the big overlander - 47 days

Expedition Information
Starts in: Nairobi, Kenya (or Jo'burg)
Ends in: Jo’burg, South Africa (or Nairobi)
Prices and Departures: Click Here
Current local payment: Yes $1030
Length: 47 days
Expedition Crew: 3 (Leader, Driver, Cook)
Meals: As indicated
Rating: Camping & Truck expedition


This is the southbound itinerary, for details of the northbound itinerary please refer to The Big Overlander - Northbound Go Guide.

Days 1 - 9: Masai, Gorillas & Lake Bunyoni Saturday. Welcome to Nairobi! We’ll be there to collect you at Nairobi Airport. Your first night will be spent at our pre-expedition hotel in the centre of town. West from Nairobi on day 2, we reach possibly Kenya’s most famous natural attraction - the Masai Mara National Reserve. Sitting on the Serengeti Plain, the Mara hosts the annual wildebeest migration, when millions of wildebeest plus zebra and Thomson’s gazelle stray north from neighbouring Tanzania in search of green pasture. A morning and evening game drive through the Mara gives us the chance to spot game. The Mara hosts healthy populations of elephant, lion, cheetah, giraffe, zebra and a host of hooved herbivorous animals. During our stay we can also opt to visit a local Masai tribe. The Masai, renowned for their striking colourful, checkered attire and beaded jewellery, are habitual and skilled pastoralists and a common sight in this region.

Free Masai Mara Safari! Receive a 3 day Masai Mara safari FREE when you book this trip. PLEASE NOTE: Local payment is not included in the FREE offer

Travelling north-west via Nakuru, we cross the Equator just after Kisumu and continue across the border into Uganda. Via Kampala we drive to Lake Bunyoni, the deepest Crater Lake in Africa and home to a large and varied number of beautiful birds, which is the base from which the optional Gorilla trek takes place. Whilst in Lake Bunyoni there will be plenty of time to hike, partake in water activities or just chill-out in this region of amazing beauty. Dependant on where trekking permits are available, we trek in the Magahinga or Bwindi National Parks in Uganda, the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or the Ruhengeri National Park in Rwanda.

Winding our way through arguably some of the most picturesque scenery in Africa, we head to the town of Kisoro where we spend the night (should we be trekking in Rwanda our overnight will be in Ruhengeri). The following morning, after packing our picnic lunch, we are transferred to a ranger’s station where the trek commences.  Your rangers will lead you through the cultivated lands and then into the dense rain forest and on to a gorilla family.  Trekking can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 8 hours and it can be quite strenuous, so a reasonable level of fitness is required.  To ensure the gorillas do not get too used to the presence of humans and because they share many of our genes (and therefore able to catch our diseases), the maximum time permitted to spend with them is 1 hour.  You will have plenty of time to watch their activity and to take photographs.  The rangers will be able to provide you with a background to the gorilla family you are visiting.  Once our hour is up, we trek back out of the rain forest and transfer back to the Lake Bunyoni campsite for some R&R before heading back to Kampala.

Days 10 - 14: Rift Valley Lakes
A little time in the big smoke - Kampala, which sits on the shores of Lake Victoria, before we continue to Jinja. Here, we can opt to white-water raft at the River Nile’s source, visit Ngamba Chimp Sanctuary on Lake Victoria or relax and meet the locals. Crossing back into Kenya, we travel to the Great Rift Valley. Created by the rifting and separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates around 35 million years ago, the Great Rift Valley runs north to south for some 8,000 km, from northern Syria to central Mozambique! Here, we visit Lakes Nakuru and Naivasha. Lake Nakuru National Park is home to a veritable colony of wildlife. The park supports a population of black rhino, lion, leopard, zebra, antelope and giraffe not to mention millions of pink flamingos. The lake itself is a shallow soda lake. We enjoy a day of game driving here. The highest of the Rift Valley lakes, the freshwater Lake Naivasha is a sanctuary to birdlife. From here, you can opt to visit Elsamere (home of Joy Adamson of ‘Born Free’ fame), Crescent Island Game Sanctuary or Hells Gate NP. Descending the Rift Valley, we continue to Nairobi, where we prepare for the next leg of our expedition.

