SAFARIS

London to Cape Town, Trans Africa

The Trans Africa is the longest expedition of its kind in the world. On this safari you will experience an unusual range of African culture, geography, and climate. You'll cover 22,000 kilometers of the continent by road, starting in Europe and traveling to the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa.

This trip visits 16 counties: Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DR Congo, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.

Trip Details

All Local Payment amounts are subject to change without notice. Changes are very rare and are normally due to a sudden or unexpected price increase by a local service provider or National Park.

Although the LP is better for the Driver in USD, with the ever fluctuating exchange rates, African Trails feels it is more fair to advertise in British Pounds. They can then worry about the exchange rate rather than you.

Local payment is UK £630.

Weeks 1-4: Europe, Morocco, Mauritania
The trip begins in Spain. Crossing the straits of Gibraltar to Morocco, you'll visit the coastal capital city of Rabat and then Casablanca. Meknes, on the high plains, is one of the many ancient walled cities with covered markets and a labyrinth of narrow winding streets that you will see. Visit the ancient Roman ruin of Volubilis, followed by Fes, Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains. Next, the itinerary passes into the Sahara Desert and follows the Atlantic Coast - this experience is never forgotten; oases with cool water surrounded by palms, stretches of sand as big as a small country, old forts, camel trains following centuries old trading routes, and a night sky undiluted by city lights. Travel over hundreds of miles off-road, sometimes digging the truck out of the soft sands to get through.

Weeks 5-10: Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana
Today you enter the Sahel; the vast semi-arid desert that separates the Sahara from the forests of black Africa and follows the Niger River, visiting the old mud towns of Mopti and Djenne. On the Bandiagara escarpment you'll trek to the small villages of the Dogon. Burkina Faso is famous for its beautiful lost wax bronze statues. In Ghana you'll cross the jungle, traveling to the beaches of the Gold Coast with visits to the slaving forts.

*Those on the ten-week overland travel expedition from Malaga to Accra finish here.

Weeks 11-12: Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon
Togo and Benin are only 50 miles wide. Here the religion is the African tradition of Voodoo. On Nakoue Lagoon, you can take canoes to visit the fishing villages built high above the water on bamboo stilts.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with 100 million people. You'll visit Lagos, the commercial capital and largest city in West Africa, and then head on to Abuja, the political capital, with time at Wikki Warm Springs to relax for a few days. Leaving the warm springs, you'll then head to Calabar, passing the outskirts of the Cross-River National Park.

Week 13: Cameroon
Entering Cameroon, you'll stay on the beach at Limbe. Those who feel adventurous can climb West Africa's largest mountain, Mount Cameroon. From the coast you'll visit the capital, Yaounde.

Weeks 14-15: Gabon, Republic of Congo, Cabinda (Angola)
Leaving Yaounde, you'll cross into Gabon and the capital city of Libreville. Gabon is famous for its populations of lowland gorilla, though most people prefer to see the mountain gorillas in East Africa. From the capital there are several excursions you can take into surrounding nature reserves and Africa's largest bush meat market.

Leaving Libreville, the route passes through Lambarene - home to the famous Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Nobel peace prize winner for founding the Lambarene Leprosy Hospital and his work with the downtrodden locals. Next, you'll enter The Republic of Congo.

Driving through bamboo forest tunnels, make your back to the coast reaching Point Noire. Here you can visit the Jane Goodall Chimp sanctuary, or relax on the beach. Next, you'll enter Cabinda - the oil rich exclave of Angola, with the Congo to the East and the Atlantic to the west, where you can watch the flames burning off from the offshore oil rigs.

Week 16: Democratic Republic of Congo
Now, you'll enter DR Congo, crossing the mighty Congo River by a massive bridge overlooking Matadi town; a sea port over 100km upriver from the ocean.

Weeks 17-18: Angola
Angola only opened up to tourism in 2004. With the closure of the routes through Sudan, African Trails started traveling this way through one of the largest and least visited countries in Africa. The people are friendly and the views astounding. Driving along the red mud roads you'll reach the coast and the capital, Luanda. It is very Portuguese in its architecture and Brazilian in its beach attire, with a line of beach bars and restaurants along the bay. The route follows the coast passing lots of waterfalls on the way to Lubango town, 2000 meters high on a plateau. It is home to one-third of the world's great statues of Jesus; the others being in Rio and Lisbon.

Weeks 19-20: Namibia
Entering Namibia, you'll encounter a vast array of environments and cultures. Once occupied by Germany, Namibia produces a blend of German, African, and Afrikaans influences. The Himba peoples of the North are most noted for their red ochre body paint and their traditional lifestyle.

The next stop is Etosha Pan National Park. Thousands of years ago this vast saltpan was a lake, until the Kunene River changed its course and deprived the lake of its water source. Now the pan and surrounding bush support large numbers and a wide range of wildlife. A couple of days are spent game viewing from the truck during the day with evenings spent around the floodlit water holes at the park's campsites. These water holes provide an excellent opportunity to observe animals that are hard to find during the day; particularly rhino, and also smaller animals such as the genet. Elephant, lion, giraffe, zebra, oryx, ostrich, springbok, jackals, hyenas, and meercats are also likely to be seen at Etosha.

From wild animals to tame ones, you'll next spend a night at the Cheetah Farm where you can scratch the big cats behind the ears before watching them tuck in to their evening meal. Heading for the Atlantic Ocean Coast, you'll visit Africa's largest cape fur seal colony, Cape Cross. Then its on to Swakopmund, an old German colonial seaside resort with plenty of things to do for the energetic and plenty of beer cellars for those after a more relaxing time. The energetic can go horseback riding or sand boarding on the dunes, deep sea fishing in the Atlantic, or enjoy scenic flights over the coastline.

Heading inland, you'll enter the Namib Desert, famous for the 300m high sand dunes. Enjoy sunrise at the top of the most photographed dune, Dune 45, before taking a tour with local guides into the remote parts of Sossusvlei.

After an overnight stay in the desert a drive south brings you to Fish River Canyon; at 85km long and 400m deep this canyon is second in size only to the Grand Canyon. You can trek down to its bottom and, from the viewpoints at the top, watch the setting or rising of the sun. There are seasonal hot springs in the south at Ai Ais. The last stop in Namibia is the Orange River, which forms the border with South Africa.

Weeks 21-22: South Africa
Crossing the river, you'll arrive in South Africa and travel south through Namaqualand, South Africa's prime farming areas. Drive through the mountain valleys of the Cederberg and stony semi-deserts before arriving in Stellenbosch, the center of one of the Cape's many wine routes. A wine tour with plenty of tasting makes for a great day out.

Trip Notes
Full trip notes available on enquiry.