Cape Town to Morocco - Itinerary

ITINERARY Cape Town Morocco
Week 1: South Africa
Week 2: Namibia
Week 3-4: Angola
Week 5: Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda
Week 6: Congo, Gabon
Week 7-11: Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo
Week 12-13: Ghana
Week 14-16: Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone
Week 17-19: Guinea, Guinea Bissau
Week 20-21: Senegal, The Gambia
Week 22: Mauritania
Week 23: Morocco

HIGHLIGHTS
South Africa Cape Town - Stellenbosch wine tour Canoeing Orange River
Namibia - Fish River Canyon.  Sossusvlei, Namib Naukluft National Park,  Swakopmund,  Cape Cross seal colony, Cheetah Park, Skeleton Coast, Rock engravings, Etosha National Park
Angola - Christ the King statue
Angola to Congo - Congo River crossing, Primal Tropical Forests
Cameroun - Mount Cameroon
Nigeria - Oshogbo & Sacred Grove,  Drill Monkey and Chimpanzee rehabilitation centre 
Togo - Marche des Fetishes
Benin - Stilted village 
Ghana - Beaches,  Slave Forts, Kakum Forest Reserve, Kejetia Market in Kumasi - largest in West Africa, Wli Agumatsa Waterfalls
Ivory Coast -  beaches of Grand-Bassam, Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro
Sierra Leone - Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary - Atlantic Ocean Beaches, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, home to 100 rescued chimpanzees
Guinea Conakry - Highlands of the Fouta Djallon mountainous region, waterfalls, difficult roads
Guinea Bissau - Parque Nacional de Cantanhez
Senegal - beautiful beaches
The Gambia - Gambia River boat trip upriver
Mauritania - Desert Crossing
Morocco – Essaouira on the Atlantic, Marrakech, Atlas Mountains, Roman ruins at Volubilis, Fes, Meknes 

UK to South Africa 23 Weeks - Itinerary 

On this trip we are schedule to visit or pass through 20 countries
South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda, Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau. Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Morocco

What's it like?
As we will be camping and travelling for an extended period of time, you must be prepared for an adventurous challenge. It can be hot and dusty, and will sometimes be out of contact from the rest of the world. This means no telephones, shops or any other mod cons. We need you to participate and work with all members of the expedition. For the Trans we use sturdy purpose-built vehicles for these rugged off-road conditions.

Due to the nature of the trip, Trans Africa tours do not have a specific day-to-day itinerary.

Of all the trips we run this is the most likely to have a change of route due to local conditions and visa requirements. Africa is an unpredictable continent. We do not have a fixed itinerary so please treat the information given as a guideline only. Although our information is written in good faith at the time of printing, our route may vary at any time due to weather, politics or road conditions.

Cape Town
It's a beautiful city, nestled at the foot of Table Mountain; plenty of cafes, pubs, clubs, markets and sights. You can climb the mountain or take the cable car to the top for some wonderful views of the city and the Cape Peninsula and visit Robben Island

Week 1: South Africa
We drive through the mountain valleys of the Cederberg and stony semi-deserts before arriving in Stellenbosch, the centre of one of the Cape's many wine routes. A wine tour with plenty of tasting makes for a great day out
We travel north through Namaqualand and South Africa's prime farming areas. Crossing the Orange River, we arrive in Namibia

Week 2: Namibia
Entering Namibia, we encounter a vast array of environments and cultures. Once occupied by Germany, Namibia produces a blend of German, African and Afrikaans influences. The Himba peoples of the North are most noted for their red ochre body paint and their traditional lifestyle.

After an overnight stay in the desert, we drive south to Fish River Canyon, at 85km long and 400m deep it's second in size only to the Grand Canyon. You can trek down to the bottom of the canyon and, from the viewpoints at the top, watch the setting or rising of the sun. There are seasonal hot springs in the south at Ai Ais. Our last stop in Namibia is the Orange River, the border with South Africa.

In the Namib Desert, famous for the 300m high sand dunes we enjoy sunrise at the top of the most photographed dune, Dune 45 before taking a tour with local guides into the remote parts of Sossusvlei.

Heading for the Atlantic Ocean Coast,  Swakopmund is an old German colonial seaside resort with plenty of things to do for the energetic and plenty of beer cellars for those after a more relaxing time. The energetic can go horse-riding or sand boarding on the dunes, deep sea fishing in the Atlantic or scenic flights over the coastline. We visit Africa's largest cape fur seal colony at Cape Cross. 

We spend a night at the Cheetah Farm where you can scratch the big cats behind the ears before watching them take their evening meal.

Etosha Pan National Park. Thousands of years ago this vast saltpan was a lake, until the Kunene River changed its course and deprived the lake of its water source. Now the pan and surrounding bush support large numbers and a wide range of wildlife. We spend a couple of day's game viewing from the truck during the day and spend the evenings around the floodlit water holes at the park's campsites. These water holes provide an excellent opportunity to observe animals that are hard to find during the day, particularly rhino and also smaller animals such as the genet. Elephant, lion, giraffe, zebra, oryx, ostrich, springbok, jackals, hyenas and meercats are also likely to be seen at Etosha.

