Our Next Adventure: Nairobi To Cape Town Through 7 Countries
Yep, that’s what we’re doing next. In the middle of July we’ll be flying out to Nairobi, so making Kenya the first of seven countries on our slow journey from there to the continent’s southern coast. We will be starting with only an outline plan of our route, a framework which contains a number of definites and several “must sees” but with a variable plan which is likely to evolve and change as we make our way southwards.
All seven countries will be, for us, new African ground. Together we have previously visited Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Cape Verde and Tanzania including Zanzibar, and Michaela has also visited Gambia and Senegal, but this next adventure will take us through a whole host of so far unseen lands.
At this stage our planned route will take us through Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and, ultimately, South Africa. It goes without saying that wildlife spotting will play a huge part in this adventure: no doubt there will be safari experiences, long journeys across the plains, places with reputations for some of the best wildlife experiences on Earth. But that won’t be all.
We will be seeking to explore cultures very different from our own, cuisines with unknown and untried foods, people and places with unfamiliar lifestyles. And we are looking to build in a bit of excitement, a bit of journeying into the unknown – we picture arriving in places knowing what our next destination is but not knowing how we get there, finding our way through unfamiliar territory with a dash of improvisation and resourcefulness.
Filled already with excitement, our countdown to our next adventure has begun, it’s just over three weeks until we leave these shores and start our journey. If all goes to plan it’ll be a full four months before we reacquaint ourselves with England.
Africa awaits.
43 Comments
Marie
Wow – that will be some trip! Sounds fab. We were in Namibia in 2017 – self drive – and it’s up there with the best trips we’ve ever taken. We were in South Africa in January and loved it. Happy planning over the next few months…..
Phil & Michaela
I well remember your posts about Cape Town, in fact how much you loved it played a part in deciding the final destination of this journey. We’re planning to self drive through Namibia, too. This promises to be a big adventure!
Marie
Sorry – just rereading the last paragraph – thought you were heading off in 4 months! The next few weeks will fly by.. Have a wonderful time.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Maria – just 23 days to go…
Jenny
good luck and will look forward to reading your adventures!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Jenny, counting down the days!
Suzanne@PictureRetirement
Happy travels and as always, be safe. Thanks for the map – it puts the geography of it all into better perspective. We are jetting off to Italy in a few days for a month-long adventure to various ports. Our time away will be quite tame in comparison, but fun, nevertheless. Looking forward to your updates.
Phil & Michaela
Ah but Italy is absolutely lovely and endlessly enchanting. I look forward to reading of your chosen destinations!
Heyjude
Sounds like quite the adventure. Can’t wait to hear all about it, but please be careful in some of those countries. Keep your wits about you, it’s not just the animals that can be dangerous.
Phil & Michaela
Yes there’s a lot to be wary of in places like these, we’re going to have to have an extra level of self preservation.
Toonsarah
Wow, this is going to be a fantastic trip! I’ll be excited to follow it as you visit a few countries I’ve been to and several I haven’t but want to 🙂 Malawi in particular has been on our radar for a while. We can share a few ideas from Nairobi and Namibia when we meet up, if you’re interested?
Phil & Michaela
Oh absolutely, Sarah, we are VERY interested in learning of your experiences and ideas. Looking forward to that discussion! By the way, I’ve been trying to leave a comment on your Sardinia post from yesterday but it doesn’t seem to have landed (and the post layout is strangely distorted too). Tried on two different ipads but don’t think either of them have landed?
Monkey's Tale
Have a great trip! There’s so much to see in Kenya, I’m sure you have all the hotspots noted. Mt. Kenya is a beautiful hike. Namibia has been on our list for a while so I’ll be excited to see those posts. Happy non-planning.
Phil & Michaela
Hopefully it’s going to be a big one..
WanderingCanadians
Sounds exciting! Safe travels! Looking forward to reading about your adventures.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you, we’re getting very excited about it!
