VISAS. Best to obtain before rather than at borders. Most countries offer E-visas.
Malawi – e visa takes 2-3 weeks. Apply well in advance (need a letter for somewhere staying with visa).
Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda have a three-country visa – $100 versus $50 each.
Mozambique. VOA at border but they prefer pre done. Need a confirmed reservation or letter of invitation evisa may be coming.
Zimbabwe at border
RESOURCES
1. Download iOverlander. It will be a massive help, find places we never would’ve noticed.
2. iOverland FB and whatsapp groups are a great source of info and advice.
3. Join get the English Mzungu Map Backpacking Africa | Mzungu and Whatsap group for southern and eastern Africa. Map is similar to iOverlander, but different, and works offline. It’s on mzungu.org, message me if u need an invite from the whatsapp group.
4. Offline maps on Maps.Me are more reliable than Google Maps which is to be avoided.
5. Ask questions often. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from locals. Villagers are your friends. Basically, everyone is friendly out there, so enjoy! Police may hassle you for a bribe, or may just smile and wave. In a bribe situation, you can resist and get away free. Read the situation and use your best judgement.
Read, read, read and then ask if you can find.
6. Blogs a. polarsteps.com Caledonia to Cape Town. Add your stops – great app – also to follow other peeps and there trips for recommendations; b. Tracksaroundtheworld a German couple who did Africa with there own camper truck. c. SA new website for campsites www.gallivantingSA.co.za
Overlanding forums like HUBB or Expedition Portal. Don’t take the advice of any government website too seriously.
7. Information: DriveMoz, DriveBots, DriveZim, DriveZam
8. For updates on current affairs and local conflicts, BBC Focus on Africa is good. Knowing a bit about local politics and history helps you understand the countries you are visiting better and gives you stuff to talk to locals about.
9. Public transport on budget. Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia – all public transport was OK. Use ATM except where Black Market Mondy (Malawi). Plan $ cash for visa on arrivals. Take a tent, inflatable mattress and duvet (all small) of course. Doing all this by public transport will be many headaches and painful. Do not buy your return ticket. Too much can happen.
BRIBES – plenty of thoughts and comments on here about that. My take is avoid if pos, but sometimes unavoidable. Knowing how much is sometimes the key and friendly locals can advise. Basically all the locals pay bribes and we don’t because we can get away with it. Often the amount is quite small and painless. Realize that it is part of their economy.
You stand out being white, in some countries people ask for money or expect you to be part of an NGO. But mostly they are kind and welcoming, calling you a white.
Officials do ask for money sometimes, keep calm, have small talk and yes, Dutch football players are a good subject. Some never pay. Make sure you have all the right paperwork put together. Here they ask daily for car papers, driving license, insurance, passport, CDP or passavent. Here you normally need fire extinguisher, 2 triangles.
SIM cards for East Africa SIM cards best from the official store – best rate, best for registering as doing it yourself is a nightmare. Avoid buying at borders.
South Africa: Main routes and all towns have good reception. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi similar but patches without. All resorts have reception, some not good enough if working.
Chose the local SIM with most coverage in each country, Telcom in SA (shares cellphone towers with MTN and have a cheaper data package. Vodacom and MTN have the greatest coverage), Econet in Zim, Airtel in Zambia, Uganda and Malawi, Vodacom in Tanzania and Safaricom in Kenya (associated with Safaricom is the mpesa app, that has many functions including an online visa card, stores money making payments very easy). SIM: Literally anywhere, from any street vendor most places.. Avoid the borders, also for exchanging money if you can avoid it.
MONEY
ATMs US$ necessary for certain costs at Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe (toll fees and for border crossings, small denominations handy to exchange for local currency on the border when required (always at a bad rate).
ATM are easy to come by in all countries, not only in major towns.
Zimbabwe ATMs are a problem, Do NOT use cards for transactions in Zimbabwe, rather pay with your US$. can take USD out of the ATM, at least in Vic Falls.
