Has anyone ever crossed Ethiopia-Kenya border through Banya Fort instead of Moyale, where seems a bit frightening nowadays? Banya Fort is not an official border crossing point, as far as I know. How can the passport and carnet de passagges be stamped then (on both sides, leaving Ethiopia and entering Kenya)? Is the carnet required/obligatory for these two country?

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Coming out of Ethiopia will not ba a problem as you don't need a Carnet for that country.
I am sure that if you don't get some sort of stamp from Kenyan customs at the border, you would be able to sort something out in Nairobi with customs.
If you've got the time, why don't you give it a try? The route through the Omo Valley is beatiful, though challenging and from what I've been told of Northern Kenya, the same can be said again.

Geoff,

Thanks for your replies for my both topics.
I, actually, will go to Omo Valley but was planning to go back to Moyale to cross the border. It was a plan before the massacre. Now, it seems a litle risky there and I look for an alternative route(s). You say, carnet is necessary in Ethiopia. What about Kenya? Is it necessary? If so, is it possible to stamp it in Noirobi as well as the passport?

Rgd's

Ali



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If you have already got in without getting the carnet stamped, I personally wouldn't bother with chasing round Nairobi trying to get it done. Just go on with you trip. The carnet is essentially for their benefit, not yours, it protects against you selling the vehicle without paying the import duties or meeting the import rules. Therefore if you are already in the country and everything is fine, doesn't add anything to you to go and get it stamped.

I'm still in Turkey and will start the trip on the 1st of October. I try to make everything clear beforehand, which is not possible sometimes (most of the time, in fact) in Afrika, I know. I'm suspicious about this carnet staff, because Turkish Touring Association, who is responsible with these kind of documents in Turkey, is asking for a huge amount of guarantee fund to issue the carnet and they also ask for
all entering and leaving stamps completed. If you have any entering or leaving stamp of any country is missing, you are really in a big trouble to get your fund back. I just want to know if I get in to the country without my carnet stamped, will it be a problem while I'm leaving the country? If not, I don't care. Turkish Touring doesn't either...

Ali



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TurAfrika, be sure to read the Carnet page - link on left - a huge deposit is normal.

As for the completed stamps - as long as the BIKE is stamped INTO TURKEY on the return home, OBVIOUSLY the bike left ALL countries - so whether a stamp is missing or not is not important - BUT to avoid hassle, you do want to get it stamped out correctly. BUT if there is a problem with that at the exit border - they don't know/don't understand etc - your proof is your return to the home country stamp. Be sure to get Turkish customs to stamp it as you return home.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hi Grant,

I have already read the Carnet page on your comprehensive web page and I know that the huge amount is normal (the huge means USD45K approx. in Turkey for a new LR110HT, by the way). Actually, they don't ask for that kind of guarantee bond if you travel, let's say, European countries, but for the African ones, especially for Egypt.

They agreed that the proof is your return to the home with your Turkish entering stamp but, they keep your bond in case if the country, which you have, let's say, the entering stamp and don't have the leaving one on your carnet, asks for any compensation from Turkish government in the future when they noticed that they have the entering coupon but not the leaving one from your carnet. Isn't the procedure of "carnet de passage en douane"?

Regards,

Ali Eric

Can't you take out an insurance policy rather than having to leave a huge deposit. Certainly that seems fairly standard in UK and whilst you don't get deposit back, would rather have 1000 indeminty payment that I don't get back than risking 45k. As to association withholding bond incase country disputss, your carnet with the Turkish stamps would give them more than enough ammo to fight the claim. Even if a country does claim, the association shouldn't pay out because you have clearly shown you didn't leave the vehicle there. Therefore the only thing they could potentially want cover from is any administration / legal fees for rejecting the claim. May be things work differently in Turkey but doesn't appear to be that much logic to what your being told by the association.

Toby, to my knowledge, only the UK does the "insurance" system - everywhere else you DO have to post the full amount as bond.

As for your comments re claim - yes, absolutely - it's up to the issuing country to tell the incorrectly claiming country that the vehicle has been returned to the home country, therefore their claim is invalid - and the fact that they don't have both in and out documents could easily be simply because their paperwork/bureaucracy is poor.

