Trans- Africa: Equator Motorcycle Expedition

Early in the morning we start from Accra along the Gulf of Guinea to the border to Togo.

We cross the Voodoo land Togo and Benin. In Benin we make a stop in the legendary Voodoo stronghold Ouidah. There we hold a few moments of remembrance at the 'Way of No Return' - a place where over 200,000 slaves were deported to other continents. Also for us, this point marks the 'Way of No Return' of our Trans Africa motorcycle journey.

Via the heavily frequented coastal road we reach the border crossing to Nigeria. After the time-consuming border processing and the handling of all formalities, we make our way through the dense traffic to the courtyard of hell - Lagos. In Lagos we enjoy the amenities of a 5-star hotel, where Philipp awaits us, who has organized the routing through Nigeria. This is important because in Nigeria, it feels like every ten kilometers a checkpoint is established, where usually passports and vehicle documents are checked. Through our booked escort service, we are allowed to pass the checkpoints without having to stop.

This small border crossing has neither travel stamps nor the opportunity to stamp the carnet papers of the motorcycles. Our contact person in Cameroon will take care of this as soon as we reach the capital Yaoundé. There Fred is waiting for us to service the motorcycles and change the tires. In Yaoundé we treat ourselves to a day off and discuss the next daily stage across the bush of Cameroon. The following days are very strenuous, without significant civilization - one of the most exciting and beautiful stages in West Africa.

Then we reach the border to the Republic of Congo, where we glide along well-developed asphalt roads. We spend the night in a special camp with the gorillas. Upstream, we travel by speedboat to the last three silverback gorillas of the region and experience an impressive animal species that can now only be observed in countries like Ghana or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, the first known HIV case was registered in 1959, presumably caused by the consumption of bushmeat (chimpanzees and gorillas share 98% of our genes). Welcome to the 'hell' Kinshasa! With escort service we will safely traverse the city and reach the border to Angola.

Along the South Atlantic, we traverse Angola and make a supply stop in Luanda. We continue southward, crossing the highlights Benguela and Lobito, until we reach the border to Namibia. Motorcycle trips through Angola are a highlight for every biker - among other things, because the fuel here costs only about 0.22 € per liter.

The border crossing to Namibia is now more complicated, as Europeans now need a visa, which we can have issued at the border. In Namibia, there is the possibility to stay overnight at Westgate and from there take a day trip to the legendary Etosha Pan to see the 'Big Five' - although the chances are somewhat lower outside the dry season.

South Africa - the last country of our motorcycle expedition - offers a comparatively relaxed stage along the coast, past the Namaqua National Park, to the 'Rainbow City' Cape Town. Upon arrival in Cape Town, Werner is waiting for us to clean the motorcycles and prepare them for the return trip to Europe. On the last evening, we still have time to visit Table Mountain and celebrate the conclusion of this adventurous expedition with our tour guide Jürgen in one of the legendary restaurants.