One-Way Ticket: Colorado to South Sudan

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This story begins with a job offer three years ago. The job involved, among other things, working in remote areas of Africa. I would have a chance to be in Kenya (where I'd visited before), Tanzania (and Zanzibar), Sudan (and later, after July 2011, South Sudan), Uganda, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Oman, and the UAE. I'd also get to be in some of the border regions near Lake Albert that separate Congo from Uganda, which had been on my "visit list" for a long time.

I had about nine months between accepting the job and actually relocating (I ended up living near the Uganda - South Sudan border for the past year, but at the time it was unclear where I would be based). I used that time to buy an FJ Cruiser and outfit it for over a year in Africa.

It's important to understand that this thread, and this story, do not represent one continuous trip. Rather, they represent several journeys - first, from the United States to Kampala, Uganda and, later, from northern Uganda to other regions. I don't have the talent for prose needed to match others' explanations of their travels, but I consider myself a decent photographer, so I'll let pictures tell most of the story. That having been said, feel free to chime in with questions.

Since I know we're all interested in reliability and vehicles, I will offer this review of the FJ. I am glad I bought the FJ Cruiser for this series of adventures and I think it was the right choice. Twice, its common parts with the Landcruiser Prado (once near Lake Victoria and once in Gulu, Uganda) saved me from a parts availability standpoint. Still, I've already bought a 2012 Tacoma to build into the next vehicle for the next trip (that build is currently underway). It isn't that I didn't like the FJ or wouldn't recommend it to others. However, for what I have planned in the coming years, I believe the Tacoma is a better choice.

Finally, I know a lot of people on the forum have been interested in shipping vehicles abroad but haven't taken the leap yet. I'll start by explaining some (but not all) of the process, things to look out for, and what my experience has been, having shipped several vehicles internationally. This thread is not meant as a "how to" and is certainly not legal advice, but it will give you an idea of one person's attitudes and experiences in this area.

Well, here goes.

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No expeditions start next to the gorillas, the lions, or the checkpoints.

They start in the confines of the garage, where hard choices are made that people are punished for later.

I don't argue that I made the right choices. In fact, there are things I do very much regret. But I feel I planned well, given what I knew at the time. Most importantly, I learned what I'll do differently on the next trip, the next vehicle, the next border, the next whatever. And that learning process (and living to implement what you've learned) is what it's all about, right?

That's all you (or I or anyone) can do.

The truck began with some sketches.

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Next up was the build... there were a few hiccups along the way, but not as many as I'd feared.

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Finally, the finishing touches...













Some "finished product" shots:









Then, after some fun and a shakedown run from Chicago to Denver, we were satisfied that this thing was going to be OK on-road, off-road, at altitude, etc.

It was time to ship.

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What they don't tell you in the books is that when you arrive in Africa, the first thing you need is paperwork. You need your yellow card, but you also need insurance (covered by others on the forum, but I have to recommend that if you ship to Mombasa or Dar es Salaam the Chartis offices will give you decent coverage at an OK price. This will be enough to get past the insurance scam from traffic stops and checkpoints in the respective countries.

A beverage, a deep-fried fish, and some carbs. Pretty much the best meal on offer in this part of the world, and a good way to celebrate your arrival.



You don't need a thermometer. When you see this, it's hot:



The one on the left is saying, "Hey, that's that FJ Cruiser thing."

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So, at this point in the story, I should probably clarify what I'm doing here. I'm an economist and a lot of the work I do has to do with farming, risk management, agricultural insurance, and so forth. So a lot of my work involves actually talking to people, visiting farms, and figuring out what their lives (and financial lives) are like.

This means a lot of driving.





When you find a secure compound - whether it's a friend, an ex-pat, or even a restaurant, it's an opportunity to do the washing. It will dry quickly on a hot day.



Approaching Kampala from the east (with Kenya behind and Rwanda ahead), heavy vehicles are all over. Traffic is heavy and most trucks are in terrible condition. This break-down meant that I, and hundreds of other people, had to wait hours to move.



Once you're outside the city, electricity is rare. This mobile phone charging business uses car batteries to charge phones on 12v leads... this village is not far from the hydroelectric power of the Nile, but far from the reliability of southern Uganda's power grid.



