Visa
 

Hi,

Compared to the countries in West Africa to get visa for East African countries is quite easy. For most countries you can get the visa at the border: Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya. There are some exceptions.

RWANDA. According to fellow-travelers the visa for Rwanda has to be applied at the embassy in Tanzania but I got the Rwandese visa simply at the border. For Belgian travellers it seems to be difficult to get a visa for Rwanda.
ETHIOPIA. Travelling from south to north the only place to apply for the Ethiopian visa is at the embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe. My visa was issued the same day and without any hassle. The Ethiopian embassies in Kampala and Nairobi don't issue visa anymore! Travelling from north to south a visa can be applied in Khartoum. There are problems regarding the usage of the Carnet de Passage. Travelling from north to south, from Sudan to Ethiopia, the carnet is not accepted. You need a letter of guarantee from your embassy in Addis Abeba. Travelling from south to north the carnet is accepted and I didn't need a letter of guarantee. This regulation was introduced suddenly in may or june 2010.
SUDAN. I got the visa for Sudan from the embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. A letter of recommendation of your embassy is demanded but I got the visa without a letter. Visa was issued the next day after appliance. If travelling from north to south apply in Cairo.
EGYPT. I got the visa from the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum. However visa were issued too on the ferryboat from Wadi Halfa to Aswan.

Visa cost generally about 50 to 60 US dollar. You facilitate your appliance if you are dressed decendly: no short trousers, no blue jeans, no sandals, no t-shirt, shaved. When I applied for a visa at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi a British couple was denied, probably because they were dressed in short trousers and sandals. The Gabonese embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon, refused two Chinese because they were dressed in blue jeans (black jeans were no problem).

Have a good trip.

Thank you to all that shared their knowledge and experience.

I just wanted to know roughly how much unpaved road should be expected in a trip from Cape Town to Cairo, is it mostly paved with only a handful of unpaved sections extending a few 10s of kms at a time or are there sections where I would have to spend days on end on unpaved roads or as I suspect, is it somewhere inbetween and if so to what extend?

I'm talking about taking the most direct route with little diversions as I see fit, but essentially if I wanted to avoid unpaved as much as possible how much should I expect to HAVE to ride on?

I hope that is clear, I am planning on deviating from the main road, but wanted to know if I am having an aweful time, what I can get away with to just finish the trip.

Thanks,

Stu.

If you don't want, you don't need to drive unpaved roads from Cape Town to Cairo, except for the northern part of Kenya, between Isiolo and Moyale. However from Isiolo northward there is still about 150 km newly paved road and from Moyale southward road construction has started. Now you have to drive only about 350 km unpaved. The section between Marsabit and the village of Torbi (200 km) is the most difficult, very stony (punctures!). See my first message in this thread.

Mart Heijnens