A Kenyan duo that embarked on a 52-day to and fro trip to Cape Town, South Africa, have revealed details of its costs and intrigues in their journey covering 13,398 kilometres.
The Kenyans, who traversed 9 countries, also revealed that the trip set them back Ksh 263,555 until their last stop in Namanga.
''13,398 kilometres later, we are safely back to our motherland. Nine countries covered with lots of unforgettable memories. Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Malawi. We covered Kenya to South Africa using a Subaru XV," the two celebrated.
Victor Matara, who was accompanied by his co-driver, stated that they first applied for their passports to enable them to traverse through the nine countries, a process that took one and a half hours.
The documents sought included passports, yellow fever vaccination cards, car logbooks and a Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) yellow card, which is a third-party insurance.
''We left copies of the car logbook at the Kenyan immigration desk. They provided a free temporary importation permit (C32) valid for 7 days, allowing us to proceed with our journey. Note that we carried the original logbook copy,'' he recalled.
From Nairobi's camping site, the team also spent time at a campsite in Tanzania.
The first main challenge, however, emerged on October 20 when the team got blocked at the Zambia border. It took the help of an agent at the Tunduma Nakonde border to facilitate their entry.
According to Matara, the team spent Ksh1,400 (200 Kwacha per car) on Interpol charges, Ksh3,000 on road poll charges and Ksh700 for car search and scan.
Other charges included carbon tax at Ksh2,590 for a car higher than 1500cc, council levy at Ksh350 and agent facilitation fee of Ksh4,550.
Matara also revealed that in Zambia, a motorist is not allowed to have red stickers or reflectors on the front or rear side of the vehicle. It is considered an offence punishable by law.
In the crew's first brush with the law, the team got arrested on October 24 for using the wrong lane. They were later presented with two options, either pay a Ksh5,500 fine or be arraigned before a court of law.
Zambia also imposes a 10:00 pm curfew for all foreign cars according to Victor Matara.
After a hectic experience in Zambia, the travellers enjoyed a seamless border crossing into Botswana, which took less than 5 minutes.
''On the South African side, we were done in less than 15 minutes. It took a bit longer due to processing the TIP (Temporary Import Permit) but the rest of the crew got stamped in under 2 minutes,'' he stated.
The travellers explored Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town among other places before embarking on a return journey.
