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sub-Saharan Africa Topics specific to sub-Saharan Africa. (Includes all countries South of 17 degrees latitude)
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Photo by Ellen Delis,
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  #1  
Old 27 Sep 2009
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ethiopia to kenya crossing
i am trying to avoid the moyale Marsabit route and wish to cross From Ethjipoia to kenya by banya fort by lake turkana. has anyone attempted it ? was there a customs post or immgration either side.
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Old 27 Sep 2009
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ethiopia to kenya crossing
[quote=Gingertreatt;258346]i am trying to avoid the moyale Marsabit route and wish to cross From Ethjipoia to kenya by banya fort by lake turkana. has anyone attempted it ? was there a customs post or immgration either side. all ideas welcome. the situation is very fluiid i know.
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Old 27 Sep 2009
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Hey Ginger,

If you are trying to avoid the Moyale-Marsabit route to find a better road, Lake Turkana isn't the way to go. It's rideable and a grand adventure but pretty remote and you would have to carry a lot of extra fuel as there is very little population. The most practical way to do it is to latch on with a 4x4 who is intending on going that way and is willing to carry some of your weight. Riding it solo would be a tough go and probably not recommened. You have to check out of customs in Nairobi and into Ethiopia after you cross the border in Omerate. There is a small shack at the border but it is more of a checkpoint than a customs office. Hope that helps.
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Old 28 Sep 2009
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Turkana
In Ethiopia you will have to make a short detour to Omerate to do immigration. On the Kenya side there is nothing and you can ask for a police stamp in Ileret but most people just carry on and do customs and immigration in Nairoby.

On a bike going solo you might be able to find fuel but your biggest problem will be water. We did the same route last year going the other way with a Danish biker riding with us. Work on about 900 km's without fuel stops.
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  #5  
Old 29 Sep 2009
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Anywhere to do customs other than Nairobi?
Is there anywhere to get legally out of Kenya other than Nairobi? I'm keen on going to Uganda, then back into Kenya, and then head north for the Turkana route... I'm not exactly keen on coming all the way back to Nairobi just to stamp myself out!
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Old 29 Sep 2009
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Hey Steve,

Don't know for sure, but doubtful that you would be able to get a stamp out at any of the smaller centers on the route from the Ugandan border inland. Once you turn north off the border to Nairobi highway, it gets more and more remote pretty quick.

Options to consider are kindly asking the border guard who stamps you in from Uganda to stamp you out as you will be heading north. Doesn't seem likely, but if you explain your predicament, perhaps they can accomodate you.

Other option is to ride north and not get checked out by Kenyan customs, get only the police stamp at Illeret. Not sure what the ramifications are for this, if you never plan on heading back to Kenya, probably not much. The whole process is pretty unique, it's an interesting feeling to enter a country and not get stamped in for a week or two. Equally interesting is to get stamped out and spend a week or two before you actually leave. The whole process is more fluid than almost any other place.
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Old 30 Sep 2009
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Go Moyale - Marsabit - the other place where the tarmac starts, that's adventurous enough for most, especially doing the last 30Km into Marsabit at night when you can't remember what colour lion's eyes glow in the dark and to use the title of an old song, "The night has a thousand eyes." Above all, ride safe.

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  #8  
Old 1 Oct 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve.lorimer View Post
Is there anywhere to get legally out of Kenya other than Nairobi? I'm keen on going to Uganda, then back into Kenya, and then head north for the Turkana route... I'm not exactly keen on coming all the way back to Nairobi just to stamp myself out!
I did this route in 2004 and left Kenya without getting an exit stamp which didnt seem to worry anyone. At that time Omorate was the only immigration post in the area for Ethiopia, but no customs which became a problem for me ,i really tried hard to sort it out in Addis, but eventually left Ethiopia without it which was ok ... well kinda. The Sudanese didnt mind, but the Ethiopians werent very impressed( I was going N).

Jim

PS the turkana route was the highlight of my trip, possibly of my life! Well worth the toil.
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Old 2 Oct 2009
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Carnet
It's not stamping out my carnet which I'm worried about.

Did you have any issues with that?

If the Kenyan authorities decides they want to pursue import duties for my truck then I'm up **** creek without a paddle ya know!?
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Old 2 Oct 2009
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Am I right in saying you want to come from Ethiopia into Kenya via Turkana and so you're concerned about not being able to get you carnet stamped in at the Kenyan border?
Hmm ok I see your problem... What you can do is to go to the Kenyan Embassy in Addis and explain your trip to them (also get your Kenya visa there as you cant get one in Illeret). Ive not tried this but I met an Aussie who did and he managed. Your problem is not getting legally out of Kenya but getting stamped "in" legally.

Hope that helps??
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Last edited by jim; 2 Oct 2009 at 15:34. Reason: re think
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Old 2 Oct 2009
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Yes, we're going south to north.

Quote:
Why do you need to go to Nairobi to get stamped out?
The police here in Nairobi are aware of overlanders wanting to exit Kenya via the Lake Turkana / Omo Valley route, and will actually stamp both your passport and carnet out of Kenya even though you'll remain in the country for some time before you physically leave. That is the "legal" way to go south-to-north.

I was worried that not having an exit stamp for Kenya could be an issue, but if I get an entry (and exit) stamp in a.n.other country after Kenya, then if I understand you correctly, this isn't an issue?

Has anyone done the south-to-north route via Lake Turkana/Omo Valley and managed to get their carnet stamped into Ethiopia? If so, where?
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Old 2 Oct 2009
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Originally Posted by steve.lorimer View Post
Has anyone done the south-to-north route via Lake Turkana/Omo Valley and managed to get their carnet stamped into Ethiopia? If so, where?
You don't use the Carnet in Ethiopia.
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Old 3 Oct 2009
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You don't use the Carnet in Ethiopia.
That's official?
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Old 3 Oct 2009
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Steve,

In Ethiopia you have to use an Ethiopian TIP (Temporary Import Permit) you purchase at the border (I am not aware that this procedure has been changed). It used to be 1US$ but this may have changed.

If they ask for your carnet it is just to copy the data into the TIP.

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Bernd

ps We will head off Thursday to pick up the Toyota where we met last time ,-)
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Old 3 Oct 2009
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We got a visa at the embassy in Nairobi, which required international drivers license and either carnet or log book (we were able to use our Kenyan log book, but needed to leave the original at the border).


We then drove from Nairobi to Isiolo on the first day. Isiolo to Marsabit on the second day, and Marsabit to Moyale on the third day. Reasonably long days (dawn till dusk), really crap roads, very corrugated, etc. Got really badly bogged in a sandy flow (up to the door handles!) in Moyale town, just 10 meters from the gates of the KWA. Half the town turned out to watch/help.

Border crossing was pretty routine, the eithiopians were reasonably officious, including attempting to check that the engine numbers matched, but really no trouble.


They give you a temporary import permit that got checked at few checkpoints as we moved north.
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