Two of us crossed from Genoa to Tunis on the 28th September 2013. We're heading to Cape Town via the east on two 2007 KTM 990s. Mat's a New Zealander living in Scotland. Jaap's Dutch and based in Switzerland.



Mat in the French Alps on his way to meet Jaap in Nice:


Ferry to Tunis:


Tunisia:




A big obstacle to the trip was the lack of suitable ferries to Egypt, and the difficulty in obtaining a Libyan visa. We ended up obtaining Libyan business visas through Libyan-based Tidwa Travel and Tours (www.tidwa.com). We dealt with Sem, a Dutch guy who acts as Tidwa's representative in Europe. A three month multiple entry visa cost us 375 Euro, and 75 Swiss Francs at the Embassy in Bern for the stamp. I can't say enough about how professional and helpful Tidwa have been. Absolutely brilliant. There was a hiccup at the Libyan embassy in Switzerland in that they would only provide entry approval to Tripoli or Benghazi airports. To ensure that things went smoothly, Mr Masoud from Tidwa travelled from Tripoli to the Ras Ajdir border at no expense and sorted everything for us (including customs, plates, Libyan Carnet, and insurance - all up costs about US$100). He's a lovely guy, with excellent English. He even brought us lunch and then set up a meeting with the Classic Motorbike Club in Tripoli. Once we arrived into the outskirts of Tripoli five guys on Harley Davidsons escorted us into town for coffee, and then a massive feed of jarred baby camel at a restaurant under Roman ruins. We were then put up for free by Abdul of the club in a mint guest-house. Probably the most generous and friendly people I have ever met. An amazing first day in Libya.

We will post here about the trip, particularly motorbike relevant and admin type stuff, but because we're keeping our friends and family updated about the trip on Facebook, there may be more updates/pics on our page "Edinburgh to Cape Town" - www.facebook.com/edi2ct.

Here is a video of the start of the trip:

Mat