Weather and Roads: During our time in Africa, for all my misgivings we had good weather only having to endure rain a couple of times. We were held up for some time in Nairobi and traveller tales abounded of mud baths which I wasn't sad to miss. The roads in general were much better than we expected, particuarly Ethiopia. Western Tanzania was a new gravel road. We were apprehensive about it, but the weather was good and we had no trouble. Chinese construction was evident everywhere.
Currency: US dollar was the only reliable currency in Africa. We tried many times, but could not cash our traveller cheques. Also our cards never worked at ATMs. We could use them at supermarkets. (No cash-back!) Petrol stations never took them. (However, we didn't meet anyone else who had this problem, and never managed to sort it out despite numerous long distant calls.) Sudan did not take VISA in any form from anyone at the time we were there. Overall, I was extremely relieved we had taken as many US dollars as we had. We had a small safe bolted to the landcruiser and also one or two other places. We spent around 1,000 to 2,000 pounds/mth. Sub-Saharan Africa was more expensive than Sudan and Middle East.
Health: We kept excellent health the whole way through. The two younger kids both had heat-stroke once early on in the trip. Eden was sick one other time for one evening. We didn't have colds or flu. We had no issues with food poisoning. We avoided the lakes where bilharzia may be, or took quick dips. We took malaria tablets but was careful to cover up, sleep under nets etc. Next time, I would reconsider our approach to the prophylatics. However, we found skin wounds became quickly infected. We used the anti-biotic flucloxacillin - and I'd recommend taking some.
Travel Guides: Whilst guide books provide a lot of useful information, it's other overland travellers that provide the best up-to-date information on security, border crossings, accommodation and things to do and see. The families we found included a french family who travelled up through S Sudan; another family (www.5dm.fr) who we spent 10 days travelling with after our car roll; and a third family who travelled in 5 continents using public transport, walking, at the time we met them they had a hatch back which they later discarded in Nairobi and we bumped into them again hitch hiking in rural southern ethiopia. And we met so many great people - Colin (confined to a wheelchair) and Chrissie who were driving back to Australia through China; Jungle Junction crowd; Tanzanian missionary families with their great teenage kids; MaryBeth, Turkish families, police checks who gave us coffee ... However, our travel bible was Africa Overland by Bradt which we followed closely, particuarly as we prepared for the trip. When on the road, we used the in-depth Lonely Planet guides, and one or two Bradt guides. Both good. But there is a real danger of following the letter and missing out on your own discoveries. Michelin covers the continent in three large maps. We also had one for Europe. These large overview maps were excellent. We also used Garmin Maps for GPS which we found excellent.
Vehicle Choice: We saw both Landrovers and Landcruisers, also a trusty Hilux which was quite new and problem free. We didn't have major problems, except it took a while to work out the 24v starter motor needed both batteries, and we couldn't sneak any charge off the 2nd battery. However, we met many people who had problems resulting from bad workmanship. We're biased - and like our Toyota Landcruiser. It certainly has comfort value. Diesel was significantly cheaper than petrol, though both were widely available. We had a 140ltr long-range fuel tank which we couldn't have done without. Tyres - just go for the best quality you can get, and a spare per two tyres. We used Goodrich all-terrain. Because we had a SA car, the carnet was significantly cheaper. We got it from the AA in Somerset West, Cape Town. Yellow Card insurance is best in Africa and you can get it at the borders or local town. We got Green Card insurance on the Greek/Turkish border, but wish we had got longer there as it wasn't easy to get after that.
Kitchen: We used two 5kg CADAC bottles from SA which were sometimes challenging to re-fill. They lasted over a month each but I would suggest buying adaptors from a specialised gas dealer. I would recommend a freezer over a fridge. It's also was handy to store ready-made meals in.
Drinking Water: We had expected it to be difficult to find good drinking water, but in the event we rarely bought bottled water. We had two tanks holding a total of 120 litres under the trailer, and also carried two 20 ltrs jerry cans. We made a point of filling up from underground springs when available. This was never a problem. We also filtered some of the African water, but I'm not sure we needed to. Even though we carried water purification tablets we never found it necessary to use them. Food was never a problem either.
Border Crossings: All border crossings were fine and took no more than 90minutes except for Syria/Turkey which took about 6 hrs.Better to chose quiet border crossings, just check with people coming the other way. The border officials were always polite and friendly. To our surprise, we were never harassed for bribes by police or any other authority except once in Uganda. That time, we stood our ground. It was an unfair call - and managed not to pay. Almost without exception, we found police checks, border crossings and any other brush with officialdom to be courteous and often curious, just liking to talk. One policeman asked us to pass on his regards to Gordon Brown! On the otherhand, on advice, we decided to avoid Egypt, just taking a ferry from Port Sudan to Saudia Arabia.
