Starting Point: Mpulungu, Zambia
End Point: Bujumbura, Burundi
Approximately 750kms over 25 days
Route
Route Through South Africa
A Vioolsdrift Border (blue) to B Cederberg (red)
B Cederberg (red) to C Cape Town (green)
C Cape Town (green) to D Cape Agulhas (yellow)
D Cape Agulhas (yellow) to E Knysna (purple)
E Knysna (purple) to F Plettenberg Bay (teal)
F Plettenberg Bay (teal) to G Grahamstown (blue)
G Grahamstown (blue) to H Hogsback (red)
H Hogsback (red) to I Bulungula (green)
I Bulungula (green) to J Port Edward (yellow)
J Port Edward (yellow) to B Umhlanga (purple)
B Umhlanga (purple) to C Ballito (teal)
C Ballito (teal) to D Pietermaritzburg (blue)
D Pietermaritzburg (blue) to E/H Nelspruit (red)
E/H Nelspruit (red) to F Paul Kruger Gate (yellow)
F Paul Kruger Gate (Kruger Park) (yellow) to G Malelane Gate (Kruger Park) (purple)
G Malelane Gate (Kruger Park) (purple) to E/H Nelspruit (red)
Lowveld Loop from Nelspruit – God’s Window – There Rondavels – Pilgrimsrest – Sabie – Nelspruit
E/H Nelspruit (red) to F Pretoria (red)
Route Through Namibia
A Trans Kalahari Border (blue) to B Windhoek (red)
B Windhoek (red) to C Swakopmund (green)
C Swakopmund (green) to D Sesriem (yellow)
D Sesriem (yellow) to E Sossusvlei (purple)
D Sesriem (yellow) to F along Route D707 (teal)
F along Route D707 (teal) to G Luderitz (blue)
G Luderitz (blue) to H Ais-Ais (red)
H Ais-Ais (red) – I Noordoewer Border control Border (green)
Route Through Botswana
A Ramokawebana/Plumtree Border (blue) to B Francistown (red)
B Francistown (red) to C Turnoff for Kubu Island (grey)
C Turnoff for Kubu Island (grey) to Kubu Island (green)
Kubu Island (green) to A Turnoff to Maun (grey)
A Turnoff to Maun (grey) to B Nxai Pan (yellow)
B Nxai Pan (yellow) to C Baines Baobabs (purple)
C Baines Baobabs (purple) to D Maun (teal)
D Maun (teal) – E Mamuno/Trans-Kalahari Border (blue)
Route Through Zimbabwe
A Kariba Border (blue) to B Harare (green) – 370km of good tar and takes approximately 5 hours. Make sure you stop at Lions Den butchery between Karoi and Chinhoyi – best biltong in Zimbabwe!
B Harare (green) to C Nyanga (yellow) – 300km of good tar and takes almost 5 hours. Be sure to stop at Halfway House on the road to Rusape. World View in Nyanga is not to be missed!
C Nyanga (yellow) to D Mutare (purple) – 110km of good tar and takes around 1:30 hrs. I took a longer route through the dirt track forestry roads to see Mutarazi Falls and the Honde Valley so I took a full day. Mutare is a biggish town and is good for restocking or vehicle maintanance.
D Mutare (purple) to E Masvingo (teal) – 320km of good tar and takes approximately 4:30 hrs. You’ll cross over the impressive Birchenough Bridge on this route. Don’t miss Zimbabwe Ruins (or Great Zimbabwe) which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and are just south of Masvingo – this is a very worthwhile stop.
E Masvingo (teal) to F Bulawayo (blue) – 280km of good tar and takes near 4 hours. Take a 60 minute detour south of Bulawayo to see Matopos National Park – a beautiful park (also UNESCO WHS) with giant balancing rocks. It’s also the resting place of Cecil John Rhodes, who’s grave can be found at the top of the main set of rocks along with a war memorial. Again, worth the visit.
F Bulawayo (blue) to G Plumtree/Ramokawebana Border (red) – 120km of good tar and just over 2 hours. This is generally a quick and easy border post. Botswana is generally fairly strict so ensure you have all your documents in order.
