There are two parts to this page: the
Travel Facts section, and the
Diary section.
Key Travel Facts - Details that other overlanders might like to know
(back to
Top)
Take all your money in US dollar CASH. And take 50% more than you think you will need (if not more). It is totally impossible to change traveller’s cheques even at the international hotels, banks, or black market (we tried exhaustively in Tripoli). No-one will accept payment in anything other than cash (except, apparently, the airlines who will take Visa). ATM’s are for Libyan accounts only.
It’s a big country – expect lots of driving! (though generally excellent main roads)
Sand dunes here (that we saw) are much bigger than those in Tunisia (more like erg Chebbi in Morocco)
Arkno Tours provide a relatively cheap and reliable service but be precise on what you are getting. We paid 200 Euros for vehicle entry paperwork (they did the processing), 100 Euros for Letter of Invitation and 30 Euros per day for our Companion (ie Guide with basic knowledge). Contact info@arkno.com or call Jamal on Tel +218 21 4441452 Fax: +218 21 3330530
Our process for getting into Libya (Sept 04):
Get an Arabic translation of the passport (Arabic stamp done at the passport office, then get someone who can write Arabic to complete the blanks)
Get Arkno to send a letter of invitation to you and the Libyan embassy
Visit Libyan embassy to leave passport on Mon / Tue 10 – 12 (they must have received invite letter)
Collect passport with visa on Friday 2.30 – 4
Our Route description to Wadi Methkandoush (ancient rock carvings and well worth the trip): main road to Germa, turn S at petrol station (N26˚31,55 E13˚03,90) and continue for 58km to T-junction by plantation (N26˚02,70 E12˚56,40). Head W for 67km to checkpoint (N25˚48,27 E12˚20,48). Head S up fairly steep slope onto plateau, then W again along plateau to N25˚43,00 E12˚11,45. From here it is a case of following the best trails through a large boulder field for the remaining 10km or so to the rock carvings. The carvings are found on a rocky crag at N25˚46,00 E12˚11,00.
DIARY - How we're getting on, and what we've been up to
(back to
Top)
Libya … great fun and very rewarding, but hard work.
Nights spent sleeping in proper buildings: 3 – stuck in cities for the first part.
Number of punctures: 1 – another by-product of Dune Driving.
Number of cock-ups: 0 – but the roof-rack has suffered from some over zealous dune driving
Treating ourselves: Getting away from Libyan hotels!
Slumming or Adventuring it: Yet more Dune driving through the Sahara. Terrifying!
ARRIVING IN LIBYA
Our arrival at the border post found us slightly apprehensive. We recalled tails of battling with bureaucracy and hoped that our guide would turn up to meet us as arranged. We also hoped that the border guards would not smell the alcohol on our breath – we had finished our last remaining can of Heineken only 15km earlier (surrounded by the evidence of many other similar stops). Nigel was adamant that beer would not be wasted.
Our hearts sank as we approached a lengthy queue to clear the Tunisian exit – thankfully, as we pulled up at the back an official beckoned us over, and jumped in his car. We followed our Escort as he tore straight through the checkpoint. We were quickly called back. Still, with exit paperwork complete we were pleased to meet our Guide “D” – clearly a code-name call-sign for our Libyan secret service agent. D turned out to be a 22 year old Libyan with excellent English and a photographic memory for films. For the next ten day, whatever the topic he would find an appropriate film to relate it to. And failing that, he always had a stock of random films to throw in anyway. We would perpetually disappoint as we failed to remember “that Mr Bean episode where ….” or “you remember in Deep Blue Sea when …” Anyway, he soon had all the paperwork complete and with a fluent grasp of English we reckoned we had done OK.
With our new Libyan plates tied on front and rear, we headed for Zuwarah where we spent our first night in easily the worst hotel that either of us had stayed in, for significantly more than the cheapest hotel that we had ever stayed in. We hoped this was not a sign of things to come.
SABRATHA
The next day we headed into Tripoli via Sabratha – a large and very impressive Roman City, most notable for its Theatre in the style of a ‘UK’ theatre rather than an amphitheatre. We were relieved to find that the next hotel chosen for us, this time in Tripoli, was enormously better than the previous, and only slightly more expensive. Having checked in, D set off leaving us alone for the evening. It was great to be out wandering around without a guide. It was even better since the locals virtually ignored us. Bar the occasional curious stare, we could have been locals. This in a country where even in the Capital we saw only the occasional Westerner seemed really surprising but they certainly haven’t got round to seeing westerners as walking wallets, and long may it continue. We chose a simple café for dinner and enjoyed sheesh kababs.
TRIPOLI AND LEPTIS MAGNA
The morning was spent looking round Tripoli’s National Museum. A very impressive arrangement, apparently set up at great expense with UNESCO funding, it really stands out from other Libyan historical sites and museums in the amount of information that is provided and the way it is presented. D had correctly anticipated that we would spend considerably longer than other tourists, and was also becoming slightly uncomfortable at the number of photos we were taking – apparently nowhere near enough. Oh well.
