DAY 40. THURS 15/03. Ayorou to Niamey. 197 kms. Total 9367 kms. Camping Touristique N13 32.076 E2 04.706

Didn’t have far to go today. Back on the tar road again to Niamey. Just outside Ayorou is the 1st of many stops for Peage/Toll road (N14 43.591 E0 55.410). We paid 7000 CFA all the way through to Agadez. (Just keep your receipts to show at all the other “toll booths”) Arrived at Camping Touristique around lunch time, very hot again and slightly humid. Large campsite with many trees, huts, chairs and tables. Pretty good but turns into a bit of a nightclub/shebeen in the evenings. Had some lunch and then walked down the road and found a pretty fast internet café, what good luck! On the way back we sampled some street food: flat, dried meat spiced with a peanut sauce (we have since seen it being made: spread out in the sun literally covered in flies so maybe not such a good idea!); fatty lamb pieces on a stick(sosatie) and some flapjack/crumpet dough type things with cinnamon spice – so tasty Inga went back for more! Only a few 100 CFA for everything! When we got back to camp we bumped into Andre, a Frenchman on his way to Agadez, who invited us to stay with him at his house when we got to Agadez. After dark, when it got a bit cooler, Rob did an oil change (and oil filter) plus a few other bits and pieces on Cathey – making a bit of a mess in the sand in the process! By the time had cleaned everything up, packed away and had a bite to eat and a beer it was almost midnight and well past our bedtime!

DAY 41. FRI 16/03. Niamey to Birni N’Konni. 456 kms. Total 9823 kms. Relais Camping Touristique. N13 48.045 E5 14.640

Due to late night last night got up a bit later than usual, also talked to a German guy for a while, sharing some info, so it was almost 11am before we left camp. (way too late to reach Birni as planned) Also, we still had to chang some money, so it was 12 by the time we left Niamey. Surprisingly, as there were meant to be no ATM’s in Niger yet, we saw an ATM/card sign at a bank on the way into town. But this turned out to be literally a “hole in the wall” i.e. hole was there but ATM not installed yet! So we just changed travelers cheques instead! About 70 kms outside Niamey there is a giraffe sanctuary, which Andre had told us about. About 153 giraffes roaming in the bush, close to villages and national road – no fences! Relatively expensive as you have to pay per person and for the vehicle. Also compulsory to take a guide in your car who you have to tip, but well worth it. After collecting the guide we drove at least 10 kms along the national road before turning off at a village (N13 13.758 E2 41.458) and driving off into the bush. We spotted 2 different groups of giraffe including a mother and 2 babies. They are quite used to people and vehicles and you can get out of your vehicle and walk up fairly close to them. You have to hand it to the guides as they know where to find the giraffes – on your own I doubt you would see any. Glad we saw them – at least we now know why there are giraffes on the Beer Niger label which we had been wondering about the day before! It was almost 3pm by the time we were finished giraffe spotting and still had 350 kms to reach Birni. By nightfall we were still 130 kms short. There were no major towns before Birni and we didn’t fancy bushcamping so close to the Nigerian border so we drove on into the night! Wasn’t too bad really, except for some major potholes and many, many trucks. Thank goodness for Cathey’s spotlights! Only reached Birni at around 10pm. Met Mousa at the entrance to town and he jumped on the bonnet and directed us to the campsite, which we would have found anyway as it was only a little bit further on. Agreed to buy some diesel from Mousa in the morning as Birni is well known for cheap Nigerian diesel from across the border i.e. blackmarket! By the time we had eaten and were ready for bed it was almost midnight again so another late night!  

DAY 42. SAT 17/03. Birni N’Konni to 130 kms before Agadez. 411 kms. Total 10234. Bushcamp.

