Africa 2012

As every trip needs a start date, I've decided 2012 is when I will do Africa

It's early days, and I need to check where there are civil wars / famines / pirates /man eating pygmies etc... but this is roughly the way I want to go...

Heheheh, I doubt i could get time off work, but it's a ****e job anyway .. so what do you reckon, three months?

Might have to get a divorce too ...

Going from country to country in terms of what countries will let you in from other countries will be one of your biggest challenges I would have thought. Cool idea though, hope you get on well with the planning.

and how much money? even if you already have the car?

Well I haven't done any real planning yet, but I'm guestimating 6 months, 20K, and a divorce is a given

Just to clarify I want to have 20K available, I hope to not spend it all, but a few big mechanical faliures in the middle of nowhere, or a crash, and that's just get home money....

20k should do it, why rip it in 6 months? take 12 and plan your seasons accordingly.

Speak to Jonnie Bee about West Africa, right over to Burkino Faso. the DRC and Angola will be your toughest crossings on the West.

why miss out Ethiopia on the East? better than southern Sudan

G

I was worried they might eat me in Ethiopia, I could feed a whole tribe

Seriously though, I was just wanting to give Somalia as wide berth as possible, but not really specifically wanting to cut out Ethiopia.

My first planning stage will to be read more about the induvidual countries along the way, and I will change the route accordingly, no point in going to a ****hole if there is a better place to go.

you need to pick up a book called 'Africa Overland' published by Bradt

Its a good read, think the latest is 8th Edition.

We were planning this route, but have decided to up and leave for Aus. via Mongolia and Siberia

G

I'm planning a similar trip... roughly 12 months starting around Nov 2011. Don't have a route planned yet, still learning how to fix/drive the landy! If you're interesting in heading off together, drop me a line... either way it would be good to share info.

- Andrew

Ehtiopia is grim. Then soemthing amazing happens like watching an Ethiopian win the WC 10000m in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of Ethiopians in a bar eating tej.

£20k is a decent amount to allow for. We took 5 months and spent way more than that but we had plenty of 5* nights did stuff like drive into the Ngorogoro crater which for the day and night was over $1000.

We met people who were doing it on less than £20k - way less so allowing that much as a safety margin and you'll be fine.

One bit of money advice, actually a few:

Take Visa and Mastercards. Dependent on where you are one or the other is usable and the other is not.

Leave like £2000 with someone at home to Moneygram/Western Union to you in a hurry if you need it.

You'll be spending mostly USD - if you can get a good rate start buying dollars and potentially open a USD denominated account, Barclays etc all offer these (Don't use a U.S. bank not accepted in many places!) The only places getting money was a problem were Sudan and Zim. These two you have to take in everything you're going to spend although Sudan accepts Moneygram/Western Union from many countries we couldn't do it from South Africa. Zim does from UK.

Learn to play poker and play in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. Some terrible players. I made £3-4k!

Good Luck - I'll be doing it again before too long!

Booger said:

As every trip needs a start date, I've decided 2012 is when I will do Africa

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AndrewPrior said:

I'm planning a similar trip... roughly 12 months starting around Nov 2011. Don't have a route planned yet, still learning how to fix/drive the landy! If you're interesting in heading off together, drop me a line... either way it would be good to share info.

Click to expand...

2012's when I'm wanting do an expedition as well, and Africa's looking more tempting than my original Asia to Europe plan tbh...I could be very interested in doing something with you both if you're keen.

Sure I'd be starting things from the other side of the world, but all it requires (asides from some paperwork) is putting the Landy in a container and sending it over to the start point, and me flying there! LOL! This year and the next is all about building the rig up properly and saving the moolah.

I didn't spot you were planning to cross from Uganda to Southern Sudan. You can't. Border is closed due to the Lords Resistance Army massacres. Several this year. Chris whatever is wanted for war crimes at the Hague. Also you can't cross from southern Sudan to Northern Sudan. Different visas and all sorts. South Sudan is reckoned to be way more dangerous than Darfur these days. North is fine apart from the fact it's hot as hell and dry. As in no beer! South and North are meant to having a referendum on splitting into two countries in 2012 I believe. Worth checking who's having elections when in 2012 and staying well clear. Kenya are due around then. Uganda is next year and that's likely to be unpleasant.