Route Through Zambia
A Chipata/Mchinji Border (blue) to B Chipata – 20kms, half an hour with the border, easy driving and good tar
B/D Chipata (red) to C South Luangwa (green) – 160kms, 2.5 hours, this road used to be awful but they have tarred most of it now and were finishing off the final stretch in December 2013
C South Luangwa (green) to B/D Chipata (red) – see above, in reverse
B/D Chipata (red) to E Bridge Camp (yellow) – 340kms, 4.5 hours, the roads are excellent but there is a bit of an escarpment near Bridge Camp which slows things down
E Bridge Camp (yellow) to F Lusaka (purple) – 240kms, 3 hours, great roads so easy riding on flat tar
F Lusaka (purple) to G Kariba Border (teal) – 184kms, 2.5 hours. The road to the Kariba Border is decent but slightly older and narrower than the main roads I’d been on. Most of the traffic heads straight for the Chirindu Border so this road isn’t a major one. Whilst the Kariba route is a litre longer, it’s quieter and the border is a breeze with no trucks
Route Through Malawi
A Songwe Border to B Chitimba Camp – 135kms, this is perfect tar but driving is limited at 80kms per hour and often slower due to the number of people and animals walking along either side of the road – read about this section here
B Chitimba to C Nkhata Bay – 178kms, good tar all the way. This takes quite a long time as the road breaks away from the lake shore and winds up an escarpment and down the other side – read about this section here
C Nkhata Bay to D Chintheche – 40kms, easy driving – the villages are set right on the road so watch out for children that play here! – read about this section here
D Chintheche to E Lilongwe – 350kms, long days drive here but very do able. The tar is excellent all the way – read about this section here
E Lilongwe to F Mchinji/Chipata Border – 125kms, easy riding on flat tar. Look out for the beautiful tea farms along the way – read about this section here
Route Through Tanzania
Nairobi (blue) to Arusha (red) – 170 miles (5 hours, great road, border crossing easy) – read about this stretch here
Arusha to Tabora (green) – 392 miles (they were doing road works near Arusha, good tar to Singida and then patchy gravel road to Tabora) this took around 10 hours… – read about this stretch here
Tabora to Katavi (yellow) – 275 miles (this road is very do-able but incredibly slow. It had been dry and so the roads were ok, very bumpy 20km/h driving. Wouldn’t like to do this in the rainy season!) Stopping for photos and taking it chilled, this took almost 12 hours – read about this stretch here
Katavi to Kipili LakeShore Lodge (purple) – 93 miles (took things slow as we completed the game drive through Katavi, roads quite corrugated for a long time and you’re not able to drive at pace, last stretch down to Kipili is a beautiful escarpment road) this took around 4 hours – read about this stretch here
Kipili LakeShore Lodge to Sumbawanga (teal) – 92 miles (ok dirt road) took 3 hours – read about this part here
Sumbawanga to Mbeya (blue) – 210 miles (first 40 miles are being rebuilt this road so it should be great in a few months, the rest was great tar, extremely congested with trucks near Tunduma due to Zambian border) took 5 hours – read about this part here
Mbeya to Songwe Malawi Border (red) – 70 miles (great tar all the way, absolutely beatufiul drive down the escarpment into Malawi) took 2 hours – SPEED COPS THE ENTIRE WAY (they sit in the many 50km/h zones) – read about this part here
Route to Ngorongoro and Serengeti, Tanzania
TOUR WITH ABSOLUTE AFRICA
Nairobi (blue) to Arusha (red) – 170 miles (5 hours, great road, border crossing easy)
Arusha to Ngorongoro (green) – 130 miles (4 hours, slow going nearer the crater) – see post here
Ngorongoro to Serengeti (yellow) – 65 miles (9 hours, horrendous road crater to park gate, pole pole game drive) – see post here
Serengeti back to Arusha (red) – 200 miles (7 hours – hectic corrugations park to crater) – see post here
Arusha to Nairobi (blue) – 170 miles (as above, good roads – few road works Tanzania side, border crossing easy)
Route Kampala to Bwindi, Uganda
TOUR WITH SAFARI WILDZ
Kampala (blue) to Jinja (red) – 50 miles (1.5 hours easy driving) – see my rafting post here
Jinja to Bwindi Gorillas (green) – 340 miles (16 hours, roadworks for half the way…) – see my gorillas post here
Bwindi back to Kampala (blue) – 290 miles (15 hours, roadworks, don’t try do a 16 hour and a 15 hour journey within 3 days, it’s no fun)
Route Nairobi to Crash Site, Kenya
Nairobi (blue) to Naivasha (red) – 58 miles (1.5 hours, beautiful escarpment road) – see post here
Naivasha to Narok (green) – 80 miles (2 hours good roads all the way) – see post here
Narok to crash site (yellow) – 5 miles (wish I hadn’t missed that damn turnoff…)
Route Mombasa to Nairobi, Kenya
Mombasa (blue) to Diani Beach (red) – 23 miles (1 hour due to Likoni Ferry) – see post here
Diani Beach to Tsavo East (green) – 144 miles (5 hours through the Shimba Hills) – see post here
Tsavo East to Tsavo West (yellow) – 83 miles (4 hours pole pole game drive) – see post here
Tsavo West to Amboseli (purple) – 82 miles (5 hours – horrendous road!) – see post here
Amboseli to Nairobi (blue) – 141 miles (5ish hours – horrible road to tar, dangerous road thereafter!) – see post here
Off the Beaten Track 