Tunisia is Africa’s northernmost country and is about two-thirds the size of the UK.  The closest European land mass is Sicily, just 500km away across the Mediterranean and ferries cross from here as well as from many other European ports.  We departed from Palermo, Sicily, ordinarily chaotic, but even more so in our case as the first vehicle off the incoming ferry was a car transporter with 9 new cars onboard that got stuck on the ramp whilst disembarking.  The surrounding Italian officials, delighted to be having a drama, spent a good 45 minutes with raised voices and arm gesticulations before someone thought to get a tow truck enabling matters to proceed.   

The journey time to Tunis was just 11 hours with an expected arrival time of 12.30am, what a great time to arrive on African soil!  We must have had a strong tail wind as despite the delays on the boarding side of things we arrived into Tunis on time.   

Most of the vehicles being channelled through passport control with us had Italian plates and were so weighed down with ‘stuff’ - everything from washing machines to king size matresses - that their chassis were almost dragging along the floor.   Not surprisingly, there was no English spoken and once through passport control we had no idea what we were supposed to do next.  We were now in a massive garage with vehicles randomly parked all over the place with uniformed officials just wandering around.  Observing others around us who appeared to know what was going on we registered that the first thing to do was get the blue fische stamped by one of the roving officers.  Obviously, we were the only people without a blue fische so the first task was to find one, a relatively easy challenge that involved running around shouting “bleu fische”, “bleu fische”.  Once this had been procured, we then had to fill it in with Bob’s details, another straightforward task were it not for the fact that it was all in French with tiny writing.  Fumbling about with reading glasses, Google lens and a torch we completed most of the form, grabbed one of the passing officers and received the required stamp.  Now what?  Our attempt to drive out with completed and stamped bleu fische was thwarted by a group of officers who jumped in front of Bob barring our way.  Accurately surmising that there were more tasks to complete we were given a clue by one of the uniformed men who was making a walking action with this index and middle fingers whilst pointing to the other end of the garage where people were lined up in front of a couple of white booths.  We scurried over and joined the queue.  Eventually it was our turn and we handed over the bleu fische, passports and photocopied car registration form.  Given recent events, it didn’t come as a great shock when the customs officer inside the booth shook his head and pointed to another set of booths on the other side of the garage.  Off we trotted – this was obviously the area where problems were dealt with and we waited our turn whilst observing some extremely animated problem solving.  Eventually we were able to hand passports, bleu fische and car registration form over and were asked in halting English for the original registration papers.  Our response of “online”, “online” worked rather better than expected and after a lot of paper shuffling we received an additional passport stamp with Land Rover Defender clearly written across the top – GO BOB!  Again, we tried to leave, this time making it almost to the garage exit, before being asked for the green fische????  Apparently, we now had to go back to the original white booth and represent our documents along with the additional passport stamp.  Sure enough, this did the job and a green fische was handed over.  Making our way back to Bob who was rather splendidly blocking one of two lanes out of the garage we handed our green fische over to the solitary officer standing between us and freedom and with smiles all round we were allowed entry to Tunisia with a 90-day visa. 

Tunisia has a population of 11.5 million that relies heavily on mineral exports, a growing manufacturing sector and agricultural products.   Until recently it derived significant income from the tourist industry as one of the most visited countries in Africa, a magnet for holiday makers looking for sunny beaches on a budget.  I know this because I was one!  On honeymoon with my first husband way back in the early 90's, naïve to the lure of a “too good to be true” package deal, we arrived in the rainy season and were woken up on our second morning by storm water gently lapping over the sides of the bed.  Definitely memorable but probably for the wrong reasons and we applied for a divorce just 14 months later. 

Tunisia as a popular destination didn’t fare much better as in 2010 Tunisia made world headlines when a young man who had been supporting his family by selling fruit from a cart set himself on fire.  Fed up with local officials repeatedly demanding bribes and confiscating his merchandise, and unable to get support from other authorities, Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself in gasoline and set himself alight.  His actions proved to be the catalyst for many others suffering poverty and political repression and thousands took to the streets throughout the country in protest against the Ben Ali regime, a movement that became known as the Arab Spring.  With the lucrative tourist industry severely damaged a series of terrorist attacks perpetrated by ISIS in 2015 put an end to it completely leaving many Tunisians without work in a struggling economy.   

