carnet in southern africa
 

I am planning to but a vehicle in South Africa to take around a loop of southern Africa through Botswana, Malawi, Zambia e.t.c. up to Rwanda then back down via Mozambique.
I understand in South Africa insurance is included in the fuel price and you can buy third party insurance on the borders. How much is this roughly?

My second question is, can I buy and do I need a carnet de passage as the car will be south afican registered. If so is this easy to obtain as I do not want to be waiting in Jo'berg for weeks for a piece of paper.

Any help would be lovely, cheers

Hi there,

You shouldn't need a carnet for any of the Southern African countries. Not 100% sure about up from Malawi though. You may well need it for Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, etc. And correct, you don't need vehicle insurance in South Africa, it's pretty easy you can pretty much buy and go, just get it registered in your name which doesn't take long. For a good few of the Southern African countries you need a 'comessa' insurance which you can buy at the border and isn't too pricey.

Enjoy your trip.
Cheers
Richard

With a S.A. rego you definitely don't need an carnet for NAM, BOT, LES, ZIM, MOZ, but I cannot say whether the agreement between these countries also applies to Malawi and northwards.

If a vehicle is registered in S.A. this automatically includes a 3rd party insurance for government property, but doesn't cover damage claims of private 3rd parties. This insurance is optional.

Two links might be of interest to you:
The South African AA: Automobile Association
and the Wilddog forum: Wild Dog Adventure Riding - Index

Hans