Overland Africa

Scobius90

Hi all,

this is sort of add-on to a question in one of the other travel forums http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055258101.

Does anyone have any experience of Kumuka overland tours? http://www.kumuka.com/
My brother used Acacia http://www.acacia-africa.com/ last year and raves about them.

They both do similar tours (SA-Nam-Bot-Zam), but the dates suits us better on Kumuka, however we could change our travel plans if people have had bad experiences with them.

any help or advice appreciated!
Scobius

hhoppy

Hey!
I went from Nairobi to Cape town last summer with Kumuka. Would recommend Kumuka, the first half of our tour was perfect and I couldnt have faulted them however the second half of the tour(vic falls-Cape town) had a few mishaps but that was probably down to a not-so-great leader! They do hire out other companies to do their tours if they are overbooked-which is wrong.
But overall I dont think it really matters who you go with, most of the middle-price range tours are great and all do the same thing! Oh do be careful with the age-range of the tour, i did find kumuka was a little older and ones like exodus a little younger. So i recon do whatever suits you.
I must say though that you'd be missing out on not going to eastern africa, especially if your into the whole adventure,africa,camping thing?? Our tour guide was Kenyan and just super.
Nairobi to Vic Falls was my absolute favourite part! I know Nairobi is a no no at the moment but im sure there are tours from Tanzania? Zanzibar?
Oh and I read your other board about Vic Falls, its not that far from either side to either airport. Two taxis (is a little hassel on the border but thats always there) so I wouldnt worry to much which side of the border your tour finishes. Vic Falls itself is a crazy place-be warned!
Hope some of my rant has helped...

youcancallmeal

I'm planning on going to Africa as part of my rtw trip and was wondering if an overland trip could be done from Capetown to Nairobi without an organized tour? I've been told that its a fairly hardcore route but those organized tours are fairly expensive.

Garthicus

I would reccomend a book called "Swahili for the broken hearted" it is a travel book about an overland trip from Capetown to Cairo, well worth a read and avail in Ireland

Scobius90

Hhoppy, thanks for that

Gaz

Have you considered doing it independantly , I will be travelling from Cairo to capetown soon and all though its definitely more challanging and takes quite alot of planning , it feels like more of an adventure.

My planned route is Egypt > Sudan > Ethiopia > Kenya > Uganda > Tanzania > Zambia > Zimbabwe (Vic Falls) > Namibia > South Africa.

Plus its also a lot cheaper , with the exception of safaris i mean.

Feel free to ask any questions, ive been planning this for over 6 months

Jugs82

My planned route is Egypt > Sudan > Ethiopia > Kenya > Uganda > Tanzania > Zambia > Zimbabwe (Vic Falls) > Namibia > South Africa.

That sounds like one hell of a trip/adventure.

I would absolutely love to do something along the same lines.
Also, im curious about getting through the Sudan and what challenges this presents??

And what kind of logistical planning would be involved or you going to 'play it by ear' for some parts of your journey

Sorry for the questions, but i love the idea of going overland through Africa

Gaz

I will be playing it by ear to an extend but I have a set route planned out , knowing exactly which towns/cities I will be travelling too. Just things like getting a room that will be done on route.

Sudan , is apparantly one of the most amazing and safe countries in Africa, once you stay away from the west and south-west (Darfur).

From Aswan in Egypt its a 24hour ferry to Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan, then its either a 3-5 day journey by bus stopping in small towns (my preffered choice) or else a very slow and very old train direct to Khartoum. Khartoum itself looks pretty good, espicially if there on a friday when the whirling dervish are doing there thing and also for the nearby meroe pyramids.
From Khartoum its a days journey south east to Gallabat , then an easy hop over the border to Ethiopia.

Feel free to ask questions , trust me ive asked my fair share planning this.

pisslips

Is it possible to descend the Nile from say, Uganda to Cairo?
Could one buy a decent boat, kit it out and just do it?

How safe is it?Would airlifts be required?

mac123

Gaz,
What type of transport will you be using and how long are you planning on going for? Also can you give me an idea of what kind of budget you think you will need?
Id love to do this sometime in the future!!

hhoppy

sounds so amazing gaz,
some planning involved! was thinking of going back some day and cycling through parts. Are you doing any cycling or are you getting local buses-what do you call them-makutus?
did you consider Rwanda? I heard it was so beautiful and the peoples are unbelieveably friendly! Jus wondering, your plan sounds great tho!

Gaz

pisslips wrote: »

Is it possible to descend the Nile from say, Uganda to Cairo?
Could one buy a decent boat, kit it out and just do it?

How safe is it?Would airlifts be required?

Well i suppose anything is possible with enough money but i imagine getting a decent boat over there would be, difficult to say the least. My route is considered safe , but then again who knows, anywhere can be dangerous. Things change ... look at Kenya or Tibet.

Mac123, I will be using a mix of trains (cairo to aswan, Dar Es Salam to Lusaka) , boats (Aswan to Wadi Halfa) and then local transport for the rest, some coutries like Namibia and South Africa have very modern buses, others like Ethiopia will be more of the goat herder type buses.

Im trying to keep my budget at Euro15 a day for food and 10 or so for accomadation. Transport is 600 or so from Cairo to cape using the above methods.

So for three months thats about 2250, then my flight home is 600, then i want an extra few grand for safaris and the like.

A gorilla safari in Uganda is 500 dollars just for the permit

So all in im budgeting 5 grand for the Africa leg of my trip

mac123

let me know how you get on, sounds quality tho. i thought it would be a bit more expensive than that too!

cfitz

That sounds like a brilliant trip Gaz. Have you been to Africa before?

Gaz

Ive done plenty of backpacking in some mad places ... but this is my first African trip, cant wait !