Itinerary
DAY 1-9: FES TO MARRAKECH
West Africa is a road less travelled and still a largely undiscovered area of Africa for tourism. Please understand that the first 20 weeks of your journey will be directly through this area of the continent and although we list our intended Itinerary below, please be aware that this is a rough guide and should be treated as such.
Oasis Overland has run a Trans Africa Expedition virtually every year since 1997, and during this time, not one Trans Africa trip has run an identical itinerary through West Africa as far as Namibia.
This is due to many reasons, including availability of visas, road conditions, embassy and border closures, political unrest, elections and instability, disease outbreaks, changing government travel advice and adverse weather conditions, just to name a few. We also hear about new, exciting places that may only now be possible to visit, and so try to include some new places on each trip for that reason too.
Please therefore consider the itinerary shown as a guide and expect there to be some changes during your trip. This is all part of the experience of travelling through West Africa and one that makes this expedition such an epic journey that only a select few are willing to undertake.
We begin our journey in Fes in the north of Morocco where our Trans Africa Crew will greet you. After an introductory meeting we take an included city tour through Fes’s huge old bazaar with its narrow winding alleys crammed with craft workshops, restaurants, food stalls, mosques, dye pits and tanneries.
Our first stop after we get on the road will then be at the Roman City of Volubilis, a remarkably well-kept reminder of the Roman presence in North Africa 2000 years ago. From there we head north to visit Chefchaouen – set in a fertile valley of the surrounding Rif Mountains – where we will camp on a ridge overlooking this picturesque town with its white roofs, blue alleyways and narrow streets. You can wander around this relaxed town and even visit one of the old hammam bath houses.
We’ll then head South West along the coast past the old capital of Rabat to Casablanca, and on from there to another of Morocco’s Imperial Cities, Marrakech, our base for the next few days. Here you will have plenty of time to look around the city including the famou Djemâa-el-Fna. This square is alive with activity through the day – from storytellers, snake charmers, water sellers and musicians. A nightly ritual sees hundreds of food stalls transform the square into one of Africa’s largest local eating areas – the aromatic smells of fresh local food is fit for locals and tourists alike.
DAY 10-18: MARRAKECH TO WESTERN SAHARA
After leaving Marrakech, the fishing port of Essaouira is our last major stop in Morocco. While in Essaouira you can take advantage of the often windy conditions to try some surfing, kite surfing or windsurfing, or explore the streets of the old town, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We then head south following the rugged Atlantic coastline towards Mauritania and the Sahara Desert. This journey will take a few days where we will be camping in the wild, and with no light pollution an abundance of stars can be seen in the night skies. Driving through Western Sahara will then be our first real time spent away from popular touristy areas and we may only see a handful of other travellers.
DAY 19-33: WESTERN SAHARA TO DAKAR
On this leg of our Africa overland trip, after crossing into Mauritania we travel east along the desert road to the town to Atar on the Adrar Plateau. From here you have the opportunity to explore the surrounding area by 4×4 vehicle.
Leaving Atar, we pass small isolated villages surrounded by the vast desert and herdsman migrating with their camels in search of water. With very infrequent traffic on the roads and no food crops being grown, one wonders how tough it is to live in such harsh desert conditions.
We reach the capital, Nouakchott, where we spend a couple of days obtaining visas and re-organising the truck and life in general after our dusty desert travels. It is quite incredible to think that slavery was only abolished here in 1980 and it is rumoured that it still continues in some outlying areas.
South of Nouakchott, we will take 1 of 2 borders crossing into Senegal, the infamous and hectic Rosso border, crossing the Senegalese river by boat, or travel through a remote border – Diama, passing along the piste through Diawling National park (weather permitting).
We enter sub-Saharan Africa by crossing the Senegal River and continue into St Louis, West Africa’s first French settlement and from where French colonialists conquered the interior. Senegal has a very different feel from the west Saharan countries we have just come from. We begin to be exposed to West Africa’s vibrant food and music culture, colourful fashion and markets. We will start getting used to bad roads, ‘interesting’ local driving styles and a mixture of modern West African cities as well as some fly blown and remote border posts and villages.
