Mauritania to UK / getting a bike into Morocco
 

Hey all,

I'm in Nouakchott, Mauritania at the moment, and having some problems with the bike. It looks like it might be best to end the trip a little early and ship the bike back home

i've got in touch with some people who have space for a bike in a van heading back to the UK soon. I'd fly back home and collect the bike sometime later. My question is, would it be possible for a third party to take my bike into and out of morocco in a van? They would have the documents for it, but obviously they'd be in my name and i wouldn't be there. would this be a problem?

Alternatively, anyone know any decent shipping companies in Nouakchott?

thanks in advance for any help,

Nick

Information for you
 

Nick - sorry about your problems-

Sogeco, Nouakchott, BP 351, Nouakchott
Nouakchott, Route De L´Aeroport
Tel: +222 (0)524 3569, Mobile: 658 2818, Fax: +222 (0)525 3903, e-mail: aly@sogeco-sa.mr or, Director Airfreight and Express: Aly Ould Salihi
Maybe this can help?

It may well be worthwhile calling the airport there to check for air freight ? Air France I believe services NCK
Nouakchott Airport, Mauritania, BP 5605, Nouakchott
Tel: +222 (0)252001, +222 (0)252009, +222 (0)252476
Fax: +222 (0)254834


As far as Morocco customs - I would think you would be best speaking directly with the Moroccan Embassy in London on 0044 207 724 0719 in London to get info first hand.
I reckon that unless you are aboard the transporting vehicle as well - it is very likely that the people transporting it will have problems.


Most freight sea and air seems to be all going to and from Dakar - you might have better luck from there.
I have just spoken with James Cargo ( 0044 1753 687722) and they suggested, if you are going to consider Dakar then to call:
Mr Maguette Dabo of Trans Fret Dakar on +221 338234668.
They know James Cargo and can either ship a bike to Tilbury or Air freight to Heathrow from Dakar.

Good luck.

p.s what's a ZX doing in Africa:eek3: ?? :mchappy:

Cool, thanks very much for all the info. I'll be heading to the airport tomorrow to find out what the deal is. So you don't think it's possible to sea freight from Nouakchott?

I'm sure Dakar would be a better bet, but the bike won't make it there under it's own steam so i'm hoping it will be possible to ship it home from here. If this proves too difficult fallback option is to get the bike in a van going to Dakar

and it would certainly have been interesting if i'd brought my zx6 here, but fortunately i'm actually on my XR400!

It's a bit off your thread Nick, but how come a XR400 cannot make it there and back to Maroc? - what lessons if any?

Good luck with your recovery,

well, the key lesson is not to run the bike on the nasty cheap engine oil you get in morocco, no matter how much the guy in the bike shop insists it's ok! At least that's my theory at the moment, the clutch is knackered and i'm blaming it on the oil. Since i'm nearly at the end of the trip anyway i think it's easier to send the bike home now than to get a new clutch sent here to fix it

Other than this, the bike's been faultless during the 10,000km trip, but the fairly short oil change intervals are a bit of a problem when you're far from civilisation. It's my first trip to africa so guess i was a bit foolish - next time round I'll be stocking up on decent stuff wherever I can!

N

There's no problem in having someone ship your bike through Morocco, it happens quite often. For example, Bill Oates of MotoMorocco regularly trucks customers' bikes to Marrakech where they fly in. Also, the UK Dakar competitors normally ship all their bikes back to the UK in a single truck. I think Patsy Quick of Team Desert Rose organised this in the past. If you could wait until the 20 Jan...

The people would need the bike registration document and a letter from you authorising them to have the bike.

? Could be cheaper to have the new clutch sent over ? ! If you have the time, and a nice place to stay while you wait for the bits to arive.

Hi Nick

Hope you get sorted out - I think somehow you'll get by!

I have a Moroccan colleague who says "All Moroccan men are liars".

Your thread has proved very useful in case the same thing happens to me.

Good luck, good roads..

Dhl
 

Nick
Since you say you are in NCK, it's a piece of cake!
DHL have an office in NCK here N18 05.743 W15 58.581
I had some keys I left behind ( d'oh!) sent to me there in 4 days from Paris.
Might be a lot cheaper to have a new clutch sent over.

was he lying to you ;)

thanks to everyone for your replies! in fact, i think everything has turned out ok...

when i first got the problem i tried to get the new clutch bits sent over as Frank suggested. The courier company were pretty useless though - a couple of days after the parts should have arrived here I called them and they told me the package was still in France! (lesson learned - use DHL next time, thanks for the link Bert). So yesterday i decided shipping the bike home might be my only option, spent 24 hours asking around and making calls... and then the clutch plates turned up this afternoon! funny the way that always happens...

So back on the road tomorrow, and it's good to know I can get the bike home from here - if the Senegal border proves too difficult without a carnet I'll be heading back here. so thanks again for all the information

cheers,

Nick

Excellent! I hope you got some good oil as well.

:rofl:

That's a classic conundrum!

indeed i did, 3 litres of the good stuff and the bike's never been happier

thanks again for the replies