Hi everyone,

I am new here, so please bear with me

My almost-husband and I have initially planned to ship our motorbikes from NZ to South Africa, and then ride them (via the East) to Europe.

After much research, we have come to the conclusion that at this stage of our lives we simply can't afford it. (especially shipping, carnet and entering Egypt)

We are now trying to come up with a Plan B, which is basically a "light" version of Plan A. We are thinking of taking a few months off and do a motorbike trip through Southern Africa. We don't have a specific route yet, but probably SA, Namibia, Botswana, (these three for sure) and then maybe Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, but not further north than Malawi. Time frame probably 2-3 months.

Instead of shipping our bikes over, we are now thinking of hiring two bikes in South Africa to do this trip. Is this feasible?

Will rental companies allow you to take the bike across the border? If so, are there any restrictions as to which countries you can go to, eg they would let you take the bike through Namibia and Botswana but not through Mozambique...?

Can someone recommend reliable and honest bike rental companies (that let you take it across borders)?

What happens if the bike breaks down (which it will) and you need repairs done, spare parts....? Do we pay the excess and the rental company the rest?

Any other tips?

We're hoping we can make this trip a reality, it would be a shame to miss out

Cheers!

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'Normal' is just a setting on a washing machine.

Hi,
Hopefully someone else will have more bike specific and positive help than I can offer, but I've not seen rented bikes in my travels in these countries. Maybe some of them were rented, but most bikes we saw looked like they were ridden by the owners.

We did see a harley company renting in capetown, and that tempted us a lot for a day trip, but I dont think they are for the sort of longer distance / timeframe that your thinking of. Cape Town Harley Davidson Hire | Cape Town Bike & Motorcycle Hire

We've rented 4x4's in sa and in namibia on different trips, and border crossings are usually no problem so long as you ask the renter to give you a letter of permission to cross borders. Once they know you intend to cross borders, they give you the paperwork you'll need. In 3 months, just botswana, namibia and SA will provide tons of entertainment! note: many of the national parks (the ones with the big animals, specifically cats) dont allow motorcycles in. you can usually find someone local that will bring you on day trips, and in many of the parks a professional game viewing guide is a great advantage, as well as being high up to see over grass etc.

Merv.

I would personally not rent...it's like throwing money away. See if you can buy something. Check out this site. Might take a bit more planning to buy a bike...but you'll at least get something back when you sell it again

www.wilddog.za.net

Lots of friendly people on there who will be able to help

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www.seeyouwhenwegetthere.com

Check out Craig at www.motorbikehire.co.za
Rented from this Co. & very happy. Great bike & service!
John