The city of St Louis is located at the mouth of the Senegal River and is an interesting place to visit. We will spend a couple of nights near town camping within the national park ‘Langue de Barbarie’, well known for its fauna rich with various species of birds. You can take a pirogue trip and bird watch, relax and swim on the sandy beach, try your hand at fishing and much more.
On our Overland route through Senegal, we will visit Lake Retba (or Lac Rose as it is known by locals) where you can float in the pink lake. Its salinity content compares to that of the Dead Sea and during the dry season, it exceeds it. From here you may have the opportunity to visit Dakar. Like any large city in the world, Dakar has its undesirables so compared to the laid back countryside and small towns that we are more familiar with, in large cities we learn to take care and go out and explore in pairs.
DAY 34-56: DAKAR TO TIWAI ISLAND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Continuing south, we will visit The Gambia, the smallest country on the continent (mainland) of Africa. We will take the truck across the Gambia River by ferry and base ourselves near the capital city Banjul. Banjul sits on an island where the Gambia River meets the Atlantic Ocean, you can visit the lively, open-air street market, wander the streets passing colonial buildings, visit nearby beaches or take a riverboat trip.
Re-entering Senegal, we will cross into the southern Casamance region and will stop at the town of Ziguinchor to obtain a visa for Guinea-Bissau, before spending a day on the pristine coastal beaches of Senegal. Here you have the opportunity to swim, take a bike ride, fish or wandering through the nearby villages.
Guinea-Bissau, considered one of the world’s poorest and most fragile countries, has a population of less than 2 million. In the 19th century, it was colonized as Portuguese Guinea and the official language is Portuguese. Still bearing the scars of the civil wars of 1997-8, Bissau is an interesting city to explore and as it’s less frequented by tourists the people are very welcoming and intrigued by our presence.
Depending on weather and road conditions we will travel to Parque Nacional de Cantanhez where you can arrange optional trekking trips into the rainforest in search of chimpanzees and other wildlife.
Leaving Guinea-Bissau, we travel east towards the Guinean border and will start to encounter challenging roads. Guinea Conakry (as it is usually called in West Africa) is a country that very few travellers ever visit and is one of the proudest in West Africa. Its people have stood together and survived the always difficult post-colonial era of independence without resorting to tribal conflicts or civil war. The first colony to gain independence from France, they stated they preferred & freedom in poverty, then prosperity in chains.
We can appreciate Guinea&rsquo’s spectacular tropical forests and waterfalls as we cross the Fouta Djallon plateau and the beautiful hilly hinterland over the next few days.
Next we enter Sierra Leone, famous for its diamonds and infamous for its disastrous civil war, which it fortunately recovered from after many years. However, its roads are still abysmal so it can be slow going on our drive to the coast. Camping on the coast south of Freetown, we can enjoy its serene palm fringed beaches and remoteness. Nearby is the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary which cares for around 100 injured or orphaned chimpanzees. The reserve has an incredible story, starting in 1988 with the first rescue of a baby chimpanzee, surviving the civil war and growing to become Sierra Leone’s primary conservation organisation. We include a tour of Tacugama where you can see the resident rescued chimps and discover their individual personalities as well as learning more about this characterful species.
It is likely we will be obtaining visas in Freetown and you may also have time to explore the city markets and museums or a boat trip out to the nearby Banana Islands.
Travelling further south towards Liberia you have the option to visit the Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary home to 11 species of primates as well as the rare and elusive pygmy hippo. You can explore the island by foot or dugout canoe, enjoying the river and forest wildlife.
DAY 57-75: TIWAI ISLAND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY TO ACCRA
The roads from the east of Sierra Leone to the border of Liberia are generally in a poor state. Passing through the jungle and continuing our journey that few other travellers get to take, we make our way to Monrovia. Despite the ravages of the past, Liberia is full of hope and energy, and the city is becoming a thriving capital and moving on. Entering Liberia we notice another change in people and culture, especially the language! For the first time in two months of our Africa overland travels, we are in a country where English is the main language. The people in Monrovia are welcoming and pleased to see tourists coming to explore their city. We may have to apply for a visa here, so will be situated in and around the area for a couple of days, Kpatawee waterfalls, considered one of Liberia’s most beautiful spots.
