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Tanja Katzer

Tanja Katzer was born on August 30, 1970 in Nuremberg. Tanja is a qualified travel agent. In 1991, she gave up her job and has since accompanied Denis on his world expedition “The Great Journey”. Together they have crossed the Desert of Death (Taklamakan) on foot on camels and by horse-drawn cart through the central highlands and the Gobi Desert in Mongolia – to name just a few stages of the “Great Journey”.

As an author, photographer and filmmaker, Tanja and her husband Denis publish their shared experiences in magazines and journals, give slide shows, write books and work on film documentaries for television.

Between the expedition stages, Tanja works internationally as a model or pursues her passion: painting.


On your website www.tanja-katzer.de she shows some shots from her work as a model.


Tanja Katzer was born on August 30, 1970 in Nuremberg. Tanja is a qualified travel agent. She gave up her job in 1991 and has accompanied Denis on his world expedition ever since
The great journey“.

Together, they crossed the Desert of Death (Taklamakan) on foot on camels and by horse-drawn cart through the central highlands and the Gobi Desert of Mongolia – to name just a few stages of the great journey.

As an author, photographer and filmmaker, Tanja and her husband Denis publish their shared experiences in journals and magazines, give slide shows, write books and work on film documentaries for television.

Between the expedition stages, Tanja works as a model or pursues her passion: painting.

Tanja Katzer – Travel biography

  • 1979 South Africa
    Together with my parents, at the age of
    nine years ago to my uncle who lived in Johannisburg.
    Together we explored this wonderful country.
  • 1988 Brazil
    First big photo trip in my job as a model
  • 1989 Thailand
    On the road as a traveler. First contact with another culture.
  • 1990 Venezuela
    I meet up with Denis, who has successfully returned from his Guyana expedition.
    has returned. As travelers, we visit Venezuela and the Caribbean.
  • 1991 Start of the 30-year expedition: “The Great Journey”
    Denis and I start our life project together
    “The great journey”. By land and sea,
    with the usual means of transportation, from Germany
    to South America.
  • 1991, 1992, 1993
    Germany, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Sinai, Jordan,
    Syria, Turkey, Eastern Anatolia, Iran.
    By train, boat, bus and hitchhiking from Germany
    to Pakistan. Years later, second trip to India.
  • 1991, 1992, 1993 Pakistan
    On the backs of our camels, we were the first to cross the
    Europeans all over Pakistan.
    Years later, second overland journey from Europe to India.
    Distance covered 1,500 kilometers.
  • 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 India
    1 ½ years with an old Indian motorcycle through South India.
    Distance covered 15,000 kilometers.
  • 1992, 1993 Andaman Islands – India
    Expedition to the endangered Jarawas.
    Unique contact with someone who still lives like in the Stone Age
    Indigenous people on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The Jarawas killed
    At that time, there were still intruders with bows and arrows. Two of the few
    Western visitors who had contact with the Jarawas were
    Heinrich Harrer and the King of Belgium in 1976.
  • 1992 Sri Lanka
    Contact with a people threatened with extinction, the Veddas.
  • 1994 Madagascar
    With a four-wheel drive vehicle 7,000 kilometers through Madagascar.
    Contacts with remote ethnic groups.
  • 1995 Taklamakan/China
    Camel expedition through the Taklamakan Desert of Death.
    Crossing the largest contiguous sand desert in our
    Earth, the Taklamakan in western China. We march 1,000 kilometers with
    seven camels through a sea of sand. The desert of death was
    the smallest expedition in its history and without supplies
    defeated from the outside.
  • 1995, 1996 Tibet
    With a four-wheel drive vehicle over the roof of the world to Nepal.
  • 1996/Summer Nepal
    Elephant expedition
    We rode through the kingdom of Nepal on the back of an elephant.
  • 1996/Autumn Mongolia
    Horse expedition through the central highlands.
    With a total of twelve horses and a horse-drawn carriage, we rode through
    as the first Europeans of the last century
    the central highlands and the Gobi desert of Mongolia. Distance traveled
    Distance 1,600 kilometers.
  • 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Australia
    (Longest camel expedition in Australian history).
    With seven camels we crossed the Australian continent from
    South to north and from the west coast to the east coast. A daring
    An undertaking whose outcome was uncertain from the outset. It was a
    An adventure of superlatives, a journey into the still unknown interior
    of a mystical and mysterious land. An expedition that
    us to unattainable heights, but also to unimagined heights.
    depths.
  • 2004 Egypt
    Photo trip to the Sinai.
  • 2004 Caribbean
    Photo tour.
  • 2005 Australia
    We lead through an isolated part of the Gibson Desert to the first
    A camel expedition for the first time
    with guests from Hauser excursions.
  • 2005 Trans-East Expedition Stage 1
    Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania.
    3,000 kilometers by bike.
  • 2007 Trans-East Expedition Stage 2
    Romania, Moldova, Transnistria, Ukraine, Crimea, Western Russia.
    4,000 kilometers by bike.
  • 2008 Trans-East Expedition Stage 3
    Russia, Kazakhstan, Siberia
    4,000 kilometers by bike.
  • 2009 Trans-East Expedition Stage 4
    Siberia, Lake Baikal, Mongolia
    3,500 kilometers by bike.
  • 2011, 2012 Mongolia
    Horse expedition to the last reindeer nomads.

    We were the first Europeans to spend the Arctic winter at temperatures as low as
    minus 50 °C with the Tuwa tribe.
    15 months between ancient shamanism and customs.
    Between minus 50 and plus 40 °C 3,000 kilometers on horseback.
  • 2015, 2017 Siberia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,
    Thailand (Current trip – Longest unsupported e-bike EXPEDITION in the world).
    The first stage of our e-bike expedition will take us in two years
    approx. 15,000 kilometers through countries.


Since 1991, we have covered approx. 410,000 kilometers (10 times around the earth – 1 x to the moon) by land and sea (not including flights) on the “Great Journey”.



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