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First, you need your playlist, and it’s OK to indulge in cliche here. Don’t try too hard.
Ensure it has Toto’s Africa on it because it’s a classic, regardless of the fact that at the time of writing it, none of the members of Toto had even set foot on the continent.
Go for plenty of songs from Paul Simon’s Graceland. Put on some Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Definitely include Tinariwen. You can even go for The Lion King soundtrack if it makes you happy.
Next, you need your vehicle, something hardy, preferably a 4WD that’s decked out for camping with a tent on the roof. Something at home on the highways or the dirt tracks.
First a playlist … then a camp-worthy vehicle.Credit: Getty Images
And then you need a plan, a rough idea of where you want to go and what you want to experience. Then, start the engine, point the right way, and go.
I want to tell you about one of the greatest experiences you can have on the African continent. It’s not the typical game safari, as amazing as that is. It’s not the luxury of a lodge on a winery in Stellenbosch. It’s not Victoria Falls or the River Nile; not Roman ruins in Tunisia or ancient medinas in Morocco.
It’s a road trip.
Scenic Cape Town … Africa doesn’t scream “road trip”, but it should.Credit: Getty Images
Granted, Africa isn’t the location that always springs to mind for a car journey. North America is the classic, though people also like to motor around Europe, or stay home in Australia to enjoy the wide open road.
Africa might sound daunting, even dangerous. Wouldn’t you need to take serious precautions?
First, you have to remember there’s Africa and there’s Africa. It’s probably only the hardcore travellers who are going to consider, say, a full top-to-bottom drive, tackling the likes of Sudan and Ethiopia, or Nigeria and Cameroon. Even Egypt is not for the faint-hearted.
But how about southern Africa, around South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia? Now you’re looking at an approachable and incredibly enjoyable road trip.
I’ve done it, and it was one of the best holidays of my life. My partner and I spent six weeks in a ute with a tent on the roof, Toto and Paul Simon cued up on the stereo, driving around South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
Preparation is key in the wilds of Africa … but the payoff is just incredible.Credit: Getty Images
Do you have to take precautions? Sure. You need to be smart. You need to be able to handle driving in varied conditions, work a GPS, and plan emergency supplies. You must be aware of your surroundings and take measures to get yourself out of there if it feels like something is going to go awry.
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The payoff though is just incredible. To drive yourself through these places, to take command of your adventure, to plot your route each day and pit your wits against the world, to stock up your centre console with as much biltong as it can carry and just go, is nothing short of life-changing.
Travel through cities and along coastlines. See Cape Town, go along the Garden Route. Stop in Jeffreys Bay. Eat bunny chow in Durban and stop in smaller towns like Swakopmund and Maun, tourist-friendly but still far off the beaten track. And then go into the interior, into the wilderness, and find so much more.
You’ll drive on everything from smooth asphalt to dirt and rocks to soft sand and spend nights in campsites in the desert, by riverbanks, in game reserves and in the bush surrounded by baboons and monkeys who are always trying to nick your food.
You’ll notice every single sunset. Watch as this huge orb is swallowed by the dusty horizon. Toast the end of the day as you think about setting up a campfire. Lay awake at night and hear lions roar and let the primal fear fizz through your veins.
You’ll meet fellow campers, people in shops, at truck stops, at restaurants, at the beach. These are friendly places and you’ll never feel short of someone to chat to (as long as you can put up with all the jokes about Australians).
Most expect an African road trip to bring with it a sense of adventure, maybe even fear – but the dominant sensation is joy. This is fun. This is what travel is all about. It’s thrilling and beautiful.
Even the simple act of stocking up for supplies is enjoyable. Wandering through a supermarket in, say, Rundu on the Caprivi Strip and seeing what they have to offer, what you can turn into dinner tonight to go with the wine you’re still lugging around from Stellenbosch.
And then it’s back in the car to drive on. Toto is playing. “I bless the rains down in Africa…”
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