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Included in trip price and Local payment
The tour cost and local tour payment includes transport in a fully equipped overland expedition vehicle, road taxes and tolls, services of the driver-leader, use of camping and cooking equipment, campsite fees, entrance to game parks as specified, and two meals a day while on the truck. Generally at lunchtimes we eat at small cafes or restaurants where you can try cheap and tasty local food. If no local food is available we eat on the truck.
Not included in price
The price does not include flights; ask us for a flight and personal insurance quote, we have very competitive rates. Nor does it include visas, side trips, lunches and meals out. There are a number of optional side trips that you can choose from and pay for on the route.
* Please be aware that once you are booked, your deposit and balance is non refundable. Insure yourself when you book for the full duration of the trip and your whole time away.
Local Payment
Payable in £ Pounds Sterling cash but you can pay in $US dollars or Euros cash at the current cross exchange rate on date of departure, check with the driver for the rate. Please pay this to the driver on departure. Traveller’s cheques, cards or other forms of payment are not accepted.
Buying your flight to Africa
Ensure when you buy your flight to Africa that you don't go just on price. Also check conditions and flexibility. Take into consideration that you may be buying your flight well ahead of time and the nature of your tour you are doing. It may be worthwhile paying more to have a flexible flight with a better airline that flies frequently to your destination. We can obtain competitive fares for you, please ask when booking your trip.
Return Flight - Although it is our intention to finish the tour on the finishing date, in case of delays en route you should allow a couple days at the end of the trip before you fly out.
Africa Accommodation andd Airport Transfers
KENYA - Nairobi - Karen Camp
Email: - booking@karencamp.com
Tel:- + 254 (0) 208 834 75
Tel:- + 254 (0) 733 703 510
Airport Pick Up - $20 – Meet the driver at Planet Safari shop, just to the right as you come through the glass doors after collecting your luggage.
$20.00 USD - En - Suite Bedroom
$15.00 USD - Bedroom with private facilities
$5.00 USD - Dormitory (Per Person)
$10.00 USD - Permanent Tent
$3.00 USD - Camping (Per Person)
ZIMBABWE - Victoria Falls- Tokkie Lodge
Email: tokkie@mweb.co.zw
TEL : +263 (0) 13 43306
CEL : +263 (0) 91 263711
$20 – Airport Pick Up - sign will be held up with your name
$30 USD - Doubles per room
$15 USD - Twins per person
$10 USD - Quads per person (as long as 3 or more sharing)
$10 USD - Triple per person
$5 USD - Camping per person.
SOUTH AFRICA – Cape Town – Ashanti Lodge
Email: ashanti@iafrica.com
Tel: (+27-21) 423 8721
Fax: (+27-21) 423 8790
Airport Pick Up - call and they’ll be there in 20 mins
R55 - Camping - Peak season Dec and Jan R55
R100 - Dormitories - Peak season Dec and Jan R110
R210 - Single room - Peak season Dec and Jan R240
R310 - Double/Twin room - Peak season Dec and Jan R350
R330 - Big Double/Twin room - Peak season Dec and Jan R370
R410 - Double/Twin En-suite room - Peak season Dec and Jan R460
R540 - Triple - Peak season Dec and Jan R600
R700 - Quad - Peak season Dec and Jan R790
Insurance
You must be insured against personal accident, medical expenses and repatriation expenses. We only carry passengers on the understanding that, in most African countries through which we travel no passenger or vehicle liability is available whatsoever. You should take out insurance when you pay your deposit for the tour or for flights so that you are insured against cancellation (for medical reasons, for example). We can organise insurance for you. Bring your policy with you. Be aware if you travel without insurance and you need to get home urgently due to ill health or family problems, you or those responsible for you could incur bills running into many thousands. We can supply you with insurance, please ask when booking.
Inoculations and Malaria
Inoculations - You have to be vaccinated against "Yellow Fever" and will need an International Vaccination Certificate to prove this when we cross some borders. It is also advisable to be vaccinated against Typhoid; Rabies; Hepatitis A; Hepatitis B; Tetanus; Polio and Meningitis.
If possible start your vaccinations two months, but as late as two weeks before departure. Your GP can also inoculate but may take a while to get to get the vaccine in.
