* Kimberley * The "Big Hole" * Johannesburg * Okavango Delta * Victoria Falls * Zanzibar Island * Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park
Days 1 - 12 Leaving Cape Town we head out across the Great Karoo; a beautiful semi arid area. Crossing the Orange River our first stop in the “The Big Hole” in Kimberley three tons of diamonds have been dug from 40 million tons of rock over the years just to make small rings to trap foolish men into marriage. Next is Johannesburg – “the city of gold”. Take the SOWETO tour or go deep into a gold mine on the rand. Good cinema and restaurants before heading into “the real Africa”. Leaving Johannesburg we leave the city behind us and head off into Botswana and the small town of Palapye where we camp for the night. This day includes the border crossing, so passports at the ready.
From Palapye we head out across part of the Kalahari Desert, the Magkadikadi and Nxai Salt Pans, a once migration route for elephants. Entering Maun, a small town on the edge of the Okavango Delta, and prepare for the wilderness experience to come. Pack up your own kit along with food, water and cooking and camping equipment and you’re off. A short truck ride to the dugout canoes, called Mokoros, and you gently punt out into the delta down reed lined waterways. Find a spot for the night and set up camp.
Up early and it’s off for a walk with the guide. This is a rare chance to see game on foot with anything from elephants to herds of grazing zebra. If you’re really lucky you might catch a glimpse of the red lechwe or the incredibly shy Sitatunga.
Maybe try learning how to “pole” your mokoro, or try to catch a catfish. The guides make it look so easy, but it’s really not. Then maybe a last swim before heading back to the truck and then the campsite for a well earned shower and a cold drink.
An early start and a stunning drive through some very arid landscape and a different perspective from the lush Delta. One turn to the left and the country becomes more bushy and then lush again as we approach the Chobe River, where we head onto a viewing boat for a cruise along the river banks.
Another early start (animals eh?) and around the Chobe National park for a game drive in small 4x4’s then back to pack up camp. A short drive and a border crossing bring us into the Zambian town of Livingstone. Mosi-oa-Tunya means the “Smoke that thunders”, and you can see it as you approx the town.
Days 13 - 19 A full day to enjoy the many activities in the area, of which there is something for everyone. There are also a number of good restaurants to choose from many curio markets to keep you busy and bartering. From Livingstone we then head North up through the sugar plantations to the Capital city of Lusaka. A chance to visit the National Museum and stock up on food before the campsite at the beginning of the Great East Road. Then passing the every changing and beautiful scenery we head up to the small town of Chipata, this is our overnight stop before we head down to the wonderful South Luangwa National Park.
The truck will stay outside of the park at the campsite, which sits on the edge of the park so expect some visitors at any time. Maybe take your first taste of the park at night for all the nocturnal critters. A full day to enjoy as many game drives as you like through this largely unspoilt area of wildlife and beauty. Don’t forget the myriad of birds, especially the Carmine Bee Eaters with their iridescent colours.
Back up to Chipata today and our last day in Zambia before the border crossing in the morning. Enjoy the hospitality of the local campsite and get ready for the next country. Over the border into Malawi and to another capital city of Lilongwe. Take the opportunity to visit one of the many tobacco markets, but keep your hands down at the auctions! A chance to stock up on essentials before heading to the lake the following day, and any personal stuff you may need, or snacks you can’t live without
Days 20 - 26 A beautiful and scenically stunning drive out of the city, past the Zomba Plateau and through to the lake shore at Kande. This campsite started life as a cooler box under a tree, and has now become a popular venue for many things.
A full day on the beach to do as little or as much as you want. There are a number of activities to choose from including scuba diving, horse riding, canoeing, sailing or snorkelling. The lake is home to over 500 different types of freshwater Cyclid and these are very colourful and cheeky.
A short drive up the lakeshore to Chitimba, situated at the base of the Livingstonia escarpment, which you can hike to get some amazing views across the lake to Mozambique.
A fairly early start in order to get to the border with Tanzania and head up to Iringa for a bit of shopping and then it’s into the long and winding road through the valley of Baobab trees. These amazing trees are huge in their stature and only flower for 24 hrs once a year.
Get your cameras at the ready as this drive takes you through the Mikumi National Park, famous for its Pygmy Elephants, and herds of buffalo due to the close proximity with Selous National park. The day then ends at Dar es Salaam on a beach with the Indian Ocean lapping the shore.
If you wish to go you can take the ferry over to the Spice Island of Zanzibar, and walk the narrow streets of Stone Town. Visit the House of Wonders which had electricity before London and marvel at the cornucopia of seafood at the evening market.
Take the transfer up to the North Beach at Nungwi and spend the day wafting through the azure waters and admire the starfish, but watch out for those urchins....ouch! Sunset Dhows rides are a must and if you Scuba, go to the Mnemba Atoll to spot the whale sharks.
Days 27 - 33 This is your last chance to get the sand in your toes, and enjoy the relaxed life island style. Enjoy the super fresh pineapples and other fruits and don’t forget to visit the turtle sanctuary near the lighthouse.
Back to Stone Town and one more look around the beautiful things on offer, then it’s the afternoon ferry back over to the Mainland and a final night of seafood on the beach. Catch an early night as tomorrow is the biggest drive of the trip.
This is a long day, although the scenery is very diverse as you climb in altitude and pass both mountains and plains, through sisal plantations and hopefully catch a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro. More elusive than the cheetah.
You now have the option of going into the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area to see the collapsed volcano that now holds its own ecosystem supporting a huge amount of wildlife. The only things that are not in the crater are giraffe.
Your trip into the crater can continue into the Serengeti National Park if you wish, where you will pass pride rock, the inspiration for the Lion King, and get the chance to see where the great wildebeest and zebra migration prepares to head off to the Masai Mara in Kenya.