Days 15 - 24: Tanzanian highlights
Leaving Nairobi, we cross the border into East Africa’s largest country - Tanzania. Hosting an astonishing diversity of wildlife in it’s many famous national parks, we’ll enjoy our time here. Camping in the attractive town of Arusha, the town is known for being the safari gateway of the north. On an optional excursion, we can visit the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. Spot herds of wildebeest, gazelle and zebra. In their wake, stalk the predators - lion, cheetah and hyena. Prolific also is elephant and giraffe. Within the natural amphitheatre of Ngorongoro Crater, a vast and steep unbroken volcanic crater, you’ll see common varieties of antelope, hooved animals, black rhino and predators such as lion, cheetah and hyena, not to mention scores of fabulously pink flamingoes. Striking east, we travel in the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro via Pangani to Dar es Salaam. A ferry takes us to the spice island of Zanzibar, where we’ll spend three nights on this exotic oasis of pure charm. Explore old Stone Town, engage in some waterborne frolics, perhaps chow down on some fresh seafood and relax for a few days. Please note that accommodation and meals are not included whilst in Zanzibar. For those preferring not to visit Zanzibar, you can stay on our lovely beachside campsite in Dar Es Salaam.

Days 25 - 31: Lake Malawi
Continuing, we journey across Tanzania. and then drive through Mikumi National Park, where game such as elephant and giraffe, impervious to man or vehicle often roam the roadsides. Heading south through Baobob Valley, small towns and tea plantations we venture into neighbouring Malawi via the border town of Songwe. Following the country’s vast lake southwards, we pitch our camp on the sandy shoreline of this remarkably huge lake at Chitimba Beach and/or Chintheche. Watch the Malawian fishermen sorting their catch or perhaps visit one of the many local villages. Consider purchasing a magnificent carved Malawi chair.

Days 32 - 47: Vic Falls & Bostwana
Crossing into land-locked Zambia, we stay at a pleasant campsite near the border, then drive via the capital - Lusaka. Continuing to Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwean side, we enjoy our a few days in the adrenaline playground of Africa. There are optional activities aplenty here. To Botswana, and famed Chobe NP, where we enjoy a boat cruise. An optional morning game drive is also available. From Maun, our base camp there is an optional 3-day/2- night Okavango Delta excursion. In mokoros (dugout canoes) replete with skilled polers, our crafts will glide through the waterways of the flora and fauna rich wetlands of the Delta.Via Francistown for a restock, we cross high and lowveld, drive through the Northern Province and arrive at Kruger NP. One of the most famous parks in the world, Kruger covers an area of 21,497 sq. km and is home to myriad mammalian and reptilian species, not to mention more than 500 species of birdlife. On the evening of day 46, there is the option of an evening game drive. Our late afternoon arrival in Johannesburg on Wednesday (day 47) marks the end of our expedition.

Northbound itinerary: Starting in Jo’burg, ending in Nairobi: This route offers the highlights of Zimbabwe instead of Botswana and the Delta: Leaving Johannesburg, we continue to Kruger NP. Spot the Big Five - lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant. We head up north towards Zimbabwe, stopping in Messina, our last night in South Africa. We make our way to the town of Masvingo, which lies on the outskirts of the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, the greatest medieval city in sub-Sahara which provides evidence that an ancient African society reached a very high level of civilization. Once we have finished exploring this historic area we continue our journey to Gweru, stopping over at the Antelope Park. Here you’ll have the opportunity to partake in an incredible and unique experience - ‘walking with lions’. From here, we visit Matobo National Park. Set amongst fascinating rock formations in an area known as the Matobo Hills (UNESCO-listed), the park is one of the last strongholds of both black and white rhino. Heading north we make our way to the mighty UNESCO-listed Victoria Falls and continue with the reverse itinerary of the southbound trip from Nairobi to Vic Falls.

Get a 3 day Masai Mara National Park safari free!

If you’ve chosen an expedition that offers this safari FREE, congratulate yourself on an excellent choice! In order to qualify, be sure to secure your place on this safari at the same time as placing your expedition booking. You are welcome to take advantage of the free offer on the specified start day featured below, either before or after your expedition. The safari is not redeemable in any other form or at any other time, than for the periods detailed below, and is non-transferable. In event of cancellation by you, no monetary value is applicable to safari for purpose of refund. Local payment is payable by all participants in US Dollars cash on day one of safari. If unable to commence safari on start days provided below, an alternate start day can be nominated, but participant would be required to pay usual retail price of the safari. Applicable Start day: Pre camping expedition - Start Thursday, End Saturday Post expedition - Start Sunday - End Tuesday  Masai Mara mini Safari 3 days