West coast of Africa
 

All, this may be a cheap shot looking for advice because I havent yet done all my homework. However, if this doesnt irritate anyone, advice would be greatly appreciated !!

I will be riding the west coast from UK to South Africa end of this year and am in the process of sorting out my documentation.


My questions:
1. What docs are required to get myself and the bike through Borders?
2. What docs are required to get myself and the bike through Check Points?
2. What docs are required (per each country) to apply for Visas while on route?

ie: I dont want get to a border far down south only to be refused entry and have to do an enormous retace to find an alternate route. (Im not sure how one would get to South Africa if refused entry to Angola)


My Current Situation:
Organised
1. I have a South African and British passport.
2. I have a UK registered bike with V5 doc. I am in the process of Importing the bike into South Africa.
3. I have a Travel Insurance Certificate
4. I have a Yellow Fever Innoculation Certificate
5. I wasnt planning on getting a Carnet or organising Insurance from the UK. Can this be done on route ? - 3rd Party/ Fully comp required ?

Still to Organise
6. Passport photographs (How many?)
7. Fiche (How many ?)
8. Photocopies of all docs. (How many and must they be certified ?)
8. Bank Statements ?
9. Letter of Invitation ?

Anything missing ?

I have read that some coutries can be tricky to get into (Nigeria/ Angola) and require Bank Statements and a Letter Of Invitation ?


Route & Requirements:
Morocco - Passport/ V5/ Fiche
Western Sahara
Mauritania
Senegal
Guinea Conakry
Mali
Niger
Nigeria - Passport/ V5/ Bank Statements & Letter of Invitation
Cameroon
Congo
DRC
Angola
Namibia
Botswana
Zimbabwe
South Africa

I still have much reading to do but any advice would be appreciated !
Thanks

Hi,

I found US$ exchange rates to be a really raw deal in West Africa. Some places I could not even get them exchanged. Rather take Euros! US$ work better than Euros only from Angola southward. VISA cards work at one or two banks in most capitals but if the internet is down so will the ATMs be. You can draw money at Western Unions with your VISA card over the counter though.

International driver's licenses: Nigeria was not part of some 1948 convention and thus they require a different intl. driver's license. The rest of Africa accepts the other one. In SA both were available from the AA at +- R150 each + 2 passport photos.

I got the 5-day transit visa for Angola from their embassy in Abuja, Nigeria without a letter of invitation - no questions asked. by the time you get there they can see you're a traveler and if you apply on the SA passport they know you're 'going home'. They wanted 4 colour passport photos with WHITE background and US$30 (2010).

Why through southern Niger? Ghana has nice beaches, Togo and Benin are visa-free for SA passport holders and you can ride through them in very little time. I think they're safer too. (There's also a KTM bike shop with workshop in Lome, Togo - only proper bike shop I know of on the road).

For bike spares and used but semi decent spare tyres you could pop into Kumasi in central Ghana. You could even pick up a '90s Yamaha Tenere there if needed.

There's a good young bike mechanic in Tiko, west of Douala, Cameroon. His name is Jo and can be contacted at +23779909414 - spoke to him yesterday.You're welcome to PM me for more specific info.

One Ball One Continent page on Facebook

I got a nigerian visa without any documents in Bamako mali..i didnt tell them i was on a bike

you can stay for freeeat the rear of the Sheraton Abuja then try and get Angolla gabon Congo and Congo DRc here, as i hand areal ball ache getting a DR visa in Brazzaville as they had stopped isuing visas to tourists.. Stay for free at the HIppocamp restaurant in Brazaville.. great food..

Tough route loved it from Nigeria onwards...proper adventure..especially solo

Hi

If you only had a UK passport and a UK reg bike you have to have a UK carnet I believe.

The RAC will say you should have the carnet before you leave Mauri. The delivery costs via DHL are I think the same wether to France, Spain, Morocco or Mauri, as opposed to registered 1st class I imagine in the UK, so if your progress is speedy enough en route that the few weeks gained by sending it to Mauri is irrelevant I think you may as well get it in the UK? The start date can be whatever you ask for too. Depends if you're sure Morocco will be a week straight through, or may end up a proper look for a few months?

I was also told that the Soutern African countries (Southern African Customs Union (BW/NA/LS/SZ/ZA) from here http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tri...t-of-countries ) count as one lump for the carnet, so once you enter Namibia you would need to leave the group (by entering Mozambique for instance) to discharge it, enabling you to sell it. Is the same thing needed for permanent SA import? Speak to Paul Gowan at the RAC I would think?

The IDP is an official document that only costs £5 from the RAC, and although only lasts a year I don't think theres any reason not to have a few? You need one of each type anyhow.

This site has a lot of helpful info, Taniya is on here too, but part two of their trip has just started I think? I really like their blog, because they seem to have had happy and smiley experiences everywhere!

Planning

Good luck! Having all your answers in one thread would help many others in the future, so your shocking laziness is to be commended! ;)

Guys, very much appreciated !!

To answer a question.....and ask a few more.

Why Niger......well, just looks an interesting country with some beautiful scenary. I was initially keen to ride through Algeria but that seems too much of a gamble based on 1. Whether one can get through at the time. 2. The distances and my fuel carrying capacity. 3. My limited off road experience and concern of tryng to keep up with convoys, if in one.
So, I would still like to see the northern parts of Niger. I was in Ghana this past December, so probably wont head back on this trip, although Togo and Benin may certainly be an option.

More questions....
1. I believe that having 2 passports can be an issue in certain countries. ie Morocco, so keep one hidden. I was wondering how one swaps to the best suited passport when changing countries ? Anyone done this ? Would the country you entering ask where your exit stamp was from the previous country ? And would it be a problem if it was in your other passport ?

2. I reread my original thread and think the portion I wrote on the Carne was a bit ambiguous. What I meant the wording to read was that I didnt want to get a carne at all. Am I able to get insurance on route when I enter a country, or do I have to have insurance before leaving the UK. If I can get the insurance on route, can this be done for all countries on my anticipated route ?

3. French, I dont speak it at all ! - problem ?
I will try learning some required sentance.....but whether I understand the reply with out a picture being drawn is another problem.
Will my lack of French make this trip a nightmare ? - Non stressed situations like getting directions will prob be ok to blunder through with a smile and a pointy stick drawing pictures in the sand. However it is the more stressed moments that could be a problem (Border crossings, bribery, dealing with other persons of "authority", visa applications, police check points)

4. Do I require 2 different tyres of International Drivers Licenses all because of Nigeria ?

5. With respect to Hard currency, should this be saved for visa applications or can visas be paid for in local ccy ?

6. Are there many situations that you many need to pay your way out of ? - When I was in Ghana, were were stopped frequently at "control points" and asked for cash....possibly because it was around Christmas..but I aint no charity and it drove me nuts. How are these situations best handled ?

7. I have just bought some Heidenau tyres but I fear they are not knobbly enough to handle the central african mud. I an considering picking up some very knobbly knobblies before I head to tackle Cameroon etc ?

8. 5 Days for Angola ? - sounds like a race. It that what it is really or can one organise a longer visa and take a good long look at the country ?

And lastly, a comment not a question.......I have a Nigerian friend and a friend who's folks live in Angola. I may try get a letter out of both of them as a little insurance policy in case the embassies get sticky. But Bank statements....they wont be making their way into my panniers.

Thanks in advance
SM