Great, mid length overlanding participation camping safari for those wanting to capture the essence of Africa starts in Nairobi, Kenya and travels through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and end in Johannesburg South Africa.
We meet at the hotel at 8am on the first day of the trip. We recommend you arrive in Nairobi at least the day before, however if you’re there with a few days to spare there’s lots to see and do around the city. Close to the hotel is the National Museum, there are markets in and around Nairobi or you can venture further afield to Karen Blixen’s house, Langata Giraffe Centre or even Nairobi National Park for a first glimpse of African wildlife.
Week One Leaving Nairobi we cross the Athi River Plains and the border to Tanzania and see Mount Kilimanjaro rising above the horizon in the distance. We spend the night near Arusha, which is nestled at the foot of Mount Meru. From here you can hire Land Rovers with a guide to take you to the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti. The crater is a collapsed, extinct volcano, thousands of years old and now supporting a wide range of animals. It’s an excellent place for your first game drive as being a relatively small area it has a high concentration of animals.
This area is the home of the Masai and we will undoubtedly come across tribesmen and women selling their distinctive beaded jewellery or inviting you to take photographs, for a small fee.
A day’s drive from Arusha brings us to Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast. Over the centuries trade between Africa and Arabia has resulted in the blending of Arabs and Africans into a beautiful Swahili (coastal) culture with wooden sailing dhows crossing the ocean, coconut plantations and fishing villages with mosques on the beaches. From Dar es Salaam you can take the ferry to Zanzibar Island. Here is the old stone Capital of the Omani Sultanate, sandy beaches, spice tours, snorkelling, diving and trips to other nearby islands. Zanzibar is a fascinating place to visit and you can stay for 3 or 4 days to take it all in.
Week Two South through Tanzania, our route takes us through Mikumi National Park where we may well see giraffe or elephant grazing along the roadside.
Week Three 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 snorkelling, waterskiing or walking in the surrounding countryside. You will also find markets selling beautifully carved Malawi chairs, tables and other souvenirs.
We enter Zambia and spend a couple of days driving through the bush, passing villages, mud huts and small children who wave at us as they tend their herds of cows and goats.
Week Four Finally 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 in Zambia and Victoria Falls Town in Zimbabwe beside the Zambezi River and the Falls and, for a few days, 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 Victoria Falls themselves are the main attraction and you can walk through the rain forest along the cliff opposite for an excellent view.
Week Five We catch the ferry at Kazungula and cross the river into Botswana. We visit Chobe National Park and 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 dug-out 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 sessebe. This overnight stay is a great wilderness experience.
Leaving the Delta behind we head south and cross the border to South Africa. Johannesburg is our final destination where we arrive on the last day of the tour. We take you to a hostel where you can book a dorm or a room, or you can arrange your own accommodation at one of the many other hostels or hotels. There are several operators who run excursions to the surrounding area and further afield to Durban and Cape Town. There is an international airport as well as flight, train and bus connections to other South African cities.
We recommend you make any onward travel arrangements for at least the day after the tour ends. Subject to availability, you can join our connecting tour through Namibia to Cape Town.
Africa is an unpredictable continent. We do not have a fixed itinerary so please treat the information given as a guideline only. Although our information is written in good faith at the time of printing, our route may vary at any time due to weather, politics or road conditions.
Price GB£ 700 plus Local payment of GB£ 330 payable on day
Note: This Overland Safari is not suitable for those under 18 years of age
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An organized tour is never going to be quite as "there" as independent travel, but this overland operator runs well-organized tours and I had a very enjoyable experience.
It is a good way to get to all the interesting places easily in a short time and the route was well-planned. Apart from the obvious tourist sights, other highlights were playing football with villagers in Malawi, shopping in local markets for group meals, and bushcamping in the middle of nowhere. Although there were some long drives, the travelling did not outweigh the sights and activities. I enjoyed my trip from Nairobi to Jo'burg and thought it was a good introduction to the continent before continuing on my own.
2
Client:
Eleanor Francis - from United Kingdom
Trip:
This trip: Nairobi to Johannesburg 35 days
Rating:
rating 10/10
Comment:
I have just returned home from a 5 week safari. I had an absolutely amazing time and would really recommend the company to anyone. The driver was always well informed, highly knowledgable on the areas we visited and open to questions. We also had a chef on board who cooked brilliant meals every night - even in the middle of the bush we were still eating pork chops, stir fried vegetables and mashed potatoes, followed by bananas and custard!
They are defintely a value for money company and by travelling with them you are able to visit areas of Africa you may well not be able to if travelling alone. Before departure the company do warn you that the itinery is not set, and plans may well change due to the volatility of the countinent. This in turn means that travellers do not have too many pre-departure expectations of what activities they will be doing, or even what countries they will be spending a lot of time in, thus avoiding disappointment.
