Kategorie: Mauretania

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Wischnewski in Mauretania – real offroad adventure (February 2026)

Hello all!

Our overlander offroad trip started in the north of Mauretania: for circa 500 Km we followed the so-called ‚Iron Train Track‘ that does the transport of huge amounts of iron ore from the eastern mines. The corresponding train can have more than 200 coaches, very impressive! After passing by the ‚ Monolithe de Ben Amira‘ we drove further east to the ‚ Richat Structure‘ (the ‚Eye of the Sahara‘) now fighting against real stone deserts, rocks, mountains and problematic paths. There was a lot of sand-shoveling… our record was driving circa 4 Km at one day because we were digging and shoveling all whole time. And it did not make it better when that happens in a sandstorm, a challenge… This made it not always easy to keep good mood in the group.

…before I continue with the blogpost 😉 …
@ all Overlander: please check the brand-new „Overlander-Base„! Your Central Hub for Trusted Overlanding Sources (Web-Links)

That was the real offroad-experience that we planned to have in Mauretania. That was more than interesting and special: to be able to bring the truck through that challenging terrain it was necessary to really improve the driving skills. Much more was needed than only ‚gas and radio button‘, most overlander really improve their driving skills on such a trip. We kept our fingers crossed that the truck will hold, since it was not only a challenge for the drivers, also for the truck-hardware.

Under the line it was a great experience to go ‚the rough way‘ – thanks to Carlos to guide us through that terrain!

Greetings from
Heike & Carsten

(–> Text übersetzen in Deutsch)

Here you find some pictures from Mauretania

To see full-size pictures and comments please
KLICK!
on the thumbnails!

Do not miss it!

@ all Overlander: please check the brand-new
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Your Central Hub for Trusted Overlanding Sources (Web-Links)

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Wischnewski in Mauretania – Country & Culture (January 2026)

Hello all!

Mauretania, a brand-new country for us. Honestly there was not much we knew before about that country in advance we started that trip. Arriving from Morocco to the second largest city of Mauretania, ‚Nouadhibou‘, it quickly became clear what we can expect: not a rich country, no big infrastructure, no big buildings, no overwhelming sights waiting for us to be visited. Only in the capital city of Mauretania – Nouakchott – there is some ’normal‘ city activity. But anyway, a vibrant city was not what we were looking for. There is one thing that Mauretania has a LOT of, and that is ’sand‘. Practically the whole country is a desert, it is the Sahara waiting for you, everywhere. For us that is great because this is what we planned to do: driving through the Sahara. So, we were enthusiastic about Mauretania!

…before I continue with the blogpost 😉 …
@ all Overlander: please check the brand-new „Overlander-Base„! Your Central Hub for Trusted Overlanding Sources (Web-Links)

In Mauretania we could feel that the ‚Arabic/ Islamic Culture‘ that you find in the north of Africa is slowly switching to ‚Black Africa‘. Marocco is – compared to Mauretania – a rich country spoilt by tourism. In Mauretania you often see real poverty. A lot of children on the streets, all of them bagging. That already started in Marocco but in Mauretania it partly became uncomfortable. What do you do with kids that only approach you to ask for ‚cadeau‘ or ’stylo‘? Some of them throw stones onto your vehicle if you do not find an elegant way to get around with them. It took a while to find out that ‚real interaction‘ with the kids is a way to get away from the bagging. The kids really like to play, like to joke and like to be chased. That can be very funny when a bunch of little ones run away shrieking when you chase them 🙂 ..and they come back, over and over again so that you can chase them again and again (also funny for us!).

Unpleasant was the huge amount of trash that you find everywhere around the villages and cities. Especially the millions of plastic bottles that were flying around really were a pity. Welcome to the Plastic Age! From the culinary perspective it became very lean in Mauretania. Not much that you could buy: some bread, some vegetables (quality low), sometimes camel meat (but you would not like the butchery, thousands of flies…). Also hard to find a proper restaurant. Mauretania is very good if you plan to go on a diet :-0

Greetings from
Heike & Carsten

(–> Text übersetzen in Deutsch)

Here you find some pictures from Mauretania – Country & Culture

To see full-size pictures and comments please
KLICK!
on the thumbnails!

Do not miss it!

@ all Overlander: please check the brand-new
„Overlander-Base„!
Your Central Hub for Trusted Overlanding Sources (Web-Links)