Turkey , Iran , Kuwait , Saudi Arabia , Bahrain , Qatar , United Arab Emirates , Oman , Yemen ,  Sudan , Eritrea , Djibouti , Somalia , Ethiopia , Kenya , Uganda , Rwanda , Burundi , Tanzania ,  Malawi , Mozambique , Zimbabwe , South Africa , Swaziland , Lesotho , Namibia , Angola and Botswana

This is probably going to be the most difficult section so far and will make the past countries seem like a picnic. The plan is to collect the Motorcycle in Turkey and ride to Iran crossing into Kuwait by boat (if there is one, there was 3 years ago) from the Iranian port of Bushehr. There being no Kuwaiti embassy in Australia it will be necessary to obtain a visa by post from Japan after first getting an invitation from someone in Kuwait. We may also be able to collect it in Teheran. Then we either travel via Saudi Arabia (where Kay, or any other woman, is not allowed by law to travel on the motorcycle) transiting to Bahrain or return to Iran and catch another boat to Bahrain. In Bahrain we try the Saudi Arabian transit visa again or a boat to Qatar or back to Iran and onto Banda-e Abbas to catch a boat to the UAE. Confused? Well, all these countries need an invitation from someone in the country to process a visa but unlike Russia there seems to be no organization that will do the paperwork as few visitors come here.

Yemen is the last country in the Gulf that we hope to visit and as there is no road between Oman and Yemen we again need to get around Saudi Arabia. Added to that is the problem that the religious holy month of Ramadan starts on the 8th of December this year and there are no visas issued for Saudi Arabia from then till the end of the Haaj in March and we also have a time deadline.

Transporting the motorcycle and ourselves from Yemen to Djibouti is also a problem, no passenger ferries and only container ships, and they aren't too friendly to taking passengers.

That is as far as we have looked into at this stage and we are already a little daunted by the prospects of even getting to Africa.

We managed to find enough cyber cafe's along the way last trip so there was no need to rely on snail mail to update the site through the mother in law as planned. The rapid spread of internet access even in remote areas of what you would assume closed countries has opened the world to travellers. A traveller without an email address is becoming a rarity. People don't have homes today they have "home pages".

We had a bash plate made for the motorcycle in Nepal in 1996 that simply hose clamps onto the frame. This will be resurrected as the motorcycle has minimal ground clearance and roads are rumoured to be rough in Africa.

13/10/99 We have now arrived at I believe our final departure plan which differs enormously from the original. Dunlop has again agreed to provide us with tyres along the way and a rear will be available in Kenya and a front and rear in South Africa when we arrive. They have also been enormously helpful in obtaining contacts in the Gulf States to assist us with invitations to most countries. That avenue is still progressing.

The updated plan is to collect the Kuwait visa in Tehran (Iran) and catch the boat from Khoramshr near the border with Iraq and close to Kuwait. Eight sailings a week so I am told. Transit Saudi Arabia. The latest info from the Harley Davidson dealer in Saudi Arabia is that women are now allowed to ride on the back of a motorcycle (in the full black robe). This is a great relief when we considered the options. Visit Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman travelling to Yemen via the coast road where it is reported that small boats might be able to transport us and the motorcycle into Yemen. The option of Sudan and Eritrea are still being worked out as the borders with each other and Ethopia are still closed due to fighting. Then it's Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and following the list above we hope. Finishing in South Africa about mid June 2000.
 
 

You can now move onto the first country of the sixth trip if you wish.  Start Travelling

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