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Documents

Table of Visa Requirements

Country Cost Valid Availability Comments
Zambia $35 3mths Free entry if you are on the manifest of Zambian hotel-See Zambia Page 24hrs in Gaborone
Tanzania $50 3mths Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro/Zanzibar airports, Namanga, overland borders We bought visas at the borderpost- See Tanzania Page
Uganda $30 3mths Available at border posts No photos needed if bought at border
Kenya $50 1-3mths Kenyan embassies, Nairobi airport, border Valid if go to Tanz/Uganda and return to Kenya
Ethiopia $60 2mths Nairobi, 24hrs International Driver's Licence needed, plus they stamped a copy of the carnet, 2 photos, no proof of funds needed
Sudan $61 3mths 2 colour photos, letter of recommendation from yr embassy, Sudanese embassy in Addis Ababa issued us visas within 24 hours - process takes 1mth in UK valid for 30 days within 2mths of issue
Egypt £15 3mths Can't get visa at overland border, can get at Addis Ababa/Khartoum/Egyptian consulates Can stay in country for 1mth
Libya $15 3mths Need letter from yr embassy - cost $61-translate passport details to Arabic Arabic passport stamp available from most Western embassies, write by hand
Chad $30 ? Can obtain from Addis within 1-2 days, or from bordering country, 2 photos needed Return ticket required
Niger ? ? Can obtain from bordering countries; no embassy in Addis Ababa
Saudi Arabia ? ? Require Saudi based sponsor for visa, can obtain 3 day transit visa; obtain visa for following country first Hajj visas only allow travel to holy cities
Jordan ? ? Can obtain at border but more expensive this way for those from UK
Syria ? ? Can obtain from neighbouring countries
Algeria £26 ? Can obtain from bordering countries We were unable to obtain in Addis as we were not Ethiopian residents

Table showing Vaccinations and Malaria Incidence

Country Vaccinations Malaria
South Africa Polio, typhoid Some areas
Namibia Polio Northern areas
Botswana Polio, typhoid Northern areas, Nov-Jun
Zimbabwe Polio, typhoid Yes
Mozambique Yellow fever, cholera, polio, typhoid Yes
Zambia Polio, typhoid Yes
Malawi Polio, typhoid Yes
Tanzania Yellow fever Yes
Uganda Yellow fever Yes
Kenya Yellow fever Yes
Ethiopia Yellow fever, cholera Yes
Sudan Yellow fever, cholera Yes
Egypt Polio, typhoid Yes, El Faiyoum area
Eritrea Polio, typhoid, Yellow fever Yes
Yemen Polio, typhoid Yes
Saudi Arabia Polio, typhoid Yes
Israel Polio, typhoid No
Syria Hepatitis A Yes
Libya Polio, typhoid Yes
Tunisia Polio, typhoid No
Chad Polio, typhoid Yes
Niger Polio, typhoid Yes
Algeria Polio, typhoid, hepatitis A Yes
Morocco Polio, typhoid Minimal risk

Carnet de Passage

In order to avoid import and export taxes when taking a vehicle through most African countries, a carnet de passage is required. This is in effect a vehicle passport, and requires entry and exit stamps at each border crossing. We experienced some difficulty in obtaining this document, as we had a South African registered vehicle and our bank was unfamiliar with the process of issuing a counter guarantee (basically they needed to guarantee the payment of the value of the vehicle to a bank in Jo'burg on demand, should we sell it during our travels). The document was issued by the South African AA, though they would not include Egypt on the list of countries. We were disappointed by this, though it is still possible to take a vehicle into Egypt, it just takes some time and a substantial amount of money.

Health

We made sure that we are up to date with regard to immunisations, in fact the only one neither of us had was rabies. Fortunately we had visited Tanzania 3 years ago so we were more or less fully immunised. I decided to have meningitis A and C for this trip, though Adrian did not. For malaria prophlyaxis, many of the countries we planned to visit had a problem with chloroquine resitstance. Rather than take Larium, we decided to take Malarone, which has recently been licensed in the UK for prophylaxis, though only so far for the period of a month. Previously the drug had only been used for treatment of malaria. However, it appears to have a much better safety profile than Larium, which Adrian had previously taken, but did not want to take again. Malarone was very expensive, but the only other option was doxycycline, which is very hard on the digestion and can cause light sensitivity - not a good idea for travel through a country such as Africa!

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