Then followed a lengthy fiasco with travelers cheques. The basic problem being that Libyans start from the premise that everyone is out to con them, and therefore travelers cheques will either be stolen or reported lost, so they don’t accept them. This, coupled with the fact that we simply did not have enough cash to survive on caused us a problem. Eventually after exhausting every possible channel (banks, the big luxury hotel, airlines, jewellery shops, general dodgy geezers) our Tour Company reluctantly agreed to accept them. Bloody Hoorah! With that out of the way we headed out to Leptis Magna which is indeed a simply enormous and fairly well preserved Roman Town not that far from Tripoli. The grandeur is only slightly tarnished by Libya’s less than impressive attitude for caring for these sites, with little information and columns and plinths still haphazardly scattered across the site. Of course this didn’t stop us admiring the Roman Toilets, with carefully crafted marble seats – we were only slightly irritated that we were in fact forced to use the not quite so well constructed visitor toilets.
After a final night in Tripoli we headed out towards Sebha from where we would enter the desert (though in truth the desert appears to start far close to Tripoli). We were glad to be leaving the city behind, confident that nights under canvas would eek out our remaining dollars significantly further now that Travellers Cheques and Plastic were rendered useless.
[Note: with the battery nearly flat, I have just plugged the laptop into our Hotel’s power suplly (Egypt) and am using a towel to insulate my forearms from the electric shocks that the case is causing. I have just used Gina as a control-test, and it’s not just me. So, if this diary ends shortly, you know why.]
Our first night in the desert was great. Stars so close you could reach out and touch them (well, you know what I mean) and complete peace and quiet except that Dee would not shut up about some bloody film or the other. We generally teased and humoured him :o)
UBARI LAKES
Heading on early (though not so early – we overslept thanks to our black-out canvas) we moved through Sebha and towards the Ubari Lakes. Awesome salt water oasis lakes in the middle of the desert reached from a route out of the “American Camping” site in Jerma (well, somewhere close). The route got a quick description in Lonely Planet (“Head North from the camp over the larger dunes before heading East up the valley. 4WDs are necessary”) so how hard could it be? Coupled with our previous ‘dune driving’ experience in Tunisia we felt pretty confident. And to be honest, we (I – Nigel) may have been slightly egged on by Dee’s skepticism about the abilities of our car (“The Portugese couldn’t make it and they had a new car”). Well, it was a Nissan Patrol so we weren’t surprised. As we approached the first dune waves of doubt began to creep in.
Having negotiated for a guide (Dee was apparently a ‘companion’ – silly us) we felt ready to set off. Not that we didn’t trust LP, but it could always be handy to have someone else to help dig out. With engine roaring we flew at the first dune, and on our fifth attempt (via a second route) we made it over. We then bedded down quite comfortably just before the second dune. Bugger. These were big dunes, perhaps twenty metres high, and a different kettle of fish (or bag of sand) altogether to Tunisia.
Fortunately some Touregs (the desert nomads who have now replaced Camels with Toyota Landcruisers – incidentally of about the same vintage as ours) soon passed and stopped with some amusement to help and chat. Our tyre pressures were lowered further (to 0.7 bar) and one offered to drive us up the next. As passenger I realized that they used considerably more speed. Now I had this cracked.
Switching back for the third large rise I felt confident. With engine roaring, tyres flat, and lots of speed we maintained power as we flew up the dune, flew over the top, flew through the air, and dropped down a few metres later. The roof rack flew slightly further dropping down perhaps 40cm further forward than previous – yes, the impact of landing had thrown it along the brackets.
Lesson learnt, the route continued with just slightly more control, and real terror only creeping in on a couple of occasions.
The lakes were superb, and although we refused to drive on to the second pair (something about cutting your losses) it was well worth the drive. The next day we climbed up to see the sun rise – a magical moment for us as we re-lived a Moroccan experience, before swimming – well floating – in the salt lakes. A weird experience in itself as even my skinny legs refused to go under for long, and with cold water on the surface, but then very warm below a boundary layer of about 25cm deep.
WADI METKHANDOUSH
On to Wadi Metkhandoush (see route description in Traveller Facts) to see the stone carvings. At 12,000yrs old they are truly impressive with clearly recognisable carvings of giraffe, lion, antelope, crocodile and some people. Those added more recently (c. 1990) citing “Chris woz ere” are significantly less impressive, and I think we all agreed that with any luck Chris has since lost the use of a limb or two.
TOBROUK
A long drive took us up towards the coast where on the second day we arrived at Tobrouk. We had actually hoped to break away from ‘the most boring road in the world’ (and yes, it is – 300km of dead straight ‘pipe-line’ road through the desert) toward Cyrene in the North to see the Greek cities but somewhere missed the track. Instead we planned to visit the cemeteries of the Battle of Tobrouk, and to search out some of the WWII trenches. This never quite happened, and instead we found ourselves involved in a plot with Libyan Colonells, Secret Agents, and Police, but this story is best told over a beer.
So, the next day as we left the hotel, much to our surpise, the Internal Affairs chap arrived from yesterday arrived and guided us round the various cemeteries (he had all the keys). The German cemetery was very tastefully built as a memorial building in the style of a small fortification, and the Commonwealth cemetery was moving for its size and epitaths.
We headed on to Egypt where Dee helped us with the Libyan exit paperwork (easy enough) and waved us on our way.