Passavant
 

Well, this whole passavant thing sounds interesting. Having never travelled through Africa with a vehicle I am etremely interested to know about it as I am off to West Africa all the way down to Cape Town in January.

At the risk of having Javier rip my face off, (as I can see he is clearly impassioned by this subject) could he or anyone else explain the differences or similarities of a passavant to a carnet. I understand the benefits but if I am to leave the UK without a carnet I want to be 100% sure I'm not going to get to the Congo only to be told to bugger off because I don't have a carnet.

So what's the procedure at borders?
How much do they cost?
What is their purpose?
etc..

Your help would be appreciated.