Trans Africa - Overland Trip

Accommodation

Camping based trip

Kitty Notes

The Local Payment is part of your overall trip price and is used for various costs that cannot be pre-paid from the UK. These include camping fees, transport and some meals.

Itineraries (UK - Cape Town)

We begin our journey in Southern Spain where your Trans Africa Crew will meet you from your flight. Our first stop is Gibraltar. Here the weather is warmer, and as it is a duty free port, we can stock up for Xmas and New Year. We cross the Straights of Gibraltar by ferry to Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the North African Coast. In Morocco we visit Chechaouen in the Riff Mountains, which is set in a valley. We camp on a ridge overlooking this picturesque town with its white roofs and narrow streets. You can wander around this relaxed town and maybe visit one of the old hamam bath houses. The Roman City of Volubillis is next. A remarkably well-kept reminder of the Roman presence in North Africa 2000 years ago. We spend some time wandering around the ancient streets and monuments before driving to the city fortress of Fez. Its huge covered bazaar with narrow winding alleys is crammed with craft workshops, restaurants, food stalls, mosques, dye pits and tanneries.

We spend a few days in Rabat before travelling to Todra Gorge. Its massive red and orange cliffs rise a thousand feet on each side of a sandy river. From Todra we cross the Sarhro Mountains and follow the Draa Valley past hundreds of scattered Kasbahs until we reach Marrakech. The main square here comes alive at night with food stalls, storytellers and snake charmers. After visiting one of the beach resorts on the nearby coast we trek south following the rugged Atlantic coastline towards Mauritania, and the Sahara Desert.

Mauritania reveals the remoteness and unrelenting heat and harshness of the desert. Because this is true Africa overland travel, our expedition allows us to leave civilization completely behind with the security of knowing that our truck is totally self sufficient with food, water, fuel and a complete set of spares - it is a very comforting thought. We drive off road for hundreds of miles, occasionally having to dig the truck out of very soft sand and lay sand ladders. We pass through the Parc d\'Arguin, renowned for its bird and sea life and spend a few days in Nouakchott, before heading inland toward Mali. As we get into the Sahel scrublands we find the road conditions only slightly better than before. After a few days of dusty, stony, corrugated roads, smooth asphalt becomes our main desire! We pass slowly through many spread out villages with goats, cattle and hardy chickens, all free range, and some of which we may buy for a spit roast. Arriving in Bamako, Mali\'s capital, is a welcome relief for most. Lively bars, cold beers, markets with fresh fruit and vegetables and people with different culture, language and dress to those in the Western Sahara.

Following the Niger River we visit the old mud built towns of Mopti and Djenne. These towns were important trading centres over 500 years ago. Not much seems to have changed as you wander through the narrow alleyways and view the huge mud built mosque, which must be one of the largest and oldest mud, brick buildings in the world. On the remote Bandiagara Escarpment we hike out to visit the Dogon Villages, which are situated along the 200km long cliff face. One of the most fascinating areas of Africa, the Dogon were some of the few tribes who resisted the spread of Islam when its missionaries and forces swept across North and West Africa a thousand years ago. They still maintain most of their traditional religious beliefs. We take a guide and spend a few days hiking along the escarpment and staying in Dogon villages. The guide will be able to explain some of the history and culture of the area as well as take you to some of the old abandoned cliff dwellings and organise food and lodging over night.
Passing through the friendly country of Burkina Faso we stop at the capital Ouagadougou. This is a little heard of nation and is one of the poorest countries in the world. However, it is recognised as having a small thriving film industry, excellent musicians and dance bands and an enthusiastically supported national soccer team. Here we will have time to listen to, and enjoy, some of the best music in West Africa.
In Ghana we notice another change in people and culture. Especially the language! For the first time in two months we are in a country where English is the main Language. We spend a night in Mole National Park in northern Ghana and game drive in our expedition vehicle hoping to view some of the numerous elephants that inhabit this park among a host of other wildlife. We then camp near Accra, (the capital) for almost a week and relax on its palm-fringed coastline. Here too we can collect post from home and say goodbye to members of the group who have been able to travel this far and say hello to new recruits joining.

