need advice for roadtrip through SA and beyond

[og_of_macdon]

Hello all,

We are Juan and Ognen - a Macedonian/Chinese/Californian couple and we are currently on a big roadtrip in our 1993 VW T4 Transporter kombi (no, not aircooled but please keep reading anyway). We are just finishing a 9 month trip through South America and next month plan to embark on a similar journey through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. You can see lots more about us on our website (http://www.youxin.org ) and couchsurfing profile (http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/juan-n-ognen/ ).

We write because we are hoping some of you can answer a few questions/doubts about the feasibility of our planned trip through Africa. We know that this club is not a kombi-specific one particularly since ours is not air cooled but nevertheless hope some of you might know a few answers or point us along to someone else that would. So here goes:

1) Would repair parts for our 1993 T4 kombi be readily available in the countries we plan to visit? We understand that the T3 was actually produced in South Africa as late as 2002 (much later than other countries) and we also see that the T5 is being sold there now but we are not sure about the availability of T4 parts and service

2) What is the general availibility of VW repairs and competent mechanics that could work on our car outside South Africa? Seems like South Africa has a strong VW base but we cant tell about the other countries on our list

3) Our kombi is gasoline and not diesel powered. Is this a serious problem for any of the countries we plan to visit?

4) What about the roads and driving conditions? Is it relatively easy to drive a non-4x4 kombi accross the countries on our list or would we be considered too "adventurous" for trying it?

5) Finally, anyone know of kombi-specific or Westfalia-specific clubs in South Africa we could get in touch with?

Thanks a lot in advance to all of you who take the time to read and/or respond. Here is some more info on our kombi if you are interested http://www.youxin.org/South_America/TianMa.html

Best regards and look forward to maybe meeting some of you during our trip,

Juan and Ognen

[Pine]

Welcome to ACVWSA, Juan and Ognen!

Before going any further, I'd say speak to Fig (here) on the Forum - he and his significant other did a trans-Africa Safari in an old Bus a few years ago, and will be able to answer most of your questions http://www.zebrasafari.co.za/

Fig is also the founder of the KKK - the Kaapse Kombi Klub, probably the largest 'formal' (or INformal) gathering of like-minded VW Bus enthusiasts in South Africa, most of them here on ACVWSA as well.

I am sure many of the Forum members (myself not excluded!) would love to meet you when you are here in SA, and help in any way possible. Bestaluck with the preparation!

[zubz]

Welcome...

my late father and I did a trip from SA to Namibia, spend few months on the road and then returned to SA. From SA we then did Malawi all in his VW Kombi..went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially considering while all my friends were wasting their time in school I was travellin Africa with my father...my mum was not too happy but who cared, the road is king.....

[Klaus]

Hi

Great adventure !

Just my 2c worth:

T3 were sold here for a short while but were not that popular (in comparsion to other vehicles in that category) Vfront - another forum member used to run a fleet of them for with his tour business but from what I heard cost a lot when they broke, I assume due to lack of parts. VW servicing and parts are a premium on any of their newer vehicle here. Just serviced our polo (Just out of motor plan - cam belt & service R6700.00)

Africa is not kind to vehicles and most go for the simplest options. Toyota Cruisers are the preffered ones from my talks with others. However the older diesel ones are better suited for the junk diesel found in African Countries (Including SA)

Dont think petrol is as readily available as diesel but i stand to be corrected on this . Keep it simple and have a blast - get a aircooled Kombi !

[beetlefanatic]

Hi

Great adventure !

Just my 2c worth:

T3 were sold here for a short while but were not that popular ....

I'm sure you meant T4, as the T3 was sold from '80 to 2002 AFAIK.

Anywooo, Stuart from Syncro hospital should be able to help with spares and info on travelling through Africa. He actually has a T4 standing in his yard that is being parted out. http://www.lookhimup-wedontlinktoexporters.co.za/
On the SyncroSA forum there are a few guys with T4's as well, maybe they can give more info.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SyncroSA/
There is also a blog about 2x guys that did almost all the same countries you want to do, but they had Syncro's. Maybe you get can some good info from that. http://africansyncroodyssey.blogspot.com/

Hope it helps.

Ditto what Pine said. I'm sure there are a few guys that would like to meet you. Maybe we can organise a get together and have a braai (barbeque).

