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London to Cape Town in 3/4 months? London to Cape Town in 3/4 months?
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sub-Saharan Africa Topics specific to sub-Saharan Africa. (Includes all countries South of 17 degrees latitude)
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 31 Jan 2008
Billy Bunter's Avatar
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Unhappy London to Cape Town in 3/4 months?
Hiya all, havent logged on here for a while, in fact not since i returned from a london to Sidney overland trip in 2002/03.... that was 18 months and a lot of fun!

I am now getting that 'work/life/house/london trapped' feeling again and want to do something vaguely interesting, and always said Cape Town would be my next trip.... problem is, i only have 3/4 months this time.

So, is this long enough for this trip if i accept it is merely a blast through taster of this amazing continent? Starting say Oct 08 till Xmas/Jan 09?

Yours thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.

Many thanks. William
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Old 1 Feb 2008
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Hi William,
There have been one or two similar questions in recent past, including one thread on the lines of "is it better to take 10 weeks or 10 months".

I think these may be in "trip planning" or "route selection" (this website gets bigger by the day!), but a search around will bring them up.
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Old 1 Feb 2008
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i know two Dutch guys (who are also HU members) try to do from the Nederlands to SA via east coast in 4 months and ship the bikes back by sea. They stayed in my house in Turkiye. haven't hear since then. but i guess if you follow the east coast and ship the bike back by air 4 month is doable from the UK to SA.

good luck
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  #4  
Old 1 Feb 2008
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Its certainly doable - I think the long way down lot did it in under 2 1/2 months. There is the usual stuff that you already refer to about taster versus seeing more of the place but if you only have 3 - 4 months then you might as well make the most of it and its still a reasonable time. You'll probably have an easier run in the timescales if you are looking at the East coast as apposed to West Africa and the west coast. Also you might want to line up more visas in advance etc so that you reduce the time sitting round waiting for documentation. However some visas such as Sudan can be achieved in 24 hours in neighbouring countries seems to involve a lot of effort in gaining from the UK so there is probably a balance there, particularly if you don't have a multi million pound budget, a warehouse in london and a team of staff to sort all your paperwork.

Have fun.
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  #5  
Old 3 Feb 2008
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Thanks for your replys... have found the thread to similar questions in 'route planning' which was useful if a little mixed in its conclusion. Have also just bought the updated version of Chris Scotts AMH and in that he reckon two months is the minimum needed, so that sounds promising at least!

Since i am now getting a little excited about being away again... well theres a surprise..! i think i will plan for the trip but on the understanding if the time is not going to be enough to really enjoy the trip then i will just use the time i have to get as far as i can and then find another port on the West coast to ship/fly back from.

Therefore no stress or time pressures and just que sera sera! Thanks
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  #6  
Old 4 Feb 2008
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Thumbs up in legs
Hi,

You could consider doing the trip down in legs. First leg to Nairobi (asuming the unrest will have settled by October). Three or four months for London to Nairoby is pretty relaxed. There is a very good place to leave your bike in Nairobi, Jungle Junction. Maybe you heard of it, German bloke with motorbike work shop. Big enclosed area where lots of overlanders stay. He can take care of the bike, store it, run it regularly etc all for a very small fee. Friend of mine did it with his Landcruiser. Was there for a year and then he picked it up again to continue the trip.This way you would enjoy it as much you'd expect !

Cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl
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