The second last day of our trip, Newcastle to Port Elizabeth, was an epic drive of 1100km. It took us about twelve hours, rising up through the Drakensburg mountains, past the entire country of Lesotho, and ending on the southern coast of the African continent. We’d been driving for weeks, and couldn’t wait to reach … More Wrapping up an African Road trip
Early in the morning we crossed the leafy, jungle border at Thornwood/Milange into Mozambique. Stamping out of Malawi took mere moments, but entering Mozambique was a much more thorough process. The visas took an hour to process as the police quizzed us, eager to see our yellow fever vaccination cards, and know where we were going to stay (we had no … More Driving In Africa Without GPS
I want to start by talking about how absolutely amazing the African bottle recycling system is. My bottle of Fanta was noticeably worn down and re-used many many times. The label was faded and the glass had been ground down in certain places, by a million tiny scratches, a result of grinding against other bottles being shipped … More Finding hidden mountains in Malawi
I had no idea what to expect from Malawi. It was just a last minute route change driving south from Tanzania that took us there. So, we decided to find the local beer first. We stopped at a roadside bottle shop. The guy behind the counter dressed rather like a cool dude; he wore sunglasses … More Our experiences road tripping through Malawi
The Songwe border crossing into Malawi was easy as pie (no paperwork issues, and no touts trying to earn money by guiding us through the border), and we made it through in a matter of minutes. The border guards reminded us to stick to the speed limit, so we did.
The more we drove long distances through Africa, the more we realised that the journey is not about the destination, but the road you take. As we approached Dar Es Salaam from the west, somewhere in the Tanzanian heartland between Mbeya and Mikumi, we found the most spectacular mountain pass.
Stop! Elephants! We missed them at first, and drove straight past. Then we saw the herd in the rear-view mirror. A handful were eating by the side of the highway. Another car pulled up and told us to go back the way we came; and sure enough, a few hundred metres away was the rest of the herd, at least … More Driving on a highway with a herd of elephants
Everything was dark when we got up in Cape Town. The cloudy night sky was smudged with black ink. Our car was waiting in the driveway, packed and ready to go. It had been raining last night, and the clean white paint was beaded with glistening droplets of water. We didn’t feel quite so fresh. It was well before dawn, earlier than we were used to, but we were … More The Unofficial Road Rules of Africa – a Driver’s Guide
I did a road trip through 7 African countries by 4×4, with two travel buddies. It was an epic adventure – after more than five weeks on the road, we’d camped in lion territory, fixed flat tyres and run out of fuel, forded rushing rivers, and drove over sand dunes. And it required a lot … More Preparing for a road trip in Africa
One rainy day in Sydney, I started thinking about my time in Southern Africa. It was the most stunning driving I had ever experienced in my life, through a continent exquisitely beautiful, dangerous at times, misunderstood by many, and utterly alluring.
StickyMangoRice 