The Big Overlander Northbound - 47 days
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Overview
Highlights
- South Africa - start your journey in Johannesburg, search for the Big Five in Kruger National Park and see the impressive Blyde River Canyon
- Zimbabwe - visit the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, spot wildlife in Matobo and Hwange national parks and take in the Zimbabwean side of Victoria Falls
- Botswana - game drive through Chobe National Park and camp out in the wilderness of the reserve, listening to the sounds of the nocturnal wildlife
- Zambia - marvel at the Zambian side of majestic Victoria Falls from Livingstone and explore South Luangwa National Park
- Malawi - journey along the shore of Lake Malawi, stopping to explore various bays, beaches, inlets and local communities
- Tanzania - relax on the sandy beaches of Zanzibar and enjoy game drives in the legendary Serengeti National Park and the UNESCO-listed Ngorongoro Crater
- Kenya - spot the famous Big Five in the Masai Mara, search for rhinos in Lake Nakuru National Park and watch the African Fish Eagle swooping over Lake Naivasha
- Uganda - stay in the Ugandan capital - Kampala, relax around the shore of Lake Bunyoni and head into the dense jungle of the Magahinga or Bwindi national parks on an optional gorilla trek to see the great apes
What's this trip about?
Details
Travel Themes
Destinations
Attractions
Trip includes
- Arrival transfer from Johannesburg Airport on day 1
- 1st night dormitory accommodation at Mufasa Backpackers Johannesburg (upgrades available) and 42 nights camping. Tents and sleeping mats provided
- A fully equipped overland truck for transportation and game drives
- Services of 3 person crew (leader, driver, cook)
- All camping fees and appropriate equipment
- 41 breakfasts, 37 lunches, 37 dinners
- Park entry - Lake Naivasha NP and Victoria Falls NP. Park entry and game drive - Kruger NP, South Luangwa NP, Matobo NP, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru NP, Ngorongoro NP, Serengeti NP and Chobe NP
- 3 night Zanzibar Excursion including ferry transfer, accommodation, Spice Tour and Dhow Sunset Cruise
- All road taxes and tolls
Popular Trips
Itinerary
Tuesday. Welcome to South Africa. We'll be there ot meet you at Johannesburg Airport and we'll transfer you to the Dove's Nest Guesthouse for your first night in dorm accommodation. There will be a Welcome Meeting at 1700 where you will have the opportunuity to meet your tour guide and fellow travellers.
Johannesburg - Kruger. Departin Johannesburg we drive towards Kruger National Park - passing through the famous Panorama Route on our way. We spend 2 nights in the vicinity of the park and take a night time game drive on the evening of day 2. Day 3 is spent game driving in the park on the look out for the famous Big Five.
Kruger NP - Polokwane. Departing the park today we travel up to Blyde River Canyon and God's Window before overnighting in Polokwane.
Polokwane - Musina. Today we continue our journey north toward the border with Zimbabwe. Sit back and enjoy the changing scenery on this long drive to the beautiful town of Tshipise. Located between rolling hills and well known for it’s natural hot water springs, Tshipise has various walking trails to enjoy or you can relax in the pools this evening.
Tshipise – Masvingo. We cross the border into Zimbabwe this morning, a truly beautiful country with incredible history and tradition. Arriving to the town of Masvingo, our stop for the night, we then head out to explore the Great Zimbabwe Ruins. According to legend th...
Masvingo – Bulawayo. Departing Masavingo we head north to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. With wide sweeping roads and with several the buildings still retaining their British Colonial feel there is lots to see and do in Bulawayo. During your free time you might want to visit the Natural History Museum, the National Arts Gallery or the Mzilikazi Arts and Crafts Centre.
This morning we head for Matobo National Park, one of the few remaining areas in the world inhabited with both Black and White Rhino. Within the park there is also a high concentration of the elusive leopard and impressive black eagle. The ancient San inhabitants of t...
Bulawayo - Hwange National Park. We head northwest today to Zimbabwe’s largest and longest running reserve, Hwange National Park, on day 9. Well known for it’s abundance and variety of wildlife including thousands of elephants and rare antelope species such as Sable a...
