Cape to Addis in Freelander 1

[adriano20]

Good day for all members,

I'm a brazilian driving from Cape to Addis with my wife. From Addis I'll continue alone by public transport to Alexandria. I've been doing the homework for some years and I'm experienced traveller and driver BUT not good in mechanics at all. I have a Defender 90 in Brazil so I know what would be the ideal vehicle but in South Africa I have a Freelander 1 (2004, 3 doors, 170.000 kms) and decided to go with my Freelander now rather than waiting to go with the ideal car in the future.

Considering I cannot use a roof rack, my strategy is to travel as light as possible, take only basic camping equipment (maybe should leave my wife at home? ), remove back seats, stay in the main roads (CT – Windhoek – Etosha – Caprivi – Livingstone – Lusaka – Luangwa – Mbeya – Kilimanjaro – Arusha – Nairobi – Moyale – Addis Ababa) and avoid worst conditions and rainy seasons, learn more about basic mechanics and do the right decisions. May I ask your advice on following topics:

.jerry cans: how much is it really necessary considering I'll be in main roads and my autonomy is 700 kms. I believe only north of Isiolo it might be a problem. I can't put jerry cans outside the Freelander, so if necessary must take it inside (at least is diesel). Thinking of taking one empty can and use only for the critical sectors. Is it legal to take diesel inside car ?

.tyres: I estimate more than 90% will be in tarmac roads, but there will be some dirts in northern Kenya and Ethiopia. Is a Pirelli Scorpion VE-AS range acceptable ? Is one spare enough ?

.documents: any arguments NOT to travel with a carnet ? I'm leaving the car for 6 months in Ethiopia, anybody with similar experience ? Any advice for insurance (my only concern to reduce costs of compulsory insurances at different countries).

Thanks a lot and any comments and advice will be highly appreciated.

Adriano

2004 LR Freelander 1 (SA)
1998 LR Defender 90 (Brazil)

[itchyfeet]

Hi Adriano,

Your Freelander imay not be the ideal vehicle perhaps but it will be better equipped for your journey than most of the other vehicles on the roads you'll be travelling. The only times in which you'll potentially be restricted (as opposed to if you're travelling in a Defender, Cruiser etc) will be in game parks, but even then your Freelander will cope in the majority of situations.

You will be fine with a range of 700km. The only time we needed more than this was during extended periods in game parks and going through Turkana. The roads you are planning to take are well travelled with regular fuel. The toughest road on your route is as you say Isolo to Moyale. We never did this road, choosing Turkana instead, but it is notorious. Just take it slow. It would be wise to avoid getting here in the rainy season which is broadly June to September.

I would seriously consider leaving the car in Nairobi rather than Addis and getting a cheap flight into Addis. There are several reasons.

1) As you probably know you can't get your Ethiopian visa on the road. You have to courier your passport back to your home country. So you'll potentially have a couple of weeks delay in Nairobi doing this. But if you fly into Addis you get a 90 day visa on arrival (check that's the case for Brazilians too but I suspect so). The flight will probably little more than the fuel.

2) There are various overlander friendly places that store vehicles safely in Nairobi eg Jungle Junction. Less so in Addis (though there is Wims).

3) You will avoid the Isolo to Moyale road (which may take a toll on the car).

4) it's pretty easy to travel around Ethiopia on public transport.

No reason not to use a carnet, it's easier. Just remember if your're leaving the car somewhere you need to get it back before the carnet expires (1 year). it may be possible to renew without the car being returned but sometimes that involves getting the old carnet stamped out and entering another country on a TIP which I suspect you can't easily do from Ethiopia. May be another reason to leave the car in Kenya as you can enter Tanzania on a TIP and possibly also Uganda. Check out your options with the AA.

Get Comesa yellow card insurance once you are in Zambia. You have to get the local insurance first and this is a kind of extension to it. There are a few posts with details of where to get it on this forum. It may not save you a lot of money but it is a big convenience. At most borders local insurance is the only thing you need local currency for (other things like visas and taxes are often payable in $). So having Comesa often means you don't have to change money at the border but can get to the next cash point or bank.

Itchyfeet

[Wazungu Wawili]

Just one quick point. The rainy seasons in Kenya are March to May (the long rains) and November to mid December (the short rains), although with climate change these are not so predictable nowadays. But the bit of road that Itchyfeet mentions i.e. Isiolo to Moyale is in the semi-desert where rains are more unpredictable, but when it does rain, the tracks are impassable. However, Itchyfeet is not right about the rainy season being from June to September. The rainy seasons are as above or visit this website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/18020067

I agree with Itchyfeet that a Carnet is essential.

I wouldn't travel with only one spare tyre, but if you have the equipment to mend a puncture, then you might just get away with it. Northern Kenya is punishing on tyres. Having said all that, we only had 3 punctures on a 56000 km trip from the UK-RSA-Kenya, but we did chose to replace two tyres in both Nairobi (on our way south) and in Cape Town. A number of years ago, on a trip with three vehicles to Lake Turkana, we had 21 punctures - and had to mend them with a foot pump (which is what we only had in 1986). But tyres have improved somewhat since then, but it is always something to think about.

[adriano20]

Hi Adriano,

Get Comesa yellow card insurance once you are in Zambia. You have to get the local insurance first and this is a kind of extension to it. There are a few posts with details of where to get it on this forum. It may not save you a lot of money but it is a big convenience. At most borders local insurance is the only thing you need local currency for (other things like visas and taxes are often payable in $). So having Comesa often means you don't have to change money at the border but can get to the next cash point or bank.

Itchyfeet

Itchyfeet thanks a lot for your comments, is it possible to get COMESA insurance from South Africa ?

[Tony Weaver]

Hi Adriano, good advice from Lisa above about flying in - the Isiolo to Moyale road is being tarred at the moment, but construction has been halted several times because of shifta (bandit) attacks. As mentioned, the untarred sections are impassable after big rains as there is a lot of cotton soil. We have a Freelander 1 TD4 as our second vehicle, and I would take it on that road in the dry, but not the wet - they are very capable little vehicles.
Having said that though, air travel is very cheap in Ethiopia - as an example, a return ticket from Addis to Dire Dawa (close to Harar) is US$132. And the buses are generally well behaved and safe, though often very crowded. You can also catch the train down to Dire Dawa.

[Wazungu Wawili]

This was posted on the HUBB (Horizons Unlimited sub-Saharan forum) on 19 April 2015. But Tony is right about black cotton soil and lugga crossings when wet for the unfinished sections. I am not sure that the train to Dire Dawa is functioning at the moment. The Chinese are building a new railway from Djibouti to Addis. There are daily flights from Addis to Lalibela, Axum and Gondar which are even cheaper if you fly into the country on Ethiopian Airlines. Check their website.

From the HUBB:

I did it about three weeks ago on a 125cc Yamaha. All tarmac except 140km. Coming from Isiolo you'll have 86km of gravel to Marsabit and then another 55km between Marsabit and Moyale. It's very easy, though. I could do most of the gravel in top gear. No mud, no sand, no big rocks. Just a good dirt road.

[adriano20]

Thanks a million for all information, really appreciated. I must do it overland, if I get a flight the magic is gone. But I'll make sure not to make north Kenya under rains, and may God protect me from shiftas and mechanical problems...besides that I believe all will be fine.

[mdegale]

Did isiolo-marsabit-miyale over ladt few days. Gravel down to 110km. Worst bits marsabit town area. No rain as we drove, but had been some in preceding week, no sign of churn. Dont do Maralal, , Wamba, Rumuruthi; beautiful but hairy...