A couple of crucial administrative and logistical gates have been passed over the last few days. Carnet de Passages en Douane (‘CPD’) is like a passport for the car. For Aussies this is issued by the Australian Automobile Association, who kindly produced this for us stat. CPD is essentially evidence for a Customs Officer that your car is staying in the country in question temporarily. Arrangements differ around the world, but generally the car is approved for entry to a country for a duration matching the duration of the visa carried by the owner of the vehicle.
Carnet is phasing out as a process around the world, replaced typically by Temporary Import Permits (TIP). Regardless of this, it’s mandatory for a few countries on our itinerary and will simplify repatriating the car to Australia at the back end of the expedition.
With this and visas in hand we met the prerequisites for confirming our freight slot… and with this domino falling we’ve locked in flights and accomodation in Vladivostok. Final service for the car is on Monday, then it’s off to the shippers.