Otherwise known as "go take a flying leap"

------------------
Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------

One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

As far as teh Turkans route is concerned: Coming from Ethiopia there IS immigration at Omorate but no customs which as mentioned is no problem as Ethiop does not require carnet. On Kenya side there is no Immig or Customs, but police station at Illoret (Fort Banya) understands situation and is worth stopping by at to announce your arrival. I came from Kenya to Ethiop, but i met an Australian who did Ethiop Ken and he told Kenya Embassy in Addis of his plans and they gave him letter to give to Immig in Nairobi which smoothed the way.
I flew my bike home and for some reason the local Customs police did not stamp my carnet on arrival so the AA would not return my deposit. I had to go with the bike to a local police or customs office and have a form filled in by them stating that the bike was in fact home. Took a few days, but i got my money back without problems.

PS The Turkana route is really spectacular! Id advise you to try itif you feel up to it. Its not easy though. GPS would help a lot especially coming from N to S as border cross is very vague. The Australian i mentioned in named Stephan you may still find him on the hubb, he would have GPS coordinates which will help. mail me if you want me to look up his address.

Enjoy.... and take lots of fuel with you and food and water..

__________________
"If we don't find something good at least we will find something new." Voltaire

Jim,

Thanks a lot for your enlightening info. I believe that it will be helpful. I prefer Omo-Fort Banya route.

I have T4A map for my Garmin GPS and it shows a track from Omorate crossing Kenya border via Ken-Eth(?) (a border control point on Ethiopian side). Can it be the route that you mentioned?

I found "Stephan Solon" who made a trip in Africa with his wife a couple of years ago but it seems he didn't follow this route because he flight to Mombasa and went down to SA. He is probably not the same Stephan that you talked about. Could you please send me his address if you have, so that I can check if the track I found on T4A map is the same as he followed?

Thanks again.

Regards,

Ali ERIC




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Very true. I can guarantee that many of both the clearing in, and clearing out papers we filled in throughout africa never made it to any central customs office. Many of the smaller border crossings didn't even know how to prosess a carnet, and I had to fill it out, and stamp it for them. The carnet papers they kept most likely didn't make it further than the nearest longdrop toilet...

Erik

www.dunia.no

It seems that even if you don't have a carnet, they don't care. Is that true?

Ali



Very true. I can guarantee that many of both the clearing in, and clearing out papers we filled in throughout africa never made it to any central customs office. Many of the smaller border crossings didn't even know how to prosess a carnet, and I had to fill it out, and stamp it for them. The carnet papers they kept most likely didn't make it further than the nearest longdrop toilet...

Erik

www.dunia.no

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Ali,

Our experiance (granted this was now 2 years ago) was that a carnet was asked for, and required, in most of west africa, while they didn't care much either way once we reached Sudan and east/southern africa. We met a few people that had driven up thru southern and east africa from RSA to Sudan and than across to Saudi Arabia without a carnet, and without any trouble whatsoever.

In other words, it seemed that the Francophile countrys expected a carnet, and generally were more into being bureaucratic, than the former English colonys where they were more relaxed when it came to paperwork.

So getting a carnet (or not) depends a bit on your choosen route I think.

Erik

www.dunia.no

OK!

1. I'll have a carnet and keep it in my safe. If anyone ask, I'll show it and take both stamps on. Otherwise, I keep my moth shut. This is the procedure to use "Carnet de passage en duane".

2.The safest way from Ethiopia to Kenya seems Omo Valley to Turkana nowadays.

Right?

Jim,

Could you find Stephan's contact info?

Thanks and regards to everybody!

Ali ERIC
Turafrika
(will start soon)



Ali,

Our experiance (granted this was now 2 years ago) was that a carnet was asked for, and required, in most of west africa, while they didn't care much either way once we reached Sudan and east/southern africa. We met a few people that had driven up thru southern and east africa from RSA to Sudan and than across to Saudi Arabia without a carnet, and without any trouble whatsoever.

In other words, it seemed that the Francophile countrys expected a carnet, and generally were more into being bureaucratic, than the former English colonys where they were more relaxed when it came to paperwork.

So getting a carnet (or not) depends a bit on your choosen route I think.

Erik

www.dunia.no

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