Africa - South to North - How many days?
 

Just starting to do some research and am a bit concerend on the Africa section of an around the world trip. Time is a factor and we plan to really push it on our trip. Does any one have an opinion on how many days(months)it would take for 3 guys to ride the easiest route from Cape Town to Tangier on 650 motorcycles minimizing time spent for siteseeing?

Your route:
South Africa - Namibia - Angola - Congo (Brazzaville) - Gabon - Cameroon - Nigeria - Niger - Burkina Faso - Mali - Mauritania - Morocco. You can do it in six to eight weeks, weather permitting. Get most of your visas in Johannesburg to save time.
Enjoy!

Would the route up the eastern side of Africa (Capetown-Cairo via Kenya, Ethiopia, etc.) be approximately the same duration?

Dave

Hi Dave,
I took both routes in 2000-2001, going south from Tangier on the west coast, going up from Cape Town to Cairo on the east coast. The east coast route took a bit longer, simply because I lingered to visit Vic. Falls, Zanzibar, and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. And note: you'll end up in Cairo, not in Tangier. Going east from Cairo to Tangier is impossible (visa for Lybia impossible to get in Cairo; Algeria-Morocco border closed.
You may want to look at the book section of this site where you'll find my book about this trip with an F 650. Title, "Africa Against the Clock on a Motorcycle."
Werner.

Sorry,
That should be "...going west from Cairo to Tangier..."

Thanks Werner.

I would most likely be interested in seeing some of the attractions you mentioned also, would you say 3 months would be a sufficent amount of time for the eastern route?

I am trying to figure out if I can ride from Capetown to Cairo and then east through Asia to Sydney in a year. But while I don't want to linger in one place for too long, I am not planning on rushing through either.

How many miles per day could one typically do along the eastern route (on a dual-sport bike)?

Thanks again for the help...

Dave

Hi Dave,
It took me three months and six days to make it back to Canada from Cape Town. Canada - Perth can be done easily in three months, similarly Cape Town - Perth - Sydney. A good way to go would be from Port Sudan by ferry to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, then across to the United Emirates, from where you could take another ferry to Iran, and then overland etc. etc. Saudi visas are difficult, but not impossible. Another route would be Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, etc. I don't think that Iraq will be ready for tourists in the near future. But you can try. Just watch the landmines.
Planning is half the fun. Enjoy!

Werner, that sounds like encourging news. My preliminary plan would be 4 months through eastern Africa, 6-7 months through Asia (via Jordan, Turkey, Iran and hopefully Indonesia) and 1-2 months in Australia. One year total.

I now just need to figure out when to start!

Dave

Sounds fantastic. I'm planning a similar trip. Really want to check out the Skeleton Coast of namibia. Did you go? But there are things on the East Coast that fascinate meet too. What about leaving Cape Town and crisscrossing to take in the best of namibia then coming back to Malik, Mauritania, Senegal and Morocco? I've not really dug deep into Africa. My trip leaves August 2004 (from Southern California) so I'm just finishing my research, reading and prelim planning on South America.

You are not allowed to go with a bike to Skeleten coast park.
I tried both the gates, the NWR-office in Windhoek and some "tourist-government" in Windhoek but the rules where strict: No bikes in a NP.

When planning your departure you have two things to worry about http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/frown.gif1) Summer heat in the Sahara, very dangerous on a bike. (2) Rainy season in Congo, roads impassable.
So, plan your itinerary around these two parameters.
I crossed the Mauritanian Sahara end of October, and Congo end of November. No problems. Ethiopia and Sudan in February was also OK. Egypt in March hot, but bearable. To answer a previous question: Distance covered in one day: From 600 plus km in Namibia and South Africa to 50 or so in Congo, depending on the state of road maintenance. So, hang loose and be flexible, and bring some money to invite the locals to a few beers, and you'll have the time of your life, and no longer give a hoot about the weather or the road.

>>]You are not allowed to go with a bike to Skeleten coast park. I tried both the gates, the NWR-office in Windhoek and some "tourist-government" in Windhoek but the rules where strict: No bikes in a NP<<

wow. that's a bummer. seems like a glorious coast. Is the entire coast a national park. did you go elsewhere in namibia? and what was YOUR African route/itinerary/timeframe. thanks

The NP starts at Angolan Border in the north and continues to 100 kms after Tora Bay.

Namibia is still a highlight in Africa and I drove more then 6000 kms there. Kaokoland is wonderfull.

My route was: Tunis-Algeria-Niger-Chad-Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania-Zambia-Botzwana-Namibia-South Africa-Lesotho-South Africa-Swaziland-Mozambique-Malawi-Tanzania-Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan-Egypt-Jordan....

I didn't have a timeframe and used one year. Tight planning doesn't work in Africa, things happen.... Personally I think four months from south to north would be pushing it very hard.
Good luck!

>>My route was: Tunis-Algeria-Niger-Chad-Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania-Zambia-Botzwana-Namibia-South Africa-Lesotho-South Africa-Swaziland-Mozambique-Malawi-Tanzania-Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan-Egypt-Jordan.... I didn't have a timeframe and used one year. Tight planning doesn't work in Africa, things happen.... Personally I think four months from south to north would be pushing it very hard<<

Great info AliBaba. Much thanks. 4 months pushing it, huh? One year you took. Very cool. I might have to trim back some "highlights" but Namibia is definately something I'm excited about. But I won't over plan. But weather is a factor. Any thoughts on the best time to start in SA and head north. I was thinking of arriving in Jan/Feb timeframe.