Hadn’t even finished our morning coffee before we were attacked by the first hawker. Inga bought some lovely Taureg coffee spoons and a ring. Another chap was also trying to get in on the act but before that it was Mousa and co’s turn with the diesel. Bought 150 litres at 500 CFA/l which is even less than Mali. (I am not sure on this but was told that price is around 575 normally and Andre said around 590 in Agadez) Mousa brought with him his associate/partner/boss and about 3 or 4 assistants to carry and pour the diesel and wipe up any spillage. Came in 3 black plastic 50 litre containers with a round piece of cut-out slip slop functioning as lid/stopper! Very good diesel too – very clean. Poured it through our funnel into the tanks/jerries and there was very little dirt in the gauze/sieve. By doing this (and by bringing 120 litres from Gao, Mali, we managed not to buy any fuel in Niger at a garage and thus saved on fuel costs – around 11 000 CFA saved on this one transaction, only a couple of euros but worth it for the experience anyway!) I have Mousa’s contact details in Birni if anyone wants them but you won’t need them as almost everyone on the street offers you diesel. After paying for the diesel in euros and CFA, which involved Rob in the middle surrounded by all the diesel fellows (and the hawkers) with calculators checking the amount was correct, we did more bargaining for a pair of matching Taureg silver decorative necklaces with our other friend….. 2 T-shirts, a puffa, 10 € & 2000 CFA: very complex! After all the business was done it was 11am again by the time we left the campsite. 3rd day in a row of harmattan winds and by far the worst! Loads or dust and very little visibility but at least a little bit cooler than usual. Uneventful rest of the day. Drove until just before 7pm. Had been hoping to make it to Agadez but were still 130 kms short and not keen on another repeat of last night pulled off the side of the road amongst some thorn bushes and camped. 1st bushcamp in Niger! Maybe because of this we slept in the back for the 1st time in ages!

DAY 43. SUN 18/03. 130 kms before Agadez to Agadez. 146 kms. Total 10380 kms. Andre’s house (aka “Andre & Moustafa’s Auberge”, as we christened it!)

Luckily we camped last night as the last 130 kms to Agadez is all new road construction which means you drive on a detour/deviation/piste/track – pretty bad condition… sand, dust and corrugations! The usual! Somehow we managed to loose the new road with about 40 kms to go and ended up driving cross country across the desert for about an hour! You could say we were slightly lost. Luckily tracks4africa map on GPS still showed a very old piste so we eventually picked that up which lead us back to the tar road about 15kms from Agadez. With the help of 2 local guides on a motorbike we eventually found Andre’s place, after visiting 4 or 5 places beforehand. Guides up front on a scooter and us following behind. We had been given some directions and his cell number but I don’t think we got any of them right so it was a case of just drive around and ask until we got the right man. Spent the rest of the afternoon at Andres place. Hung up some washing, checked out his Unimog which they were starting to get ready for a trip out into the desert after their other friend arrived the following day; gold, double cab desert machine – something like 800 litres of diesel (3 tanks) and 300-400 lites of water (2 tanks) Also an inflatable/pneumatic tent on top! Sundowners of beer and “French milk”/Pastis. Couscous and mutton stew for dinner outside under the stars prepared by chef & caretaker, Mustafa, followed by Muscat and cigars! Talk about hospitality! Also got to sleep in a proper bed and under a roof for the 1st time since leaving London!

DAY 44. MON 19/03. Agadez. 0 kms. Total 10380 kms. Andre’s house.

1st day off since leaving Bamako after 11 days in a row of driving! On Andre’s advice we hired a guide for the morning and went and had a look around Agadez - markets, camel market, salt market etc. followed by a lengthy spell in the bank getting a cash advance on a Visa card – hour and a half. Followed by lunch in a small local restaurant with our guide and then a visit to the famous mosque. We were meant to go inside and up the minaret/tower as there is supposed to be a good view of Agadez from up there but unfortunately mosque was closed till 4pm. So we just took a few photos and went back to Andres place as it was so hot for a cold beer! Didn’t bother going back to the mosque! Passed a few hours in the afternoon chatting, updating blog, showing Andre and his guests some of our photos on the computer and watching a Unimog dvd that one of them had made (made a copy for Inga’s dad) In the evening it was the same as previous night…. Sundowners – Pastis (aniseed liquor served with water and ice – turns white, hence French milk – like Greek Uzo or Turkish Raki)  Dinner, inside this time, chips and lovely beef in onion and brown creamy sauce! Delicious. Again Muscat as a nightcap – best enjoyed with sugar cubes dipped in the glass and eaten! Back in our rooftop tent tonight as house was now full! Andre, Anton, Mustafa and co thanks so much for your generous hospitality and great company – you really made our stay in Agadez a highlight of our trip. If any one you ever make it to South Africa or Namibia we will definitely return the favour. For those of you not lucky enough to be invited to such 5 star accommodation, Camping L’Escale, 2km north of Adadez on the Arlit road looked quite good when we drove past, although very empty!