Day 128: Paul's Hidden Hill Campsite (Mbeya)

The ADAC (German Automobile Association) is putting a damper on our spirits today: Before we set off in April, we had requested an extension for our Carnet de Passage. They then recommended that we apply for a "Letter of Grace" from the South African authorities, as we only needed an extension for one to two months. We wanted to do that now and learned that we can only apply for the LoG if the car is already in the Southern African Customs Union. Since the processing takes two to four weeks, it would mean entering South Africa by August 22nd. And that would completely disrupt our plans for Malawi, Zimbabwe, and possibly Mozambique. What should we do?

Have a new CdP sent to Harare. That would cost at least €340 and involve a detour. But it would be doable. Thanks to Carl, who, with his experience with DHL, gave us a quick overview.

A TIP (Temporary Import Permit) for South Africa. Since Namibia has abolished this, it's unclear whether we can still get it for SA and, more importantly, whether we can ship with it. Duncan from African Overlanders (who we'll probably ship with) says yes, it's possible. But just to be on the safe side, we'll check with the Automobile Association of South Africa (AASA) again – it would be really stupid to be stuck at the border without an option...

The situation is different with the visa for Mozambique: The Foreign Office says a visa is required, but the eVisa process has been suspended due to deficiencies in the online platform. The Facebook community says we no longer need a visa. However, on the Serviço Nacional de Migraçāo website, we're not exempt from the visa requirement, and you can start the visa application online. But then we get kicked out after entering all the data... So we're taking the risk now and hoping for a visa on arrival at the border. Checked off.

Shopping: A few basics like juice, milk, nuts, and more are available. We still have a few bananas and add a few apples. Papaya and avocado tend to go bad on the road (shake, shake). Since we also need to get drinking water, we take the tuk-tuk back – always convenient.

And the day is over. We cook two meals, because we don't know what the border situation will be tomorrow, and then we flop into bed.