Reaching the border with Ivory Coast, more commonly known in its French form we then continue our adventure towards the city of Yamoussoukro. Built by President Boigny, one of the classic ‘ Big Man’ dictators it was an expensive and vane project to glorify himself with six-lane highways leading nowhere and a huge Basilica built to copy St. Peter&rsquo’s in Rome.
A further day’s drive away in Abidjan, one of West Africa&rsquo’s modern cities with skyscrapers and flashy restaurants. However, it very much has the feel of having seen better days and as with so many cities, ostentatious wealth mixes side by side with abject poverty.
Our Africa overland adventure now heads east to the frontier with Ghana and back to English again. Making our way towards the coastline of Ghana we will spend a couple of days relaxing on palm-fringed beaches near Cape Coast. From here we will visit the castles of Elmina and Cape Coast, where thousands of slaves passed through the ‘ Door of no Return&rsquo. We will also stop at Kakum National Park where you have the opportunity to embark on a canopy walk or trek through the nature trails in the forest.
Kumasi is the capital city of the Ashanti Region and our next stop. You will have the opportunity to visit one of the largest markets in West Africa, Kejetia Market. Stalls sell everything from glass beads and live chickens to Ashanti sandals. Kumasi is also known as a centre for an Ashanti culture and you can visit the National Cultural Centre offering craft workshops and dance performances.
A day drive takes us to the capital, Accra.
DAYS 76-78: ACCRA
We have three free days and nights in Accra to provide a welcome break for both the crew and the group after 11 weeks on the road together. This time also gives us a buffer in our schedule in case of unforeseen delays on the route so far.
You may wish to remain at Cape Coast for a couple of days, or explore Accra independently. You could also take a day trip out to the nearby Boti Waterfalls and Aburi Botanical Gardens.
This free time in Accra is at your own cost, so you can decide what you want to do and where to stay!
DAYS 79-86: ACCRA TO LOME
Those starting their trip in Accra will join us now, and we will spend a day or two obtaining several visas before leaving Accra and heading for the Wli Agumatsa Waterfalls. We’ll then cross into Togo and return to the coast to the capital, Lome.
DAY 87-107: LOME TO LIMBE
Travelling through Togo and Benin doesn’t take long as they are only 50 miles wide. Voodoo is the main religion here, basing its beliefs in the power of the dead. You can visit an interesting fetish market, take a boat ride on lake Togo to Togoville, as well as sample good African restaurants in Lome the capital of Togo. We will be applying for some further visas for our onward travel to the capital.
In Benin you can take local canoes out to Ganvie village – built on bamboo stilts on Lake Nakoue. Next we enter Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with well over 100 million people. The pace of life here tends to be more hectic than we have become used to on our overland adventure, full of hustle and bustle.
Making our way east, our route will depend on whether we need to apply for any visas and which border crossing into Cameroon is open. Subject to our route, we may have the opportunity to visit a Drill Monkey and Chimpanzee rehabilitation centre, a project dedicated to rehabilitating and breeding drills, a primate closely related to baboons and mandrills, to be released back into the wild.
Moving through mountainous and lush jungle, we enter Cameroon. Again, depending on which route we can take, we will travel to the foothills of Mount Cameroon, to spend a few days camping near Limbe and 6 Mile Beach. From here you can choose to trek up Mount Cameroon, visit a chimpanzee orphanage or relax on the beach.
DAY 108-124: LIMBE TO CONGO
After chilling out on the beach, or if you were brave enough to tackle the mountain, we head inland to the capital city of Yaounde, where we may apply for a couple more visas. You can sample fresh bread and amazing pastries from the countless bakeries, admire the roadside fresh flower stalls, or stock up on some supermarket treats! Bursting with art galleries, museums and various markets, this is an ideal place to restock your snack store and prepare for the demands of central Africa.
When we depart city life, to travel south on the more rugged roads! We drive through lush jungle scenery, passing the occasional waterfall, before eventually reaching the lively market town of Ambam. Here we can replenish our food supplies before crossing the Ntem River into Gabon, a country that consists mostly of the tropical rain forest. Our next stop is the beautiful Lope National Park, home to a population of elephants, buffalo and the famous central Africa drill monkeys. After a safari through the savanna lands, we continue south along with dirt and mud roads toward the Republic of Congo. Along this leg of the Trans Africa overland trip, we may encounter some challenging road conditions and situations on the whole of the route. Teamwork will be needed if we are to tackle what may lay ahead – from clearing paths through waterlogged potholes the size of the truck to only travelling a couple of miles in a day over wet and unkempt mud roads. These are some of the best memories you will take away with you.
