Great Africa Expedition

June - July 2017
A 49-day adventure by Jessica Read more
  • 81footprints
  • 11countries
  • 49days
  • 204photos
  • 2videos
  • 22.3kkilometers
  • 14.5kkilometers
  • Day 1

    Adelaide Airport

    June 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    It is all starting to feel real now, my bags are checked in, I have said my goodbyes, gone through customs and I am just waiting to board the plane! It will be leaving a little late 'emirates apologises for the delay' but that's okay, means less time waiting in Dubai.

    I cannot be too angry, they did give me a window seat in the exit row for a 13 hours flight with no extra charge - I cannot complain at all!

    I cannot believe that my bag one weighed 19kg, I am definitely getting better each trip haha! I am feeling a little bit of anxiety leaving my hair dryer and hair straightener at home but there's not much point lugging them around if I won't have any power!

    I have very mixed feelings about this trip, don't get me wrong I am excited and it is going to be an incredible experience but leaving a certain someone at home and with the current 'events' occurring in the world at the moment it is a little bit scary travelling overseas at this time.

    I have included a picture of the planned tour but that is subject to change at any time, I will use this page to record everything I do and see during my trip, it is mainly for me to store my memories but if you want to it is there for you to keep up to date on where I am and what I am doing.

    Now all I have to do is mentally prepare myself for this thirteen hour flight!
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  • Day 2

    Nairobi Airport

    June 10, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Another five hours spent in a plane that I will never get back! I have to admit the flight did go rather quick but our arrival definitely was not ideal - we all got jammed into a bus (like sardines) and driven to a really large shed where we walked in and I kid you not it was a sauna!

    This shed was where we would go through customs and then collect our bags, there was two lines, one for those who organised a visa prior to arrival and one for those who need to apply and pay for their visa. I jumped in the longer line of the two (pre-purchased visas) as I already had my visa but some woman moved me to the other line, it was shorter but all the people in front needed to apply for visas and no one seemed to be in a hurry. I think it was almost two hours later when I finally got through to collect my bag and then find my transfer that was organised by 'on the go tours' by this point I am tired, smelly and grumpy.

    There was about 6 others who also arrived around the same time, we all met up and walked back to the transfer bus. the bus started driving towards the accommodation and throughout the drive I think I saw my life flash before my eyes about six times - it was that crazy, it was almost as if they didn't have any road laws!
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  • Day 2

    Wildebeest Eco Camp

    June 10, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    I made it alive! The drive was scary but somehow, even in that crazy traffic we made it alive to our accommodation for the night. Our accommodation is what they call 'dormitories' but in reality they are the cutest tents that have four bunk beds inside.

    First up we had what they call a 'pre-departure meeting' where we met our tour manager, driver, cook and other people on the tour. There is only one couple that is doing the complete fifty-seven day tour from Nairobi to Cape Town, the rest are doing a shortened version of our tour, there will also be several people joining us throughout the tour.

    Once we finished the pre-departure meeting it was a little bit of a rush to the showers, I smelt so bad it wasn't funny! twenty-four hours flying does that, those clothes almost need to be thrown out haha.

    It is now 7:00pm and I am showered, I have re-packed my bag and I made the mistake of laying down (it just feels so good) that I am skipping dinner and staying in bed, catching up on some much needed sleep.
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  • Day 3

    The Great Rift Valley

    June 11, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. It is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, which starts in Tanzania to the south and continues northward into Ethiopia. It was formed on the "Kenyan Dome" a geographical upwelling created by the interactions of three major tectonics: the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian plates.Read more

  • Day 3

    Masai Mara Village

    June 11, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Today we were welcomed into a Masai Mara Village where the men performed a welcoming dance, we were then spoken to by the son of the leader of the village who explained a few traditions to us.

    you can tell the different Masai Mara families apart by the colour they wear.
    • they do not have a hospital and use plants to treat illness'.
    • the women built the huts using cow manure, mud, water and sticks.
    • the huts need to be rebuilt every nine years because termites ruin them.
    • the men have to look after their stock and protect the village.
    • the women gather firewood and water, they feed everyone and make sure the houses are clean.
    • a man can have up to seven wife's and each wife gets their own house, majority of families have five children which means they can have up to thirty-five children!
    • the wife's do not get jealous of each other and are friends.
    • they cannot marry within their village because they are all related so the parents arrange marriages in other villages, the men will stay in their village and the females will move there.

    We then were welcomed into their homes, as you walk in there is a small room where they have calfs (to protect them from wild animals) and then a hallway to the main area where there is their kitchen which consists of a fire in the middle of the room. To the left of the kitchen is the parents room which is the size of a double bed and a room for the lambs then to the right is the children's room which is also the size of a double bed.
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  • Day 3

    Acacia Camp

    June 11, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We have finally arrived at our second camp, after driving for ten hours straight on the worst dirt roads I have ever driven on (for those who know it is worst than 'back road' between Indulkana and Mintabie) we are staying here for two nights! We were upgraded here so we didn't have to put up tents and we are staying in permanent tents that have beds inside of them. The facilities weren't so great here the showers were cold and the toilets didn't flush - I will really be looking forward to leaving here, that's for sure!
    We are going game driving tomorrow in the Masai Mara National Reserve which is pretty exciting, hopefully I get to cross off a couple of the African 'big five'.
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  • Day 4

    Masai Mara National Reserve

    June 12, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    In Africa, the big five game animals are the Lion, Elephant, Cape buffalo, Leopard and Rhinoceros. They we chosen because of the degree of danger and difficulty involved in hunting them, rather than their size.

    We drove for eight hours straight through the Masai Mara National Reserve today and it was INCREDIBLE!
    The scenery was beautiful and I was able to cross off the Lion, Elephant and Cape Buffalo off of the 'big five' as well as seeing several other amazing animals such as zebras, warthogs, wildbeest, giraffe, jackel,hartebeest (and more) but the highlight was a cheetah!

    Interesting fact that I learnt from our tour manager is that you will quite often see zebras and wildbeest together as the zebras have good eye sight and the wildbeest have great smell, working together they are able to avoid being eaten by predators. Another interesting fact is that elephants are not hunted by any other animal, majority die of old age but some die of starvation if they wear down all their teeth and are unable to eat anymore.

    It was such a big day but so worth it, I am looking forward to a lot more game drives! Hopefully I can see a leopard and rhinoceros before I finish the tour to complete the 'big five'.
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  • Day 5

    Naiberi River Camp

    June 13, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We were taken for a tour of the site by staff members and it was beautiful! It had a large pool, a bar and plenty of places to relax in the serenity! It is such a shame that we are only here for one night.

    After the tour we returned to the bus where we had to set up our tents. Today was out first day setting up the tents, I am sharing with another solo traveller (there is only three of us) and we are both competitive so when the challenge was set of who could set the tent up first we had to win and we did!

    The tents are quite large, we can easily fit two mattresses and our big bags in there with us with plenty of room to move inside. After the tents were set it was time for a beer, I tried the Tusker beer and it was great, even better was the huge bottle only cost two dollars.
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  • Day 6

    Kenya / Uganda Border

    June 14, 2017 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    The Kenya and Uganda border was stress free (surprisingly), all we had to do was line up at the first counter to exit Kenya and then line up at the second counter to enter Uganda. They were able to get all of us through quickly which was nice and now have another two stamps to add to my passport collection!Read more