#1: [02-Oct-04]

29-Oct-2006 -- Continued from 17N 8E.

It is 5:45 a.m. and our convoy of three Mercedes G's was leaving Agadez in the Republic of Niger. The previous day we got back from a fantastic week-long round trip at the Aïr mountains and the sand dunes of the Ténéré. Our aim was to reach Katsina before nightfall. The distance is around 700 km.

We got an early start and did not have to wait too long for Herwig this time. We did not see any traffic signs in Agadez but were proved wrong, as we all were stopped by the police because we had entered a one-way street. None of us actually had seen the one-way sign but somehow it was there, perhaps a bit too hidden for us to see. However, after a small donation to the police we could carry on.

The journey through Tânout, Zinder, Matameye to the border went very smooth and we did not experience any time-consuming stops. The officials and roadblocks were all precise and friendly and we made good progress. We had envisaged that at the border, if everything went well, it would take us close to two hours. But it was unbelievable how quick we went through these two border posts. Everybody was very friendly and happy to see us again. After half an hour we had managed to enter Nigeria and were on the way to Daura.

About halfway between Daura and Katsina, 3.5 km off the main street lay the confluence 13N 8E. It was still early and enough time to visit this Confluence and still get to Katsina before dark. The rest of our group were not interested except Babs. We turned off the main road and it was not long and we were at the Confluence. It is a we very peaceful place. A lot of granite blocks sticking out in various shapes to form a beautiful landscape. After we made all the necessary pictures we returned to our vehicle and continued to Katsina where we met the rest of our group at Taschl's guest-house.