Iran pakistan border and the road to quetta
 

Hi Im currently riding round the world for charity and will be heading to the iran pakistan border around the end of august was looking for some advice on border hassles and any info on the road to Quetta as Ive heard it can be dangerous and bad. Heres my website if youre interested in what Im doing, EarthTrek Im currently in spain, will be in greece next week and on to turkey in August. Blessings to all of you out there, Jonny

Crossing from Iran to Pakistan was pretty straightforward, assuming you have the carnet. Luckily they will keep the crowd outside and away from the Iranian border station, otherwise it would´ve been hell. Just dont get fooled by the moneychangers on either side... oh, and do remember to change into left-hand traffic once on Pakistani soil (I didnt!!)

Road to Quetta, up to Dalbandin is fine, but after that its gets narrower and worse and worse.. but not really that bad, a guy in our our "convoy" was driving a big camper car, but still made it, he had to go slow, though. I would start at first sunlight, and hurry up so I´d make it into Quetta before dark - we didnt do that, and ended up sleeping at a police station in Nushkin, a very small town right next to the Afghan border, maybe not the safest place to stay. You can go from Taftan to Wagah (India) in a few days if you like. Considering the situation, I probably wouldnt stay much longer in Pakistan at the moment.

I did the trip from Europe to Australia last winter, its a great tour! I saw on your website that you would like information about other countries as well. Beware that some have had problems getting their bikes into Indonesia, even with carnets. I would go Penang-Belawan on Cakra Shipping (your bike I mean, you must take another one for yourself).

From East Timor there should be, or at least there was, a Perkins Shipping cargo boat to Darwin. We thought we would use it, but then several things turned against us, so we ended up shipping to Oz from Bali, airfreight and very VERY expensive, still hurts a bit, but I still think it was the only realistic option then and there.

I dont know what time you plan to be in Indonesia / North Australia, but the rainy season is something you should take into account, as it affects how boats will go, whether they will go at all (or whether anyone knows then they will go or not!)... and this year, there had been some very heavy rains in the Northern Territory, roads were cut and blocked etc. Im actually glad we decided to ship to Perth, as it probably wouldn´t have been the best time to go to Darwin.

All in a days work.
 

Just to confirm, Pecha is correct, i did border to Quetta in a day a couple of years ago... it is very do able but requires a pretty steady pace.... as i remember it is about 600 odd k's. Start early and you will make it to Quetta early evening though... the biggest dangers are sand migrating over the road on the sections through desert, oncoming homiscidal trucks and buses (although these are par for the course in Iran, Pak & India generally) and chains across the road at military check points, kep your wits about you especially towards the end if you are feeling tired.

The check points themselves are no problem and very friendly but they do all want to make you a cuppa and chat!! and if your trying to make Quetta by dusk, and i wouldnt personally ride that road past dusk, you have to friendly but firm about having to move on.

Its a great section of your trip, one i remember fondly and Quetta itself is a facinating town.

Have a great journey.

Thanks for that info guys. I will be heading through there in September/October so your advice is much appreciated. Am in Finland at the moment heading to Estonia in the next few days.

Kenny

Roads and tyres
 

Thats a big help on the info thanks a lot, Yeah any help on information with the shipping would be a big help and exactly are the rains in Indonesia ? On another point any ideas what tyres to use on the iran quetta section. im using avon distanzias which give me many miles but Im not sure hjow great they are in the rough. also any descrition on road condtion east of Dalbandin would be great. When you say narrow and bad what exactly do you mean? Any bike friendly places to stay on route and anyone travelling that way now? All the best Jonny

Dalbandin-Quetta wasnt that bad (we went last November), just broken asphalt with plenty of bumps and holes, and some roadworks near Quetta which was even bumpier, and where the dust reduced visibility to almost 0. But normal road tyres could do that just fine.
(Edit: We were lucky I guess, because there wasnt much sand on the road, just a few places where you had to ride over it. But if its very windy, that could change quickly)

The heavy rains affect all southern hemisphere´s tropical regions around the last and first months of the year. We didnt get much rain in Sumatra, but surely did in Java and Bali, and decided we go Perth instead of Darwin, where I heard it had been very wet. Perth is outside the tropics.

If you plan to go some smaller roads and tracks a lot, then the rainy season is very important, as most of these may become unpassable during that time. Wont affect the main roads so much.

I did it last month...
 

or was it a couple months ago...it was a nightmare...on the iranian side...the pak road is in fnie condition, the cops left me alone and you should EASILY be able to do it in a long day on a motobike. Youcan easily fly along at 80kmh in most places.

Joe's Travels for the full bullshit story about the arsehole iranian cops.