Wanting to get a feel for the people and their customs we stayed for a few days just outside Sidi Bou Said, Santorini’s pretty little sister.  This gave us plenty of opportunity to explore the sprawling capital of Tunis with its old medina and numerous ancient buildings rubbing along with the chic restaurants and hotels in the modern quarters.  Perhaps due to the time of the year, there were hardly any foreigners around, the tourists were primarily from other Arabic nations, nearly all of them sporting traditional garb.  The hard-sell we had experienced in Morocco was noticeably lacking and it was refreshing to wander through the souk amongst all the spices, perfumes, rugs and babouches without trying to escape the attentions of the over zealous stall holders.      

The ruins of Carthage, once one of the most influential cities of the ancient world, are just outside Tunis.  This strategically located Mediterranean hub connecting Africa and Europe was fiercely fought over by the Romans and Carthaginians in a series of conflicts known as the Punic Wars (264-146 BC).  Ultimately, Rome defeated Carthage thereby securing dominance in the western Mediterranean, but not wanting to risk a Carthaginian resurgence the city was then besieged and razed – the things you must do to build an empire! 

 Despite there being plenty to see and do, we were a bit distracted due to our ongoing issues regarding the lack of an original vehicle registration certificate.  The time had come to resolve this once and for all.  A grovelling email to a friend in Adelaide resulted in a scanned copy of their own vehicle registration being forwarded by return whereupon we were able to edit the original information – don’t you just love apps – resulting in a double-sided colour copy of this meddlesome document.  The only minor fly in the ointment is the rather inferior paper it’s printed on but it’s hard to imagine that conversation taking place without a common language! 

Traffic in Tunis is as you would expect in a capital city but with a slight twist.  Our drive south started on a wide road which had at one time been marked as having four lanes but the paint was now so faded that it was barely visible.  Without any guiding white lines it was more akin to driving down a runway with cars sometimes up to eight abreast all travelling at different speeds often in a diagonal direction.  It wasn’t aggressive nor defensive but did require 100% attention as you never quite knew who was going where.  Making progress, I could see that, unusually, Ian was also fully focussed on the road ahead – he had clocked the local plates which were a sequence of 7 numbers XXX XXXX, the higher the number the more recent the vehicle.  Looking for the most recent car on the road kept him occupied throughout Tunisia and for anyone similarly minded 248 5XXX would appear to be the newest vehicle on the road!   

Our route south was initially inland and we made the most of the hills around Hammermet to get some walking done. It was a bit unfortunate that our arrival coincided with a couple of days of heavy rain making some of the dirt roads leading to the various trailheads hard work. Mind you, it was good to get a bit of 4x4 practice in as it had been a while…. Hoping for some warmer weather we continued south along the coast passing through the seaside resorts of Hammamet, Sousse and Sfax; the large number of huge abandoned hotel complexes a stark reminder of Tunisia’s recent difficulties.       

The historic city of Kairouan is often referred to as the spiritual capital of Tunisia and is a major Islamic center in North Africa.  Estimated to have over 100 mosques, it is also where one of the oldest mosques in the world can be found; The Great Mosque of Kairouan 670 AD.  A masterpiece of early Islamic architecture and an enduring symbol of Tunisia’s Islamic heritage it covers a huge area of 2.2 acres making it one of the largest religious structures around.  If you are unable to manage a Hajj (annual pilgrimage) to Mecca, seven visits to the Great Mosque will apparently do instead.

 El Djem is the largest Roman amphitheater in Africa and the third-largest in the world after the Colosseum, Rome and the Capua, Calabria.  It was built in the 3rd century AD, erected entirely out of stone and in a remarkable engineering feat has no foundations.  It was used much the same as the Colosseum, hosting gladiatorial games, chariot races and public spectacles and was able to accommodate 35,000 spectators.  Despite centuries of use and wear, much of the structure remains intact (including underground passages used to house gladiators and animals) and every summer the International Festival of Symphonic Music takes place.   

