Shipping from Cameroon
 

Hi all,

We are currently doing a London to Cape Town in a group of 4. One of the group had a little bang with his 1200GSA and we are trying to get the bike shipped or flown out from Cameroon to the BMW dealer in Windhoek. We are in Yaounde at the moment, but could get the bike to Douala and ship / fly from there.

Does anyone have any contacts for local agents here, or some advice?
I have had a look through the trip planning section and the agents there, but not getting much joy.

We are in the early days of trying to solve this little problem so any pointers would be much appreciated. Medical stuff has been sorted and now we have the slog of sorting out repairs and shipping - staying in the presbetarian mission here which I can highly recommend if you are ever passing this way.

Cheers,
Hans

Help - Shipping from Cameroon
 

Replying to my own post is bad I know, but need some outlet...:helpsmilie:

Just got my first quote back for shipping the damaged GSA1200 from Cameroon:

- Collection charges from Yaoundé : 424.62 USD
- Customs pre-shipping inspection : 298.37 USD
- Customs formalities : 191.77 USD
- Export charges : 297.99 USD
- Airport taxes : 128.07 USD
- Terminal handling charges : 171.04 USD
- Airfreight : 6,359.80 USD
TOTAL : 7,871.66 USD

Did a small involuntarty wee in my pants!
Not only did it take over a week and a lot of chasing to get the quote at all, but when the first one - above - arrived you can imagine my reaction. I know this is only the first quote and it's for air, not sea...but still...

At least I have found the Yaounde Motorcycle Club hangout (first page has some thumbnails that might not be office safe) where they server beer in pints and short skirts: Moto Club de Yaoundé (Ô BIKER'S) :thumbup1:

Again a plea for any advice or help at all on shipping from Cameroon.
...either that or send me more pictures of girls draped over bikes to help with the morale!

Cheers,
Hans

Hallo Hans,

Greetings from Japan.

Sorry to hear about your problem in Cameron.
I was living and working in the area for years, and know a few poeple.
I'll try to email some friends in Yaonde, and ask around for shipping to namibia. I can tell you now, it's not going to be easy, because there's not much transport and commerce going that way.
>>> It might be ceaper to rent a local pick up, and carry in from border to border. I know, it's gonna be balky, buy sure beats 7,000$. A pick up from Yaonde to the Gabon border should be around 300$, and so from Gabon to Congo, etc.

Shipping ahoy
 

Hi Adamiko,

How are you doing? Enjoying the cherry blossoms?

Thanks for your reply, really means a lot; the big problem is you sometimes feel very much alone when dealing with these things in a place where you don't know anyone! :scooter:

I have managed to get the bike to Douala on the back of a lorry heading that way for CFA60,000. Apparently there is a cargo ship that leaves once a week heading to Cape Town. I am speaking to the cargo company at the moment to see if I can get it on board. I need to get it to their warehouse and make a palette for it.

Fingers crossed this will be the solution. They are talking around $1,200 for 300kg weight...lets just hope there aren't too many extra charges or hidden taxes. :confused1:

Thanks again,
Hans

Hey Hans,


You are very wellcome.
To be honest,I've been in your setuation a few times, and I know haw bad
one can feel.
Well done for getting hold of that boat. It seems like a good idea.
I was lloking around a bit, and could not find anything better over the internet. Cameroon is a bit of dead end, transport wise, so a ship to the cape may be the way to go.
Try and be firm with the shippeng agent, and better, have a wrrietn agrement on what he oblied to proved, including "handlig fee" "port Fee" "loading fee" and all the other "Fee" they are so found of!

Another option, if they get on you nerves too much- Gabon is a bit better developed, and there's much more bussnes in Libreville then Yaonde. So
another way in to carry the bike to Gabon, and have it shipped from there.

Japan is incredible, and yes, the Cherrys are in full blossom. But to be honest, I miss Africa.

Good luck, and safe travels,
Adam, in Kyoto, Japan