Itinerary and planning

Overland from Cairo to Cape Town

This means that our MAN has to be parked in Egypt before we can set off. We have therefore decided to ship from probably Genoa to Alexandria. There is currently no ferry service to Egypt, which is why we cannot travel by boat.

As an alternative to Genoa, shipping from Piraeus would also be possible. This line is also cheaper than the one from Genoa. However, this ship calls at several ports in the Middle East before arriving in Alexandria. The ship from Genoa, on the other hand, calls directly at Alexandria. This minimizes the risk of burglary, which is worth the extra cost to us.

Travel stages

We will probably divide the journey through Africa into four stages. The staging is related to the rainy seasons, which make it difficult to get through. During the rainy season, there are often fewer animals visible in the national parks, as they also find sufficient water in the hinterland. We have also adapted our travel plans accordingly.

1st stage

Stage 2

3rd stage

Stage 4

How do I plan a trip to Africa?

From about Ethiopia onwards, the seasons are determined by the rainy and dry seasons. Rain is always to be expected in tropical Africa, but much less in the drier months than in the rainy season. During the rainy season, beautiful off-road routes with earth surfaces can become impassable or swollen streams and rivers can block the way. The sky can also be overcast for days and it can be gloomy. From about Zambia and southwards, the rainy and dry seasons are more pronounced. Dry then really means dry.

As the game finds enough water everywhere during the rainy season and the African bush is then green and densely leafy, it is to be expected that only a few animals will be seen. This is one of the reasons why we try to avoid rainy seasons, at least in part.

Of course, the rainy seasons in non-tropical Africa are also different. There are years in which the rainy seasons bring only sparse rain and years with particularly heavy rainfall.

I made the following table to help me plan our trip. As rainy seasons and best travel times are also given differently in different sources and due to the differences from year to year, this table can only be taken as a guide.

Rainy and dry seasons table

No liability / responsibility can be accepted for the accuracy of the following table. The copyright lies with www.onwheels.travel.

The rainy season begins

In Nxai National Park in Botswana, we were able to observe the arrival of the rainy season after a pronounced dry period. Of course, we immediately got out of the pans and onto “safe ground”.