Malawi – black market USD
CROSSING BORDERS. Prefer smaller border posts as the big ones always look for issues. Avoid Kazangulu.
Carnet de Passages. Only necessary for Kenya and Egyptl
Need 3rd party insurance for most of the countries.
Travel Documents Copies of your Passport/Visa, vehicle registration and vehicle identification (police clearance) that is stamped at all borders. Zambia uses this as a bribe), insurance, get then certified and keep in file. go to a police station with all your car documents and they run it through the computer to make sure nothing is stolen! If you are traveling on a carnet you don’t need the police clearance (aka ‘private vehicle verification’ or ‘checking slip stolen status’), the requirement is for one or the other.
CDP compulsory for Kenya.
International Drivers License that you can show the many times the police will stop you. That way corrupt police can’t retain your original and demand money (rare) to give it back.
Comesa insurance before hand. For Moz you’ll need Hollard insurance or similar, has to be local. Can be bought online.
Fuel. Both diesel (Malawi) and gas can be a problem in all countries as often watered down.
Security. May be better to not use a safe box as an obvious place to look. Store money around the vehicle, tent and person in random objects.
safeboda app finds reputable drivers.
SAFETY
Safety is generally no issue anywhere except in S Africa (especially its big cities) and possibly Namibia, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Big cities in other countries are much safer but will have areas of severe poverty. Best avoided at night, when you should stick to safer, more touristy areas unless you have trustworthy local friends / guides. Take reasonable precautions just as you would anywhere else in the world.
Villages, the countryside, and wild camping are generally always safe. Camping in Botswana is illegal but possible and need to hide yourself. Many would never camp in Tanzania or Ethiopia – most of the land is owned by tribes. Local customs warrant tribe chief permission. You may think its nobody there but locals know. It creates issues. Local surround you and warrant unheard amount of money from perceived rich Muzungus.
Don’t be scared, be savvy. Best to keep a low profile and not to stay in one place for too long i.e. keep moving.
Foreigners are seen as a walking ATM and called muzungu where ever you go. Don’t flash your wealth around, be polite and respectful, particularly towards elders. Understand that you will be seen quite stereotypically as wealthy and sometimes a target for scams, so exercise discretion. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish friendliness from scamming, particularly from young men.
Be kind and generous. A little goes along way for many and the universe will guide you if you have a good and caring vibe. Just watch out for the cosmic signposts.
Make friends with locals and they will show you stuff you wouldn’t see otherwise, which is more real than much of the touristy stuff. Young, professional locals will often be keen to make friends with foreigners, so make friends, ask their advice and follow it if you think it’s good.
English football is a great talking point for police or border officials. I have often steered things round and created a joky, relaxed atmosphere by asking which team they support and making a comment about a player or the manager. Works with almost any African man.
Best to not leave a vehicle unattended on the street at night and best inside a compound (like a hotel parking lot), or under you if sleeping outside which is very common – at borders, bars, random villages, wild camping, etc).
When you get to a camping place and you suddenly have someone arrive to sweep around your tent, they will probably be checking out what you have. A camp site owner once told me that since he got rid of his guards, he has had no theft. They are all in it together.
I would not trust the opinions or views on Africa from an ex South African living in Australia, they generally have a hidden agenda to justify their decision to leave SA.
The people who say you’re crazy to travel are those who’ve never done it.
Camping at night. Campsites are safest. If none, gas stations are the next best. Need to book game parks a year in advance.
Countries with special issues
1. Ethiopia. Ethiopia is challenging with so many people and the tension. You never seem to be alone. You can drive for an hour, thinking there couldn’t possibly be anyone around, stop for a pee and before you’re finished you’re surrounded! We also didn’t find it very friendly – a few relatively harmless attempted scams mainly, but it had us on edge. Also had some stones thrown at our vehicle by kids – which you could ignore if it weren’t for the adults encouraging them! Met some cyclists who quit and got a bus to Kenya as they kept being stoked and whacked by sticks. Absolutely beautiful country, it’s just a shame that the money gap has created a lot of crime.
