Raw wilderness
Find here some possible individual travel routes that could give you some new ideas and hopefully help you to plan your own individual self-drive experience in Southern Africa. I planned all these tours by myself, some with a tented car others without. Upfront you can find here some helpful advices while planning your own individual travel route:
- 4 WD – Depending on the country and adventure level you would like to experience I would recommend you to take a 4WD as roads can be quite adventurous in this region (e.g. Botswana, northern part of Namibia, etc.).
- Insurance coverage – When renting a car, always make sure you are covered and got the appropriate insurance cover. Yet, it of course is up to your decision, for one of my routes through Namibia, I opted to not get insurance cover, which turned out to be just fine. I had one flat tire, which could get fixed and cost me only a tenth of the insurance cover I would have paid. So it is worth to make some calculations upfront and it really depends on the region you want to travel through.
- Border crossing papers – If you wish to cross borders in Africa make sure you got all the needed papers from your car rental company to avoid unnecessary hassles, check it before leaving their offices.
- Permit – For some specific countries (e.g. Mozambique) or roads and passes (van Zyl pass in Northern Namibia) make sure your rental company will allow you upfront to enter. In other cases you need to ask the car rental company for permission, so make sure you got this permit.
- Adequate equipment – in several countries you are required to have some important utensils handy in your car such a reflector jackets, fire extinguisher or warning triangle (e.g. Mozambique). So make sure your renting company provides you with everything to avoid any issues when the police will stop you. You want to be adequately prepared for roadblocks in Africa!
- International drivers license – Most of the countries request an international drivers license if your own license is not in English, it also facilitates the process if you did come into a roadblock.
- Accommodation – you might want to book some accommodations in advance if you are traveling during high or peak season, this includes camp sites.
You will find here individual travel routes through:
