route
despite attempts with a map of africa, a long ruler and an enormous black marker pen, we've been repeatedly told that a trip such as this requires planning. not truely familiar with the concept, we had a dig around the [foreign office web site] as a start. according to their warnings and reports, the west coast is feasible but not recommended. on the east however, from egypt south leads a well beaten (but by no means simple) track through the sudan, ethiopia, kenya, tanzania and malawi / mozambique to south africa. the debate begins however on how to get to egypt. italy-tunisia-libya-egypt? greece-egypt? turkey-syria-jordan-egypt? pick a card, any card... we are still arguing this one out, but our decision will appear in [current location and route details].

paperwork - visas
the libyan peoples bureau in london was an eye opener. do not attempt without yoda-style patience. if travelling as an individual (not a pre-arranged tour group), you need a letter of invitation from a libyan travel agent (they dont come cheap or quickly) as well as having your passport translated into arabic (making sure there are no israeli stamps in it first as otherwise you'll be refused entry). also interestingly, its illegal for americans to enter the country - imposed by the USA not actually by libya itself). once all done, its just another 15 working days processing time (but you can only pick up your passport on a friday so unless you hand it in on a monday its actually a 4 week wait). also heard rumours that once in country you sometimes require a compulsory (expensive) escort. is this true?

the sudan embassy in london however is in a league all of its own. they require a minimum one month process time (has to be sent to sudan for approval). fair enough i thought. but the genuinely very helpful lady working there then admitted that in reality it can take up to 9 months and that sometimes sudan doesnt bother sending a reply at all! this from someone who works there! they also keep your passport for the entire duration (even though it doesnt leave the building) so helpfully you cant get any other visas. perfect. the solution (thank you miranda from economic expeditions) is to simply get it in cairo where the process is far more efficient.

ethiopian visas are very straightforward to aquire. but, and there always seems to be a but, they are only valid for 60 days from issue so unless storming across a minimum 8 countries in 60 days and youre ready to leave the day you get the stamp, then you're in difficulty. we're hoping to pick this one up in cairo too (aparently need it to enter sudan as verification that you can leave the country legally).

all other visas are simple enough. recommend the visa section of [www.travel-guide.com] for all info world over regarding visa costs, application requirements and times. it certainly beats endless prerecorded embassy 'information' phone lines.

paperwork - other
carnet customs document (five times the value of the bike needed if going through egypt), green card (for europe), international driving permit (four quid, driving licence and a couple of photos from any major post office), and the magic travel insurance that promises to lift you out of nowhere by chopper to the tune of 5 million quid if youve forgotten the mossie repellant.

timing
avoid crossing the sahara mid-summer, or alternatively just cross your fingers and hope the XTZ engine cooling fan works.

now just have to buy a bunch of kit, get a half dozen jabs, quit the job and leave!
bd.