Tunisia October 2009

[David Lee]

Well, here I am and it's very early.

Luckily ever loving wife has got up and takes a piccy...

Off to Dover and the chunnel

the on the train

Heading South all day on perfect French autoroutes with hardly anyone else around, this was a good fast blast

Camp for the next in Bourg-en Bresse camping municipal

Please note that as well as the twat suit I also have the 'twat tent' both fine items of kit. I really am living the dream !

Long day for me, I am sure that some of you hard arsed bikers would consider this a little trip before lunch but I felt quite satisfied with progress

Up and away next day, ooooh mountains

Mont Blanc tunnel

the Italy !

well Italian motorway services, which are the most difficult to actually purchase anything that I have come across.

Then Camping for the night, this place is about 5miles from Genoa port. Perfect.

With a bar....excellent

The downside is that it is on a hillside and you have to carry your kit down, but its clean, quiet and safe

Monday morning and where's the boat?

 

[Tim Cullis]

nice start

 

[David Lee]

Aaah, here it is

It;s just the same as the cross channel ferries I used to take from Portsmouth to St.Malo when the kids were smaller so it seemed very familiar,

After getting back to the bike after getting the exit stamp in my passport from the French I saw a scooter with bits spread all over the tarmac parked next to my bike.

Dirk and his girlfriend has just turned up but had some problems with a funny noise and a badly worn rear tyre.

After using a bit of my locktite so secure 3 brake back plate securing screws that were rattling around in the rear drum and using my electric pump to inflate his new rear tyre, we drove on the ferry and tied the bikes down.

Glad I brought my own straps as the ferry companies ones were rubbish. The had some nice big chocks though.

Bye bye Europe

Home for the next 22hours

Did I mention that about a thousand cars came off the ferry - folks returning home after the Eid Festival and it took over 2 hours just to get the cars off ! Luckily only about 45 vehicle, one Vespa and one BMW were the outbound load,

The holds looked pretty empy.

Anyway, dinner in the restaurant and a kip later, here we are the port of Tunis, La Goulette.

 

[David Lee]

The very light load of cars and people made it easy when entering Tunisia. As CTN is the Tunisian ferry company, you do all the paperwork on the Ferry. Entry is just a matter of handing over bits of paper that are already completed and stamped.

Being on bikes (well OK one bike and a scooter) we just pushed our way to the front and rode on to Tunisian soil under an hour after docking.

Into central Tunis and its hot - 30deg.

Get lost, as satnav is still tucked away.The Tunisian customs guys seem to think they are something that needs a seperate form and stamp etc, so I had disconnected mine. Thanks guys here and on the HUBB for this tip.

Find a cashpoint and get money in the main drag.

Ask for directions to Medjez-el-Bab, get lost again.

Ask again, then a kind truck driver says "Follow me" and takes me to the motorway on-ramp ! I am constantly amazed at how friendly and helpful Tunisian people are.

After giving him a wave, I gun the bike over the 65km to Medjez.

This is the reason for the trip........

My Uncle. 5th Btn Grenadier Guards. Killed at the Battle of the Bou April 30th 1943.

I only discovered this earlier in the year when my Aunt (who is now well into her 80's and has lived in Canada for many years) visited.

She has never been able to visit the grave and I promised her that I would and send photo's back.

The Military Cemetery at Medjez-el-Bab is a fine example of what the War Graves Commission do. It's a beautiful and tranquil place.

Unfortunately, the Visitors book is not there as its getting late in the day.

So, I push on to the next big town, Beja to look for a place to stay. Campsites are few and far between in Northern Tunisia but hotels are common.

Tour round the 3 hotels in Beja. 2 look good but are full. The 3rd is on the noisy and busy main street with no secure parking.

I push on and its dark, so all the normal risks of riding in North Africa multiply by a factor of ten.

The next big town is Jendouba. I arrive after a couple of close calls with animals and suicidal drivers on mopeds with no lights.

As normal, there is a policeman at the first roundabout in the town. I my broken french I ask about a hotel.

'Oui, un kilometre dans les route'

Cheers mate.

End up at a basic 2star hotel. Its got aircon though, a restaurant and secure parking with the night watchman sitting about 10foot from my bike.

That'll do nicely

View from my room next morning,

My plan is to do a big loop of Tunisia, going South down the western side then cutting across to return North up the coast.

The part of Tunisia where I am now has not got that much going for it apart from some quality Roman ruins in Dougga, so I head South towards the Sahara,

Roads are pretty good, traffic light outside of towns and I am easily the quickest thing on the roads.

It's hot and I am glad that I have a camelback with 2 litres of water. I get through this easily during the day.

