**Our Trip & Itinerary**

Our overlanding tour returned to South Africa for its final four days along the country’s eastern border before finishing in Pretoria. During this segment our highlight was spending one full day exploring Kruger National Park in a smaller 4x4 vehicle. Once we finished with our overlanding trip in Pretoria, we spent three days in Johannesburg catching up on some sleep and exploring the city’s museum & restaurant scene.

We **DO NOT** recommend traveling through Southern Africa on a tour like we did, as it’s completely possible to see most of these places and more on a self-drive trip. However, if you do your own research and decide an overlanding tour like this is the right fit for you, we implore you **DO NOT** book with Acacia Africa. Consider Nomads or Intrepid instead who we have heard good things about.

On The Road | Zimbabwean Border to Kruger National Park

Entering South Africa we encountered the most chaotic, unorganized, and corrupt border we had ever been to. Arriving just after the guards’ lunch break, we found a line that stretched around the immigration building’s entire courtyard. This line was filled with people from all walks of life, some carrying a multitude of bags, others with children strapped to their backs, and some attempting to her their little ones into a wonky single-file. One thing they all had in common was a hovering frustration, sparked by the endless waiting and directionless organization. When the doors for the immigration hall suddenly reopened, the border guard directed the line to a split towards the three agents working at the counters. While you might be envisioning markers or ropes for these lines, the reality was actually a mess of confused people attempting to determine which line they were in. Many tried to cut into the line further up, or join “friends” who were already close to the counter. Each time this happened, we collectively lost their minds at these rule breakers, badgering them with dirty looks and grumbles of complaint until they shuffled back into place. As we waited, and waited, and waited without moving, it became clear that the line we were in went to a woman who took her job seriously, studying each passport with the utmost scrutiny. The other two agents, however, were madly stamping away, moving the lines around us at lightning speed. Of course we had ended up in the worst line! We were stumped as to how things were moving so quickly, until we spotted the cash neatly tucked into each passport as it traveled under the glass window. These two agents were sitting there, getting fat (literally) off of the bribes of many hopeful Zimbabweans who were coming to South Africa in search of work. Everyone seemed to be aware of the system, even if they weren’t playing the game. To top things off, a tour group of forty middle-aged Germans arrived, kitted out in sock-sandal combos and safari pants with a ridiculous amount of pockets. The gaggle of Germans was led by a guide with one of the most punchable faces I have ever seen. His nose, protruding hideously and sloping downwardly, foreshadowingly hinted at the lies he would tell. He barged through the crowd, straight to the most mischievous border agent and handed her an envelope, declaring to everyone in the hall that his group was full of old people and couldn’t afford to wait, for they might fall over and die before they left at this rate. Suddenly border agents appeared out of thin air, directing some to each counter, blocking the people who had been waiting for hours for their chance to get into South Africa. In a country so marred by its terrible history, it was pretty tough to watch forty entitled white tourists speed right through immigration, while hundreds of black Zimbabweans and South Africans had to let them go ahead. In an effort to direct some of the chaos, our very own tour leader gently touched one of the tourists on the shoulder, which prompted her to whip around with palpable anger in her eyes, hotly telling him not to touch her. We did our best to shame them as the only other tourists in the hall, calling them out for their entitlement as best we could. They simply ignored us, avoided eye contact, and left as quickly as appeared. As the hall began to empty, we finally made it to the front of one of the lines, without paying (thank you very much!!) – and had our passports stamped by a grumpy agent who expected to line her pockets. As we were leaving, our bus companion astutely pointed out that this was the first African border that somehow didn’t have anti-corruption signs…Funny how that works.

Inside South Africa our journey immediately improved. The roads suddenly changed from a potholed checkerboard to smooth, straight highways. We couldn’t even complain about the landscape, as now on the other side of the Limpopo river, the dry plains were gradually replaced by green mountains and lush valleys dotted with orchards and farms. Our overnight stop was at Forever Resorts Tshipise, probably a grand holiday park in the heyday of itsy bitsy teenie weenie polka dot bikinis, but now falling into disrepair. Allegedly there was a natural hot spring on the grounds, but all we found was a lukewarm pool surrounded by concrete and angry floodlights – not exactly what we were hoping for. Our guide, Vincent, cooked another phenomenal meal of pork chops, sausages, mashed potatoes, salad, and sauteed veggies. A feast fit for the army! Disappointed with the resort’s grounds, we went to bed early, waking up for another long drive a few hours later. Thankfully the drive on our second day in South Africa was only meant to be seven hours, one of the shortest driving days we’ve had during our whole overlanding adventure. Again, the landscape was stunning on this drive, as we wound our way down canyons and through tunnels before dropping down from the central plateau. Our destination for this drive was Hazyview, just outside of Kruger National Park, and our very last overnight camp before the end of this long, arduous journey. Once we hit the plains just past the town of Louis Trichardt, the drive became rather repetitive again and we passed our time writing, reading, or listening to music before reaching our campsite.

