Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Morocco to Cape Town

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Morocco to Cape Town

Hey guys,

So I'm green here and in the embryonic stages sorting out a ride down the west coast of Africa starting in November, probably also taking in the South African coast up to Mozambique, and I had some (okay, a lot) of queries to get me rolling. If you could give me some direction I'd appreciate it;

a) Are there any countries in the region which I must have visas for, prior to setting off? (Algeria and Libya I was thinking of tacking on as well, can you advise on this?)
b) Which countries do I require the carnet de passage for? Will one fit all with regards to Africa (I understand yes, with the exception of Egypt, which I'm not going through anyway).
c) Do you know how easy this carnet is to get this in Europe, in Germany for example? How long it takes to process, etc.?
d) The bike itself. What engine size do you think is the least I can get away with? What should I be looking at spending on it? What do I need to take with me in terms of tools and other bits and pieces? (I suppose an XT600/DR600 - or even a KTM or BMW - would be best bet, but can I get away with buying an absolute piece of shit?)
e) Any sections on the way down which are straight up impassible during this time of year? i.e. advice on route.
f) Any sections/countries that I should avoid in general due to cost/safety/general shitness?
g) Advice on anti-malarials? I seem to remember there were three different types from my trip down the east a few years back, and one which you took only once a week was the clear winner assuming you bought it in a country that didn't charge a fortune.
h) How good is the market to buy/sell in Cape Town, do you know? And is this possible given the down payment on your carnet?
i) Advice on buying a bike in general. Probably looking to do it in the UK or Germany, whichever is cheaper.
j) Anyone else thinking of doing something similar? Could do with some company. I have travelled through 90 odd countries and motorbiked through at least a dozen of them, so while I'm green here, I'm not green. If not, I understand there's a overlanders hangout in southern Morocco somewhere, no?

Cheers guys, really appreciate the help in advance!

Ben.

Ben Im going to be in UK in December and heading down through West Africa.
Keep me posted on your planes.

Please use just one thread for a given question! :rolleyes2:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surfy (Post 478914)

Please do a bit more research, before asking so many questions at one time..

A short research about such a trip, will answer many of your questions.

I try to maintain a lîst of all travellers on the west who writes a blog or website. There you will find some recent informations about how others did that trip, which route, which visas, which paperwork:

Trans-Africa: Gerade Unterwegs...

I did collect informations about the Visa Situation at 2013 here: 4x4tripping: Westroute Afrika, aktuelle Visa Situation 2013

Please note that the visa situation changes rapidly - therefore you have to read these most recent transafricas noted in link 1 - to see what are the current rules. Here at Hubb is a thread who shows recent experiences till Juni 2014 what not mean that you have to check the current situation like mentioned before.

As you will see there, there are mostly severall options to optain the visa for a given country.

The Carnet de Passages is a theme itself. You will find severall threads here at Hubb about people who did it over the westroute down without a carnet and too people who use it. Here you find some informations and backlinks, use google translate if necessary.

I did like the cashless bordercrossing who comes with the carnet. It costs 220 Euros, is issued inside of a 3 days, but you had to deposit a good amount of money depending on your car or bike. The UK People dont talked very happy about the UK RAC, so you should do a short search about here at HuBB.

Let me pick some of your questions:

a) it is not possible to enter the westroute over Algeria or beyond, because the marocco-Algeria Borders are closed. You had to start with Marocco

b.) start with as many visas you can, let you spending your traveltime for your trip not for paperwork during your journey ;-)

c.) no problems "usually". Which a good load of rain, you will meet problems near anywhere but specially in Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Dr Congo Sections.

f.) Look at the Ebola Situation. We did the transafrica this way:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iWkAUvx_-_...rica-Flyer.jpg

This way you will leave out some Ebola problem areas of westafrica, but watch the situations carefully. Borders can get closed rapidly. Watch this thread at Hubb at sample, about the Nigeria / Cameroon Border.

While tour operators suspend their sceduled tours to avoid loosing money, you can look for yourself, can too make the best out of your trip if you worst case had to return at a place. Currently there is no verified informations about the mentioned land bordercrossing between nigeria and cameroon for us overlanders.

Look too at the security situation. You have to do the risk calculation by yourself. Read the blogs of the recent travelers, do a google research, get a feeling about.

Back to topic: Generally doing such a transafrica has always some points where you arent able to be absolutely shure about. Shure about if all roads are passable, if the borders are open, if you are able to cross an area like planned (at sample because of a local unrest, virus outbreak, military operations and so on). So beeing flexible and relaxed is helpfully.

Have fun with your detail planning - it is the first part of your trip :funmeteryes:

Surfy