Visas: We needed a visa in most countries. The visa for Ethiopia at the time, was difficult to get. The rules changed the very week we arrived and it caused us a lot of extra time and stress. Our previously arranged visa had run out. Most people sent their passports back to their home country when in Nairobi which seemed to work ok. As it turned out, we got all our visas en route, except for Sudan which we got in Uganda. The timing can be problematic and for this reason maybe get visas en route.
Tents: We used an Eezi-Awn rooftop tent which sat on the landcruiser and a trailer tent for our 3 kids. Both tents took less than 2 minutes to put up and 4min to put away. The trailer tent afforded us more space, although we met a family of 5 who travelled the length of Africa and back up America in one landrover and two tents on the top. However, we appreciated the extra living area and don't regret that decison. We loved the tents.
Email and the Internet: Internet through most of Africa - but for me, with kids waiting - only the campsites which included internet access were much help. But we kept a phone through most of Africa which was inexpensive compared to Europe and good receptions. We also used laptops and wrote a lot of emails off-line, but you need to be aware that dust and rough roads take their toll - and then there are security issues.
Final note on safety. I felt safe and I felt the kids were safe. I guess a healthy dose of common sense helped. One of our favourite countries was Sudan where the people were courteous and generous. It just didn't live up to media image.
Now we need to plan our next venture!
Vehicle Choice: We saw both Landrovers and Landcruisers, also a trusty Hilux which was quite new and problem free. We didn't have major problems, except it took a while to work out the 24v starter motor needed both batteries, and we couldn't sneak any charge off the 2nd battery. However, we met many people who had problems resulting from bad workmanship. We're biased - and like our Toyota Landcruiser. It certainly has comfort value. Diesel was significantly cheaper than petrol, though both were widely available. We had a 140ltr long-range fuel tank which we couldn't have done without. Tyres - just go for the best quality you can get, and a spare per two tyres. We used Goodrich all-terrain. Because we had a SA car, the carnet was significantly cheaper. We got it from the AA in Somerset West, Cape Town. Yellow Card insurance is best in Africa and you can get it at the borders or local town. We got Green Card insurance on the Greek/Turkish border, but wish we had got longer there as it wasn't easy to get after that.
Kitchen: We used two 5kg CADAC bottles from SA which were sometimes challenging to re-fill. They lasted over a month each but I would suggest buying adaptors from a specialised gas dealer. I would recommend a freezer over a fridge. It's also was handy to store ready-made meals in.
Drinking Water: We had expected it to be difficult to find good drinking water, but in the event we rarely bought bottled water. We had two tanks holding a total of 120 litres under the trailer, and also carried two 20 ltrs jerry cans. We made a point of filling up from underground springs when available. This was never a problem. We also filtered some of the African water, but I'm not sure we needed to. Even though we carried water purification tablets we never found it necessary to use them. Food was never a problem either.
Border Crossings: All border crossings were fine and took no more than 90minutes except for Syria/Turkey which took about 6 hrs.Better to chose quiet border crossings, just check with people coming the other way. The border officials were always polite and friendly. To our surprise, we were never harassed for bribes by police or any other authority except once in Uganda. That time, we stood our ground. It was an unfair call - and managed not to pay. Almost without exception, we found police checks, border crossings and any other brush with officialdom to be courteous and often curious, just liking to talk. One policeman asked us to pass on his regards to Gordon Brown! On the otherhand, on advice, we decided to avoid Egypt, just taking a ferry from Port Sudan to Saudia Arabia.
Visas: We needed a visa in most countries. The visa for Ethiopia at the time, was difficult to get. The rules changed the very week we arrived and it caused us a lot of extra time and stress. Our previously arranged visa had run out. Most people sent their passports back to their home country when in Nairobi which seemed to work ok. As it turned out, we got all our visas en route, except for Sudan which we got in Uganda. The timing can be problematic and for this reason maybe get visas en route.
Tents: We used an Eezi-Awn rooftop tent which sat on the landcruiser and a trailer tent for our 3 kids. Both tents took less than 2 minutes to put up and 4min to put away. The trailer tent afforded us more space, although we met a family of 5 who travelled the length of Africa and back up America in one landrover and two tents on the top. However, we appreciated the extra living area and don't regret that decison. We loved the tents.
Email and the Internet: Internet through most of Africa - but for me, with kids waiting - only the campsites which included internet access were much help. But we kept a phone through most of Africa which was inexpensive compared to Europe and good receptions. We also used laptops and wrote a lot of emails off-line, but you need to be aware that dust and rough roads take their toll - and then there are security issues.
Final note on safety. I felt safe and I felt the kids were safe. I guess a healthy dose of common sense helped. One of our favourite countries was Sudan where the people were courteous and generous. It just didn't live up to media image.
Now we need to plan our next venture!