Travelling through Togo and Benin doesn\'t take long as they are only 50 miles wide. Voodoo is the main religion here, basing its beliefs in the power of the dead. You can visit an interesting fetish market as well as some good African restaurants in Togo. In Benin you can take canoes out to Ganvie village which is built on bamboo stilts on Lake Nakoue. Next we enter Nigeria, Africa\'s most populous country with well over 100 million people. The pace of life here tends to be more hectic than we have become used to during previous travel to West Africa, with Abuja and Lagos in particular full of hustle and bustle. We continue through mountains and lush jungle towards Cameroon where you can climb Mount Cameroon or just relax on the beach.

Leaving the Cameroon coast we travel inland and south on rugged roads. We skirt a number of Pygmy villages and pass the occasional waterfall and eventually after a couple of days the lush jungle scenery leads us to the lively market town of Ambam. Here we can replenish our food supplies before taking the ferry across the Ntem river into Gabon, a country that consists mostly of Tropical Rain Forest. We visit the capital city Libreville where we obtain more visas for countries further south and while here we can visit some of the laid back local beaches, such as Cap Esterias and try some of the many restaurants that serve African cuisine. The next town of any size that we come to is Lambarene. Situated on an island in the middle of the Ogooue River, Lambarene’s claim to fame is it’s hospital built in 1913 by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Albert Schweitzer. Situated 8kms away in the forest, it is still the main hospital in Gabon and also has an interesting museum of it’s, and Albert Schweitzers past. Here you can also take pirogue trips ( wooden dugout canoes) up the river into the tropical jungle. From Lambarene we continue south toward Congo.

One of the main highlights for most people who visit Congo is the friendliness of the people, particularly in the countryside. However, when we arrive at the coastal city of Ponte Noire the atmosphere here is also very relaxed and friendly. Besides the beaches which are a great place to relax and meet local people, Ponte Noire also has many night clubs which host some of the top African musicians and bands. While in Ponte Noire we also visit the Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Sanctuary an hour out of town. From Ponte Noire it is only 40 kms south to the border of Cabinda. This is a small oil rich province of Angola, only 150 kms wide, whose recent history has been largely influenced by western oil companies.

From Cabinda we drive into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. The roads here will probably be the worst we will encounter on the whole trip. However, amazing sites such as the 10 km wide mouth of the Congo river as it enters the sea, and charming towns and villages with names like Banana and Songololo make this an interesting and unique experience. We will only be in DRC for a few days before entering Angola proper. We cross the Congo river into Angola entering the northern province called Zaire. Angola is still recovering from over two decades of civil war and is one of the poorest countries in Africa. We travel slowly south to Luanda the capital, passing through many small towns and villages. We also visit Parque Nacional Da Quicama, old Portuguese Forts, waterfalls, deserted beaches and lots of friendly people. As hardly anyone we encounter in small villages and beach communities speak English, we need to do a lot of improvisations with hands, face and voice, but usually with a lot of good humour we all seem to somehow communicate successfully. After the southern town of Lubango we head to the Namibian border. From Cabinda we drive into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. The roads here will probably be the worst we will encounter on the whole trip. However, amazing sites such as the 10 km wide mouth of the Congo river as it enters the sea, and charming towns and villages with names like Banana and Songololo make this an interesting and unique experience. We will only be in DRC for a few days before entering Angola proper. We cross the Congo river into Angola entering the northern province called Zaire. Angola is still recovering from over two decades of civil war and is one of the poorest countries in Africa. We travel slowly south to Luanda the capital, passing through many small towns and villages. We also visit Parque Nacional Da Quicama, old Portuguese Forts, waterfalls, deserted beaches and lots of friendly people. As hardly anyone we encounter in small villages and beach communities speak English, we need to do a lot of improvisations with hands, face and voice, but usually with a lot of good humour we all seem to somehow communicate successfully. After the southern town of Lubango we head to the Namibian border.

