Born some 50 years ago in Basel, Switzerland, he grew up a stone’s throw away from the border of Germany and France. He soon had the urge to explore what is beyond these invisible lines, realizing that there seems to be much more to explore.  After criss-crossing Europe with an Interrail ticket, he left for 6 months at the age of 20, travelling to Argentina and the USA, learning Spanish and English. While in San Diego, he discovered Auto Driveaway and before he knew it, he was delivering a Toyota Celica, from San Diego to Richmond in Virginia, crossing the entire country from West to East. Christoph was hooked.

Back in Switzerland, Christoph couldn’t really adjust, working as a teller in a bank and soon decided to leave his life behind for good. He purchased an around the world ticket, which he never used, apart from the flight to New Delhi. That was in 1997. Before heading home after more than 5 years in 2002, he has lived and worked in Chandigarh and Cairo, and explored Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and the Middle East. The leg from Dhaka to Cairo and then back to Basel, he did overland, over 15,000 km with public transport.

It was clear that Switzerland has gotten a bit too small for him and before leaving again in 2009 for an international aid organization, he has done some memorable road trips through Europe, Morocco and from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, where the road ends, and back to Buenos Aires.

Today, Christoph can combine traveling with his work, always exploring his temporary domiciles to where he’s assigned to, that are otherwise not so easy to reach. 

Living in Abidjan since 2020, we became friends through the Hash House Harriers. When I told him about the expedition at a common friend’s farewell party, he was immediately on fire.

Christoph will be part of the expedition as of day one. He will be travelling with me on the first leg northbound route all the way from Abidjan to Marrakech.

Brahim, a true berber, from a small mountain village in the Atlas mountains, grew up in Marrakech before he moved to Germany for his studies in engineering. There he got accustomed to the German values and learned the language quickly. Much later again working in Marrakech he happened to meet my parents who were just setting up camp in town. Renovating an old riad in the Medina of Marrakech and with the plans of starting a kindergarten in a small village in the Atlas mountains, Brahim was able to offer lots of assistance. He quickly became a good friend and assistant to my parents and is like a brother to me. Since the pandemic he is running the project solely.
Together with Brahim and my parents, we have set out many times in the past two decades to discover all parts of Morocco. Our trips have taken them into the most remote villages of the Atlas or the inhospitable dunes of the Sahara. Brahim has always been a very trustworthy guide and translator.

Long time ago, on one of our many trips together, he jokingly said, “one day we will travel together to the southern-most border of the kingdom”. Now the time has finally come and Brahim will accompany me in my vehicle down to Moroccan border with Mauritania before returning home to his family and duties.

Meet Alex, an intrepid explorer with a lifelong affinity for adventure and the open road. Born in Johannesburg, but bred in Botswana, Alex’s heart’s home is in Botswana, where he spent his formative years. It was amidst the vast landscapes of Botswana that he developed an early passion for off-road driving, beginning to master the art at the tender age of 10. This youthful fascination with exploration and self-reliance laid the foundation for Alex’s enduring enthusiasm for camping and overlanding escapades.

Since those early days, Alex has traversed the diverse tapestry of Southern Africa, leaving his tire tracks across a multitude of terrains. From navigating the arid deserts of Namibia to navigating the lush trails of Zambia, Alex’s intrepid spirit knows no bounds. His journeys have taken him across borders and cultures, weaving his way through countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Kenya and Tanzania. Along the way, he’s commandeered an array of vehicles, from compact hatchbacks to rugged 4x4s and purpose-built overlanding machines.

The call of the road flows through Alex’s veins, and his wanderlust shows no sign of waning. Among his dream aspirations lies the ambitious goal of completing a Cape to Cairo expedition, a monumental journey that echoes his innate desire to conquer uncharted routes and embrace the unknown. With a deep-seated connection to the driver’s seat and an insatiable curiosity, Alex is poised to continue carving out new adventures, etching his name into the annals of overlanding lore.

Alex’s wife is a colleague of my wife. Although we met in person only a short while back, we have already had a number of message exchanges to smoothen their move to Abidjan. At a dinner at our house I introduced him to the expedition and that I was still looking for a companion for the second part of the trip. After a quick glance to his wife but without hesitation he asked if he could be that expedition member.
Alex will be joining the expedition in Nouakchott. He will then be accompanying me for the rest of the expedition back to Abidjan.

From South Africa, has lived in several places on the African continent. Charlotte had many caravan adventures growing up in South Africa and began hiking seriously when she met Trevor. Their most memorable adventure so far has been hiking through Malawi for a month, on honeymoon, riding in overloaded buses with newborn babies, the elderly, the sick, goats and chickens and even being given a ride by the police where the only available space was in the back of the van, fortunately with no “baddies” included. Charlotte loves learning about other cultures and has visited more than 30 countries and lived in Tunisia and Ivory Coast. After her husband’s retirement they relocated to the Algarve, Portugal where the original overland expedition in 2020 was supposed to finish.

Not only Charlotte’s husband Trevor being my wife’s colleague for a long time, but also through joint social gatherings I have known Charlotte for many years.

Charlotte and her husband will be joining the expedition in Marrakesh and will travel together with me to Dakar before turning around and heading back home to Portugal.

From South Africa, has lived in several places on the African continent. Trevor’s sense of adventure came from growing up in the diamond city of Kimberley, riding bicycles on mine dumps and going to “work” with his diamond digger grandfather. As a child, his family explored much of Southern Africa with a caravan on untarred roads or sometimes “strip roads”, including touring the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1969, Mozambique all the way up to Beira and into Rhodesia in 1971 and in 1973 an epic journey through the then South West Africa (Namibia) all the way up to Luanda in Angola. He loves exploring and visiting other countries. He backpacked through Europe for three months with a friend after he finished university and has since visited many countries.
His children have nicknamed him “the Mission Man”, since he cannot resist going down small lanes to see what is at the end or just turning into a road to explore the bush, forest or the mountain track he saw from afar. They have lots of experience in coming to the rescue (“we told you dad”) to push the car when stuck in the mud or pull trees out of the way when the road becomes too narrow to turn around.

Before his retirement in 2020, Trevor had been a long-time colleague of my wife in Tunis and later in Abidjan. After his retirement Trevor and his wife relocated to the Algarve, Portugal, where the original overland expedition in 2020 was supposed to finish. Trevor is the actual initiator of the original “Abidjan to Algarve Overland Expedition” in early 2020 that unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the pandemic unfolding making all travel impossible.

Trevor and his wife Charlotte will be joining the expedition in Marrakesh and will travel together with me to Dakar before turning around and heading back home to Portugal.