In early 2025, we embarked on an epic overlanding journey, driving from Namibia to Finland through the rugged and fascinating countries of West Africa.
This wasn’t just a road trip—it was a true overland adventure filled with challenging borders, remote tracks, wild camps, and incredible wildlife encounters. We completed the journey in just over four months, departing Namibia at the end of February and arriving in Helsinki on June 26th.
Here’s a “nutshell” recap about our overland travel route through West Africa and Europe. Most people drive this route from north to south, so there was not much information available about the route in the opposite direction, from south to north. Especially, finding information about the visas was tricky.
However, rest assured that we will also upload a comprehensive visa guide to our website soon! From there, you will find all the information concerning the visas you’ll need for this journey (for EU passport holders).
We’re also writing detailed stories about all the adventures we had in our Substack publication. So remember to subscribe so that you won’t miss any intriguing stories!
Namibia – One of Our Favorite Countries
We left our friends’ place in Windhoek after mid-February and first drove to say our goodbyes to Swakopmund, the coastal town where we had spent so much time during the years.
On our way north, we decided to stop by one of our all-time favorite places in Namibia: the Hoanib River! The riverbed was still dry, so we got to say goodbye to our beloved desert-adapted elephants, too, and we spent two beautiful nights wild camping in this fantastic, remote region.
We also spent excellent nights wild camping at the Menhir 4×4 track and woke up to find brown hyena tracks close to our vehicle in the morning.
The road then took us to Angola through the Caprivi region. When we left Namibia, it felt as if the West African adventure had truly begun!
Angola – The First Steps of Our Overland Adventure
Our first country on this West African overland route was Angola. Our choice of route from Namibia to Angola took us through a remote track with a bit of mud, but it was still fun to drive.
The landscapes were breathtakingly beautiful and diverse, but the language barrier (as neither of us speaks Portuguese, only a little Spanish) made things a bit tricky. Still, it was a lovely and enjoyable beginning to our journey north.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – A Pleasant Surprise
From Angola, we continued into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Here, we crossed the mighty Congo River at the same area where David Livingstone once marveled at the river flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Although our time in the DRC was brief—just a few days—the experience felt surreal and adventurous. We drove in the dark because we lost several hours at the border and then found an isolated wild camp on an old quarry. All officials were friendly and professional, and we encountered no problems.
We spent only one night in the DRC, but it sure was a memorable part of our journey.
The Republic of Congo – All About the Western Lowland Gorillas
On March 14th, we crossed into the Republic of Congo, right on time for our pre-received visas. This country offered one of the biggest highlights of our West Africa overland trip: seeing the Western Lowland Gorillas and visiting the remote and fantastic Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
We had initially planned to continue to Gabon, but border closures and visa difficulties due to the then-upcoming general elections forced us to adjust our overlanding route northward, toward Cameroon.
Cameroon – Onwards Through the Legendary 4×4 Overland Track: Banyo Crossing
We crossed Cameroon relatively quickly—in just four days, five nights—but packed in a lot. The lively capital, Yaoundé, gave us a glimpse of city life, while the legendary Banyo route unexpectedly pushed our 4×4 driving skills more than we had anticipated. For anyone passionate about overland travel, the Banyo track into Nigeria is a true test of both vehicle and driver – especially so, if there have been rains!
Nigeria – Warm Welcomes and Non-Existent Personal Spaces
Nigeria turned out to be a pleasant surprise in our West African overlanding adventure. The people were extremely friendly. However, they didn’t have a clue about personal space as a concept, and that made us, as Finns, feel pretty uncomfortable at times. However, we eventually adapted and found that monasteries and churches offered some of the safest and most welcoming camping possibilities.
Driving was relatively smooth, and despite the numerous military/police/local checkpoints, we encountered no issues. Even Lagos turned out to be less confusing and chaotic than we expected!
One of the highlights of. Nigeria was also visiting the Afi Mountain, where we saw the mandrills and sweated profusely in the extremely humid weather.
Benin – The Land of Voodoo
Benin was fascinating—we learned more about the country’s unique and lively voodoo culture, an intriguing topic! Aboméy had one of the strangest feelings of a town we’ve ever visited. Still, we had a good guide on our voodoo tour and learned a lot more about this animistic, official religion of Benin.
If we had had more time to spend in Benin, we would’ve also wanted to visit the Pendjari National Park in the northern part of the country. However, the rains had already arrived there as well. So we stick to the south.
We also took a brief break and spent a week in the modern, neat, and well-functioning Cotonou. We arranged visas for the onward journey, repaired and serviced our Defender, and enjoyed some rest in an air-conditioned apartment.