Lunch is lamb chops, freshly cooked on charcoal at the side of the road

Never had a bad meal the whole trip

 

[Stevie73]

Great stuff!!

 

[David Lee]

It's a long hot day today.

South through Le Kef, Kasserine (the Kasserine Pass is the site of another big WW11 battle, there is a museum there) Gafsa and finally Tozeur where I arrive hot, tired and thirsty.

Bugger a campsite, lets find a hotel.

This place looks suitable

I check in for 2 nights. It's off season now and quiet, so I cut a good deal.

The place is magnificent

A good dinner and a couple of beers followed by a comfy nights sleep.

My plan for the next day is to explore the area to the West of Tozeur, going in a big loop of about 120miles and visiting the villages of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides,.

Most of the road has a green line next to it on my Michelin map, so its going to be scenic.

Oh yes,

This is one of my favourite photo's. I wonder if its good enough for the front end of the website ?

Pretty barren around here, but great rock strata's

At Mides I am about 1km from the Algerian border. The Algerians that I met repeatedly told me that it's a good place to go to now and that people are crossing the Sahara from Tamanrasset again. This was the route I took some years ago and got into Niger (Arlit).

Mides has a beautiful oasis and I was informed that the film The English Patient was made around here.

It's baking hot 34dec.

The Gorge

Stunning

There had been heavy rains about 2 weeks before I left in this region and the scars were easily seen during my days ride,

Anyway, for the mighty GSA it was no problem, though the not so mighty rider was a bit more concerned.

Lunch,

then time for a few pictures of Tozeur, which is a nice town and a great place to spend a few days. I could have easily spent another couple of nights here and seen more of the town and surrounding area.

Entering the town:

Don't know what this place was!

Entering the Zone Touristique where my hotel is

Attached to the hotel is a very unusual Museum which gives a history of Tunisia, a lot of details of Tunsian culture and how modern Tunisia evolved.

Its well worth the money.

As I said it starts with the History of Tunisia

up to more modern times !

 

[Bryn]

Looks like you had a great trip

Keep it going

 

[David Lee]

Time to move on,

I leave early the next morning and stop in town to get some money from a cash point.

Pulling up outside the bank I see another white GSA.

This is Serge from Hungary. He is riding around the Med !

Discovered that Morocco-Algeria border was closed, so went back to Spain and caught a ferry to Algeria. Rode back to the Other side of the border and carried on !

" Fifty second day on the road" he told me. " I need cash Euro's for Libya"
so he was off to another bank looking for them.

Top bloke !

Leaving Tozeur a set off across the Chott El Jerid.

This is normally a dry inland lake but due to the recent rains had water in it.

After a while, the water ended,

I am heading for the Pipeline Road and Ksar Ghilane.

I hang a right onto the Pipeline Road

 

[David Lee]

The pipeline seems to be buried but there are plenty of signs that it exists

Getting closer.....

Plenty of these signs

I have a stop for lunch

This little chap is on the scrounge, I share lunch with him,

 

[Coolpan]

I WANNA GO I WANNA GO

 

[Tricky]

Fantastic RR.

More please.

 

[rockchunk]

excellent report david ,,really enjoyed that

 

[David Lee]

The last bit into Gsar Ghilane is a right bastard, soft sand and I am on road tyres,

Finally I reach the Campsite, I did'nt drop the BM either (it was close though !)

Camping Ksar Ghilane is a neat place, good facilities and a restaurant & bar, just what the doctor ordered,

You can rent Berber tents if you like,

But I want to camp as its bloody hot and there is a breeze that has picked up as the day draws on, so here is home for the next couple of nights.

You see that fence behind the bike, well this is the view from the other side of it, it's amazing.

Again I am advised that The English Patient was filmed around here. From what I remember of the film, I have to agree.

Then after a cool beer, look who pulls in !

Dirk and his girlfriend on the Vespa hire a Berber tent for the night. I'm not sure which is first priority, the Vespa or his girl !

Just so you know, this is a 200cc Vespa with a 230cc big bore kit. Two up with gear. Rather them than me.....

Dirk told me that he rode his previous Vespa across the Nubian Desert from Khartoum to Wadi Halfa and then got the boat down to Aswan,

Hats off to him. I have done this trip on the train and it's a tough one.

So, I cook myself a nice dinner of Chilli & Rice with stuff that I had with me and a quiet night under the stars,

At least it was when the local generators were turned off.

Just me in the camping area.

 

[Gazzabart]

Really Good

Nice one David
really good write up
lovely pictures
and you certainly got some balls going by yourself
have a good week
Gaz

 

[David Lee]

The bike stays where it is today, me and sand are not made for each other.