Hwange National Park - Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe). This morning we continue to the border of Zimbabwe and our destination Victoria Falls. A 20 minute walk from our campsite takes you to the entry point of the falls. Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya (the Smoke that ...
We have 2 more days at Victoria Falls where we have the opportunity to partake in a plethora of optional activities from micro light flights to bungee jumping to white water rafting. There is a reason Victoria Falls is the adrenalin capital of Africa!
Victoria Falls - Chobe NP (Botswana). Today we cross the border to Botswana and make our way to the town of Kasane. From here we take the included overnight excursion into Chobe National Park. Spend the afternoon in search of wildlife while we game drive to our camp within the park where we spend the evening surrounded by the night-time noises of the local wildlife.
Chobe NP - Livingstone (Zambia). After our night in the bush, we head out early to continue our search for wildlife, before packing up the camp and heading back to Kasane. Once returning to the camp at Kasane, we get back on our truck and continue to the town of Livin...
Livingstone - Lusaka Area - South Luangwa. We start early today as we head further north through Zambia. We spend the evening of day 16 in the Lusaka area before continuing to South Luangwa Natinal Park - one of Zambia's premier national parks.
South Luangwa - Lake Malawi Beaches (Malawi). Leaving Zambia we cross into Malawi, the ‘Warm Heart of Africa’. We stop off in the capital, Lilongwe, a small city distinctively divided into the old town and the new administrative centre. Malawi is a landlocked country...
Lake Malawi Beaches - Iringa (Tanzania). After a relaxing 3 days, we leave Malawi, entering Tanzania through the border post at Songwe. Winding our way through the beauty of the Tukuyu tea and banana plantations, we head towards Iringa where we spend the night in the beautiful rustic ‘Farmhouse’ campsite famous for its Amarula Hot Chocolates and its steamy showers!
Iringa - Dar es Salaam. Continuing north we pass through Mikumi National Park with the opportunity to see wildlife along the way. Today could be a long drive day as we get to one of Tanzania's busiest cities, Dar Es Salaam. We camp tonight at a seaside campsite and prepare for our departure to Zanzibar tomorrow.
Dar es Salaam - Zanzibar. This morning we leave our campsite and board the public ferry to Zanzibar. We spend the next 3 days relaxing on the island and our stay here includes one night in Stone Town and two nights on the Northern beaches as well as a Spice Tour in Stone Town and a Sunset Dhow cruise.
Zanzibar - Dar es Salaam. Leaving Zanzibar in the afternoon, we return to the mainland and another night in Dar es Salaam. Arrival back to camp is usually in the late afternoon, or early evening.
Dar es Salaam – Pangani - Arusha. Our travel over the next two days takes us up to Arusha via the coastal town of Pangani. We'll pass by vast sisal plantations and African bushveld along the way. If we are lucky we may even catch a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Arusha - Serengeti & Ngorongoro. This morning we visit the Meserani Reptile Park and Masai Culture Museum before meeting our expert Tanzanian safari guides for our excursion into the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Over the next couple of days we will game drive ...
Arusha - Nairobi (Kenya). We leave Arusha early this morning and head towards the border with Kenya at Namanga. Once through here we continue to the capital - Nairobi and a night at the Kenya Comfort Hotel.
Nairobi - Masai Mara. Leaving the capital behind we travel through the Great Rift Valley on our way to the Masai Mara. Our campsite for the night is Acacia Camp on the edge of the reserve. On day 35 we have an early morning game drive in our truck and later on we can opt to visit a traditional Masai hamlet. This evening back at camp we discuss our wildlife sightings around the fire.
Masai Mara - Eldoret. Leaving the Masai Mara early, we head out of Masai Land pass through the scenic tea plantations of Kericho before descending the Rift Valley Plateau, on our way to Eldoret. We replenish our supplies and overnight here.
Eldoret - Kampala (Uganda). Today we cross into neighbouring Uganda and the capital Kampala.We rest here for a night before we head towards Lake Bunyoni tomorrow.
Kampala - Lake Bunyoni. Departing the capital we drive up to Lake Bunyoni - Africa's deepest crater lake and also our base for our trek to see the gorillas in the Magahinga or Bwindi National Parks of Uganda. For more information on Gorilla Trekking - please see our T...