Week 3-4: Angola
This country only opened up to tourism in 2004, one of the largest and least visited countries in Africa. The people are friendly and the views astounding. Driving along the red mud roads we reach the coast and the capital Luanda, it’s very Portuguese in its buildings and Brazilian in its beach attire with a line of beach bars and restaurants in the bay. We follow the coast passing lots of waterfalls on the way to Lubango town 2000 meters high on a plateau. It is home to the third of the great statues of Jesus; the others being in Rio and Lisbon.

Week 5: Democratic Republic of Congo, Cabinda
The oil rich exclave of Angola with the Congo to the East and the Atlantic to the west; where you can watch the flames burning off from the offshore oil rigs. At Pointe-Noire you can visit the Jane Goodall Chimp sanctuary, or relax on the beach. 

Week 6: Congo, Gabon
We cross into Republic of Congo, a country which consists mostly of tropical rain forests. Driving through bamboo forest tunnels we make our way back to the coast reaching.
 
Week 7-11: Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Togo
Entering Cameroon, we stay on the beach at Limbe. For those that are adventurous, you can climb West Africa's largest mountain, Mount Cameroon. From the coast we visit the capital Yaounde.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with 100 million people. With its often dubious reputation, Nigeria will be one of the countries that surprises you the most. The people are dynamic, clever and fun, and very welcoming of tourists. We head to Calabar, passing the outskirts of the Cross-River National Park.
Depending on our route through Nigeria you may have the chance to visit national parks, warm springs, wildlife conservation projects, and the sacred grove in Oshogbo. We visit Lagos, the commercial capital and largest city in West Africa and head on to Abuja the political capital for visas.

Benin and Togo are only fifty miles wide. Here the religion is the African tradition of Voodoo. On Nakoue Lagoon you can take canoes to visit the fishing village of Ganvie. We enjoy the huge bustling markets and visits to the stilted village-in-a-lake built high above the water on bamboo poles, and the fetish market in Lome (home of voodoo). There are mud fortresses in the north to the home of voodoo, Togo and Benin, despite being tiny countries have a lot to offer.

Week 12-13: Ghana
In Ghana a particular favourite, the people are so warm and hospitable - lots of fantastic seafood too! The tree-top canopy walks of the Kakum Forest Reserve and widely available drumming lessons are now a firmly established. We cross the jungle to the beaches of the Gold Coast and visit the slaving forts. Kakum National Park has a 30 metre high Canopy Walkway which you have the chance to visit on an optional excursion, giving you a different experience and view of the rainforest. Near Cape Coast we find vast beaches and can learn more about the slave trade at Elmina and Cape Coast castles.

Week 14-16: Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone
Then to Ivory Coast and Abidjan, with an impressive skyline of high rise buildings, and oceans where we can camp on the beach, and on to the magnificent Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, modelled on St Peters Basilica in the Vatican, it was built by President Houphouet-Boigny who undertook huge building projects, designed to impress.

Liberia a new courty was founded by resettled, freed slaves from America in the 19th century. 

Sierra Leone with a possible visit to Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary to see pigmy hippopotamus on foot or by canoe with a guide. The capital Freetown and its palm-fringed beaches on the Atlantic.  We visit the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, home to about 100 rescued chimpanzees

Week 17-19: Guinea, Guinea Bissau
To Guinea, or Guinea Conakry.  We cross the highlands of the Fouta Djallon mountainous region, with beautiful waterfalls.

Guinea Bissau. Is a small country with many traditional roadside We should visit Parque Nacional de Cantanhez to go trekking into the rainforest to look for chimpanzees.

Week 20-21: Senegal, The Gambia
We follow the border of Gambia to the west and Senegal and head north on road less travelled to the beaches.

The Gambia, is a country surrounded by Senegal, apart from its coast is a country on the Gambia riverbanks. The capital, Banjul is on an island in the mouth of the Gambia River - take a boat trip upriver, explore the old capital. We enter the Sahel; the vast semi arid desert that separates the Sahara from the forests of black Africa, and reach St Louis on the coast and the capital Dakar with its great night clubs. 

Week 22: Mauritania
Crossing over the Senegal River to Mauritania, we pass into the Sahara Desert and follow the Atlantic Coast - it is never forgotten; oases with cool water surrounded by palms, stretches of sand as big as a small country, old forts, camel trains following centuries old trading routes, and a night sky undiluted by city lights. We are touching on the western fringes of the Sahara Desert  - an enormous desert which, incredibly, is the size of the United States We go miles off road, sometimes digging the truck out of the soft sands to get through. - and have to contend with sand dunes, salt pans and mud flats before

Week 23: Morocco
Following the coast north to Essaouira, then inland to Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains. We visit the coastal cities of Casablanca and capital city Rabat. Meknes, on the high plains is of the many ancient walled cities with covered markets and a labyrinth of narrow winding streets. We visit the ancient Roman ruin of Volubilis, followed by Fes the most traditional city in Morocco – difficult to find your way around without a guide.