2. South Africa. South Africa is big and you have many options on camping from coastal camps , mountain camps, forest camps, safari camps etc. Generally the law is that you may not Wild camp where ever you want because there are many facilities available – some have nothing but a stand in a wildlife park next to the Zambezi for example and all you do is pay the small fee and entrance to the reserve and then camp Wild but at a designated area. Wild camping in South Africa can be very dangerous. SA is the 3rd highest country in the world for violent crime. It’s a stunningly beautiful country but for a variety of socio/political/historical reasons it’s not safe and one must be vigilant when travelling. 40% unemployment nurtures crime.
However if one looks beyond the headlines and stay out of certain hot zones people are super, in fact the most sociable and friendly people I have met during 30 years of extensive travel around the world.
Camping along a road in SA can be dangerous from a criminal point of view . Camping in the wildlife parks can also be dangerous. Always keep your eyes open and make good judgement on where you will stay.
VEHICLE
The hardest thing was getting my paperwork sorted to buy a vehicle in Cape Town, and getting the Carnet money back from the AA as the vehicle never returned.
First word of advice – make sure your vehicle can take the local diesel.
Overland FB and whatsapp groups are a great source of info and advice. Read, read, read and then ask if you can find.
Don’t be put off by scaremongering. SA is much worse than most other countries. But know which other countries to avoid by following the news !
Don’t have curtains but drawers below a sheet of plywood, so when you looked in the car all you could see was a sheet of plywood, some chairs and tables and nothing interesting to steal.
Search this group for eNatis to find out how to register a car with a foreign ID. It is possible. You just need an address, and many South Africans would be happy to let you use theirs, and an ID. You can renew your registration via whatsapp annually using Chatback (https://www.chatback.co.za). A R300 service fee is charged for the renewal of each vehicle in Gauteng, Western Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and North West and R 350 in the Free State. They email you the licence disk and you can just print it out and put it on your vehicle. I have used them for the past 3 years and it’s so much easier than any other method.
It may be easier to buy and register a car in Namibia or Botswana.
A carnet is required in non SACU countries. Bushlore Rentals rents outfitted Hilux trucks for rent.
VEHICLE INSURANCE
COMESA insurance. 6-month comesa ‘yellow card’ expiring in Kenya – Buy a Kenyan third party insurance including COMESA yellow card to extend coverage to other countries.
The yellow card is not a stand alone insurance. It is an extension based on a local insurance policy. So if your existing yellow card runs out your insurance which it is based on will also run out. You do need insurance in Kenya for a foreign vehicle. It can either be based on a Kenyan insurance or another insurance that is signatory of the COMESA agreement to cover you in Kenya
There is a lot of fraud with forms 1. Tanzanian insurance brokers at the borders are notorious for selling tourists very expensive yellow pieces of paper. Unless you also purchased local 3rd party insurance you were never covered by Comesa. Scan the QR code on your Tanzanian COMESA. There is a good chance it will lead you to nowhere but your vehicle details which means you got scammed and only have a very expensive yellow piece of paper without any insurance cover. Need the Tanzanian third party insurance sticker for the windscreen and proof of having insurance? If not then it was just a useless piece of paper.
South Africa isn’t part of COMESA and Tanzania is not part of COMESA anymore but accept the yellow card issued by a COMESA country insurance. Buy in Kenya (Nairobi (Head Office) 8th floor Mayfair Centre, Ralph Bunche road +254 20 2999000 – Comesa agents or Langata Link or David, and insurance broker +254722847742) or Uganda it will cover you all the way down to the border of Zambia/ Bots/Nam. Zambia and Malawi. It can also be bought at the border but Comesa insurance at the Kenyan border has a very high chance of being fake.
A kid, cyclist, drunkard or madman runs in front of your car and you will spend a lot of time in the country it happened imprisoned attending court for years until the case is decided. And forget about your car. It will be gone. I know of a few people who were rotting in jail for a long time.