any help please , been asked to drive a truck from here to joannesburg , what routes would you take , as far as i thought it was to dangerous to drive all the way ,
Why do they want it driven?
I Thought it would be cheaper to ship it out there,
and not just the cost there are too many countries no doubt all with some degree of risk involved plus all the border crossings with varying degrees of corruption and beaurocracy to deal with.
IF its possible how long would the trip be and what visa would we need as there are 2 trucks going , for some reason they want the trucks driving not shipping
muckles dont know why mate , but would love the chance to drive it , ive done a bit of easter block and did turkey once ,
Get hold of the DVD “The Long Way Down” with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman. They did it by motorbike but had four wheel drive back up vehicles, it may give you a rough but somewhat scenic route!!
What type of trucks are you driving? Old bedfords?? Try contacting some of the overland safari companies, they could give you some advise. 
I only replied as I thought it was strange that somebody wanted it done that way. I’ve no idea what Visa and permits you might need, I would have thought You’d need to work out a route and contact each embassy of the country you were driving through or make it a real adventure and go for it and hope you can bribe or talk your way through. 
There are plenty of people on here who know far more than me about jobs like this, maybe they know how to do it and why they want it done that way.
I’d be all up for a bit of an adventure, but doesn’t the fact they don’t want it shipped ring alarm bells 
?
Muckles, maybe its got to be driven because it is going to have a load of tree hugging, lentil eating hippies hanging out the back of it!!! 
Sounds a bit odd though, why would you want to drive two trucks all that way with the odds stacked against getting there in one piece as opposed to shipping direct??
Havent a clue about cost differences etc but at least you would still have to 2 trucks to use / sell /drive etc, and not a pile of nuts and bolts!!!
Maybe the FA are trying to save a few quid and its all the kit for the England team, set off now, should be there in time for the World Cup kick off!!
bullitt:
Get hold of the DVD “The Long Way Down” with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman. They did it by motorbike but had four wheel drive back up vehicles, it may give you a rough but somewhat scenic route!!What type of trucks are you driving? Old bedfords?? Try contacting some of the overland safari companies, they could give you some advise.
i was going to suggest this dvd as well, apart from it being a very good watch you’ll also find there aren’t any real roads in most of africa 
they struggled with 3 bikes 1 of which (the cameramans) broke down because of the harsh state of the driving.
most vehicles from the uk to africa go via ship at tilbury or at least they used to.
bigdaz, either you are pulling our legs or somebody is pulling yours. Forget it!
I am not saying it’s impossible - last year five Czechs drove two Trabants (!) from Prague to Cape Town. I am saying it is not a job somebody would give to somebody just so. All the more that second somebody has never been to Africa.
One reason for all - even Paris Dakar rallye does not take place in Africa any more…
Not convinced? Visa - you need several passports. Certain countries can take two weeks or month to get visa to. By the time you get your last visa your first have expired. Money - as a white man you are considered bloody rich. Expensive fuel gets ten times more expensive. If you don’t like the price there’s no fuel for you. You don’t want to pay what they ask for ferry then the ferry is broken down for you. Bribes…crime… Paperwork you have never heard of. Roads - worse than you can imagine to non existant. For desert crossing you’d need a local guide. Vehicles fall apart. Workshops primitive to none. Should you need spares they’ll have to be airfreight. And taken through customs afterwards… and so on and so on… (have I mentioned vaccinations?)
If you go for it, then I’d say you are looking at the “eastern way” via Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe… with UK passport■■? Maybe you’d prefer to go via Mosambique (however that spells).
The “western way”, via Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Cameron… (gabon I think is next), Congo 1 and 2, Angola, Namibia is far more adventurous due to “unstable systems” and local wars.
How do I know? I once (~5yrs ago) had a long chat with a guy who was on Dakar several times.
I’d suggest you at least read some travelogues of people who did something similar. It either puts you off and starts you up. Anyway, going across Africa is not a job, delivering a load or a vehicle somewhere; it’s an adventure where the journey itself is what the people go for.
its a big company cant tell you the name as i want the job of driving it , they are not dodgy ,
they will be volvo trucks
thnaks HomoFaber i have looked at the routes Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
i wanted to do it for the crack of doing it , a chance in a lifetime , thought about driving to cairo the getting a boat further down if its possible
Most landrover/ 4x4 magazines in the shops have a story in each month of overland trips which may be of some help?
if i was doing it, i would definately head south.
limeyphil:
if i was doing it, i would definately head south.
bigdaz1970:
i have looked at the routes Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Reminds me of that documentry Michael Palin did some years ago called Pole to Pole
bigdaz, can i have a couple of grams of that stuff you,r sniffing, from what i.m reading it,s some really good ■■■■, can,t seem to get it on this planet
sounds great,they dont by any chance want to send a third truck down,id love to have a go at that.
a bit of adventure,id worry about the route when i got to calais.
Here is the route plan and a photo of the truck.
4cornersclub.com/overland_trips/id22240
23 weeks for the trip with a few stops for spear chucking 
Forget “The Long Way Down” !! Load of Crap !!!
I have driven over most of Southern Africa and some parts of Central too and believe me you need to give this idea some careful thought.
Your biggest worry will be the culture, most countries are poor and people will do anything to better themselves and that includes robbing the the tourists in the hippy truck at gun point for a couple of dollars. No I’m not being racist, I’m being a realist, its a fact of daily life in Africa and one you should take into consideration. Corruption is a way of life out there too, everyone wants a backhander and if you dont play the game life can become very difficult, plus you can’t call the police because they are even more corrupt
But what a trip
bullitt:
…it is going to have a load of tree hugging, lentil eating hippies hanging out the back of it!!!
Ahem!!!
Some pics of roads in kenya/Tanzania 2 weeks ago , woundnt advise any company to go overland , you would have a hard time and transit though Sudan would take 6 months just for permit!!! , after that you would be paying alot of fines and invented rules, in one day from Dar es salaam to Mombassa on aten hour jouney got stopped 6 times and payed 100gbp just in cash to shut them up , giving a copper a weeks wage every time ■■? then had to give 3 of em a lift to the Border!!!
