4-Xtremes – Part 2: a desert expedition in the middle of Europe

Series: 4-Xtremes – The World Tour

On safari.

Desert sand in the EU? Yes – in Poland! The Kammermanns discovered Pustynia Błędowska.

Once the tyre pressure was reduced, the pair were ready for the off! Another reason behind the good driving characteristics on the sand came from the fact that the Kammermanns had re-distributed the ballast at the rear of the Axor before restarting their tour.
Once the tyre pressure was reduced, the pair were ready for the off! Another reason behind the good driving characteristics on the sand came from the fact that the Kammermanns had re-distributed the ballast at the rear of the Axor before restarting their tour.
Once the tyre pressure was reduced, the pair were ready for the off! Another reason behind the good driving characteristics on the sand came from the fact that the Kammermanns had re-distributed the ballast at the rear of the Axor before restarting their tour.
Once the tyre pressure was reduced, the pair were ready for the off! Another reason behind the good driving characteristics on the sand came from the fact that the Kammermanns had re-distributed the ballast at the rear of the Axor before restarting their tour.
Overnight in the Polish desert, it’s not uncommon to be visited by wild boars.
Overnight in the Polish desert, it’s not uncommon to be visited by wild boars.

After re-starting our “World Tour”, there is one place which we’re really excited about visiting: Pustynia Błędowska – the Błędów desert in southern Poland. Yes, that’s right: a desert right here in Europe, not far from the big cities of Kraków and Katowice.

OK so it’s not quite the Sahara... Whilst the Sahara continues to expand, the Błędów desert, whose formation is surrounded by legends, is progressively shrinking and is actually becoming more of a steppe. Of the former 150 square kilometres which it used to occupy, there are now just 32 remaining. But despite this, the landscape surrounded by pine trees still has a very special character even today.



Sandy tracks make for great fun.

For off-roading types like us, the special thing about a desert is: sand tracks! After a long time, we were again able to lower the Axor’s tyre pressure down to 2.5 bar. The tracks have some hard places where faster driving is possible, but there are also areas of soft sand between trees. These are more technically challenging and you need to use the differential locks there, for example.

Sparsely overgrown in many places, the area is mostly visited by tourists. Or people who happen to be here for work reasons: for example, we unexpectedly witnessed a swimsuit photoshoot.



Wild boars and military aircraft.

If you continue further in, you have the place to yourself and, at best, will only see wild boars... and aircraft! The Polish military uses a secured zone of the desert for things like parachuting exercises. It’s quite an odd feeling when a huge freight plane flies in at low altitude and you see things falling out of its rear cargo door.

Day two brought summer storms with lots of lightning. Some struck so close that our living area box body vibrated. Good thing we’d decided to park near the edge of the forest and not in the middle of the desert as we had initially planned to. After three days in the Błędów desert, it became apparent to us that we now had yet another great experience to share with those following us on our journey.


4-Xtremes – The World Tour.

An unparalleled journey.

Andrea and Mike Kammermann have been on tour in their Axor for three years. "4-Xtremes – The World Tour" is the motto of the journey that the two Swiss nationals embarked on in mid-2020 and which they share with the RoadStars community. Keep up to date and don't miss out on any of the stunning destinations visited by the adventurous pair.

You can find the current parts from the “4-Xtremes – The World Tour” series here.

You can find the route of the trip before the crossing to South America here.

 


Photos and video: 4-Xtremes

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