The Route

From Europe there are three main routes to Cape Town, all of which change on a regular basis.
African politics being African change rapidly. Wars, droughts, famine and border disputes all contribute to the ever changing routes available to travellers. By far the most travelled route is the Eastern Route through the near and middle East, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa.

The Central route typically starts in Morocco, through the Western Sahara, Mauritania, Lybia, Chad Sudan and then down the remainder of the Eastern Route.

Finally the least travelled route, although becoming more regularly used is the Western route, through Mauritania, Nigeria, the DRC, Angola, Namibia and South Africa.

I initially planned to travel to the Cape via the western African route, however only having one Vehicle on the expedition, and having to do parts of the trip on my own, this seemed a little too dangerous. The cost of travel in the West is also surprisingly more expensive than the East, certainly in terms of Visa costs and fuel.
You can see below images outlining the route I plan to take, this will of course vary as time goes on as visas are denied and wars begin.

I’ve read an enormous amount over the last 4 months and as a result have many expectations of each country. www.africa-overland.net is a great resource, and has dozens of past, current and future trips. The diaries from overlanders who’ve travelled through the countries I’ll be visiting offer a wealth of information and have given me a good idea of what to expect.
One thing I’m sure will be a source of major frustration is obtaining visas and dealing with the bureaucracy of border crossings. I’m in no rush, the weather is my only timetable, from everything I’ve heard, and appearing to be in a rush will typically exacerbate any delays. I’ll be sure to practice my “bothered – is this my bothered face” well in advance of any crossing.

As always I’ll be crossing each border with great anticipation and an open mind.