Lake Bunyoni - Kampala. After marvelling at the experience of our gorilla encounters and enjoying the peaceful Lake Bunyoni, we begin our drive back to Kampala. We cross the Equator for the second time and stop for the classic “one foot in each hemisphere” photo opportunity. We overnight in Kampala and have the opportunity to sample its night life!
Kampala - Jinja. Today we have the option of visiting the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary or heading to Jinja for a selection of adventure activities including white water rafting at the source of the White Nile, quad biking or visiting a volunteer and community project. Spend the afternoon relaxing on the banks of the river, or ticking off the wide variety of water birds in this area.
Jinja - Lake Nakuru (Kenya). Today we return to Kenya and our destination of the day is Lake Nakuru - the country's 4th largest city and capital of the Rift Valley Province and lies adjacent to the small but wildlife rich Lake Nakuru National Park.
Lake Nakuru - Lake Naivasha. This morning we game drive within the park on the look out for the elusive leopard and black rhino as well as buffalo, giraffe and hippo. We spend another night at EAMO before transferring to Naivasha on day 46. Lake Naivasha, is home t...
Lake Naivasha - Nairobi. After breakfast, we head back to Nairobi usually arriving by late morning, or early afternoon. On arrival to Nairobi, we exchange addresses and part ways, having just experienced a trip of a lifetime!
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Escaping a cold London winter back in 1998, we followed the sun for a colourful adventure around the world. Discovering amazing history, interesting cultures and the jaw-dropping beauty of our planet, the friends we made along the way made our journey all the more special. Inspired to share our experiences, the seeds were sown and On The Go Tours was born.
Over the years we’ve grown into a small yet global company, with a purposeful local ethos. True to our own travels, authenticity is core to our holidays. We’d love you to experience a country the way it really is, with people who live there and know it inside out. We know this makes the difference between a great holiday and a truly memorable one. Our carefully sought out English-speaking local guides are passionate about sharing their country with you and we believe that they are amongst the best in the business.
We know too that adventure feels better with a chilled beer poolside or a soft pillow at the end of each day and we search out comfortable hotels and boutique properties for your stay. As we love to say - travel with us and adventure in style!
Unbeatable value: Combining authentic local experiences with an excellent range of 3-5 star hotels & boutique properties, our tours represent unbeatable value. Add in airport transfers, passionate tour guides and all transportation and you do get the best of adventure travel and creature comforts too.
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Logistics
What's excluded
- Gorilla Permit, Transaction fee and ground transfer fee to Gorilla trekking meeting point: Please note that Gorillas often move across the border, between the national parks in Rwanda and Uganda, therefore itineraries often change at short notice in order to track the Gorillas in whichever National Park they have migrated to. For this reason the cost of the Gorilla Permit and relevant transfers varies, as do the applicable visa costs, dependent upon which country we need to travel into. Permits are subject to availability and need to be booked in advance.
- International flights and visas
- Tipping - an entirely personal gesture
- Sleeping bag - please bring your own
- Optional activities
- Entrance Fees: Gorilla Permit & transaction fee approx USD$805pp has to be pre booked, aprox USD$200 transfer costs payable locally
- Local payment - 2022 - $2640pp, 2023 - $2790pp paid in USD
Accommodation
18 and over.Overland Age Policy:To travel on one of our overland family departure safaris children need to be a minimum age of 6 for Southern Africa safaris (Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa) and a minimum of 8 years old for East Africa safaris (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia). If a safari includes both East and Southern Africa then the minimum age will be 8 years old. Please note that they will be travelling with the normal group. These are not separate family tours. For family dates look for the icon next to the tour date online. IMPORTANT: South Africa and Botswana regulations aimed at fighting child trafficking:'All parents travelling with children into or out of SA and/or Botswana may be asked to show the child’s unabridged (full) birth certificate, and where only one parent is accompanying, parental or legal consent for the child to travel (eg an affidavit from the other parent, a court order or – if applicable – a death certificate). You should travel with these documents in case you’re asked to provide them. There are other requirements for children travelling unaccompanied or with adults who are not their parents.' Tell pax to contact the South African High Commission, South African Department of Home Affairs and/or the Botswana High Commission for further information.
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