If you like your own company and have some travel savvy then going solo is for you.  Going solo gives you freedom of choice and total independence to change your travel plans on the spur of the moment if something interests you on the wayside.

Things that you need to consider when planning your next solo African trip are the following.

You will need the ability to navigate.  There are not many countries left on mother earth that is unexplored, thus you will need a basic ability to navigate as there can be hundreds of tracks and footpaths not necessarily indicated on maps.  You must be able to understand and read maps whether it is a paper issue or a digital issue.  Sometimes you need to trust your instinct and basic sense of direction to find your way.

So you own a GPS, but do you know all the functions of your GPS, such as marking waypoints that you can return to later?  This can be of great value when bush camping as you need to mark a nice camping spot early in the afternoon but need to return to it later in the evening after dark when things have quietened down.

A reliable vehicle is not even questionable and some bush mechanics can take you a long, long way as everything is not always available in remote areas.  Even if you can phone somebody on your satellite phone it may take days or weeks for a specific part to arrive.

You will need a willingness to interact with the local people to ask directions or permission to camp or even buy some firewood.  If there is a village around do the decent thing and ask permission from the headman to camp there for the night.  They may even provide some security to you as a sign of respect.

Can you adapt and react to changing situations such as hazardous roads,  political climate, etc or are you set in your ways and love your comfort zone?  If you love your comfort zone you need to reconsider the urge of going solo.

The bottom line, and I think the most important aspect, that you must ask yourself is if you are prepared to rough it at times and skip a shower (or maybe two) to experience the joy that wild camping can offer?

Wanderlust: === the desire and irresistible urge to travel

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• We never take all our food from home as this just adds weight to your vehicle which increases fuel consumption and with Shoprite branches in the major cities in Africa you will find most of the food stuff needs – some at a price, but you will find it.   Weigh up the pro’s and cons and decide where you find your balance!
• Be realistic when planning your food. Everything is not always as fresh as back home  or as readily available especially when planning some or other exotic dish for dinner.  Remember that you are doing this trip to experience Africa.  Sometimes you have to think out of the box to create a wholesome dish in the bush.

• Before you get nervous and fret, you do get very good meat, especially in Botswana. If Lady Luck is on your side you will find a mutton choppie at Beef Boys in Maun (Tel:  00 267 721 36 006).  You can even place an order beforehand over the phone and arrange for a pickup time and date.
• As you drive through Maun and Kasane in the North of Botswana you will spot some well-known names like Woolworths and Spar, but my all time favourite place to shop is Delta Meat Deli at the iconic Rileys Garage in Maun where you can even get some koeksisters and melktert.  To top it all Delta Meat Deli also has a Facebook page where you can contact them.

• Make an effort and follow Facebook groups such as Moz Info and Mozambique for All where you will find up to date information/comments on various aspects and you can also ask questions to fellow members in these groups.

The more you travel in Africa the more gems you will find ……. BON VOYAGE, ENJOY THE TRIP!

“The stars were better company anyway. They were very beautiful, and they almost never snored.”   —–   David Eddings

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• If your vehicle is still under a finance agreement, you will need to acquire a letter of permission from the applicable financial institution. Each institution has its own requirements and procedures to follow as to how to obtain it.  Allow enough time to obtain the required paperwork.  If you are planning to take a trailer or caravan remember to do the same, if financed.
• Make sure your ID number matches that used on your vehicle documents. If your registration papers show your RSA ID number, then take it with you.  Rather take too much proof than be in a predicament.
• Take a colour copy of your vehicle’s registration papers. This is very handy. It is a popular document and it is frequently asked to produce at roadblocks and/or border posts.  Important:  hold on to the original document and never let it leave your sight.  I always make some extra copies to hand out if required.
• Apart from the document itself I also write down the VIN number, etc in my diary and keep it apart from the official documents. You never know what can happen …
• If you’re covered by your SA insurance, then get a letter to prove it. Not all insurance policies provide cover when traveling in neighbouring countries.  If this is not the case you will have to buy insurance at the border post.
• When planning a Northern African trip and entering/exiting several countries consider buying a Carnet de passage en Douane. This allows you to import/export your vehicle without incurring extra fees.  Of course, a Carnet de passage en Douane attracts its own specific costs depending on which countries you plan to visit, but the cost and paper trouble is worth it in the end.
• Note that a carnet can only be obtained in your country of origin.   For example, if your vehicle carries a South African registration plate, you need to buy it in South Africa, etcetera.
• You will need to display a ZA sticker (or your country of origin) at the back of your vehicle. If you plan to visit Mozambique they have additional requirements regarding trailers.  You get different types of ZA stickers – magnetic and a sticker type.  We first tried the magnetic ones, but kept on losing and replacing them until we draw the inference that the African dust gets underneath and it does not want to stick anymore.  The traditional sticker ones still works the best for us.
• 
• Red and white reflective tape are required especially in Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Remember you can be fined in each country for not having the right stickers.  So this can become a costly exercise if you do not do your homework in advance.
• Also check the Zambia regulations as at some stage they required that you carry metal red triangles and not the standard plastic ones.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in your vehicle where you can quickly access it in case of an emergency. You do not want to loose your vehicle and spoil your whole holiday!
• A reflective jacket provides more visibility when changing a flat wheel after dark at the roadside.  This precaution saved hubby a couple of times in deepest darkest Africa.
• A handy site where you can check the specific requirements for each country is the Automobile Association’s web page at:  https://www.aa.co.za/services/travel-services/into-africa/cross-border-information.html