Well, I would love to do the full circumnavigate of Africa.
Head down To Algeciras, then the West coast all the way down to Cape Town. Via Namibia
Then a month holiday doing nothing.
Then a drive up the Garden route, to Port Elizabeth, and do the highest bungy jump again at Bloukranse.
Then a continuation to Sani pass, towards Durban, and the Blood River, battle fields of old.
Then up through Bots, Zim, Zam, Tans, Kenya, Ethiopia, North Sudan, Egypt, and probably the new ferry service Visemar Line, Alexandria to Venice. Visemar Line - Ferry Crossings | Book Cheap Visemar Line Online

'vette

I'm glad that ferry wasn't around last year as I would have been tempted to take it and missed out on Dahab on Sinai, Jordan and most of all Syria which is amazing. Not to mention Kas in Turkey.

You can still go to Venice by getting a ferries from Bodrum to Rhodes to Athens to Venice.

The Garden route is the most over rated waste of time ever. I've had to slog up and down it visiting friends and playing golf many times over the years and would never do it again. No decent places to stay and crap restaurants. In Knysna there isn't even one decent bar. You're way better off doing the Klein Karoo leaving CT on the N7- maybe Ceres - Uniondale that part of the world via Oodsthorn way more scenic mountain passes rather than the crappy N2. Or maybe even better go up on the N1 through Beaufort West and head to Kimberly through the Karoo proper.

SA Tourism and a bunch of guest houses have pulled the wool over peoples eyes with the Garden Route.

Also they were tarring the Sani pass last year which is just tragic. Got some great memories though.

The memory of the Afrikaans guy who mocked me, my landy and my driving abilities as an Englishman at the bottom who then broke the clutch of his Pajero 100m from the top will always stay with me. As will jump starting the generator at the pub at the top with Rhubarb so we could watch the F1. But perhaps the best bit was seeing the Sani's last victim. The grader they were using to prepare the pass for tarring had shed a wheel which lay several hundred meters below the grader itself where it had fallen.

Rhubarb said:

The Garden route is the most over rated waste of time ever.

You're way better off doing the Klein Karoo leaving CT on the N7- proper.

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Hello Rhubarb,
I fully agree with the Garden route not being that good.
As well to remember all the speed cameras there.
I enjojed it because we went on the old steam trail from George to Knysna, OUTENIQUA CHOO-TJOE STEAM TRAIN,
I think the reack suffered some recent damage, so I not sure it is still running at the moment.

'vette

We're doing Africa 2010, departing in August so time running out for prep! Just got the carnet and organising paperwork Landy import to SA. We're doing the West Coast, crossing in Angola and then up the East coast to Kenya.

Have a look on our site for some details of prep etc - Tracks in Africa | Overland from London to Cape Town

Still refining the storage/packing bit and proving challenging!

Good Luck with that, sounds awesome, nice website too

Don't take too much stuff is all I can sugest, especially clothes, take 2 pairs of good quality trousers, 3 good quality shirts, and 3 short pants, 4 sets of boxers, 4 pairs of good socks, 1 warm jacket, 1 waterproof jacket, and a hat.

Then take a waterproof box, like a navy surplus flare box, at the end of each day chuck your dirtys in the box with some water and some hand wash detergent, and put it on the roofrack. By the end of the next day it will be spotless, and will dry overnight.

That will save a bit of space

Tracks in Africa said:

We're doing Africa 2010, departing in August so time running out for prep! Just got the carnet and organising paperwork Landy import to SA. We're doing the West Coast, crossing in Angola and then up the East coast to Kenya.

Have a look on our site for some details of prep etc - Tracks in Africa | Overland from London to Cape Town

Still refining the storage/packing bit and proving challenging!

Click to expand...

.
Great site guy's
Just almost the exact same route I am wanting with my Land Cruiser

'vette