After a final game drive around the Serengeti you’ll head back out, through the conservation area and back down to the Snake Park. Here there is a cultural Masai museum, a chance to see a true Masai village from the back of a camel and see the snakes of Africa.
From Arusha we head North and cross the border into Kenya, and across the plains to the leafy suburb of Karen on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Extend your trip for another 21 days and visit the magnificent gorillas in their mountain habitats of Uganda and Rwanda - enquire.
Price GB£ 625 Plus Local payment of GB£ 315 International flights not included in the price
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We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, and would recommend their trips, which represented excellent value for money.
The comfy sleeping mats were brilliant, and saved us having to carry separate mats, which would have been far inferior to the thick comfy ones supplied.
The campsites visited were all friendly and welcoming and overall we enjoyed a wonderful trip.
I had a great trip with from Livingstone in Zambia, through Botswana, Namibia and ending in Cape Town, South Africa.
It was three weeks and I particularly liked the variety of the trip. The game drives were great, we had river cruises, wine tasting, a couple of towns we stayed in and a combination of campgrounds, which were amazing, as far as their amenities and swimming pools, etc. and we also got to experience bush camping which was in some absolutely beautiful places. We had a lion visit our camp one night which was pretty exciting. We found out in the morning we were right next to the game park fence but in the middle of the night it seemed like the lion was right in our camp. And another night after someone had found me a perfect spot for my tent right by the river I was awakened with the sound of the hippo coming up for breath and remembered that they usually come out of the water up on the land in the night time.
Our guide was great and the cost was reasonable because we participated in the meal planning, preparation and clean up. In checking other tours I think we had the most inexpensive safari which means that I will be able to do another trip with them, hopefully soon.
My trip was simply the best vacation experience of my life!
Overlanding with them is not a spectator sport- it's a way of life. I really enjoyed meeting new people and being part of a team— from cooking, to camping, even helping change a flat tire—having such an active and participatory adventure really enhanced the quality of my travel experience.
Our guide, Nic, was extremely knowledgeable and professional, making every stage of the journey fun and exciting. This is definitely not my last trip with them!
I enjoyed my African expedition immensely and im sorry to be back home.
The trip was all the things it promised to be and more. From being invited into an African home to share their meager food, swimming in rivers so we could have a wash, bush camping around a fire every night no matter how hot or cold it was, digging the truck out of bogs, wells and deep sand and just talking with the local people in whatever language we encountered at the time and not understanding a word. All these things and more made this trip totally amazing.
You must be prepared to encounter random and unexpected circumstances along the way, sleep in the bush, parking lot or even in the middle of a waterlogged road in extreme heat and cold. Of course being woken up by elephants munching on the foliage around your tent and the sound of lions, hippos and hyenas growling and wailing not far from the camp make this an adventure that everyone should make time to fit into their lives.
Africa has everything and I am sorry to leave such a vast, beautiful and diverse continent.
7
Client:
Woodcocks and Colliars - from Cyprus
Trip:
currently unavailable
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
We had a four week holiday in SA and the highlight was definitely the safari we did.
We used the operatorfor airport transfers, overnight accommodation (before and after the safari) and everything was first class.
The safari and the lodge were both excellent nothing was too much trouble for the staff and the cabins and food were brilliant. We particularly enjoyed the game drives in the private park.
Trip: The Ultimate Trans Africa - 43 weeks (Gibraltar to Istanbul)
Having never done an overland trip before I plunged into the deep end by booking a long trip, to see the majority of the African continent and spending an additional 3 weeks in the Middle East. Having read what I could expect on such a trip I am pleased to say that my expectations were greatly passed in more than one way.
The first leg which involves the West Coast of Africa brought with its many challenges that both brought the group together (digging the truck out of the sand in the Sahara) and made each person find out something new about themselves. Our driver Chris, doing his third Trans, took us on routes through countries that he has never done before and slightly off the original itinerary plan – one highlight was our border crossing from Benin to Nigeria, we were the first white people to go through this part of the border in over 20 years according to the locals.
The second leg (Cape Town to Nairobi), and shortest, took us on the safari circuit including a truly memorable visit to see the gorillas. The third leg, from Nairobi to Istanbul, goes to a couple of countries off the beaten track for many tourists – Ethiopia and Sudan, both were great places to see.
Looking back on my trip and remembering all the people, places and challenges that I encountered was very memorable and that includes Chris and the tour operator.
I wouldn’t hesitate to book another holiday with the operator in the future when coming back to Africa, no matter how small the trip is duration-wise. With other companies you may have the three meals a day etc. provided, but with the setup of buying and cooking what you want for group meals and the chance to explore an African market on your own to find what you can buy for lunch is an experience everyone should have
We had a wonderful time on the 43-week Ultimate Trans Africa trip. Both of us travelled in Africa in the 1970s, so we knew what we wanted (rough-ish truck travel with camping). The driver was knowledgeable and adventurous. We couldn't have asked for more.
As an aside, two fellow travellers were most unpleasant and very unprepared for this kind of travel. Fortunately, they were 'dematerialised' within a few months and in the nicest possible way.
Advice -- Don't do this trip unless you are prepared to be part of a community. You need to be able to depend on one another (big factor), eat most everything and push the truck when necessary. We had a blast and we are in our early 60s. Would set out again tomorrow -- or once all the laundry is done.
10
Client:
Honor Putland - from Australia
Trip:
currently unavailable
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
The Safari was amazing, a life changing trip.
We saw the big 5 close up on the first day and we were provided with guided tours on foot that allowed us to have a detailed look at the 'small things' too. Our accommodation and the service we recieved was first class. The staff made every effort to ensure that we enjoyed our trip.
