Morocco to South Africa via Gabon
 

I will be travelling by motorbike leaving early November 2009 from the UK . Planning for Morocco-Sengal-Burkina Faso-Niger-Cameroon-Gabon. Hoping to make Gabon for Christmas 2009. Then work down through the Congos & Angola to South Africa in the New Year. Looking for a travelling partner(s) for some of the more challenging sections.:thumbup1:

To SA via Gabon - later?
 

Hi Travis, could you postpone your trip and start at the end of Jan 2010? I'll be riding from the Netherlands to Cape Town and part of our route is the same. If it's at all possible for you to start later we could meet in Burkina or Ghana and travel together until we get to northern Angola - then I head for Zanzibar.

You can have look at One ball One continent - but it will be pointless if your start date is fixed. I was going to start on 1 Nov but the blog will show why that's not possible anymore...:(

PM me if you want! Or let me know if you know of anyone else doing something similar early next year.

Kobus

Morroco to South Africa
 

I would like to travel with you but I am already committed to being in Gabon for New Years. I would still like to join up with you possibly when I am coming back up from South Africa. I would be more than happy to give you the latest road reports for the region. I have been hearing that Angola is expecting long delays issuing visas from all locations. I was planning on applying for the Angolan visa while in Gabon visiting friends for a few weeks.
Cheers Rick

Hi fellow travelers,

looks like I'll be following in your tracks. I am doing a Germany - Cape Town down the West Coast but starting in March and arriving in September.

Kobus, I've been reading your blog. Hope your back is better now and won't make any trouble on the trip.

Looking forward to both of your reports and experiences.

Julian

Well guys,

We'll be somewhere between you all. :thumbup1:

We'll be heading down the West coast - Morocco, Muari, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, BF, Benin, Togo, Ghana - between January and March 2010.

Safe travels and we might meet you somewhere on route!

Mike & Linda

Europe to Cape Town
 

Hi All,
It sounds like a lot of us will be doing some route or other through West Africa - have fun! It would be great to bump into some of you along the way.

Julian, thanks for the concern - my back is not giving me any hassles and I do not have to wear the brace anymore (it was annoying!!!). Tomorrow I'll start Pilates class to get it back into shape, but I'll have to wait until Dec before I can start getting my right arm supple and strong.

I'll follow the Sahara and Sub-Saharan Africa forums until I head out and check in wherever I can, so keep posting and we may be able to arrange a meeting.

Safe(r) riding!
Kobus

Hi everyone,

We are doing the same route as posted above, we head to ghana tomorow for a bit of a break. Then on to Cape Town. so if there is anyone that is about to head in to nigeria in about a month let us know and maybe we can joint up.

cheers
Xander and MRs.X

Hey guys,

Angola is hosting some international Football Championships in a couple of months.

Logic suggests that they will slacken their visa requirements soon. Perhaps Google CAN soccer and see... CAN 2010 Site Oficial

Safe Ride !!!!
 

Wish you memorable adventure, hope the 640 ADV will do well :scooter: !!
Nice meeting you at dirtbike show, Travis… keep in touch and give us some pics and updates from Morocco :clap:

Hi Travis

Get your VISA for Mauritian in Rabat before travelling down through Morocco at the border!!!!!!!!! :eek3:

We are stranded for 6days waiting for a guy to come back with ours. We are in Ad Dakhla about 400km from the border, through last police check point about 6km from town in the walled camp site with clean rooms also on the left just beyond that check point by the road (just look for a 640 parked inside). I have just posted about the Mauritian thingy.

There are two of us riding down to South Africa along a very similar route to you, if you are around it would be great to meet (and I know where to get cold beers in this dry town! :clap:)

Have a safe one!!! :mchappy:
Duck

Do I detect that someone is trying to avoid going to Nigeria? Hoping to find a way in at Lake Chad? We were of the same mind in 2008 on the same route but really its ok. We came in from the North, via Kano, and headed south to do the "Ekok-Mamfe muddyroad extravaganza* " into Cameroon. Lovely. They're really perfectly nice in Nigeria so don't worry about it.

Morocco (road)-Sengal (road)-Burkina Faso (road)- Niger (road)-Cameroon (road*)-Gabon (road), then the roads get more interesting....

If you can go to Nigeria, I would highly recommend getting your Angolan visa in Abuja.

I did loads and loads and loads of research on this subject before we came down (we travelled the west coast Oct 08 - April 09) and I can tell you that it is not an easy thing to get hold of, and most people's experience is that the only place to get it is Abuja. I did a big post on the requirements in a thread entitled "DRC" quite a while ago - http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...380#post224383

You can get the Angolan visa in Matadi, DRC, but often the DRC won't let you in if you don't have visas arranged for onward travel.

Many other people hadn't got theirs in Abuja and struggled afterwards - The Angolan visa remains the major sticking point on the west coast route down.

Mmmmm, that may be overstating. Is anyone aware of travelers who could not get into DRC because of lack of visas (or other evidence) of onward travel ... stonewalled so badly they flew over DRC instead? I'm not ...

That said, it's a good idea to have evidence of onward travel, visas or otherwise, when attempting to enter DRC. Expect to be asked for it. In our case in February 09, entering DRC at Kinshasa, a letter of invitation from an outfit in Angola sufficed. A fake letter would have done as well.

So yeah, securing an Angola visa in Abuja is a good idea. The crazy Angolans could stop issuing visas at Matadi tomorrow. Get it when and where you can. But if you don't, just have some evidence of onward travel when entering DRC and you should be fine.

All the reasearch I did suggested otherwise. I'm sure that you could wing it on the DRC border, perhaps with a fake letter of invitation, but if you can go through Abuja and get your visa there, it's both easy and you have all your ducks in a row for when you do eventually get to the DRC border.

Some examples:
The big problem is DRC and Angola. The DRC embassy in Brazzaville will give you a visa very easily, but it is of no use, because the DRC authorities on the ferry from Brazzaville to Kinshasa won't let you in unless you have a visa for either Zambia or Angola. It is no use saying you don't need a visa for Zambia - they need to see a visa in your passport.
from here: Wendy and Rob go travelling: Info on visas for Angola, DRC, Congo, Gabon

I work for Oasis Overland and we do a south bound trip twice a year through Angola,over the last 4 years i think i must have been to every Angolan embassy in africa trying to get visas !!!
We are now getting double entry transit visas in Abuja Nigeria,(Our friends on a trip at the moment just got them there 1 week ago) all other embasys are hopeless,you can get them in Matadi DRC,BUT the DRC imagration wont let you enter at Kinshasa without a letter from an Angolan embassy stating you are going there to get a visa,this letter is next to imposable to get...
from here: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...lan-visa-43436

All that said, the same thread on the HUBB has this - which seams like a decent way to get around the problem:
The visa costs $100 in Abuja and $30 in Matadi. If you want to get it in Matadi then you can get a letter from the Zambian embassy in Brazza saying you can get a Zambian visa on the border. Use that to get into the DRC, then head for Matadi to get your Angolan visa.

Gabon..
 

Hi,

Im going to be in Gabon for Xmas and New Year too, im leaving in a couple of weeks for there, so any ideas whereabouts you will be?

Mandi.