Cape Town, South Africa

Depot Location:
Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA (ZACPT)

Timings TBC from 2027 onward

CPD Required? YES for Southern Africa Customs Union (BW/NA/LS/SZ/ZA)
South Africa still not accepting extended CPDs - so if you ride to Europe then onward for trans-Africa you will need to buy another CPD. This is no problem providing you originally exported your bike from Australia with CPD. We have riders onboard our Malaysia shipment with this exact plan yeow! :)

November is an optimal time to launch trans-Africa on the western run from Morocco (with October brilliant for Morocco itself). Our plan 2027 onwards is to provide entry for trans-Africa riders on the western run via Italy -> Morocco. You can express interest in this for 2026 - and as always, we will commit to the shipment given six riders.

As for exit, there is a high volume of container traffic from South Africa to Australia with many options to get in on a share container or LCL. If you intend to ship onward to South America then Montevideo, Uruguay is the go … and again, Cape Town the optimal location to get in on a share container. Reach out to the following agents with your intentions and no doubt a fit for your plan will emerge :)
www.exportandimport.co.za (Econo Trans)
www.freightfactory.co.za
www.africanoverlanders.com

Duncan from African Overlanders got my brother and I in on a 20ft container share to Montevideo with an 80series Landcruiser. The German couple who owned the 80series had been overlanding Africa on-and-off for 8 years and were ready for the next continent. For shipping return to Australia, just be mindful that African Overlanders is located on a farm and you'll likely encounter additional charges from Australia's Biosecurity.

For beginner route planning purpose - see Smart Traveller map below. Very broadly you can split Africa into four geopolitical regions:
1) Southern Africa,
2) Eastern route to Rift Valley / Djibouti;
3) Western Route to/from Morocco; and
4) The big red bit

- If you will ride from Europe then these days you'll be on the western route from Morocco to Namibia
- To go the eastern route from Europe you'll need a 'not easy' Red Sea shipment around Sudan, which has gone to poo.
- The western route used to be a bitofa visa puzzle although things have improved a lot since we rode it 2016. At that time we were able to bowl visas in Rabat to get us through to Cameroon. If you ride S->N then Pretoria the go for visas.
- The main obstacle on the western run is the Congo River. Do not cross between Brazzaville and Kinshasa without insider contacts or you will get jarded. The remote Luozi DRC Ferry crossing is well worth considering (we crossed there no issues).
- Riding N->S then Namibia will feel like the land of milk and honey.
- The most direct trunk line from Marrakesh to Windhoek is ~12k km so you'll very much need a tyre plan pending how squiggly your route is. You used to be able to put 3 month advance order in with Toni-Togo but beware, apparently Toni isn't there anymore. Oil Air Tyres no doubt fine but maybe don't count on complex maintenance.
- We carried tyres from Togo/Benin trying to save knobbies for when we really needed them, which was dumb. Don't be a tightass carrying tyres - just change them and have a plan for your next tyres.

If you intend to ONLY ride the eastern route then entry via South Africa is the go. Southern Africa and the Eastern route have well trodden tourist trails with all the amenities. You will find shipping exit options from Dar es Salaam, Mombasa and even Djibouti to a much lesser extent … or even better if you have the time, plan for a loop back to South Africa.

www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/Africa