looking for information on crossing Africa north to south
 

After 10 years of no big travels on the motorbike, it's time to leave the continent again!
Starting in south-west Germany, we are planning to cross the mediteranean sea beginning november this year (2023) to make our way down to south africa.
Maybe someone of you did it during the last years?
We would be interested in any actual information from bordercrossings to visa, problems because of civil wars, recommendations, webpages with recent information, etc.

Thanks a lot,
Lea and Andy on RD04

Hello,
That's a great plan!
I haven't done the whole trip yet,( hopefully soon), but I rode from Tanger to Dakar and back in april/may 2022.
I posted a report with details on HU,if it can help for a part of the trip.

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...-2022-a-103058

The west coast route is more challenging now in terms of avoiding conflict areas and getting visas. Nigeria is apparently more problematic than usual. Once into Central Africa although bureaucracy is legendary it's OK with patience and diplomacy. Once into Southern Africa no problems.

The east coast route is problematic in terms of avoiding war zones, and the cost of entering Ethiopia is reported to be sky-high at present, although apparently you can get a guide and avoid the customs deposit.

I haven't travelled the entire route, although I know most of North Africa, East Africa, and East Africa, have lived in Congo and Botswana, and our most recent long trip included Southern and East Africa, so happy to offer thoughts on specific questions. Here's our blog for the longest recent trip (now 5 years ago) - Un “ocho” en Africa / An “eight” in Africa .

Hi Lea and Andy,

A couple of us are also planning the western route in January of 2024, or possibly sooner.

Any info would be appreciated, maybe even a meet up at some point.

Thanks,

Kai

Not an easy choice nowadays....
Another suggestion would be to forward your bike to Kenya and concentrate on the southern half of the continent. There's lots to do and see. Southern Africa can keep you busy for months and you still won't have seen everything :mchappy:

From there you could carry on to OZ or South America.

VaufiDo you know a way to get the bike there? A shipping company, a contact?

My understanding is the east route is also not possible because its hard to do South Sudan.
Hence my question how to forward the bike.

Greetings,
Wauschi

Sorry, no personal experience, but you could try www.intime-ham.com or, if they still offer trips in Southern Africe: Explo Tours near Rosenheim. They offer m/c trips in Africa and South America with your own bike. If there is some container space left they sell this to other bikers.


Good luck!

Hi Kai, I see you’re UK based too.

I’m thinking of this option too as East is off the cards right now.
My current plan is the Americas but the shipping is so much at the moment this could be an option for me. I could then ship from South Africa.

What’s your current plan/ideas?

East Coast
 

Hi
i am based in Dubai and also would like to go to Kenya via the east Africa route have been looking at options
thinking if the route below is possible

Hi,

great amitions!
In case you didn't see it yet, I would really recommend this blog about a recent Africa crossing (West coast): https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...k-south-104258

I myself rode from NL to Gambia recently and will continue to Ghana this winter. So if you need any specific info about this part of the route, feel free to contact me. However, from Ghana I will ship my bike, because the entire Nigeria/Cameroon situation is way too sketchy.

Hope this helped. Good luck!

Best,
Saskia

Morocco to Cape Town Jan 24
 

/QUOTE
]However, from Ghana I will ship my bike, because the entire Nigeria/Cameroon situation is way too sketchy.

Please provide any information or help on who will ship your moto?
I just left my moto in Casablanca to return in Jan 24 to see about shipping or riding it to somewhere that is convenient to transport it to Cape Town.

Thanks in advance
Jeff

I haven't done the actual shipping yet, but I am in contact with Seven Log in Tema, Ghana. I read positive reviews on iOverlander and so far my experience in terms of communication and transparency has been very positive.