Kruger National Park

By the time we reached Kruger National Park, we weren’t sure what we were more excited for, one last 4x4 game drive hopefully surrounded by animals or for our seemingly endless overlanding journey to finally be over. Once we reached our campsite at Hotel Numbi, we felt a buzz of excitement for our final few nights. The hotel grounds were a collection of very different categories of accommodation – from fancy lodge cabins, to smaller Western-inspired rooms, and all the way to our lovely little patch of dirt. While the campsite itself wasn’t very large or spectacular, the individual bathrooms with showers felt like a highlight because we could finally just take our time and brush our teeth without the company of other campers. We spent the afternoon relaxing by the chilly pool, reading, and watching Vincent whirl around the campsite to prepare dinner. After yet another feast, we realized we were in for quite the evening. A minivan, typically used as overcrowded modes of public transport, pulled into the dusty campsite with gusto. Out spilled about eight people, duffels in hand and breathless with laughter. They set up behind the bus, unpacking beaded garments layered with feathers. Suddenly it all clicked: they were the Shangaan Tribal Dance Group we had seen advertised in our dossier and were preparing for their performance! We were excited to see the group dance, but felt a nervousness that their dance might be a little too intimate for three people. So, we headed next door to where fellow overlanders from Nomad were parked and asked if they’d like to join us for the show. Thankfully, they agreed, but little did we know that we would end up waiting for nearly two hours for their dinner to end. Not only did the group keep us waiting, but the tribal dancing group, who at that point were sprawled out behind our truck in their traditional dress, phones in hand. Eventually, the dance leader decided they had enough of waiting, so it would be a show for a three-person audience. While we did feel some sort of awkwardness and an underlying layer of uncomfortable privilege, the performance was incredible. These men and women were very talented, lifting their legs right up to their noses and shaking their beaded tops to the rhythm of the drum. Their bare feet kicked up the dust, creating a glow around their tornado of dance. The talent, the flexibility, the energy! At one point, we were pulled off of our seats to join them. None of our shakin’ and groovin’ could match theirs, but they gave us points for effort! In the end the show, that we had been waiting on for nearly two hours, lasted all of ten minutes. The Nomad passengers had no idea what they missed out on!

The next morning, bright and early of course, we were picked up for our very last African game drive. This time we had dibs on seats of our choice, so we scrambled into the first row and swaddled ourselves into the fleece blankets. We picked up our game drive companions along the way, entering Kruger Park from the Phabeni Gate. Unlike the ‘African Massage’ roads we grew to know well in Tanzania, Kruger Park is perfectly paved. Some guides have special permits to go off-road, but most drivers stick to the selection of roads that wind around the park, as did we. While you might think that this takes away from the adventure and makes it more difficult to find animals, it's easier than expected! Kruger Park offered the usual nervous antelopes, parades of wise elephants, and giraffes peaking over the tops of trees. Of course, still an incredible sight, but we were on the hunt for the unusual. Right as we entered the park, we passed a storm drain running below the road. We thought nothing of it, when suddenly a hyena peeked her head out from underneath. Cautiously, she tippy toed out from her den, exposing her teenie little cub tucked into her side. Deciding she was comfortable with her onlookers, she plopped down in the dirt. Her cub immediately snuggled into her belly, greedily suckling milk and excitedly kneeding at her mother’s belly with her oversized paws. Later that day, we encountered a pride of lions fighting over a fresh impala kill. The majority of the kill had been claimed by the males, who were off in the landscape, lazily enjoying their meal. Meanwhile, the lionesses angrily pawed at the leftovers, even growling at the cubs when they attempted to sneak a bite. Already thinking we were ending our last game drive on a good note, we were met with another surprise as we approached the exit. There, resting below the shade of a tree cluster and nestled in a dry riverbed was a sleepy leopard. She was calmly stretched out with the confidence of an apex predator, tail flicking and ears twitching in the breeze. We were only a few meters away, so close we could see her spotted chest rising and falling with each breath. With yet another successful game drive on the books, we watched the golden glow of the sun fall over South Africa.

On The Road | Kruger National Park to the End of Our Overlanding Trip

After a lovely brunch, prepared by Vincent of course, we loaded into our overlanding vehicle one final time and took off for Pretoria. Writing this now, I almost have no memory of the six hours it took us to commute from Hazyview to South Africa’s capital city. The excitement of finally finishing our stressful 25 day overlanding trip blurred the time as it passed. I know somewhere along the way we passed a lake, and made a stop at an ATM somewhere, but if you asked me for any more details of this drive I wouldn’t be able to tell you. I do, however, remember seeing Pretoria starting to appear around us, low suburbs, shopping malls, and more traffic meant that we were only a few breaths away from finally shedding our burden. Pretoria’s purple Jacaranda blossoms fell around us like confetti, almost like a welcome parade. As our truck parked up at our destination, we rushed to grab our bags stashed away in our lockers, tasting freedom in the air.

