This expedition is ideal for the traveller with time at their disposal who want to experience the incredible diversity the African continent has to offer.
Cape Town to Nairobi & Gorillas 8 Weeks, including a week break in Cape Town
Week 1 - 2: South Africa, Botswana
Departing Cape Town we head north towards Botswana and the Kalahari Desert via Kimberly. We travel along the edge of the Kalahari Desert to Maun. A small town on the edge of the Okavango Delta, and the starting point for the Mokoro trip. A Mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe and your transport into the Delta. As you glide through the waterways, you will see a fantastic array of wetland wildlife, birds in particular and you are also likely to come across hippos or elephants taking a drink from the shore. You can go on a walking safari to look for giraffe, buffalo and rare antelope such as the tsessebe. This overnight stay is a great wilderness experience.
We spend a night by the banks of the Chobe River, in Kasane. Here hippo, buffalo and crocodiles share the river bank and occasionally pay us a visit through the night. Here you can take a sunset cruise on the river or take an afternoon game drive through the park, and see some of Africa’s largest elephants and big cats. Week 3: Zambia, Malawi
Entering Zambia, we reach the Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi River plunges 100 metres down a mile wide chasm, creating one of the most incredible natural wonders of the world. The local name for the Falls is 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' which means 'the smoke that thunders' and you'll soon find out why. When the river is in full flow, the falling water causes a huge roar and sends a cloud of spray up to 500 metres into the air.
We stay near Livingstone beside the Zambezi and above Victoria Falls, for a few days, as there is so much to see and do. Adventure activities abound - you can bungee jump, white water raft, take a Microlite flight above the falls, sky-dive and go game-viewing on horse back. More sedate excursions include canoeing, light aircraft or helicopter flights over the falls, and the sunset cruise on the Zambezi. Of course, the falls themselves are the main attraction and you can walk through the rain forest along the cliff opposite for an excellent view.
Crossing the border into Malawi, we soon reach the shores of its huge lake. The campsites and small resorts along Lake Malawi offer sandy beaches, swimming and snorkeling, water skiing and walking in the surrounding countryside. You will also find markets selling beautifully carved Malawi chairs, tables and other souvenirs.
Week 4-6: Tanzania, Kenya
Heading north through Tanzania, our route takes us through Mikumi National Park where we may well see giraffe or pygmy elephants grazing along the roadside. At Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast, we can cross to Zanzibar Island. Here is the old stone capital of the Omani Sultanate and away from the town are stunning beaches, and World Heritage Listed buildings, forests and ruins. You can take a spice tour of the island, go diving, swimming with dolphins or visit remote islands by the traditional dhow boats. Heading inland we pass Africa’s highest peak, that of Mt Kilimanjaro. From Arusha we hire Landrovers to visit the Ngorongoro Crater & Serengeti National Park, which has the heaviest concentration of plains game found all over East Africa. From Tanzania we cross in Kenya the Athi Plains, passing gazelle, giraffe and troops of baboons on our way to Nairobi.
Week 7-8: Uganda, Kenya
Leaving Nairobi we pass the dramatic landscape of the Rift Valley to the highlands of Kenya. Crossing the border at Malaba we drive through rain forests and tea and sugar plantations to Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Crossing the equator we camp on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi, the deepest crater lake in Uganda. We climb through lush terraced hills to Kisoro, from here we trek the famed mountain gorillas or you could visit Mgahinga National Park for a day hike up a volcano or a guided nature trail. We meander back to Lake Bunyonyi to relax, canoe, mountain bike and swim.
In the modern bustling city of Kampala you may wish to visit the National Museum, the Kasubi Tombs of the Buganda people. Crossing the Owen Falls dam we arrive at Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria. Spend an action-filled day white water rafting down the Nile, bungee jump, fish on Lake Victoria, take a guided village walk; or give up a day of your holiday to volunteer for the local community education project.
Returning to Kenya and Nakuru Town, the capital of the Rift Valley Province, we stay at Kembu Camp a working farm. We spend a full day at Lake Nakuru, viewing game in a park famous for its soda lake surrounded by thousands, sometimes millions of pink flamingoes. We move on to camp on the shores of Lake Naivasha where hippos come to graze in the evenings.
Close by is Hell's Gate National Park and Elsamere, once the home of Joy Adamson and Elsa the lion of 'Born Free' fame. From here we return to Nairobi with the chance to feast at the renowned Carnivores Game Restaurant.
Nairobi to Istanbul 12 Weeks
Week 9-10: Kenya
We visit Samburu Park & the base of Mount Kenya. And continue north through the “Northern Frontier District” of Kenya, a restricted area; semi arid with a spectacular diversity of people, wild game on the road side and a pleasant dry climate
Week 11-12: Ethiopia
We enter Ethiopia and we climb the mountains into the highlands and follow the Rift Valley Lakes to Addis Ababa. Take boats to visit Bahir Dar Monasteries on islands on Lake Tana the source of the Blue Nile, with hippos and crocs at the outflow of the river. Tissisat Falls is the source of the Blue Nile. We visit Gondar; a city of castles and churches. In the Simien Mountains you can horse trek and see grazing Gelada Baboons. Then on to Axum, the home of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.
Week 13-14: Sudan
We pass the Gezira cotton region to Kassala a market town overlooked by Sugar Loaf Mountains In Khartoum where the Blue & White Nile join, watch dervish dancing or even join in the Nubian wrestling - safer just to watch. We visit the Pharonic Pyramids of Meroe in an un-spoilt, little visited desert setting. We drive across the Nubian Desert sands through friendly villages on the Nile. From Wadi Halfa we take a ferry across Lake Nasser to Aswan in Egypt
Week 15-16: Egypt - Cairo – Pyramids & Sphinx.
In Aswan we visit the High Dam & Philae Island Temple. Luxor, we visit Karnak Temple, the Colossi of Memnon & Valley of the Kings & Tutankhamen's Tomb on donkeys. From Luxor, we take the overnight train to Cairo where we spent a few days to look at the great pyramids in Giza and the immense collections of the Cairo Museum.
This itinerary is not suitable for children
Plus Local Payment payable on day 1 to the driver: GBP800
Our unique relationship with our tour operators ensures only people who have participated in a trip after making an enquiry for it at The Africa Guide can leave a review.
The email we send you when you make an enquiry has full instructions for registering a booking and leaving a review - both are free services.
Feel free to read through the reviews for any trip you like the look of.
Trips with no reviews are usually new to the The Africa Guide but are normally operated by a tour operator who is established here. Most tour operators listing here will usually have gained reviews about other trips they have listed here.
Thanks for visiting, happy travels and don't forget to send us your reviews...
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.
