engine, Nikita makes sure people find Overcross – and find themselves in it. He edits, designs, writes and optimises, usually with one ear on the next trend.
Languages German, English, Russian
More about Nikita -
Head of Development / Lead Programmer
Hryhorii Sukhikh
Leads the development behind Overcross – from booking to landing page.
For a tour to be booked, a landing page to be found and an enquiry to be answered, a lot has to run smoothly behind the scenes. That's Hryhorii's territory: as lead developer he owns the systems, interfaces and databases that keep Overcross running.
He builds the tools the team works with every day, connects booking, website and internal processes, and automates whatever can be automated – and he sets the direction the technology takes. Invisible when everything goes well, and that's the whole point.
Languages German, English, Russian
More about Hryhorii -
Software Developer & Representative for the Arab World
Fares Felhi
Software developer on the Overcross team and Overcross's representative for the Arab world, fluent in Arabic, French and English.
What I do here
I'm a software developer on the Overcross team, and also the face of Overcross for the Arab world. I build features, find bugs before guests notice them, and make the website faster and better, step by step.My role for the Arab world
I speak Arabic, French and English, and I'm the direct point of contact for Arabic-speaking guests and partners. I represent Overcross in all communication with the Arab region, so language is never a barrier.Read the whole story Show less
Experience
Trained at the Esprit School of Engineering, with hands-on experience from projects and internships at Tunisie Telecom and Ooredoo. These roles sharpened both my technical skills and my instinct for international communication.About me
I'm passionate about computer science and artificial intelligence, love creating new things, and see myself as a bridge between Overcross and the Arab world, both technically and culturally.Languages English, French, Arabic
More about Fares -
Reiseautor
Joachim von Loeben
Schreibt über Reisen, Sabbaticals und Auszeiten, die Reisebücher mit eigenen Fotos.
Ich schreibe über Reisen, Sabbaticals oder Auszeiten und zu Fragen der Persönlichkeitsentwicklung. Meine Reisebücher sind mit eigenen Fotos versehen.
ZZ plane ich gerade ein Buch über meine skurillsten Reisen...
Wer mehr über meine Arbeit im Bereich Sabbatical wissen möchte: www.joachim-vonloeben.de
What guests say about the team
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Mit Joe zu reisen heißt, in besten Händen zu sein. Er kennt jede Piste, jeden Händler und jede Abkürzung – und behält auch dann die Ruhe, wenn gleich zwei Motorräder streiken. Das war die beste Reise meines Lebens, ganz ohne Übertreibung.
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Eduardo hat uns über Pässe geführt, von denen in keinem Reiseführer steht. Seine Ruhe in der Höhe und sein Gespür für die richtige Pause haben die Tour für mich überhaupt erst möglich gemacht. Ein Reiseleiter, dem man blind vertraut.
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Pravin plant für die Höhe, bevor sie zum Problem wird. Wir sind langsam genug aufgestiegen, dass alle den Pamir wirklich genießen konnten. Diese Weitsicht unterscheidet einen guten von einem großartigen Veranstalter.
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