Looking back at the past 25 days, we’re filled with many mixed emotions. First and foremost, we did experience some unforgettable highlights, including our time in the Namib Desert, Spitzkoppe, Etosha National Park, the Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park, Matobo National Park, and our recent visit to Kruger National Park. The days we spent searching for animals or exploring the variable natural beauty of Africa are moments we wouldn’t want to trade away. Unfortunately, the days and unbearably long hours of driving between all of these highlights were some of the worst moments we’ve had during our entire trip. Going into this journey, we knew that there would be days of up to ten hours and prepared ourselves to fill the long periods of time. However, the state of our overlanding truck with Acacia Africa made these stretches almost unbearable. Our truck was so old that there was a constant cacophony of painful noises even when traveling over moderately well-paved roads. The welds fixing the side panels to the floor had mostly disintegrated, leading these metal panels to constantly vibrate against each other. The windows had also clearly not been fit correctly when installed, leading the top and bottom glass panels to shake so violently that passengers had to shove books between the two panes to lessen the noise and let fresh air in. On top of these two major sources of noise, the metal lockers at the back of the bus also shuddered constantly, an unrelenting metal on metal bang that wouldn’t stop from the moment the truck started until it stopped. These noises, and more from smaller sources, combined to create such a racket that when driving, it wasn’t even possible to hear your own thoughts. Even with noise-canceling headphones on, it was impossible to escape the truck’s terrible symphony.

Beyond the constant noise our truck created, we had to constantly endure the toxic environment our guide and driver were creating. The litany of issues we faced because of these two is far too long to list here – trust me the emails we’ve co-written with our other travelers are even longer than these blog posts! It mostly boiled down to a lack of honesty and respect. We were typically kept in the dark about what was on the day’s agenda, where we were going, how long it would take to get there, and whether or not we would be able to do all of the activities listed in our dossier. We also never knew if what they were telling us was the truth, as their stories usually changed when pressed and some of their answers were flat-out misinformation. In conversation, either amongst themselves or with us, they often referred to us as “mzungus”, which can be, as our guide was using it, an unflattering term that refers to foreigners. At first we thought they were joking around, but as its usage got more frequent and the tone behind it became harsher, we realized their true meaning when using it.

When looking into travel in Africa, we relied on a recommendation from friends and were concerned about how we could safely travel through a number of African countries. Naively, we then booked the overlanding tour without fully exploring other options. Having survived the trip, we decided that the issues we encountered on this trip were serious enough for us to contact Acacia Africa, so we’ve raised a dispute with them and the company’s supporting tourism organizations. Don’t get us wrong, this trip allowed us to see Africa from the ground, to witness the changing landscapes, and to see the wildlife that makes this continent such an incredible place. With that, we felt we not only didn’t get what we paid for with this tour organizer, but we missed out on connecting with locals and their cultures that way we might have on a self-driving trip. For future trips the new rule is: do the research, don’t be afraid, and trust your intuition!

Pretoria & Johannesburg

We’ve heard that there are some great museums and interesting things to do in both Pretoria and Johannesburg, but honestly we wouldn’t be able to tell you what they are. Not because they don’t exist, mind you. Just because as soon as we got into our lovely AirBnB after 25 days on the road, we sank into the robust leather couch and hardly moved for 48 hours. We had arrived with grand plans of visiting museums and points of interest, sampling the tasty local food, and seeing more of South Africa. When we actually arrived though, we found our to-do lists had grown three miles long during our time away, and rediscovered just how amazing four walls and a big bed can be. So instead of running around town in the few days we had left in Africa, we decided to cross to-do list items off, watch a little TV (so crazy!), and soak up the comforts of modern living. On our final night in Johannesburg we decided to venture out of the house to enjoy one final African dinner, at a highly recommended… Italian restaurant, Modena. Okay, okay…Italian is a little basic. That said, we were simply craving really good pasta, a healthy glug of an Old Fashioned, and anything layered in parmesan. Modena gave us exactly that and better.

We emerged from our 48 hours of suburban bliss feeling like we were getting our sanity back and like we were ready for the next adventure. Sitting in the Uber to the airport, we felt an overwhelming sense of sadness come over us. Even though there have been challenging moments along our way, Africa has surely left an impression. There’s nothing like the colors of the sunset over the savannah, the curious gaze of an African cat, or knowing that you’re no longer watching nature on the screen, but feeling it come alive around you. There’s no comparison to the magic that is Africa. As our plane lifted off towards Dubai, we felt the gentle tug of a newly-formed thread that connects our hearts with Africa. There’s no saying when, but we’ll definitely be back…

“Africa changes you forever, like nowhere on earth. Once you have been there, you will never be the same. But how do you begin to describe the magic to someone who has never felt it? How can you explain the fascination of this vast, dusty continent, whose oldest roads are elephant paths? Could it be because Africa is the place of all our beginnings, the cradle of mankind, where our species first stood upright on the savannahs of long ago?” – Brian Jackman

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