Crossing into Namibia and into the region of the Owambo people – we pass through the country’s second largest town – Ondangwa. This town is one of the main suppliers of beer and supplies to Northern Namibia – hopefully there will be enough left for us!!!! Heading west into what is known as the Kaokoveld – we enter one of Africa’s lesser visited areas. By some it is classed as prime safari territory due to its inaccessibility and nearly non existent infrastructure. We may be fortunate enough to see one of 30 remaining desert elephants – who have adapted to the harsh arid conditions of this area in search of the underground water reserves of the ancient riverbeds. Black Rhinos also inhabit this area – but their secrecy makes viewing them in the wild that little bit more difficult. The Kaokoveld is also home to the Himba people – a tribe of nomadic pastoralists who to this day have shunned the advances of the modern world to keep with their tradition of leading nomadic lifestyles. The men and women of the tribe traditionally wear little clothing except for goats skin or modest cloth – opting to rub their bodies and hair with red ochre and fat which ultimately protects them from the sun and represents the distinctive look associated with the Himba people.


We hope to visit a local Himba village to allow us a greater understanding into one of Africa’s most visually unique people. We then head towards the Brandberg Mountain region – home of Namibias highest peaks. Known as the Matterhorn of Namibia – the Spitzkoppe is part of the Erongo Mt range and was formed over 100 million years ago after the collapse of a gigantic volcano. The scenery is striking from every angle – even more stunning as the granite massifs turn red at sunset.
Next we stay for a night or two in the capital, Windhoek our first taste of western civilization we would have experienced in a few weeks. This will give you the chance to take a walking tour of the town – with its influence of old world German architecture and twentieth century modernity side by side. The hustle and bustle of the capital could not seem more far away from what we have experienced for the last few weeks. From Windhoek we head south east into Botswana and cross the centre of the Kalahari Desert, home of the San Bushmen where we will spot various buck and wild ostrich as well as enjoy camping out in the freedom of the vast desert. We also pass through some diamond mining settlements in southern Botswana before entering South Africa

Our first stop in the Northern Cape is the diamond town of Kimberly. Here we can visit the Mine Museum and the Big Hole, an excellent introduction into Kimberley’s fascinating history. There is also the opportunity to take a trip almost 1km down an operating modern Diamond Mine. Further south we visit Addo National Park, home to the big five where we should spot Elephant, Hippo, Rhino, Buffalo, loads of various types of monkeys and buck as well as baboons and if we are lucky, Lion, and if very lucky, Leopard. We continue heading towards the Outeniqua Mountains to the Little Karoo. Here we visit the Cango Caves recognised as amongst the worlds finest network of Calcite caves. We also visit an Ostrich farm to learn more about the worlds largest bird, as well as have the opportunity to ride one! We spend the following couple of days winding our way along South Africa’s famous Garden Route, visiting Tsitsikamma Forest , where you will be able to hike along the coast and maybe spot dolphins and whales in the ocean.
Optional excursions in this region include mountain biking, ziplining and the mother of all bungee jumps at Bloakrans Bridge - the biggest in the world at 216 metres. The Southern most tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas is the dividing line between the cold Atlantic and the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean. You may be lucky enough to spot Southern Right and Humpback Whales as they feed in the nutrient rich waters of the southern coast.
When then have a short drive to the vibrant city of Cape Town and for some the final destination of their trip. There is plenty to do in and around Cape Town, from climbing Table Mountain to abseiling down it, shark diving ( In ocean cages - or at the Two Oceans Aquarium ), great shopping and nightlife, scuba diving courses, a tour to Robben Island, a wine tour, great night life, the list goes on!