Last Changed 8th August 2003 (Some housekeeping)
Preparation | On the Road Accounts | Culture and History | Miscellaneous
Africa By Road. - Bob Swain and Paula Snyder |
A good general guide to overlanding - really a must for any trip. 1995 edition is reasonably up to date. |
Africa Overland. - David Brydon |
A useful guide but the 1991 edition I have is distinctly out of date. |
Sahara Handbook. - Simon Glen |
The 'bible' for motorised travel in the Sahara. Sadly out of print, but of little relevance until the Algerian situation quietens down. |
The Off-Road Four Wheel Drive Book. - Jack Jackson |
Lots of useful information and advice on selecting a vehicle. I have the 1988 edition which is now out of date. There is a 1995 edition which I haven't seen yet. |
Vehicle-Dependent Expedition Guide. - Tom Sheppard |
This book tells you everything you need to know. It is really a comprehensive and exhaustive guide and beautifully presented. |
Sahara Overland. - Chris Scott |
This book is the new bible for travel in the Sahara, replacing Glen's excellent contribution. Chris Scott has produced an outstanding and up to date guide for serious travel in this region. Oohh and there's even a contribution from myself, describing the Chinguetti to Tdjika route. |
| The Africa branch of the thorn tree provides valuable up to date feedback of the African budget travel situation. | |
| The RGS expedition advisary section may provide you with useful advice. | |
| The FCO advice on the situation in each country gives a good indication of how safe your trip is likely to be. | |
| A company specialising in self drive trips in Southern Africa. They can organise a shorter trip if you cannot afford the time to do a full trans-Africa. Their site also includes a section on the logisitics of trans-Africa. | |
| An excellent site covering the current possibilities of travel in the Sahara. | |
| I like this site. It provides an overview of the temperature, rainfall and sunshine for the whole of Africa. Now you can avoid the rainy season at your destination. | |
| MANTEC manufactures and supplies Landrover equipment essential to the Overlander. They will also provide advice and assistance in preparing a vehicle for a Trans-Africa. | |
| Landrover Owner magazine. A good gateway site to many Landrover based sites and suppliers of equipment | |
| Terrain Master is an online shop for off-road accessories, including WARN winches and Hi-Lift jacks. Looks like a good source of general off-road eqipment and safety items. | |
| The travel and tropical supply specialist. Provides equipment for the individual ´(as opposed to the vehicle, such as mossie nets, water filters, sleeping bags and mats, etc, etc | |
| A Swiss based travel company specialising in the Sahara. Has a Cyber-shop with useful expeditionary equipment. | |
| An 'Alladin's cave' for the overlander. Daerr's stocks all the exotics of overlanding. Need long range fuel tanks for your Landrover/G wagen/Toyota... Daerrs have them. Tow ropes, storage boxes, GPS, clothing, tyre repairs, .... See Daerrs. |
| A trip made in 1991/92, the year before mine, when Algeria was still open. | |
| Dead Link . | A trip made in 1999, travelling from South to North. Useful recent info on border crossings and such like. |
| A trip currently in its planning stages Due to leave in September 2000. Covering most of the continent, this trip will have to find what routes are currently possible. | |
| Running from South to North. They intend to visit Southern and Eastern Africa. Trip started June 3rd 1999 | |
| Two Norwegians and two South Africans on a trip to travel between their countries. Started on 1st Jan 2000 | |
Into Africa. - Hazel Jackson |
One of the few published accounts. This trip was in 1994/95, following a similar route to my own. |
| Dead Link . | This was a trans_africa using public transport. A little out of the scope of my site as it doesn't depend on your own vehicle. However, I had to include it as it is an amazing record of their trip. In particular their account of crossing DRC is of great interest. When I read it at first, I couldn't believe they followed the same road as I did. Unfortunately, this link is now dead - it was a great story. |
The Scramble for Africa. - Thomas Pakenham |
The story of the European colonisation of the continent. A fascinating book. |
The Africans. - David Lamb |
Lamb is an American journalist who spent a lot of time in Africa through the 70s and 80s. This book covers his time there and provides an insight to how Africa developed after the colonial powers left. Lamb covers a number of issues in depth, his explanation of how aid can actually hinder African development is particularly revealling. |
Cry of the Kalahari. - Mark and Delia Owens |
The story of the Owen's time at Deception Valley. An entrancing story |
Survivor's Song. - Mark and Delia Owens |
Effectively a sequel to 'Cry', telling of their efforts in Zambia. |
Venture to the Interior. - Laurens Van Der Post |
Written in 1952, this relates the story of the author's trip to Mt Mulanje and Nyika plateau. These are two of my favourite places in Africa, both are in Malawi, but I did not read this book until after my return. Now I want to go back. |
The Lost World of the Kalahari. - Laurens Van Der Post |
The story of the Kalahari Bushmen. Well worth reading if you intend to travel in Southern Africa. |
Africa's Mountains of the Moon. - Guy Yeoman |
An expedition into the Rwenzoris. |
| You'll see this game played throughout Africa. If you can play it in any form(there are many variations) you are likely to be welcomed as a traveller rather than a tourist. |
| The Gods Must Be Crazy | 'An epic comedy of absurd proportions.' And a bit of a cult movie. Explores how an empty Coke bottle affects the Bushmen of the Kalahari.... |
| Concerned that with all the wars, there will be nothing left in Africa. Check that Africa still exists. Geostationary images, centred on Africa, every 30 minutes. Its the home site of where I work, but that's a longer story. |
Last Changed 8th August 2003 (Some housekeeping)