A typical site visit to a farm near the Uganda-Rwanda border:

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Then, it happened. Some idiot decided it would be fun, whilst I was parked in Uchumi supermarket in Kampala, to try to steal my fuel pump, presumably for spares. He did not succeed, but did manage to destroy the fuel pump in the incompetent thievery process.

This introduced me to one of the wonders of East Africa, the very good Toyota dealership near Jinja Road in Kampala. Highly recommended.



The UN uses a fleet of LC100's and LC200's, all of which get serviced here if they're too far west to go back to UN HQ in Nairobi.



No matter how brave you are, I recommend not driving in or out of Kampala at night.



The primary form of transport in East Africa is the bicycle. Cheap, crappy Chinese bicycles (primarily Phoenix brand) are prevalent, but the sought-after bicycles are English and were brought over by RAF officers during colonialism. They are wonders of British industry and are still better than anything that can be bought today.



I met with this woman, who is a farmer with three children, and discussed the need for agricultural insurance in her small village. She was surprisingly financially sophisticated and had comments on Museveni's monetary policy (and the recent inflation and volatility of the Ugandan shilling). It was one of the better conversations I had that week. She was also very understanding and made an effort to discuss whatever we could in Langi, though my language skills were not very good yet at this point.

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As you drive between the border regions of Uganda, Congo, and South Sudan, the price of things changes drastically. This interests me as an economist, and the explanation is massive smuggling. A criminal gang, humorously called the OPEC Boys (though their patterns of violence, rape, and intimidation are not funny at all), controls the smuggling of petrol from Kaya (South Sudan) across through Arua (Uganda) and the borderlands of Congo. This is about a metric ton of mahogany, illegally logged and smuggled out of the lush forests of northeastern Congo. It was for sale for about 300USD.



The soil of this area is amazing, fertile, and remarkably tolerant of local (primitive) farming practices.



At a village nearly on the equator. Note the satellite dish nearly pointing straight up.



A natural banana grove with a stand of eucalyptus to the right... clearly, this has been a fertile valley for many years.



One of the few movie theaters in the borderlands between Uganda and South Sudan. The DVDs outside will be played next, in order, from right to left.



Fish for sale at a market south of Juba (South Sudan).



Eating in an Ethiopian-owned compound by campfire, between Gulu and Arua (Uganda).



Africa is a maze of rural and urban settings, with very thin transitions. You pass many farms, many farms, thousands of farms, and suddenly you're in the city.

Yes, this is a truck carrying cows with people riding on top of the cows.



A typical roadside market.



An entrepreneur and hotelier decides to make a run at it.

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The price of everything is a moving target. Here, one of ten stores in the area tries to compete on price with its blackboard.



American culture is everywhere.



Beans and other foods that can be stored without refrigeration are extremely important in Africa. Here, beans are for sale on a road leading from Oyam (Uganda) to Sudan.



Chickens are normally bought and sold by salesmen on bicycles in Uganda and South Sudan. Here, my friend Robert negotiates for a chicken (he ended up insisting on paying less than 15,000 shillings, and the man said he could not sell for less than 17,000 - so no sale).



As you move farther away from the Nile, boreholes must be deeper to access the aquifers that make drinking water available. These girls will pump all morning to get enough water for their small villages. Note the yellow diesel NATO jerrycans left over from the Ugandan civil war - probably not safe to drink from, but dying tomorrow is better than dying today.

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A woman prepares Ogati (in Langi, called "Mugate" in Acholi), a type of fried bread made with cassava flour. It's delicious.



A man begins the process of making the Rolex, the national roadside dish of Uganda - it is sort of like an egg burrito.



Your author turning the earth after the first rains of the season:



Lettuce, a very rare thing anywhere outside the cities of Africa. This is from my garden.



The Ugandan agricultural census of 1991 estimates that there are 10,000 tractors in Uganda. I was asked what I thought of that figure at a panel of economists once and I laughed and replied, "There might be ten thousand, but I don't think five hundred work." Here is a tractor in very good condition by Ugandan standards:



Do not hit this:



I take my resupply trips to London seriously, and I bring back whatever I can as checked baggage. It's expensive, but it's the best way to move things.

Luggage tags for checked baggage on a recent trip.



Note that if you are Silver or Gold status on British Airways, you can take a heavy bag for the same price as a normal bag. This is a huge benefit for those of us who are using these flights to resupply, as it means each bag is 32 kilos of supplies instead of 23.