Annie Berger
Glad to see you’ll be on the road again very soon and WHAT a trip you’ve planned or envisioning! South Africa is the only one of the countries we’ve been to you’re going to and, though we were there in 2016, it still remains at the top of our go-to places! My 2-cents’ worth would be to consider stopping if you can in Johannesburg to tour Soweto, the riveting Apartheid Museum, etc, and then rent a car to drive from J’burg to Kruger National Park via Dullstrom & Lydenburg for gorgeous mountain passes with rural villages & waterfall; enter park @ Maleane Gate. One of the BEST places we’ve ever stayed was at Crocodile Bridge Safari Lodge just minutes outside the park in Komatipoort and one I can’t begin to recommend highly enough. We stayed there 3 nights and took self-driving day trips into various areas of the park. we easily saw the Big 5 in one day, I remember. Can’t wait to read your posts and vicariously visit some of the countries you’ll be exploring and others that are more at the top of our wish list travel countries! Safe travels!
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
This is awesome. We have this area on our travel list and will enjoy and learn from you!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you guys, yes we’re really excited about this one
Helen Devries
Have you come across the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, rescuing orphan elephants and reintegrating them? You can book visits to their nursery in the Nairobi National Park, and they also have eco lodges adjoining their reintegration sites further out in the country.
Phil & Michaela
No, we hadn’t heard about this, Helen. Will look into it straight away.
Helen Devries
For safari, I don’t know if this lady is still organising them – she is now running a donkey sanctuary – but a friend – who wrote the book referred to on the site – was very happy with her experience.
http://www.asyoulikeitsafaris.com/
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Helen
Parks and Planes
I’m jealous of your next adventure and look forward to hearing all about it!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you…can’t wait to get going now!
Miriam
What an exciting trip lies in store for you! Travelling without a plan, improvising, learning about new cultures and embracing each day of the unknown in new lands is the ultimate adventure. Looking forward to travelling it virtually with you. Enjoy the lead up and anticipation!
Phil & Michaela
We are indeed very excited. Just three weeks to go….
Santosh Adk
This is beautiful and useful information. Great content, such a real sharing, and beautiful pictures.
Thank you for sharing your information. Can not wait to read next one.
http://www.thenepaltrekkingcompany.com
Travels Through My Lens
Sounds like a grand adventure. I’m looking forward to seeing your wildlife photos.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you, we’re full of anticipation now!
Lookoom
It’s a great trip ahead, with many unusual encounters, far from our everyday routine. I’ve always had little interest in Central Africa, even though my three-week road trip through South Africa had me hooked.
Phil & Michaela
It’s going to be an interesting one…….
wetanddustyroads
Yeah!! I’m almost more excited than you guys! What a wonderful adventure – you are definitely going to see wild animals and beautiful sunsets and yes, taste interesting foods too. I can’t wait for your posts …. and I hope we can make a plan to see you when you’re in Cape Town!
Phil & Michaela
That would be amazing! How much of South Africa we get to see will depend entirely on when we arrive, but we’ll definitely be doing Cape Town. We’re very excited about this trip, can’t wait to get going!
grandmisadventures
Wow, what an incredible journey that will be! Can’t wait to follow along with you through the 7 countries and to see your pictures of the beautiful animals 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Meg, we are very excited about this.
Christie
Wow, truly exciting😍 Safe travels!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you x
Image Earth Travel
What a fabulous trip!
I haven’t been to Africa since I solo backpacked around the world in 1985 and look forward to reading your posts down the track.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you, Nilla – we are so looking forward to this trip. We leave on 15th of this month so the countdown is ticking…
Image Earth Travel
Excellent! Safe travels!
Alison
That sounds like the trip of a lifetime and will certainly outdo all your other trips. I see reading this that you don’t have all your accommodation booked, just going with the flow. Will be looking forward to seeing some fabulous photos and reading more of your fantastic prose.
Phil & Michaela
Well thank you for those lovely comments Ali. So looking forward to this….