[vfront]

I'm sure Springer means T4!!!

I have run the T25 (T3), T4 & T5 combi's allover RSA as part of a tourist fleet. Many many miles have been put on all of them. The most being 380000km on a T4 in 3 years.

Servicing costs on both the T4 & T5 are F-ing expensive. Currently on the T5's the wait for parts other than normal service parts can be upto 4 weeks as all parts have to be shipped in from Germany. Most of the parts are only available from the agents and not many generic parts can be found.

As for parts for the T4's I would suggest contacting VWSA (+2741 994 4111) to find out about availability. You could also try places such as Goldwagen http://www.goldwagen.co.za .

Good luck with the planning of your trip.

[Chris]

Welcome Juan and Ongen.

Fuel in SA,Namibie,Botswana and Kenya won't be a problem.Zambia,Uganda and Tanzania shouldn't be either but make sure you take some reserves with you just in case.As for parts,we have an extensive VW dealership base in SA and Namibie,so parts should't be a big problem.Most parts you'll get here and what they don't have they can get from Germany.Parts I needed for my T5 was "overnighted" from Germany and it took 2 days to get here.

Come and enjoy the trip!

[Klaus]

Slip of the key - T4

[zubz]

Oh and we also entered into Angola, drove a little into Angola and this was during the war time so we were told to leave and go back to Namibia.......

[mikefenton]

Where about in Botswana are you planning on going?

[karmakoma]

I can only speak from my experience in SA and Namibia - Have toured SA pretty extensively and just completed a 7000km round trip through Namibia. Petrol was available everywhere, actually easier to find than diesel in the more remote areas. As Chris mentioned, parts network in SA and Namibia is very good, so that should not be a problem. Unfortunately we did not travel with a VW, abused a frenchy, so getting a spare tyre on a long weekend was, shall we say, challenging. Most common sizes available as I found out is 15" and 16". One word of warning about Namibia, distances and travel time differ GREATLY from what we are used to. +- 200Km in SA on the highway is only an hour and a half if pushing on. Solitaire to Walvisbay - 220km, at the end of local tourist season on a dirt road - 4 1/2 hours (and thats without any breakdowns or flat tyres). Ask me how I know

But I digress. You will enjoy a trip you will never forget. Southern-Africa has some of the most beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife (Etosha, Kruger, Kgalakgadi, Kalahari trans-frontier to name a few) in the world, and that is not just my biased view, come see for yourself, you won't be sorry!

[Chris]

Southern-Africa has some of the most beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife (Etosha, Kruger, Kgalakgadi, Kalahari trans-frontier to name a few) .......

Just to clear matters up,these^^ are the place where the wild animals are and NOT in the cities.

[Tom Bishop]

Found out that there is no VW agent in Lusaka, Zambia. And the Meredes agent in dar es Salaam, Tanzania is also functions as the VW Agent.


But this is Africa.

If you are not to far from the South African Boarder, 500km's you are OK. After this you are on your own and need to carry with you what ever you need.

DHL is the only reliable courier and there prices are mega expensive. All other will get it to you, just expect to have it when its in your hands.

But

No matter what your problem some one will be able to fix it with a welder, wire and Landrover or Landcruiser parts.

[og_of_macdon]

wow, everyone, thanks for your tips and encouragement (guess it's true what they say about the hospitality of Africans)

so the general message we seem to be getting is that our planned trip is doable but any major repair outside of South Africa and Namibia is likely to cost a lot of time and money... we have plenty of time but not so much money (especially if we are about to drop around USD 5000 to have our T4 shipped into Cape Town).

Wonder what Vfrtont meant by "F-ing expensive"? We just paid about USD 700 to get a new steering rack shipped and installed into Chile from the US and can probably afford at most 2-3 of those kinds of repairs during our planned 8 months in Africa. Think we should start thinking about a Landcruiser or Landy? Or do some of you agree with Tom's comment that the local mechanics can get creative enough to solve most problems with non-VW parts?

Also, if shipping in parts from Germany, would customs in the African countries be a problem (they were in Chile for our part from the US)?

Looking forward to meeting some of you soon (we arrive in South Africa on May 26 in Cape Town then plan to go all over for the next 2 months, mostly avoiding the crowd and high prices of the World Cup but also attending a few games).

Best regards and thanks again,

Ognen and Juan