Leaving Europe and crossing
into Tunisia ended up being quite a stressful time
for me.
On the day of the ferry, not only was it raining,
but Roni would not start, and then wouldn't even
switch on!
Myself and Laura sat in the rain for an hour, pulling
everything apart to try and sort it.
As I was about to hotwire the bike, Laura fixed
the ignition.
So, a hurried goodbye and a dodgy ride on wet roads
(I had just fitted my offroad tyres) got to me the
ferry on time.
The ferry trip was uneventful, apart from the fact
that customs decided my passport would be better
used as a beer mat in their office than tucked away
safely on my person. Fortunately, I got it back
in Tunisia the following day with no trace of a
coffee stain, but only with a 7 day visa.
There were quite a few 4X4's,
mainly French, on board the ferry and all going
to Algeria. There were 2 other bikers as well,
but also going in a different direction to me.
So once I was through customs, we said our farewells
and parted company.
I spent a couple of days in northern
Tunisia, where I saw locals only. I tried to get
to the Northern most point of Africa, following
a dodgy dirt road up this steep track to an old
fort on the hill.
Only when I got closer did I notice that it was
a military installation, so I decided to forego
any photography, as beatiful as the area was.
Good thing I didn't as it wasn't long before I
was escorted politely from the area and pointed
in the 'right' direction.
Northern Tunisia is amazingly
green and fertile. It's easy to see why this area
was considered as Romes breadbasket once they
had defeated Hannibal and his elephants. In some
areas, you could be forgiven for thinking that
you were in Scotland on a warm day.
As I drove south, the vegetation
slowly became more desolate, until I reached the
Chott el Djerd, the great salt sea. Which is surrounded
by mountains and sand.
Here I camped for a few days at Tozeur, which
is also a gathering point for overlanders heading
into Algeria.
I met heaps of bikers and 4X4's, all German and
Swiss, heading into Algy for 2 or 3 weeks and
was sorely tempted to change my route and join
them. If I hadn't needed a visa I just may have.
After leaving Tozeur, I had a
massive day riding across the Chott, through some
relatively desolate scrubland and on to Matmata.
This is the land of the Trogladytes (cave dwellers)
and also featured in some of the Star Wars
movies. (don't ask me which one, I didn't stay
long enough to find out)
I found the place a bit too quiet, so headed on
to Ben Guerdane (border town with Libya) via an
incredible pass.
The pass was nothing more than a jeep track for
the first 20 or 30km and undulated through impressive
ravines and over ridges with commanding views
of the surrounding countryside. The place reminded
me a little of Lesotho.
It was also good to test my bike in the conditions
she was designed for and I'm pleased to say that
we both performed quite well. ie, I didn't fall
off and she didn't break down.
Ben Guerdane was my last stop
in Tunisia and a bit of a hole. I was hoping to
meet other overlanders here who might be crossing
into Libya, but didn't see one.
If it wasn't for Amin and Aymin, a couple of young
fellas I met at the hotel, I think I would have
been tearing my hair out in this god forsaken
one horse bandit town.
They took me under their wing and showed me incredible
hospitality. The last evening there, we went down
to the beach and I took each of them for a burn
on the bike. Their earsplitting grins of gratitude
were impressive to see.
Impressions
of Tunisia:
A country I would have liked to have spent more
time in and could go back to.
Next time I'll learn some French though.
The friendliness and hospitality was incredible.
I never once felt threatened or had any concern
for me or my bike.
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