OverlandSphere
Overland Travel, Expedition & Adventure Information for 4x4, motorcycle and truck overlanders
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After a long day on the Marsabit Moyale road and then doing the border crossing from Kenya to Ethiopia it was time to call it a day. Our first night in Ethiopia was spent in a hotel 1, 5 km from the border. There we were also served out first Ethiopian meal, grilled goat meat with the traditional injera, bread,…
This piece of road must be one of the most famous drives in Africa. Mostly for the wrong reasons. Cars break down and people have to camp along the road as they can’t make it all the way to the next town before dark. Well, here is our experience. The road looks pretty bad leaving Marsabit. In Kenya you drive…
We have always read about how remote and difficult this route is. As usual, I think I will say, we find that this is quite exaggerated. Turkana is of course not a good place to have a break down, but there are other vehicles using the road. At least a couple of times per day. As long as you have…
From Malin’s slide show of rain, you have probably figured out that now is rainy season in East Africa. We knew of course, but decided that this would only make it more interesting. Our first stop after Zanzibar was Manfred’s place in Arusha where we had the Patrol stored, and from there, our idea was to cross into Kenya. Earlier…
Driving north from South Africa in May 2012 we traveled in the dry season for 5 months. We did not have a drop of rain for at least three months in the middle, and it made life on the road nice and easy. As we have had a break and stored the Patrol for 6 months in Arusha, we are…
We’ve now been on the road for almost three years. There have been two longer breaks, one for about three months in Patagonia when we flew in to work in Antarctica, and a second break, for about 5 months when we signed up for another season in Antarctica earlier this year. Other than this we’ve been more or less…
Some years ago a friend made a comment about that he thought travelling by plane was to travel to fast. I heard what he said, but I did not fully understand or really agree with him. I thought flying was pretty amazing and it enabled me to get to exotic places quickly from Norway. Flying home to Norway after traveling…
Last season I was more or less (except for the most amazing bonus in the world) stuck in the dining tent as a kitchen assistant and dish washer. This season I signed up to work in the Mechanical department, and the idea was that I would be out driving for most of the season. Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions not only…
It has been a while, but as we’re now back in Africa after our “break” in Antarctica, it is time to get back online and start the blog again. First a few updates from the cold continent: It was quite different to arrive at Union Glacier this season. Last year most of camp was already in place and tents were…
Same procedure as last year… Some of you already know, there will be a short break in driving, and we’re flying to Antarctica for a few months work. We found a place that we both thought looked good in Tanzania, and the Patrol, our home for the last two and a half years, are parked next to quite a few…
Usambara Mountains is in the North East of Tanzania not too far from the border to Kenya. One of our reasons to visit the area was because we had heard about Irente Farm and that they produced cheese. Travelling in countries far away you sometimes miss food items that you are used to from home. On the top of our…
The paradise island off the coast of Tanzania that you find in all the nice and cool travel magazines. I had high expectations, and could even be persuaded to leave the Patrol at a beach resort on the mainland for more than a week. How we were supposed to get out to the island had been discussed for a few…
After a couple of days at Utengule we were ready to hit the road again. From Mbeya to Iringa on road A 104 and from Iringa to Dar es Salaam the road A 7. This is the main road from Dar es Salaam to Southern Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia, and it was as much traffic as expected. On the first…
Driving from Lake Malawi at about 450 meters we crossed the border into Tanzania and the road took us up and up. We were soon in the Southern highlands at an altitude of 2000 meters and more. At one point the road was surrounded by tea plantations. Then as we drove a bit higher the crop changed from tea to…
As far as I know there is only one border crossing between Malawi and Tanzania. At least on the maps. Songwe border post is on the M1 main road between the two countries. We arrived just before lunch on the Malawian side. This is the second border in Africa where “helpers”, or whatever you should call them, start chasing after…
