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Roadtrip Africa with scooter and car | 62.000 km – the introduction

caribu! In other words, welcome to my adventurous roadtrip blog about Africa. I'm Eric and I travel (already three years now) with a scooter and a car through Africa. Travel with me Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini (Swaziland), Mozambique and Lesotho.

A trip for your bucket list
Tour Uganda | Discover the pearl of Africa

Uganda has stolen our hearts more than once and as far as we are concerned it is a travel destination that belongs on the bucket list of every world traveler. Find out why Uganda is called the pearl of Africa.

A trip through Uganda will be one you will never forget. Spot the tree-climbing lions, meet thousands of elephants, come face to face with Mountain Gorillas in the jungle and get to know the beautiful culture.

View individual trips View group trips
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Plan your holiday to Africa here

Introduction

After more than 12.000 km of adventure on my scooter through Uganda and Kenya (where Chris van Wereldreizigers.nl joined for a few weeks – see here), in February 2022 I decided to buy a minibus in Mombasa. By now I find myself 50.000 km and seven months later in St Lucia, South Africa.

Time to entrust all my travel adventures to digital paper. Ever plan to do this too? Read my blogs, take the many tips to heart and go!!! Africa is waiting for you!!!

A tam-tam produces happy faces near Iten, Kenya
A tam-tam produces happy faces near Iten, Kenya | Roadtrip Africa
Minibus parked in Pretorius Kop. Kruger NP
Minibus parked in Pretorius Kop. Kruger NP | Roadtrip Africa

Tip:: I will write an extensive blog about buying a scooter, car or minibus in Uganda or Kenya. It is quite complicated if you do not know the local rules.

The itinerary (no planning)

Actually, I never had a route in mind. From Uganda to Kenya and one thing led to another… I arrived in Kenya in September 2021 on my scooter. That turned out to be a golden move because almost all tourists had disappeared (Covid), and it gave me the chance to stay in the most beautiful hotels in the most spectacular places for next to nothing…

As the only guest in Sentrim Tsavo East NP | Roadtrip Africa

So I stayed in for several weeks Taita Hills Game Resort and the spectacular Sentrim Tsavo East (where the famous 'red' elephants reside at a waterhole almost all day).

Elephant at the waterhole, Sentrim Tsavo East | Roadtrip Africa

In November I scootered to the UNESCO heritage site of Lamu on a brand new road. I celebrated Christmas in Malindi on the sun-drenched Swahili coast of Kenya. Mombasa was my hideaway from February to mid-April. Enough time to buy a minibus there (by chance) and then continue our journey. To enter the South Cape at the beginning of August via Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. In September I celebrated Umhlanga in Eswatini to travel through Mozambique for a month.

Umhlanga festival in Eswatini
Umhlanga festival in Eswatini | Roadtrip Africa

Unfortunately, you can only stay in Mozambique for 30 days on your visa (well, I will come back to it in a blog, all those visa rules and those border crossings). And so I traveled back to South Africa. Through beautiful Kwazulu-Natal, the Free State and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho.

Where possible I park my minibus and travel locally on the ?. Because it fits perfectly in the back of the minibus, is economical (fuel prices have also risen here) and it mainly ensures special encounters with the local population (including the police and the army). Especially if, like me, you always have lollipops (tamtams in Swahili and Stokkies in Afrikaans) with you for the little ones.

Video: On a scooter near Bamba (Kilifi District, Kenya). And off they went. PARTY over a 'mzungu' with lollipops!

There are now too many to mention. The Marafi depression in Kenya or Kafue NP in Zambia or the hanging lions in Uganda or that boat trip in Kasane, Botswana? I almost forgot about Mikumi NP in Tanzania and Clarens in South Africa.

Clarens, South Africa
Clarens, South Africa | Roadtrip Africa

Not to mention the 30.000 virgins in Eswatini (Swaziland)… Or was it simply the meeting(s) with the Yemeni Mohamed who milks his cows on demand every day at sunset near the river in Malindi?

Mohamed milks his cows in Malindi, Kenya
Mohamed milks his cows in Malindi, Kenya | Roadtrip Africa

Tips and tricks

Yes, now I can report like no other about how you 'worldlytravel through Africa. Whether it concerns the many times that you are stopped at police and army stops, or what you should and especially NOT do. What the situation is at the various borders… From Tanzania to Zambia, for example. When the chaos seems complete and everyone is accosting you. And you enter Zambia after five hours on an impossible sand track… Or to suddenly drive over a brand new bridge into Botswana from the chaos in Zambia. To see that Botswana has it very well done and to immediately miss the chaos…

And what do you do when your car breaks down? If your timing belt is completely worn out and you are stuck in a war zone, in the desert of Kenya on your way to Ethiopia? Or you get a flat tire 100 km from Sossusvlei in Namibia? 

A flat tire in Namib Naukluft NP
A flat tire in Namib Naukluft NP | Roadtrip Africa

And what do you do if you have been driving without a valid driver's license for six months? It will all be covered in the upcoming blogs.

Just real travel stories…

How did I travel from A to B? I'll make a roadmap. But the stories are much more fun and interesting. Because I travel comfortably. And that just yields much more…

Posing with meerkats in Makgadikgadi Pans NP, Botswana
Posing with meerkats in Makgadikgadi Pans NP, Botswana | Roadtrip Africa

Where does this journey end?

I have no idea. Maybe I'll drive my bus to Europa. I have now decided to stay 'on the road' at least until April 2023, somewhere in Africa.

Enjoy all the stories and if you need advice. I am always available. Also in Africa!

With traveling greetings,

Eric

A trip for your bucket list
Tour Uganda | Discover the pearl of Africa

Uganda has stolen our hearts more than once and as far as we are concerned it is a travel destination that belongs on the bucket list of every world traveler. Find out why Uganda is called the pearl of Africa.

A trip through Uganda will be one you will never forget. Spot the tree-climbing lions, meet thousands of elephants, come face to face with Mountain Gorillas in the jungle and get to know the beautiful culture.

View individual trips View group trips
By using these affiliate links you support us at no extra cost. Thank you!

Plan your holiday to Africa here

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Eric

What is it like to drive more than 10.000 kilometers in Madagascar on a locally bought scooter? Or on a pikipiki (scooter in Swahili) through East Africa? In more than 20 years I have visited more than 100 countries. This has resulted in a lot of priceless travel experiences, which I would like to share with you.

ERIC – OVER 100 COUNTRIES
– Likes to travel on scooters
– Share unique travel experiences.
– Favorite destinations: Madagascar, Uganda, Japan, India and Colombia.

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