Travelling into the centre of Tunisia, the fertile plains and green rolling hills of the north were replaced by steppe terrain and dry plateaus and continuing south the landscape changed again into the dramatic desert environment of the Sahara and former stomping grounds of Luke Skywalker.  Today the country is mostly Foreign Office-advised safe, the exception being cross-border terrorist activity in the mountainous regions shared with Algeria and a military controlled zone that starts 75km away from the entire Libyan border.  However, “security forces remain on a high state of alert in Tunis and other places and you may be at higher risk in and around festivals”.

We drove into the campsite at Douz (gateway to the Sahara) the same day that the 4-day Douz Desert Festival started.  The campsite was packed with 4x4 vehicles preparing for desert raids, the choice of vehicle consistent with our observations whilst on the road; Germans in huge MAN trucks, Dutch in a variety of Land Rovers, Cruisers and vans, Italians and Austrians in campers.  The majority were travelling in multi-car convoys waiting to be collected by desert guides.  With no plans to tackle the sand dunes we were more interested in the festival.  The normally sleepy desert town of Douz was wide awake with an estimated 300,000 influx of people mainly from Libya and Algeria. 

The festival is a celebration of the desert and a way for the people of Douz and the surrounding areas to honour their heritage, customs, and resilience of the Saharan way of life which has thrived for centuries despite the harsh environment.  Several tribes and ethnic groups participate; the Bedouins showcase expertise in camel herding and horse riding; the Touareg in their distinctive blue clothing and intricate silver jewellery contribute their music, dance and desert survival practices; the Berbers (typically mountain dwellers) showcase textiles, pottery, music and dance.

This was our first desert festival and we weren’t disappointed.  Set amongst dusty sand dunes, goat and camel hair tents surrounded the flat central area where a glimpse of desert life played out.  Camel racing, horse racing, sand hockey, hare chasing, musical performances and warfare on horseback were all on offer.  The only item on the agenda we were not looking forward to was the proposed camel fight and so were delighted when the two camels refused to be provoked by their excitable handlers and ran off!!

Leaving Douz we headed back to the coast, a journey that took us through Tatouine providing an opportunity to get an idea of life as a Berber (Amazigh).  The area is known for its ksour (plural of ksar), which are ancient fortified granaries used to protect grain supplies from raiders.  There are estimated to be around 150 ksars in this region, the best preserved being those of Ksar Ouled Soltane and Ksar Hadada.  These ksour are architectural marvels made of stone, mud, and palm wood and they blend seamlessly into the desert landscape.  Matmata was also interesting, an area of barren, rocky terrain where hundreds of troglodyte homes have been dug into the earth.  These cave dwellings are typically in the form of large circular pits about 7-10 meters deep, the walls of which contain rooms and living spaces connected by tunnels.  Wandering around, we couldn’t help but compare the lifestyle to that of Coober Pedy.  Both are examples of how humans adapt to extreme environments with just a few subtle differences; Mint tea vs beer; Living in harmony with nature vs mining for opals; Star Wars vs Mad Max; Tradition vs Wifi.  Both unique destinations.   

Djerba is a large island connected to the mainland by a Roman-built 7km causeway and also a 20-minute ferry trip costing less than €1 for both of us and Bob.  A paradise that once attracted celebrities such as Rhianna, Leonardo DiCaprio and Christiano Ronaldo, it is now a sorry shell of its former self; palatial resorts suffering a lack of tourism with many standing abandoned and falling apart.  The hotels still operating were busy though, again mostly visitors from neighbouring countries as well as a smattering of French reluctant to let go of their colonial glory despite their rule ending in 1956. 

Leaving Djerba, our intention was to head back inland to the town of Netfa where, despite showing as an orange “advise against all but essential travel” we were hoping to be able to cross the border into Algeria.  However, a slight problem has arisen presenting us with a bit of a dilemma.  We are about to embark on the desert adventure of a lifetime – crossing the Sahara from Tunisia across Algeria and into Mauritania, a journey of around 5,000km provided we don’t take a wrong turn somewhere.  Our vehicle of choice is, of course, a 2014, 110 Puma Defender aka Bob who, whilst sightseeing around Tunisia, has sprung a radiator leak.  There is no possibility of finding LR parts in Tunisia and whilst we have added radiator seal do we trust that this will enable us to complete the journey??  There would also be the question of when and where would a replacement radiator present itself to us – what would you do????