Status: 05.11.2023, 19:57 PM
By: Elisa Buhrke
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Nadja Blochberger has been travelling through Africa since the beginning of the year. The Munich native earned the money for this as a Oktoberfest waitress, among other things. © Nadja Blochberger
Nadja Blochberger has been travelling across Africa since the beginning of the year. The Munich native has already crossed 19 countries by jeep and talks about her experiences: from crossing the Sahara and wild camping to breaking wheel bearings.
Munich/ South Africa – It all started on New Year's Day: While the apartment still had to be cleaned squeaky clean on New Year's Eve, Nadja Blochberger and her partner got into their jeep in Munich on the way to Gibraltar on January 1st. From there we took the ferry to Morocco. In the meantime, the 28-year-old has been touring Africa for about ten months – and there is no end in sight to the journey. The Munich native saved up the money for her heart's desire for a tour of Africa for years: through several part-time jobs during her studies, but also afterwards when she sacrificed her vacation days during a full-time job to work as a Oktoberfest waitress.
"I have travelled a lot and for a long time in the past and spent my internship semester in South Africa, among other things. Since then, I've always been interested in the rest of the continent," she explains in an interview with our editorial team. The planned end of the trip is March 2024 - "but I think we're still somewhere in the middle of Africa".
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Munich resident has been travelling through Africa by jeep since the beginning of the year
Blochberger is currently in South Africa. She and her boyfriend were still in Cape Town until the end of October, and for the next few days they will drive along the Garden Route – a popular road trip route with picturesque natural landscapes. After that, they want to continue their journey in Namibia. "It's not yet clear where it will go after that. We're not the best at planning and prefer to do everything spontaneously," says the 28-year-old.
The fact that she is now travelling through Africa together with her partner was not originally intended to be like this: Actually, the Munich native wanted to realize her long-cherished dream on her own. "But when I met my boyfriend, it was clear from the beginning that it could only work with us if he came along." Ultimately, however, she is happy to now be able to gain experience together. Otherwise, she would have felt a bit lonely.
Back in Munich for a short time – to work as a waitress at the Oktoberfest
Touring through Africa for more than twelve months – that's expensive. That's why Blochberger saved money for years to fulfill her dream. Among other things, she worked as a waitress at the Oktoberfest for nine years. This year, too, she returned to Munich for three weeks in September to work as a waitress at the Munich dumpling shop – and to increase her budget a little. She also shows her great love for the Oktoberfest on her Instagram profile: In addition to many Africa travel photos, Blochberger has diligently shared impressions and videos from the Oktoberfest. Immediately after this short detour to Munich, however, we went back to Cape Town.
"That could have ended really badly": Blochberger also had dangerous experiences on his trip
But it wasn't just positive experiences that Blochberger had to make on her trip so far: "The most dangerous problem was certainly our problem in Nigeria," says the 28-year-old. "In an area that didn't feel good at all, we noticed that our wheel bearing was giving up the ghost."
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So we were standing in the middle of nowhere. That could have ended really badly.
Nadja Blochberger
Nadja Blochberger circumnavigates Africa by jeep: Seen here in the Namibian desert. © Nadja Blochberger
Because they didn't want to stop on the spot, they tried to make it to a secure parking lot a few kilometers away. On the way there, however, the wheel bearing completely said goodbye – and the wheel jumped off in the middle of the ride. "So we were standing in the middle of nowhere, the car was only on the brake disc on the front left and everything was smoking. Luckily, we were towed away by our travel companions and were not going too fast. Otherwise, it could have ended really badly."
"Don't listen so much to others": Munich woman wants to encourage others
At the same time, however, there are always very nice moments: "In addition to the people we were able to meet every day, it was definitely our crossing of the Sahara in Mauritania - and whales that suddenly swam along the coast at our wild camping site in Angola."
Blochberger has already visited the following countries on her Africa tour:
Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DRC, Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Africa consists of a total of 54 internationally recognised countries.
To all those who are also thinking about spending several months abroad and travelling, Blochberger advises: "Go for it! No one I know who has made a similar trip has regretted it." One should not be unsettled by the opinions of others – in the end, a solution can be found for everything on site.
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