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Writer's pictureCharline Ribotta

I Finally Found A Ferry Option But It's Another 3,500 Km Away!

Updated: Aug 10, 2023

A quick summary of the solo expedition so far:


I left France on the 26th of January. Since then, I drove all the way across Europe to South Turkey.


The very first plan was to drive through the Middle East and to ship Rafiki from Oman to East Africa. I was planning to stay updated along the way and to book a ferry when approaching Iran. However, I cannot get clear and concrete info about the ferry companies operating in Oman.


In the meantime, I’ve been in contact with several people -all of them working in the freight ferry industry- here in Turkey. I had an option to ship Rafiki on 10/03 to South Africa. But this option gets unreliable as the days go by. Prices are getting insanely higher, the destination is never the same, and new rules are popping up (like Kenya does not accept imported cars registered before 2015).


This is part of the expedition: facing challenges, to accept the uncertainty of life and to cope with it. In my personal situation, there is absolutely NO problems, only solutions.


I received many info from you guys. Thank you so much! One of you (wonderful Eva zu Beck) sent me the contact of a ferry company. Great news: they have a ferry opportunity to ship Rafiki to Cape Town. The crossing takes an average of 25 days, the price is way cheaper than in Turkey, Rafiki’s going to be sent in a container (no RORO), and the departure date is on 02/04.


HOWEVER, this departure harbour is based in…Germany -which means that I’ll have to drive back all the way up to Hamburg (3,500 km + driving back through Europe).


But do you know what? I think I’m ready to do that. I need to leave Rafiki with them 10 days prior to the departure (so I’ll have to be in Hamburg in 2 weeks). I’ll thus have to fly to South Africa waiting for Rafiki to arrive…


This might change again but this is life!

You know everything. Any thoughts maybe?


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