who's in Africa?

**Michael2** · 19th January 2017, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by tangus89

We have a 90 based in Maun Botswana an head over most years to do little trips around those areas. There are a few others on here that live closer but I may be able to help. what are you after?

shipping your landy there or hiring? what sort of time frame will you be there?

I need to sort out an itinerary / route. I'm not sure about camping - for example, do I look at National Park camping, or are there farm stays or private caravan parks near game reserves?

Is there an annual National Parks Pass that works out cheaper than individual entries?

I expected that it would be a bit like Uluru, a resort and a camp ground. My plan was to stay at "safe" camp grounds with basic facilities most nights, and every week or so, when we're somewhere special, splurge out and stay at the Presidential Suite.

Advice on best Telco SIM cards to get / avoid.

Specific border crossing to avoid.

Knowledge of any up and coming elections or riots.

Anything else I need to know that I don't know to ask.

**weeds** · 19th January 2017, 09:34 PM

Watching this as we are tossing up between Africa or Europe.....for 365 days

**tangus89** · 19th January 2017, 09:48 PM

This year or next?

**Michael2** · 19th January 2017, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by weeds

Watching this as we are tossing up between Africa or Europe.....for 365 days

Pick up a Defender in London and drive to South Africa and back. It's probably cheaper to be on the road, than to be staying in European cities for that amount of time.

France - Spain - Morocco - West Africa - South Africa - East Africa - Middle East Turkey - Croatia - Greece - .....
(I say West and East Africa and Middle East as the exact route will depend on the then current security considerations).

When sanctions were lifted off Libya, I thought I'd love to get a 110 in the UK and drive across N.Africa and back through the ME. Libya was a stable country, with great Roman ruins just sitting in the desert or along the coast with barely any tourism. Unfortunately the Arab Spring ruined the security.

**weeds** · 20th January 2017, 05:46 AM

Originally Posted by Michael2

Pick up a Defender in London and drive to South Africa and back. It's probably cheaper to be on the road, than to be staying in European cities for that amount of time.

France - Spain - Morocco - West Africa - South Africa - East Africa - Middle East Turkey - Croatia - Greece - .....

(I say West and East Africa and Middle East as the exact route will depend on the then current security considerations).

When sanctions were lifted off Libya, I thought I'd love to get a 110 in the UK and drive across N.Africa and back through the ME. Libya was a stable country, with great Roman ruins just sitting in the desert or along the coast with barely any tourism. Unfortunately the Arab Spring ruined the security.

Thanks Michael.....

We will be shipping our defender over....

We have four years to deck it out for the adventure, this is how it's looking at the moment.

**Michael2** · 20th January 2017, 09:23 AM

[QUOTE=weeds;2632902]Thanks Michael.....

We will be shipping our defender over....

We have four years to deck it out for the adventure, this is how it's looking at the moment.
/QUOTE]

That's awesome. An aulro member who brought his Defender over from the UK stayed with us for a night. One of the mods I noted, which you might like to consider, was security grilles on the inside of the back windows. These are more discreet, and at the same time allow for multiple tie-down points for small items.

Oh and he also had a winch mounted in the rear chassis rail

**weeds** · 20th January 2017, 10:57 AM

Been toying with additional security....

The glass on the full wings will be replaced prior to the trip, will probably remove the glass from the rear.

Have a winch to fit to the front.....

**Brisruss** · 20th January 2017, 12:12 PM

We did a safari from Victoria Falls to Capetown. It was a fantastic trip with lots of interesting things to see and do and maybe worth looking at. Joburg was not recommended by some of the locals we spoke to.
Toyotas were the majority but there were quite a few landies. Here are a few of them I saw along the way. Some really nice rigs in amongst them.
The place I really enjoyed was Moremi and we did a river cruise on Chobi River from Kasane. Don't miss Swakopmund and a must see is the gem museum.
Botswana and Namibia were fabulous place to visit. I just loved the wildlife. You will have to make camp bookings well in advance. Etosha NP fills up regularly.
Cheers,
Russ

**Michael2** · 20th January 2017, 03:55 PM

[QUOTE.... You will have to make camp bookings well in advance. Etosha NP fills up regularly.
Cheers,
Russ[/QUOTE]

wow - I'd better get onto this pretty soon then. I've got to meet with the school on Monday about how long I can take the kids out for without jeapordising their schooling, then once I have a set time frame do an itinerary and start booking.

A couple of years ago we did a 10 week USA road trip, and the school sent them off knowing they'd learn more on the holiday; but as they get older, time out of school gets more critical.

**tangus89** · 23rd January 2017, 09:50 AM

I need to sort out an itinerary / route. I'm not sure about camping - for example, do I look at National Park camping, or are there farm stays or private caravan parks near game reserves?

All sorts of accom is available there, just depends how much you want to spend. if in bots national park camps have to be booked in advance and fill up fairly quickly.
Botswana Tourism Organisation
it would be best to plan your route nd then look for accom along the way at interesting places.

Is there an annual National Parks Pass that works out cheaper than individual entries?

For locals there is, I've always just bought passes at the gates or when booking accom.

I expected that it would be a bit like Uluru, a resort and a camp ground. My plan was to stay at "safe" camp grounds with basic facilities most nights, and every week or so, when we're somewhere special, splurge out and stay at the Presidential Suite.

most camps in Botswana don't have fences so animals come through them occasionally, most have toilet and showers in an elephant proof building. the few with fences dont stop everything so just be aware of whats around you, and what/who is watching you dont leave food/ valuables visible (goes generally for africa).
there is lots of "presidential suites" around africa, i would recomend saving that splurge for the swamps. fly in to a camp and get the whole package.

Advice on best Telco SIM cards to get / avoid.

I've always used vodacom but you will have to buy a new sim for each country as far as im aware. recently ive just used my telstra sim iphone, hook onto wifi for internet and texting back to aus isnt too expensive. just have a local one for calling locally.

Specific border crossing to avoid.

usually ones that are popular with trucks will be busy and you may wait for a day or so if youre unlucky. check what times the quieter ones are open, some shut for winter or seemingly random times.

Knowledge of any up and coming elections or riots.

local news or bbc africa would be the best

Anything else I need to know that I don't know to ask.

elephants hate chili, have some chili sauce to smear on things you don't want elephants getting into at camp.
keep a few packs of cigarettes, chip packets and cans of drink handy to give out to make things run smoother ( not necessary in bots/namib but helps in places tourists arent so numerous).

28 days will be a rush to do much and you will probably find you will be driving most of the time, I'll put together a rough route of things i would be trying to do through those countries.

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