Then, mid morning a group of Britsh Land Rovers pull in !

8 in all, I walk over and have a good chat. Get offered a nice cuppa which I gratefully accept.

Bugger me if later in the day, the French Land Rover crowd pull in !

My previously exclusive camping site is now rather full.

I reflect on the fact that the Froggies all seem to have late model L/r's which are festooned with roll cages, big tyres, winches, underbody guards, various farkles etc etc etc whilst the Brits have mainly older models with less flash kit but do seem to be having rather a better time of it.

Ksar Ghilane is a natural Oasis, this is what it look like

you can swim here, most folks do. Quite a few Swiss/Italian/French off road bikes pop in for lunch before blasting off into the dunes for some fun.

These chaps are available to hire,

Seems like a good idea.

Dirk & I take a ride out to the Ksar (this means Fort and the ruins which date back to Roman times are 4km away from us.)

Here we are at the Ksar

Sunset over the Sahara

 

[David Lee]

Nice one David
really good write up
lovely pictures
and you certainly got some balls going by yourself
have a good week
Gaz

Cheers Gaz

See you down Newlands Corner some time soon

 

[David Lee]

So, off from Ksar Ghilane. Manage to get across the sand and back onto the tarmac without incident (!) and head back up the Pipeline Road.

Hang a left at the main drag, then on on to Matmata. More green lines on the map around here,

South Tunisia is really pretty. I would definitely come back and spend more time here.

Stop in Matmata for a coffee and have a chat with a retired school teacher who speaks reasonable English

as normal, I buy another litre bottle of water.

It never seems to drop below 29deg C. when I am on the bike and with my gear on I am constantly sweating.

I take local back roads to Mareth and the Museum.

I am the only visitor here and the Army guy who runs it gives me a guided tour. They have a video in English as well which I watch. The Mareth Line was a WW11 fortification.

Then after leaving Mareth, I am now on the main coast road and heading North.

Through Gabes and onto Sfax. I pass another British Cemetery along side the road. I stop and pay my respects.

It is not just British dead buried in North Africa. New Zealand, Australia, India, South Africa, Canada and the Caribbean are here as well.

I carry on into the centre of Sfax and find a hotel for the night.

It's a nice place but in a commercial area near the docks, this is the view from the street beside it,

I have a look around then back to the hotel bar where I hear English voices,

These guys are the crew of a oil supply ship, in port for a few hours. We have a beer, then another one.

Next thing I know its midnight and I'm pissed

Stagger up to my room.

 

[Gipsy]

Brilliant, really enjoying this

 

[David Lee]

Leave Sfax after a hearty breakfast with plenty of liquids, for some reason I feel a little dehydrated

There is now a motorway from Sfax all the way back to Tunis !

I stop at El Jem, this is a definate MUST SEE

Its the 3rd largest Roman amphitheatre in the world and in very good nick,

I carry on North to Hammamet and a hotel,

To be honest, I would not bother to come back here again. It's very touristy but there were a couple of elderly English people to chat to, so it was not all bad.

The old fort

My plan the next day was to head for the Ferry at La Goulette but as I was making good time I revisited my uncles grave at Medjez-el Bab.

and guess what, the Vistors Book was there !

and the Gardeners, I thanked them for the great job they do, looking after the place.

They took a final picture of me,

then back to Tunis (got lost again, bike got very hot and I ended up riding down a tram way to try and cool it down)

This is the main street in Tunis and the clocktower.

If you find this then you are going the right way to the port which is 10km away down a causeway.

Last night in Tunisia in La Goulette

then off to the port to clear Customs and get on the Ferry

normal port chaos but I found a local chum who sorted out things for me and got me to the front of the queue (OK it was 20dinars too, he wasnt that much of a chum)

Ferry departed a couple of hours late but there was a French 1200GS rider with his mate on a Honda who I had a chat with, then I found the British Land Rover group were also on board,

On the ferry this time I booked 'complet' which means I had three meals for EUR28.00.

The Lunch and Dinner were both 5 courses !

Magic.

Into Marseille the next morning

Again, pushed my way to the front and was back in Europe after an hour !

Set the Garmin for Millau,

What a brilliant end to a brillant trip

got back to Calais the following day and took the Tunnel home.

Met a fellow Tosser on the train !

Hope you enjoyed my trip, I certainly did.

Tunisia is a top spot, I had no bad moments at all, people were very friendly and helpful, plus there are very very few big bikes there, so everyone is always interested in both you and the bike, give it a thought.

Dave

 

[Dahoum]

What a great report

many thanks for sharing that