Malaria - The risk of contracting malaria in the areas we visit is high. You should be aware that malaria tablets offer only partial protection against malaria and that you should couple taking the tablets with mosquito bite avoidance. The malarial mosquitoes come out at night that is from the beginning of sunset onwards, so from this time you should cover up in long sleeves, jeans or track suit pants plus socks, as mosquitoes tend to bite around the feet and ankles. You must also use insect repellent containing Deet, bring some you will need it. The use of repellents and covering up can be as effective as the use of tablets, so by coupling both methods of protection together you should be malaria free. Whatever type of prophylactic you choose to use you should try a sample of it well before you go as adverse reactions can occur. This often happens with the Larium or Mephloquine type of drug. A can of fly spray is handy for clearing your tent of mosquitoes and bugs before you go to bed.
Medical Kits We carry First Aid kits on board for emergency use only. However, the crew is not entitled to recommend or prescribe any medicine. We advise a health check with your GP and Dentist before you start your journey, and that you carry your own medical kit with you.
General tour info
Video Cameras In most campsites you can charge from the mains so bring a travel adaptor plug, as you'll come across virtually every type of socket ever invented plus a few others. Most countries run on 220 or 240 volt current. You should also bring at least one spare battery with you as you will not be able to purchase spares en-route.
Mobile Phones Your own mobile phone will work abroad if you have roam facility enabled on a dual band phone. Coverage is generally good. Although convenient for outgoing calls at rates of around $2 per minute, incoming calls can cost up to $10 per minute to receive. In most campsites you can charge from the mains using a travel adaptor plug. You can charge off the truck if you have a 24 volt in-car charger though charging from the vehicle will reduce the life of your batteries.
Life on the road There are times when we will have some long drives in order to cover big distances, but on most days that we travel, we only move for half the day. The African landscape and people you pass are never boring and most find it hard to put their head down and read whilst on the road, for fear of missing something. Most evenings we pull into camp and you and your tent partner will put up your tent, then either relax with a cool drink, or get involved in a local activity. Breakfast is usually cereal, toast, tea, and coffee, with the occasional cooked breakfast. Lunch, if we eat on the truck is cold.
Spending Money $25 - $40 a day is a good start excluding side trips. Of course this varies from person to person depending on how much you drink, eat and how many souvenirs you buy. In most parts of Africa it is difficult to change travellers cheques and to use ATMs so we suggest for ease of exchange and better rates of exchange take your money as 50% travellers cheques and 50% cash. As travelling with cash is risky please ensure that you have adequate insurance to hedge against the risk of loss. Be aware that if your cash is lost it is very unlikely you will recover it. In Zimbabwe you need $US cash to change at the banks and they can ask for proof of purchase. A credit card is handy for emergency spending only, but useless for day-to-day spending. Do not rely on credit cards/switch type cards until you get to Southern Africa as money machines are almost non-existent. For spending in Namibia it is best to start the trip with $250 changed into South African Rand as you can't change money for the first few days. You can spend rand all over Namibia and of course in South Africa at the end of the trip, get it before leaving home or at the airport as you fly out.
Maps It's good to have your own map to follow the trip as you go. In Africa use the Michelin 955 of Africa, central and south.
Washing Most of the time you can wash every day and at camp sites you can do your laundry or often have it done for you quite cheaply.
E-mail Can be collected approx every week or two, from £1-£5 to connect.
Camping Tents are provided and all have sown in floors and mosquito netting. You will need to bring with you a sleeping bag, sleep sheet, foam roll mat or airbed. Bring a mosquito net only if you want to sleep outside of your tent, these can be bought in Africa.
Photography African authorities require that tourists do not take pictures of airports, railway stations or military installations. We are often in areas where locals are not used to being photographed and we ask you to show them every respect and courtesy. For SLR cameras we recommend a telephoto of around 120mm or an 80-200 zoom. High-speed film is usually necessary for photographing gorillas or game in early morning or late afternoon particularly if using a long lens. It is best to purchase all film prior to arrival in Africa.