Togo – A Quick Overland Stop
We crossed Togo in just one night before moving on to Ghana. Such is sometimes the reality of long-distance overland travel: sometimes you pass through quickly, saving countries for “next time” (whether that ever comes or not).
Lomé seemed an uninteresting place, so we didn’t really feel bad about skipping this small country for now.
Ghana – Friendly Faces on the Coast
Ghana was welcoming, with English-speaking locals and a vibrant coastal atmosphere. However, we had to use all our negotiation skills at the border, so that we were allowed in without a Carnet de Passage and without paying an exorbitant amount for our Namibian-registered vehicle – but we succeeded after hours of negotiation!
After that, we enjoyed what the coastal highway had to offer: relaxing beach camps, freshly grilled fish, and a lot of ocean spray.
Heavy rains had already started, also, i.e., in Mole National Park, making wildlife viewing difficult, so we stuck to the coast before continuing on our overlanding route westward. Our negotiation skills were put to another grilling test at the exit border, where we again managed to exit without a carnet de passage and without paying a dime. We congratulated ourselves–for a reason!
Ivory Coast – Contrasts of Overland Travel
In Ivory Coast, we found many great wild camps but were saddened by the endless palm oil plantations replacing natural landscapes. Abidjan turned out to be an expensive and futile detour on our way towards Guinea.
Guinea – The Challenge of Crossing Through in Five Days
Guinea tested us with a strict timeline—we had only five days to cross without needing a visa sticker from Conakry. Despite the rush, Guinea left us with memories of lush green scenery, friendly people, and challenging but rewarding overland driving.
Some roads were great, while others had once been roads but were now more like mudholes, one after another. But we made it in five days to the border of Senegal!
Senegal – Desert Overland Travel and Ocean Views
Senegal reminded us of Namibia with its desert-like landscapes. We also managed to avoid Dakar because we got a free (!) Passavant for our Defender for 30 days at the border without any hassle–and not the usual 5-day one that many overlanders have got. We were pleased about that.
We got to enjoy places like the sacred “cat tree” and relaxing days by the sea at the famous, but a bit uninspiring Zebra Bar. For overlanders, Senegal offers a good mix of adventure and downtime.
Mauritania – and the Harsh Sahara Desert Winds
Our first fully Islamic country, Mauritania, was a rugged one. Harsh Harmattan winds swept the Sahara and challenged both us and our Defender. It was challenging to find decent places to camp that offered at least some shelter from the relentless winds.
Yet this stretch of desert overlanding was unforgettable—especially when we witnessed the famous, massive Iron Ore train crossing the sands. And on this leg, we also got stuck, but dug ourselves out in the dark by using our recovery tracks for the first time ever!
Mauritania had unreal landscapes, but the shops offered practically nothing to buy, and the strict Islamic atmosphere didn’t really entice us. But it was an experience.
Western Sahara & Morocco – The Gateway Out of Africa
Western Sahara, now part of Morocco, offered endless dunes, wild camps, and harsh desert winds, which made cooking with gas extremely challenging. It still reminded us of Namibia so much, like the area of the Menhir 4×4 tracks in the Kunene. We must admit that we already missed Namibia.
Finally, in Morocco, it felt as if we had already reached Europe. Modern, organized, and full of delicious food and colorful souks (markets), Morocco was a good end to our West Africa overland route. From Tangier, we ferried across the Strait of Gibraltar into Spain, feeling both proud and nostalgic for completing a massive adventure through the continent.
Overlanding Through Europe – The Final Push to Finland
Once in Europe, our Defender rolled north along the eastern coast of Spain, through France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. To our surprise, France turned out to be our favorite country on this route. It offered great wild camps, lovely surroundings in little villages, and good food.
From Tallinn, Estonia, a final ferry brought us to Finland, where we arrived in Helsinki on June 26th, 2025—after nearly four and a half months on the road.
When we drove out of the ferry to the shores of Helsinki with Honey Badger the Defender, it felt quite unreal–we were really there and we had driven all the way from Namibia! We did it!
Reflections on Our West Africa Overlanding Adventure
This West Africa overland expedition was everything we had anticipated: challenging, rewarding, unpredictable, and unforgettable. From the wild Western Lowland Gorillas in the Congo to the Sahara winds in Mauritania, it tested us in many ways and gave us memories that will last a lifetime.
After six years (!) of overland travel all around Africa, leaving the continent was a bittersweet experience, as Africa is forever imprinted into our hearts and souls – and we miss it already. We will definitely return someday, but now it’s time for something else.
New adventures await—and yes, we’re already planning our next overlanding expedition on a new continent!
So stay tuned! The end of one expedition is just the beginning of another one. 🙂