***Need some assistance in planning a route?  Feel free to contact me.***

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Most border trouble comes down to inexperience or impatience – not only in Africa, but throughout the world.  The key is to prepare well beforehand and remember, every successful border crossing pans out differently in each country. Regulations change all the time and is rapidly outdated.  There are general tips that you can follow to ease your encounter at the border post, so consider some of the following tips:

SO, THIS SAID, WHERE DO I START? 

Right at the beginning.   Planning, planning, planning and some more planning!  Start doing your homework well in advance, because it might take some time to get your ducks in a row and quacking.

The number one place to start will be at your documents.  Without a passport, the trip is not going to happen …..

• A valid passport with at least two unused pages for all the stamps and does not expire within the next six months.

• As a South African citizen, you do not need a visa for the following neighbouring countries: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland.  If you are in doubt check with your capable local travel agent, as regulations do change.
• If you travel with children under the age of 18 years you will also need their birth certificates and the non-traveling parent’s consent, if this might be the case.
• Your South African driver’s license should suffice in the neighbouring countries, but when you travel further afield it is a good idea to obtain an international driver’s license. They are obtainable from the Automobile Association.

• Make a list of all the serial numbers of your electronics before leaving home. If possible, make a copy of the documentation.  It makes declaring it at the border post a lot easier.  A scanned version I keep as my backup should any item or copy go missing.

• Arrange with your bank beforehand that you will be traveling outside South Africa otherwise the bank might block your card, presuming that fraudulent transaction are done. I normally submit to the bank the dates within which we are going to travel as well as the different countries to avoid frustration and embarrassment when paying.
• Cards work mostly in the bigger cities only. If you venture to the rural areas make sure you have enough cash on you.  We once arrived at Rakops (Botswana) en route to Central Kalahari Reserve, where we had to refuel, and the garage did not have a card machine. The only ATM was without money for the past two weeks!  Nice, nice, nice ….
• The South African Rand is accepted widely for instance in Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, but do not always bargain on it.

• Yellow fever is a typical must-have inoculation, which normally has to be administered by a travel doctor a few weeks before your departure. It is valid for 10 years. If you visit countries in Northern Africa this is compulsory.  There are also various other shots such as cholera and typhoid, although we never deemed it necessary.   With common savvy, you can avoid a lot of these diseases.  In our 20 odd years’ of traveling the African continent we have never ever contracted any of these threatening diseases.

Remember to always carry your Yellow fever certificate with you.

• Check with your medical aid whether they will cover the costs if you need to be repatriated after a serious accident. This is not automatically covered in all medical schemes.
• Remember malaria is rife in Africa. Speak to your doctor about prophylaxes and precautions.
• Note:  We found that lots of garlic as well as gin and tonic keep them mostly at bay.

—–OOO—–

A wise person will always find a way. ~ Tanzanian proverb

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Where are we going – love the planning stage!

You see this is where the practical me jumps in again.  I like it because:

There is nothing more rewarding when you are planning a trip than to spread out the map on the table and say that is where I want to go.

Yes, yes, I know the GPS shows me where I want to go, but sometimes we get so blinded by tunnel vision  focussing on what the GPS tells us what to do that we do not actually know where we are in the bigger picture.

Driving in town that is fine, you can just replace/recharge the batteries or plug into your car’s power source, but what happens if you are in deepest darkest Africa with no shops around to get the right size of batteries and/or no auto electrician to find the electrical failure and fix the problem while out there?

Seeing the bigger picture – nice!

Theft is a real issue these days in our day to day existence.  You are in Africa and jump out in a small village to buy that cold Coke to quench your thirst, but forget to press that button on the remote ….. Gone is your GPS!

You can even scribble a quick note or telephone number to someone on a piece of your map if needs be!

Ever spared a thought what you will do if you loose that vital satellite signal?  It is unbelievable what a piece of paper in your hand can do towards reassuring you on a remote adventure trip.   In our travels we have learned a few times that the GPS is not always right.

And then there is the me thing.   I do not always want to follow a tinned voice telling me what to do, because

I am me:

I am an individual …

I want to explore more …

I do not always want to follow …

I want to test my own navigational skills …

And what else tells a better story than a well travelled map with pigs ears, creases and plotted routes?

Our well travelled pig eared, coffee stained map from our Sudan trip – such good memories!

Hopefully I have planted a map “seed” while you were reading this.  So go out and buy that map, learn to orientate and read the map – sooner or later you will need that map!  And do not fret, we take our trusted Zumo on all our trips into the unknown.

…. and if you need some assistance in the planning department – I will gladly help!  Just email me.

“This heart of mine was made to travel the world.” – Unknown

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH PLANNING ROUTES DROP ME AN E-MAIL

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