Suggested list of clothing and equipment The less you take the less you have to pack, wash, lug home and you'll always pick up extras along the way. You'll be travelling in the heat and camping in the cool, so bring clothes for all climates, rough stuff is best. The best type of carrier is a rucksack (with an internal frame) or a kit bag.
Sleeping bag & sleeping mat
Medical kit - Bring your own simple kit
Re-hydration sachets available from any chemist
Insect repellent containing Deet e.g. Jungle Juice
Sun cream
Headache tablets
Plasters
Malaria tablets
Toiletries - You can buy most basic toiletries easily in Africa
Toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss
Soap in a container & razors
Towel & shampoo
Tampons/condoms; enough for the trip
Clothes
Socks
Shirts
Jeans/long trousers
Underwear
Sweatshirt/jumper
Shorts, T-shirts, swimsuit
Skirt
Sandals/flip flops/jandals/thongs
Walking shoes
Small day-pack or bag to carry your daily items
Hat and sunglasses
Camera (in a protective case), spare batteries and all the film you think necessary
Money belt or pouch to hold your passport
Vaccination book
Travellers cheques
Books, personal CD player and CD's
Torch & spare batteries
Water bottle at least 1.5 litres, any old water bottle is fine and these are available in most shops on the way
The easiest and best way to travel is as lightly as possible, taking just what is necessary. Most people make the mistake of bringing too much luggage.
Visa's and Weather
PASSPORTS AND VISAS
Your passport should be valid for at least 6 months with 5 clear pages, 20 for the Trans Africa. If you have dual nationality you should use only one passport. Check what visas you need before departure with the relevant consulates or with www.embassyworld.com
AFRICA – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe – visas are required by most nationalities, but for most these can be obtained on entry. Or if preferred you can get them from your local embassy before you travel. Botswana, Namibia and South Africa – visas are not required by most passport holders.
MIDDLE EAST – Turkey - Most nationalities need a visa for which can be obtained on arrival. Syria and Jordan – We enter on a group visa which is obtained on route. Egypt – All nationalities need one which can be obtained on entry or from you local Egyptian Embassy. South African and Zimbabweans should contact us for their visa needs. Passports and inoculations cards with any Israeli stamps can’t be used on this trip.
TRANS AFRICA – Visas needed for most countries. These we normally get on route.
WEATHER
AFRICA – East and Southern Africa have perfect climates; dry warm to hot days with cool nights. Travelling at any time of the year is fine. In East Africa it rains in May and November. In Southern Africa it rains from the New Year. Rains are short and heavy followed by a strong drying sun. There is no need to avoid travel at this time.
MIDDLE EAST –This is a region of extremes. The best weather for travel is from April to September, with the hottest months being July and August. In central Turkey it can snow in winter with summer heat up to 45C.
TRANS AFRICA – we travel through many weather zones. The weather is beautiful; not too hot in the Sahara and humid with a chance of rain in West Africa.
Passports & Visa's
Your passport must be valid for at least six months with five clear pages.For the Trans Africa trip 25 clear pages are required. If you have dual nationality you can only do the trip on one passport.
N.B. Nationalities other than NZ, Australia or United Kingdom please seek local consular advice for your visa requirements prior to departure. US and most EU residents can also obtain their visas on the borders (for similar prices to the UK visas) however, as visa requirements are subject to constantly change it is advisable to check before travel.
Please be advised that visa costs can change overnight so prices used are current at the time of publishing.
Africa Kenyan: BRITISH, AUSTRALIAN and NEW ZEALANDERS need one. It can be obtained at the airport in Nairobi for US$50.
Uganda: BRITISH, AUSTRALIAN and NEW ZEALANDERS need one. It can be obtained on the Uganda border for US$30.
Rwanda & D.R. Congo: AUSTRALIAN and NEW ZEALANDERS need one. It can be obtained on the Uganda border for US$60.
Tanzanian Visas: BRITISH, AUSTRALIANS and NEW ZEALANDERS need one. It can be obtained on the border of Tanzania for US$50. You can check your requirements with the Tanzanian High Commission.
Malawi: BRITISH, AUSTRALIANS and NEW ZEALANDERS do not need one.
Mozambique: BRITISH, AUSTRALIANS and NEW ZEALANDERS need one. It can be obtained in Malawi prior to entry for US$30. You can check your visa requirements with the Mozambique Embassy.
