Africa is calling. Almost a year in the planning, we leave finally in just two weeks. I think we’re ready!
Our trip will begin and end in Cape Town. We have a general itinerary but we’re basically just going on an epic road trip. We have hired a caravan – that’s South African speak for we have rented a camper. Our home for two months will be a Nissan/Toyota Single Cab 4X4 Navi. We’ll be picking it up a few days after arrival in Cape Town. We have selected a hostel for the first couple of nights, to get over jet lag and explore the city.
We have an itinerary and even our first 7 days of campgrounds booked. Our general route has been decided mainly by where the rental company, Britz, will allow us to take the vehicle. This seems like a natural safety feature – they want their truck back, we would like to survive… In general we plan to head west into Namibia, drive through Botswana to Zambia (Victoria Falls), to Kruger Park, possibly visit southern Mozambique and then generally find some beaches and snorkeling along the eastern coast of SA as we make our way back to Cape Town.
I don’t know what I expect out of this trip, but I’ve already been surprised. I sort of thought a road trip through Africa would be similar to one through Canada, but we’ve been watching YouTube videos lately. At least through Namibia and Botswana we will be mainly on dirt roads, one long safari trip through the desert. We need to know the wading depth of our vehicle, for when we drive through rivers. We need to know who has the right-of-way on mountain passes, as there’s clearly no room for passing. The equipment list in our vehicle includes items like a spade – to dig ourselves out when we get stuck, tow ropes and jacks. It is recommended that we carry 100 litres of water at all times. This is going to be one major adventure!
The packing has begun here, although it’s still rudimentary. I’ve pulled out the sleeping bag, the snorkeling equipment and the first aid kit. We need a new, and larger first aid kit for this trip – if only just to carry all the drugs. We have 140 days worth of malaria medication between us, as well as various anti-diarrhea and general antibiotics that I have collected over the past year. We have exemptions for the yellow fever vaccine because of our age and because we’re not going far enough north to really be exposed. This exemption will be required to cross the border of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. We have our international drivers licenses and a travel health insurance top-up, both from the local CAA store in Winnipeg.
There’s still a lot of last-minute details to look after, but my feet are so itchy, and I am so ready for this next adventure.
Wow you guys, it sounds amazing. If you need to borrow a first aid kit, I have two old mine rescue kits. There is not much to them, but they are plastic toolboxes that seal fairly well to keep moisture out. They have a variety of alcohol swipes, dressings, etc, There is room to add more supplies like drugs so let me know if you want to use one. The first aid kit might as well go on an adventure.
Will it fit into a backpack? If it will then yes, we’d like to check it out.