Okay, it is not only about the lake. We found of course a few other interesting places along the way as well. After the infamous incident with the speeding ticket, we headed inland to Wvaza Game Reserve. Since leaving Kruger National Park in South Africa we’ve hardly seen any wild animals, and Malawi doesn’t really come to mind when thinking…
Some times when driving you take photos of things you see going on along the road. Normally, the picture is, from a photographic point of view, crap. Reflections from the window, out of focus, too dark, etc… But still, what you can see in the photo can be quite interesting and perhaps characteristic for the area you travel through. Therefore…
Malawi is all about the lake. At least for most of the tourists, and this time, also for us. The places along the lake are stunningly beautiful, and prices are reasonable (read: cheap). So we got stuck – twice… From the border we kept going to Cape Maclear. We were hopng to meet up with Toyotours (yes, again – they…
The slowest border crossing so far in Africa was when we crossed from Mandimba in Mozambique to Chiponde in Malawi a couple of days ago. No difficulties, really, but it reminded me a little more about some of the borders we crossed in Central America. It was also the first border crossing in Africa where we have had money changers…
Our northernmost stop in Mozambique was Pemba, and according to our guidebook, a relaxed and quiet little town with great beaches, snorkeling and diving. As we reached the outskirts of town, we got a hint that things might have changed since the publishing of our guidebook in 2007. There were construction sites, container storage areas, and heavy traffic. Strange. Well,…
Since we decided to drive through Mozambique and we started to read up on the country, Ilha de Mozambique has been on the top of our list of places to see. The island is 3 km off the coast and is connected to the mainland with a bridge. Long before the Portuguese arrived in 1498 Ilha de Mozambique has been…
After some relaxing days in the Inhambane area with our visiting friends from Norway, our paths took different directions. Actually we both had the same goal, Norway, but they would return to Johannesburg to hand in the rental car and then fly back home. We are still aiming to drive back to Norway up the East coast of Africa, and…
We hit the coast just north of Xai-Xai as it began to get dark. The GPS showed a campsite a few kilometers further and warned us about soft sand on the access roads. As we took off from the highway a sign told us to air down to 0.8 bar (about 11 psi). We took the rental car down to…
Girondo Border crossing in the Kruger – Limpopo National Parks We decided to cross the border at Girondo in the Kruger NP. This is supposed to be a quiet and easy crossing, and we also wanted to spend time in both Kruger and the Limpopo NP. As the crossing is inside the park you do of course have to pay…
So! Time to get up to date on the blogging. We left off somewhere after crossing the border from Botswana back into South Africa to visit the famous Kruger National Park. Spotting a Leopard crossing the road in front of the cars just after the entrance gate, we through this could get really good. Not very photogenic, though, and this…
Hooking up with friends from home is always fun. We drove south from Maun and our friends rented a 4×4 in Jo’burg and drove north. We met in Rakops in Botswana about 40 kilometers from the north eastern gate of the Central Kalahari National Park, and early next morning we drove in. We had booked three nights in two different…
Crossing borders within the Southern African Customs Union is normally very quick and easy. This time it was even too quick and easy, but we didn’t realize this until it was too late… Together with our friends in their rented Nissan 4×4 with roof top tent we crossed the border between Botswana and South Africa at Pont Drift. The physical…
In Maun we met Andrea and Georg from www.toyotours.com again after seven months. First time we met was on Baja California in November 2010 and we traveled together for a while, went different ways, and met up again several times on our trip through Central and South America. Last time we met we drank champagne in Ushuaia celebrating we both…
When you start travelling you make a plan for your trip and I do not know how many times the plan change along the way. Our original plan was to drive north from Cape Town then through Namibia, Botswana, and then spend about two weeks driving through Zimbabwe. Then we spent one week longer in South Africa than planned and…
We decided we wanted to have a look at the Victoria Falls, and from Kazangula in Botswana it is not far. First we thought about parking the car in Kazangula and catch a bus across the border, but this turned out to be more expensive than actually paying for our own vehicle at the border. And we like to drive…