Zimbabwe: BRITISH and AUSTRALIANS need one. They are obtained on the border and cost US$30 for Australians and US$55 for British. You can check your visa requirements with the Zimbabwe High Commission.
Botswana: BRITISH, AUSTRALIANS and NEW ZEALANDERS do not need one.
Namibia: BRITISH, AUSTRALIANS and NEW ZEALANDERS do not need one.
South Africa: BRITISH, AUSTRALIANS and NEW ZEALANDERS do not need one. (South Africa now requires that you have 2 free consecutive pages in your passport to enter, sometimes they also ask for proof of onward journey)
Tour highlights
Lake Nakuru National Park
Lake Nakuru National Park created in 1961 around Lake Nakuru, near Nakuru Town. It is best known for its thousands, sometimes millions of flamingos nesting along the shores. The surface of the shallow lake is often hardly recognizable due to the continually shifting mass of pink. The number of flamingos on the lake varies with water and food conditions and the best vantage point is from Baboon Cliff. Also of interest is an area of 188 km around the lake fenced off as a sanctuary to protect Rothschild giraffes, black rhinos, Leopards and Lion populations.
Mountain gorillas
The mountain gorillas are the rarest of all and are on the verge of extinction. Only about 600 of these magnificent animals are left in the wild, about 320 in the Virunga Mountains and another 300 in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda. None are found in captivity.
The population of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains has been watched closely for the last half-century and shows the effects of human interaction, both good and bad. George Schaller estimated that about 450 mountain gorillas lived in the Virungas in 1960. Hunting and poaching reduced their numbers to about 250 by 1981, when the protection efforts of the late Dian Fossey and others brought the decline to a halt. Today about 320 mountain gorillas inhabit the Virungas, but their long-term survival continues to be threatened by natural changes and disasters, hunters and poachers, and the chronic political instability that swirls around the edge of their forest home.
The Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a geographical and geological feature, approximately 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) in length, which runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa. Caused by the geological process of rifting, it is a complex feature where several tectonic plates of the earth's crust join. The rift valley varies from 30 to 100 kilometres in width and from a few hundred to several thousand meters in depth. It was named by the explorer John Walter Gregory.
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria (also known as Ukerewe and Nalubaale) is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.
Lake Victoria is 68,800 square kilometres in size, making it the continent's largest lake, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the second largest fresh water lake in the world in terms of surface area. Being relatively shallow for its size, Lake Victoria ranks as the seventh largest freshwater lake by volume with a maximum depth of 84 m (276 ft). It is also the source of the longest branch of the Nile River, the White Nile,
The Masai Mara
The Masai Mara (also spelled Maasai Mara) is a large park reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania. Named for the Maasai people (the traditional inhabitants of the area) and the Mara River which divides it, it is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of the wildebeest every July and August, a migration so immense it is called the Great Migration.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, established in 1959, is a pioneering experiment in multiple land use.
Here pastoralists, conservation and tourism co-exist in a carefully managed harmony. The centrepiece of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater which is a caldera.
The Crater floor is a natural sanctuary for thousands of animals and many species of insects and birds. Lush highlands surround the Crater, falling away to the tawny plains and alkaline lakes of the Great Rift Valley.
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and scientific value; it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa.
The name 'Serengeti' comes from the Maasai language and appropriately means an 'extended place'. The National Park lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyasi in the south, and the Great Rift Valley to the east. As such, it offers the most complex and least disturbed ecosystem on earth.
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam is the largest city and the political and economic capital of Tanzania. Located in a quiet bay off the Indian Ocean coast, the city has grown in economic importance to become a prosperous centre of the entire East African region. Its bustling harbour is the main port in Tanzania and also the departure point for the Island of Zanzibar.
Zanzibar Island
Portuguese invasion and control of the Swahili Coast in the late 16th century ended the golden age of the archipelago, although the Omani Arabs returned to power less than a century later. Today, many of the winding streets and high townhouses of old Stone Town remain unchanged and visitors can walk between the sultan’s palace, the House of Wonders, the Portuguese fort and gardens, the merchants’ houses, and the Turkish baths of the old city. Day-long spice tours to working plantations offer visitors the chance to observe the cultivation of cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices that have made the island famous.