DAY 125-133: CONGO TO MITADI
One of the main highlights for most people who visit Congo is the friendliness of the people, particularly in the countryside. The open delight and welcome we receive while driving through these remote villages are touching. While the first section of roads is rough dirt, once we reach the sealed roads it’s a fast run towards the town of Dolisie.
From Dolisie we will make our way west towards the ocean city of Pointe Noire. Two contrasting areas, the African quarter – where we see traffic jams, crowded streets and a bustling Grand Marche (market), the European Quarter quite the contrast with beachside bars and restaurants, noticeably oil is the source of the wealth. You will have time to explore the cities museums, railways and cathedrals or relax on the beaches. Departing Congo a transit through Cabinda, an exclave and province of Angola will bring us into the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire). Sandy tracks will eventually lead us into Muanda. Again tourists are foreign to this region and we attract attention everywhere we travel, dirt roads and potholes will direct us over the Congo River to the city of Mitadi and the gateway to Angola.
DAY 134-144: MITADI TO NAMIBIAN BORDER
Angola is still recovering from over two decades of civil war. As we travel south through the many small villages and communities – local people – especially children may never have seen a foreigner before. Military tanks litter the side of many roads in places. The country is slowly rebuilding its infrastructure and basic needs – with the capital of Luanda showing full sign of this slow progression. As Portuguese is the preferred language and hardly anyone we encounter will speak English – a lot of humorous improvisations with hands, face and voice are usually needed by all of us. After the southern town of Lubango and home to ‘Christo Rei’ a shrine overlooking the city as Christ the Redeemer looks over Rio, we head to the Namibian border for the next instalment of our Trans Africa overland adventure.
DAY 145-164: NAMIBIA TO CAPE TOWN
Crossing into Namibia and the region of the Owambo people – we pass through the country’s second-largest town – Ondangwa. This town is one of the main suppliers of beer to Northern Namibia – hopefully, there will be enough left for us!
We continue towards Etosha National Park – recognised as one of the world’s greatest wildlife viewing areas. The semi-desert is quite a contrast to the more fertile terrain we have been used to. Besides game drives, we can also game watch by night at one of the floodlit water holes where we may well spot Rhino, Elephant and Giraffe among a host of other wildlife. From Etosha, we visit a local Cheetah park before continuing to the Brandberg Mountains in Damaraland.
We then travel to the stunning Spitzkoppe Rock formations. Known as the Matterhorn of Namibia, the Spitzkoppe is part of the Erongo Mt range and was formed over 100 million years ago after the collapse of a gigantic volcano. The scenery is striking from every angle – even more, stunning as the granite massifs turn red at sunset.
The next stop is the world-famous Cape Cross Seal Colony, where the sight of thousands of these mammals, as well as their accompanying pungent odour, is remembered by all! The Cool Atlantic Ocean and the prominent Benguela current provide a perfect location for feeding and breeding for the Cape Fur Seal.
For the next three days, our Africa overland trip will be based in Swakopmund – Namibia’s adventure gateway. You can choose between a variety of activities and excursions here: spend a day deep sea fishing for shark and other game fish or head out to the desert and try quad biking and dune sledging. You can also go horse riding or get a bird’s eye view of the dramatic coastline – either by Sky diving from 10,000 feet or take a flight over the towering dunes in the area. In Swakopmund itself, you can walk along miles of deserted beaches, visit the museum or relax in a cafe.
A one day drive takes us to the Namib-Naukluft Park, a vast expanse of desert that contains some of the highest dunes in the world. At Sossusvlei, we stop and explore this spectacular area and red dunes. Continuing south we enter the semi-desert, and wide-open countryside of cattle ranching until we arrive at one of Africa’s most sensational natural features, Fish River Canyon. We stop here for a couple of hours to take in the awesome scenery.
A couple of hours drive away we enter South Africa and across the Orange River – a rich source of diamonds. We travel south through the Cederberg Wilderness Area, an area of rugged valleys and peaks – before getting to our final destination on this African adventure; the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Cape Town. Our accommodation here will be in a backpackers hostel.
