What can we expect in East Africa?

The biggest fear I have about this trip is the fear of the unknown. There are so many questions circling in my mind every evening: Will we get fuel at regular intervals? How bad are the border posts really? Is it a good idea to go in the rainy season? Where do we get clean water?

Books can only give you so much information and, more importantly, you can't ask it any questions! So, to get some peace of mind, JI and I decided to pick the brain of good friend, Zander van der Westhuizen. Zander and two friends drove from Pretoria to Dar Es Salaam and back in December 2004. They camped most evenings on their six-week journey and also used only one vehicle.

Zander shows JI where the small town of Isoka is.

It's amazing how many tips you can get from someone who's done a similar trip! Things like: where to get the right kind of insurance; what medication proved to be the most crucial; what not to do at border posts; and which little campsites are the best along the way.

Zander points out the town of Kabwe on the Great North Road in Zambia.

Fortunately the two hours spent with Zander did only one thing - getting us even more excited about the trip! And now we are that little bit closer to being well prepared for our adventure. Thank you, Zander, for sharing all your amazing stories with us and for all the invaluable travel tips! 

To get a better idea of what the area looks like we bought the Voetspore 3 DVD - Cape to Kilimanjaro.

Voetspore 3 DVD cover

In this series, Johan Badenhorst and his team drive from Cape Town to Mount Kilimanjaro in three Nissan Patrols over the same time that we are going to be on the road. They drove many of the roads we are going to drive and visited quite a few of the parks we hope to see. Some of the episodes gave us a very good idea of what to expect in East Africa. You can read more about the Voetspore team here.

The more information we gather, the more exciting it gets! Less than two months before departure...!

Villiers Steyn