This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by @terresco: Afrique, la longue traversée

Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (@vcelier), but @terresco, a French guy.

---

Africa, the long crossing

From Cape Town to Mombasa by car, 8 countries, 3 months, 12500 km. A trip I had been thinking about for a long time. The idea is to cross Africa from east to west while going north to access a wide variety of cultures and landscapes. From desert Namibia with strong South African influences to the green coast of Kenya.

Finally, in this fine morning in June, we wake up in Cape Town. Less than two weeks before the departure, the race against the clock begins. We must not forget anything because then, except perhaps in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, we will not find spare parts or missing equipment.

+ + + + + + + + +

La préparation

The car is partly ready, it's a pickup truck, closed on the back to put the stuff, equipped with a roof tent. A little equipment was added: a winch on the front; an additional battery to have light in the tent but also around it to be protected against the animals on the evening; a solar panel to power the batteries; a second spare wheel; sand plates; converter to charge phone, GPS and cameras; a second tank of fuel and another for water; a compressor to be able to inflate easily after driving on sand, a minimum of tools and of course the basic camping equipment.

Cape Town, it's an old story, we have known it for a long time, we have friends there, we go back regularly because we love this city. This is also the "logical" starting point of the trip. South Africans love to camp so you can find everything you need.

The administrative part is surprisingly simple, simple for such an administrative part anyway, but do not imagine that they let you quietly cross countries without some sacrosanct forms. The key is the customs pass, it is a little the passport of the car and, except that it is mandatory for some countries, it greatly facilitates the task of crossing borders. Insurance side there are two separate areas, so two insurance to take but a very low price. Then the visas for passengers that we all took directly at the borders.

Let's not forget a good medicine kit with antibiotics, anti-malarial medicine, clean syringes and all the classics that you can imagine. We do not take preventive treatment against malaria but we have something to treat ourselves in case of crisis.

* * * * *

The Itinerary

We built our itinerary according to many variables, and we adapted it during the the trip. We already knew South Africa, southern Namibia and its gorgeous [Orange River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_River) Gorge, southern [Botswana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana), and the desert-lined [Kalahari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalahari_Desert) area of lions and Bushmen (remember the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy?). So we had to go north in these two countries which led us to follow more or less the Atlantic coast from Cape Town.

For this first part of the trip, we will travel with two cars, accompanied by a friend. Our friend will have to return to Cape Town and we will continue alone to Zimbabwe. I had dreamed for a long time of this country and I was not disappointed. Luckily, we were there before the recent political problems. We will leave Zimbabwe for Zambia, which shares with Zimbabwe its Rhodesian past. From Zambia we will go back to Malawi then to more tourist countries such as Tanzania and its famous sites: the Kilimanjaro, the plain of Serengeti and the annual transhumance of herds, the crater of Ngorongoro ... all the clichés of Africa certainly but beautiful shots.

We will end up in Kenya to reach the port of Mombasa and be able to take the car and send it back to Cape Town. Between an election canceled for fraud and waiting for a second one, the formalities to board a car in a port that we do not know and the beginning of the rainy season Kenya had concocted an end of active trip

The time of year is not the best for South Africa and southern Namibia (it's winter) but after that it's perfect and in principle, we should be able to arrive before the rainy season.

* * * * *

One beautiful morning in July, the sun is not up yet when we start and make the first km of the long road that should take us to Kenya. Three months is a long time, so I will need several posts to tell the full story. In the next part, we will leave Cape Town to go up along the diamond coast to Namibia.

-- @terresco

---

All pictures are property of @terresco