Saturday 10 July 2010

Preparations

There is a plethora of documentation required to embark on travel through third world states. Most is justifiable when considering the movement of locals between neighbouring countries, and the need to track the whereabouts of tourists.


Passport & Visa's
Passport validity needs to be well beyond duration of travel, with sufficient empty pages for all countries entering. A large pack of spare passport photo's is also a useful addition.
Based on a South African passport, visa's are required in advance of entering, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda & Tanzania. The Sudanese visa was only obtainable in Cairo on a Southbound run, by recommendation from the South African embassy in Cairo, but we managed to get ours in London. Visa's for Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia & South Africa are obtainable at point of entry.

Carnet (Carnet de Passage en Douane)
This is effectively a passport for your vehicle, ensuring that its entry & more importantly exit from each country is monitored. It acts as a temporarily import permit, providing a guarantee that should the vehicle be sold within the country, enough funds exist to pay the appropriate duties, taxes & fines. These funds are most commonly guaranteed by your bank. Some travellers are put off entering countries where carnet's are required, however there are a number of options for affording the costs of a carnet, such as to pay into an insurance premium which provides the financial cover, which is what we managed, got a great deal from the RAC for a fixed amount. On our route, a carnet is mandatory in; Egypt & Kenya. It is also accepted in; Tanzania & Malawi as a means of making vehicle entry into these countries easier. The UK finds itself without the need to comply with this international standard, and as such requires a different, separate temporary import permit (form C110). It is worth noting that countries which the carnet originates from have different requirements (e.g. In Egypt 800% value for a UK vehicle but only 200% for a South African vehicle.)

Important contact details
An all important addition is an exhaustive list of important contact details such as local embassies, mechanics, spares distributors & banks.

International Certificate of Motor Vehicles (ICMV)
Simply a motor registration certificate in an international format. It provides vehicle registration, ownership & identification details on multiple languages, and although only mandatory in Libya also useful in other countries.

Vehicle Insurance
3rd party, fire & theft. Rarely provided by one insurer for all countries, however 3rd party is obtainable (and sometimes mandatory) at most borders.

International Driving Permit
Simply a more formidable version of a card-based drivers licence, with some language translations.

Travel & medical Insurance
Most common policies do not cover overland travel by motorcycle above 125cc. Navigator Travel insurance in the UK provide very reasonably priced policy without the 125cc restrictions

Vaccinations & certificates
Vaccination (and proof thereof) against yellow fever is mandatory in various countries along this route. Meningitis, Polio, Cholera, Typhoid, Hepatitus A & Meningitis jabs are also a good idea. Malarial prophylactics or alternatively testing & early treatment aids are also a reasonable idea. Nomad travel in London or The Medical Clinic at Jan Smuts airport in Johannesburg are useful centres for some needle action. We have decided to go the Malarone route, the most expensive of the malaria tablets available, but in my opinion, well worth it.

Copies of all of the above
It is advisable to carry certified photocopies of all of the above paperwork. This is the exhaustive list if the documents required;
  • Passport(s)
  • Original drivers licence
  • International drivers licence
  • Carnet
  • Vehicle registration certificate
  • International Certificate of Motor Vehicles
  • Vaccination certificates
  • Spare passport photo's
  • Travel insurance policy &
  • General contact details

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