an indecent proposal?

Contrary to what you might think, the following question isn’t a delayed april fools joke but instead my very own sunday morning i’ll-need-to-find-a-solution- to-that-car-problem- issue-in-Nairobi brainstorming attempt to figure out how I’ll get decent transport for myself in terms of having the convenience of driving my own car.

My own car? My car is a 1989 VW Golf II I’ve mentioned earlier here and here, and I tell you: BEFORE I sell this beloved gari to any strange Belarussian car dealer for something like EUR 100,- who then sells it to a fat man sitting on his car empire within a free port somewhere in Ghana, West Africa I am way much better off taking my car to Kenya and driving it there till it falls (even more) apart.

Having said that, what about the route?

routemap.jpg

Would it be possible to drive a car from here to Nairobi? I know it has been done before, so why shouldn’t I do the same? Not necessarily with my current car, maybe an older Mercedes with A/C etc that sells for something like EUR 500,- ….Mzeecedric, any idea? Ati, I know you’re laughing on this, but hey, it’s an adventurous idea, ama?
(Mbuzimoja, we’ll do this in August, yes? Just say yes, eh? :-)

Author: jke

Hi, I am an engineer who freelances in water & sanitation-related IT projects at Saniblog.org. You'll also find me on Twitter @jke and Instagram.

18 thoughts on “an indecent proposal?”

  1. Haiya:-) Ur nut my white Bro:-) Mbuzimoja , encourage u r man to do this….I would like to see the result of such an adventure = German to Kenya via road :-)

  2. hi kiku!
    drive over egypt and sudan is better take enough gold or cash with you. you need to bribe some police officer.
    It is almost better take a coast road if is possible.
    But th way to kenya is not so dangerous like the way to namibia by car. my first thinking to drive to the cape was take the west route, but your way is more safety than the west route.
    what you really need is a landrover with a second fuel tank under the seat.
    calculate the fuel you need for the travel.
    if i have time i will come with you on this trip, it is a great adventure.
    cu kp

  3. yeah, the idea is great. is there a free seat?

    I just remember a funny kikamba song “To germany by foot”, so if people go footing, there shouldn’t be any problem to use a mercedes or even the golf!

    Ngilasya nilyiu ngethia ndiota na mwende ngethe yi muingo Germany kweli ngew’a kuia. Wiku miuingo ngumisia muno we mwende no mbaka ngwone ngoo yakwa itulie.
    Syindu syakwa syi Germany kindu kyakwaa ki Germany niendete by foot nyie!

    Now, I wonder how long this song will remain in my head this time. Anyway, great lyrics! ;)

  4. Eeehhh, from GermanYYY to KenYa via road, that’s the point. And not via LandRover, dear KP – although that sure is the way it’s supposed to be done – but with an ordinary 2WD car like my Golf or any other cheaper limousine which is still good enough but sells for small amounts due to high taxes (these older cars like Saab 9000 or BMWs from the early 1990s aren’t that expensive – it’s just that no one buys them due to these high environmental-related taxes).

    On the other hand, yeah, having a 4WD would come in quite handy in Kenya and elswhere, as this 2WD thing could just be too suicidal. But please, KP, a Landy? How comfy is yours? My brother-in-laws LR088 (the short lightweight army version) is fun to drive, but 6600 kms have to be quite uncomfy while driving at an average speed of 60 km/h…
    @Mwende: LOL, YOU commented @ the same time :-) Wewe, I was going to ask you as well! Ah ge, jetzt kommt bestimmt noch der CG mit nem VW Bully (+ ner AfricaTwin im Gepäck) dazu und auffa gehts, fahrm ma auf Safari, ge?

    Is there any route planer on the inet that gives us a better route? Couldn’t find any that goes to Egypt at least…

  5. *g* here I am. These days I’d propose eastwards and this, lakini, hakuna pesa…
    Btw. booked a flight to portugal with some friends today, yeah!

  6. portugal? tzzzzzzzzzzz! what for???

    hakuna pesa –> that’s it even my problem: ndina mbesa!
    but do the calculation and fix the route and i’ll talk to my account

    u talked about august, i’ll finish some exams in july if everything goes well by august i should be free. mum said i should look for a job in august to pay my next flight, but there is always an option ;)

  7. Wow! I am so surprised to find that you are white! Well anyway, I wanted to say make sure you have visa’s for all the countries you would drive through!

  8. I would not recommend it – I would only attempt such a journey in a brand new car. Also, cars older than 1999 are not supposed to be imported to Kenya anymore, but I don’t think anyone is checking at the Turkana border point.

  9. Thx Bankelele – that’s good information. I remember you blogged about this new import policy the other day, ama? Well maybe there’s a way to take the car there and sell it to a neighbouring country that doesn’t have such rules.
    Also, the initial plan was to have my own transport in Nbo. Maybe there’s another workaround on this.
    @Kenyangal: eeehhh, I am your KBW mzungu kama WhiteAfrican :-) Visas? Ati? :-)

    The bottom-line is that I might just as well fly to Kenya and that’s it. However, it may be so much more interesting to take the car instead and do this extreme safari tour. All it requires is time & money – the usual drawback today when it comes to doing unusual things. So maybe not this year, but still: I want to do this one day! The comfy Kiukpart in me of course suggest to save the money and invest it into a nice shamba somewhere in Limuru…

    @Mwende: wewe, you go finish your pepaaaa and stop surfing the inet. Yes, that’s an order! :-)

    @Mbuzi: I can’t hear you on this! Uko wapi?

  10. I laughed my head off when I saw this. Very reckless and lots of fun.

    The kind of thing my wife would never ever let me do.

    Question for you, what do you plan to do over the Mediterranean Sea?

    You have some floats?

    If you are serious about importing a car, I have a much better idea for you. Drop me an email at steve at ntwiga period net and can tell you a little more about it.

  11. You’ve been drinking to much pombe my friend. :)

    I can tell you, I grew up in Sudan and it’s not picnic even with a reliable 4WD… Your best luck would be on a piki.

  12. “The kind of thing my wife would never ever let me do.”

    OH YEAH! Mine is a bit easier on this as you can see above. She in fact tells me to be more adventurous (yeah of course, we do it for the women). Mediterranean Sea: ferry. The route in the pic isn’t the exact one, just my first guess on how it could be possible. I take it that there’s no direct ferry from Greece to Egypt…

    Hashibwana, sure sure, I know YOU would love to do this as well, right? I hate it, man, i hate it…we NEED to get some PAID time off and do some things that might be considered a waste of time by others like taking 6 months off for a safari on the continent.

    But then, the best part is that just in case I would ever like to do this sort of trip, I could just rely on my gf coming along. Nice ;-)

  13. just dreaming of getting 13 comments for anything on my blog

    shh, i’ll never -> congrats!

    and my seat is still booked! am just enjoying a cup of milo because ketepa has run out of stock. i hate to be here!

  14. A couple of friends and I are thinking about going the other way. Well another way. Across Africa on the line of the Equator. Starting in the West and ending up on the Kenyan coast. A photo journal journey. It may make a good dry run for your much more ambitious project!

  15. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine drove his beloved used VW Bully from South Africa to Germany. So why shouldn’t you be able to do the same from Kenya? BTW, his car’s still in use ;O)

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