When we first decided to visit Southern Africa, a few years ago, we thought that our visiting options would be more of a package holiday (as was our Kenya trip) with stays at lovely hotels and being chauffeur driven by tour guides dressed in the mandatory daktari outfits.

It was a brief encounter a year ago in a bar in France, when chatting to a young traveler couple that a new idea formed over a few glasses of wine. They told us how easy it was to hire a 4x4, drive across Africa, camp in a wild places and sleep in Airbnb’s or a rooftop tent. This one liner started a dream, and a plan. We did extensive research into a travel plan, places to see, towns to visit, and animals to shoot - in photos obviously. 

We only previously knew of Kruger and the Victoria Falls, but a few weeks later we had a far grander plan drawn up in a rapidly expanding spreadsheet. Places not to miss, travel distances, camp grounds to stay at and of course some costings. This was no mean feat, and plans had to be adapted once we came across new adventures, and new places to visit and that planning was our summer project.

So here we are at the end of our circular journey having driven over 10000 Kms. A nice bonus was that we were under budget by £1500 but more importantly this planning kept us both safe, organised and we have seen some unbelievable sights across 4 countries.

We met many lovely people and visited great places along the way, we heard some great travel adventures from many far braver than us. Some we have highlighted in our blog, and some that will remain memories and in our hearts, long after we have returned home. They do say you leave your heart in Africa.

There have been many touching moments, significant ones that come to mind was the severe drought and lack of water - such a basic need and one we take for granted.  The wildlife and  the beautiful animals we saw were all well behaved - we didn’t see one killing, one big fight and most stood close enough to let us take their picture.

Africa was to be our one time bucket list road trip, however, we loved the adventure so much, we now have a new list of places to go, and re-visiting is already in early planning. We are just searching for more remote spots, more wild camping ideas as we build our new route.

Thank you to all our family and friends for your comments and a special thanks to the two chaps who provided top cover at the end of a phone in UK.