What is an overland trip?

An overland trip is in the simplest form: an adventure over land. It’s about the journey, the experience, the exploration, and for most people, it’s about getting out of your comfort zone. It’s definitely not for those that want pure relaxation, luxury, or a simple holiday.

In Africa, it involves camping, a big truck driving on weather-beaten roads, and food cooked over the campfire. It does not include washing machines, hot showers every night, or reliable WIFI.

Why choose an overland trip to travel across Africa?

  1. Africa is MASSIVE and let me tell ya, I wanted to do it ALL.
  2. I wanted to fit as much as possible while I was in Eastern and Southern Africa and I knew I’d be able to do more being on an overland tour.
  3. The things I wanted to do in Africa can be quite expensive and I found doing them as a big group cuts down on cost vs. doing a lot of 2 day 3 night trips or safaris.
  4. Convenience and independence! Most overland trips are designed in a way for you to build your own trip. What’s typically included in the price of an overland trip is transportation, breakfast and dinners, campsite (& gear), and some activities such as the Maasai Mara, Serengeti, and more. The rest of the trip you get to choose your activities, so it involves a bit more independence than your average tour while still not having to worry about driving, gas, where you’re staying, etc.
  5. Driving > flying. Some can argue this and sometimes I can join that argument, however, I had the time off so I opted for the scenic route and I think it’s worth it when traveling across Africa.
  6. It’s always about the budget, ain’t it? If you all think that Eastern and Southern Africa is cheap, think again.
  7. Built-in travel buddies! I got to travel across the continent with a lot of really awesome people from all over the world.
  8. I had absolutely no idea what to expect traveling to Africa. I didn’t want to be constantly paranoid the entire time I was there and also I didn’t want to go into it completely naïve because my perspective of the world not being as scary as the news makes it out to be can also be dangerous. While I never felt uncomfortable or in danger when visiting, I’m thankful for the bit of certainty and stability that the tour provided for my first trip there (and so is my mom). With all that being said, I would feel totally comfortable visiting again solo but I think I had an even better time going on the tour because I was able to travel with some awesome people.

Cons:

  1. It can turn into a bit of a booze cruise. No WIFI, lots of free time, lots of backpackers in one area = lots of drinking.
  2. You’re with (mostly) the same people for the entire trip AKA spending 24/7 with them and that leads to D R A M A.
  3. Not lots of alone time! Well this may only apply to me because I struggle balancing being an introvert and needing my alone time and also having severe FOMO.
  4. Loooong drives! We’re talking 7+ hours. Often on beaten dirt roads. Often starting before sunrise.
  5. Not being able to spend more or less time in places you loved or hated. You can’t be moving to the beat of your own drum.
  6. The end of the trip. No one ever wants to leave.

What to expect on the trip:

Food

For the tour I chose, groups were split into 5-6 people and we all rotated on duties throughout the trip. Some tours come with chefs but they’re typically a tad bit more expensive.

Each group was given a duty that involved cooking and shopping, dishes, cleaning the bus, or packing up the truck. Whatever team that was cooking that day decided what they wanted to cook for dinner and also did the shopping.

Breakfasts were often the regular eggs, bacon, toast, seasonal fruit with coffee and tea, or just simple cereal and toast cooked over a fire with coffee and tea if we were leaving early in the morning or in a hurry.

For lunches, I typically just made PB&Js or made a cream cheese and veggie sandwich or ate at a local stand somewhere along the way if it was an option. We would always get time to do shopping for lunches. Some people would skip lunch to save money and some people loved trying all the local foods or would get creative with their food. It varied with everyone’s budget and totally up to each individual since lunches are not included in the tour price.

Dinners mostly consisted of chilis, curries, stir-fries, pasta, whatever meats available, rice, potatoes, and seasonal veggies. It was very similar to what we would eat at home. We would just be cooking for 20+ people over a fire so whatever was easy to cook was what we ate.

For all you vegetarians out there, do not fret! I am one of you and there were always options. In fact, we found fake meats across most countries!

I have been asked quite a bit if I ever got sick from the food and the answer to that is no and I was never disappointed in the food!

The truck

I’ve gotten numerous questions about what the truck is like. Well, the one I was on was a massive yellow 4×4 with a small ladder to get into. It comes equipped with a charging station at the front of the bus that only works as you drive, a hidden safe for cash and passports, a fridge, lots of forward and backward facing seats, and some plastic windows that you could roll up when viewing wildlife or on a game drive. The cooking and cleaning supplies, tents, and sleeping mats and your backpacks all go in lockable storage units under the truck.

Between a full truck and most people having cameras, portable chargers, and phones, the charging station fills up quickly, so I’d really recommend bringing a good portable charger especially if you plan on buying sim cards for your phone or using your phone as your camera for the trip.

The truck is massive and you’re driving on a lot of dirt roads and there are times where you’re spending 7+ hours in the truck, pack what is needed to keep you entertained for those long days! Download all the books, movies, playlists and podcasts, a journal, and definitely bring a deck of cards.

And last but not least, be prepared for it all: flat tires, getting stuck, breaking down. I thoroughly remember getting stuck on our way out of a campsite near Maasai Mara for a couple of hours. It’s all a part of the adventure.

Camping

The truck includes all the camping gear you need except for a sleeping bag and pillow. You can buy a pillow in Nairobi on arrival or go without one which is what I did. The tents are made for three people but assigned for every two people for extra room and your bags. There were sleeping mats for everyone that I thought were comfortable! I found the tour was mostly solo travelers and there were a few couples as well as a couple of friend groups so if you are solo, you get to choose who you’d like to have as your tent buddy.

Most campsites we stayed at had flushing toilets and showers and were really nice. There were only 2-3 nights the entire 3 months where I didn’t have access to a shower. Lots of them were cold, but I prefer a cold one over no shower! Many campsites even had bars and swimming pools. Most had slow WIFI but when 20+ people tried to get on at once, forget it! Your best bet is grabbing a sim card in town. There were many campsites that had the option to upgrade to a private room for an upcharge if you needed a break from sleeping on the ground.

Oh, and be ready to welcome critters into your tent.

There’s always a lot of unknowns when joining an overland trip, especially one through Eastern and Southern Africa. These kinds of trips are truly designed for the adventurous where you quickly grow comfortable with being uncomfortable and going with the flow is the only option. Through all the 7+ hour-long driving days, the dirty + smelly clothes, the detachment from civilization for days at a time, the ice-cold showers, the early mornings, the bumpy roads, I constantly find myself dreaming of doing it over and over again. And I think Hemingway said it best, “I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.”