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi (also known as Lake Nyasa in Mozambique), is the most southerly lake in the Great African Rift Valley system. The lake, third largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world, is situated between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The lake's tropical waters teem with more fish species than any other lake on Earth. Famously visited by the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone, Lake Malawi has sometimes historically been referred to by English-speaking people as "Livingstone's Lake."
South Luangwa National Park
South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia, the southernmost of three national parks in the valley of the Luangwa River, is a world-renowned wildlife haven. It supports large populations of Thorneycroft's Giraffe and herds of elephant and buffalo often several hundred strong, while the Luangwa River supports abundant crocodiles and hippopotamuses. It is one of the best-known national parks in Africa for walking safaris. Founded as a game reserve in 1938, it became a national park in 1972 and now covers 9,050 km².
Matopos National Park
The Matopos Hills comprise an extraordinary collection of huge bare granite hills with gravity-defying boulders scattered all over the countryside to create a quite unique and rather mysterious landscape. The most spectacular areas are within the Matopos National Park. The local Matabele people call it Malindidzimu (the place of ancestor spirits). The national park is famous for its outstanding views, San (bushman) painted caves, wildlife (especially the Black Eagle) and as the chosen burial place of Cecil Rhodes who named his favourite spot World’s View.
Lake Kariba
Lake Kariba is a man-made lake created following the completion of the Kariba Dam which was built between 1955 and 1959 to harness the waters of the Zambezi River and provide hydro-electric power to both Zimbabwe and Zambia. Before the waters rose, some 51,000 people of the Tonga tribe had to be resettled on higher ground. Almost 5,000 animals were also rescued in “Operation Noah” co-ordinated by the game ranger Rupert Fothergill. The Zambezi Valley which incorporates Lake Kariba is today one of the most important wildlife sanctuaries in Africa.
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls must surely be one of the most memorable sights in the world. The mighty Zambezi River expands to an incredible width of over a mile before thundering 100 metres down a sheer chasm and into the turbulent white waters below. The area around the falls is rainforest fed by the constant spray from the falls. Beyond the falls, the river fights its way down the gorge and provides some of the best white water rafting in the world.
The Chobe National Park
The Chobe National Park, which is the second largest national park in Botswana and covers 10,566 square km, has one of the greatest concentrations of game found on the African continent. Its uniqueness in the abundance of wildlife and the true African nature of the region, offers a safari experience of a lifetime.
Makgadikgadi Pan
The great grass plains of Makgadikgadi and the associated pan complexes of Sowa, Ntwetwe and Nxai are stunning.
The large pans of Makgadikgadi are the remnants of a lake, formed more than five million years ago and is probable that the pans held significant amounts of water as recently as 1500 years ago.
The Okavango Delta
The Okavango is a labyrinth of lagoons, lakes and hidden channels covering an area of over 17,000 square km and the largest inland delta in the world. Trapped in the parched Kalahari sands it is a magnet for the wildlife who depend on the permanent waters.
Sometimes called a 'swamp', the Okavango is anything but.
Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park is one of the greatest game reserves in the world and offers a feast of opportunities for wildlife spotting. To anyone with an interest in wildlife, this is the real gem of Namibia. It is best in the dry season when huge herds of animals seek to quench their thirst in the waterholes.
Sossusvlei
The seemingly never ending sand dunes of Sossusvlei are a truly remarkable sight. The dunes are shaped by the wind and are constantly shifting. They are reputed to be the highest in the world. The climb to the top of one of the dunes can be gruelling under the heat of the sun and with the ever shifting sand under the feet but is worth it for the magnificent views. The dunes cover widely dispersed patches of land from the Orange River at the South African border all the way up the coast of Namibia and into Angola.
Stellenbosch
The heart of South Africa´s wine industry, Stellenbosch is a place of great beauty and culture that´s steeped in South African tradition. The Stellenbosch Wine Route is arguably the country´s best, and the Stellenbosch area includes 106 cellars - most of which are open to the public. Enjoy wine tasting, and wine buying of great South African wines - you´ll taste the South African way of life. |
