You make the decision in a moment of weakness to
consider going on an organised overland. How do you start?
First, decide roughly where you want to go, for how long and how much money you have.
Then search endlessly on the internet for something suitable, give up, have second thoughts and post the following question on a forum like the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree, “Should I go on an organised overland or do it by myself?”
Weigh up all the conflicting arguments from the posters, discard all the advice and then decide to do it anyway, the alternative, independent travel, seems too daunting.
Post next question on the forums,
“Can anyone recommend an overland company to go from Nairobi to Capetown?”
Trawl through all the disparate answers and then revert to the first option but trying to have more patience this time.
Narrow results down to four or five companies and post the following again, “Has anyone got anything good or bad to say about the following companies for an overland…………….”
Read all answers, decide the good reviews must be working for the company and the bad ones must be working for the other companies.
Go to bed, wake up in the middle of the night, think, “Sod it”, switch on the computer and on impulse (‘cause you like the look of the girl/boy in the photo on the web site of company “b”) fill out the application form and send your deposit off by credit card.
Go back to bed and have second thoughts, get up again, log on to the forums and post the following message, “I’ve just booked to do an overland with …… have I done the right thing?”
Compare answers with those of friends at home and find that it’s an even split between, “Wow!” and “Dickhead”.
Highlight date on calendar and start counting down the days.
Make endless “TTBD” lists (Things To Be Done) and realise that you’ll need a holiday just to get over the preparation and stress of sorting the bloody thing out.
Keep posting questions along the lines of -
“How cold/hot will it be”
“What sleeping bag should I take”
“Will I need a mossie net”
“What vaccinations do I need”
“How much money should I take”
“What if I don’t get on with the others on the truck” etc etc.
WARNING -
At no time should you actually pick up a guide book or search the internet for any information pertaining to where you are actually going, what you are going to see, how to interact with the locals without giving offence, history of the countries, culture or anything relating to the actual substance of the trip, only for information regarding the preparation and execution of said overland.
You’ve come to realise that when you turn up on Day 1 you can always ask the Leader/Driver questions like,
“Why is it so dusty here?”
“Why can’t I wear shorts in that Mosque?”
“Are there any nude beaches?”
“Why do they smell so much?”
“Why don’t they understand English?”
“Why is the food so crap?”
“Where is the nearest McDonalds? I want real food tonight”.
Leaders really love those types of questions, makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
One thing to be done is work something out regarding travelling times.
E.g. from the company info it says how far it is from Nairobi to Capetown and how long the trip lasts. So you divide the distance by the time and find out that you’ll be driving only about 120km per day.
Great! Only a couple of hours driving in the truck each day at the most! More like an hour and a half!
(Boy oh boy, are you going to be disappointed).
First, decide roughly where you want to go, for how long and how much money you have.
Then search endlessly on the internet for something suitable, give up, have second thoughts and post the following question on a forum like the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree, “Should I go on an organised overland or do it by myself?”
Weigh up all the conflicting arguments from the posters, discard all the advice and then decide to do it anyway, the alternative, independent travel, seems too daunting.
Post next question on the forums,
“Can anyone recommend an overland company to go from Nairobi to Capetown?”
Trawl through all the disparate answers and then revert to the first option but trying to have more patience this time.
Narrow results down to four or five companies and post the following again, “Has anyone got anything good or bad to say about the following companies for an overland…………….”
Read all answers, decide the good reviews must be working for the company and the bad ones must be working for the other companies.
Go to bed, wake up in the middle of the night, think, “Sod it”, switch on the computer and on impulse (‘cause you like the look of the girl/boy in the photo on the web site of company “b”) fill out the application form and send your deposit off by credit card.
Go back to bed and have second thoughts, get up again, log on to the forums and post the following message, “I’ve just booked to do an overland with …… have I done the right thing?”
Compare answers with those of friends at home and find that it’s an even split between, “Wow!” and “Dickhead”.
Highlight date on calendar and start counting down the days.
Make endless “TTBD” lists (Things To Be Done) and realise that you’ll need a holiday just to get over the preparation and stress of sorting the bloody thing out.
Keep posting questions along the lines of -
“How cold/hot will it be”
“What sleeping bag should I take”
“Will I need a mossie net”
“What vaccinations do I need”
“How much money should I take”
“What if I don’t get on with the others on the truck” etc etc.
WARNING -
At no time should you actually pick up a guide book or search the internet for any information pertaining to where you are actually going, what you are going to see, how to interact with the locals without giving offence, history of the countries, culture or anything relating to the actual substance of the trip, only for information regarding the preparation and execution of said overland.
You’ve come to realise that when you turn up on Day 1 you can always ask the Leader/Driver questions like,
“Why is it so dusty here?”
“Why can’t I wear shorts in that Mosque?”
“Are there any nude beaches?”
“Why do they smell so much?”
“Why don’t they understand English?”
“Why is the food so crap?”
“Where is the nearest McDonalds? I want real food tonight”.
Leaders really love those types of questions, makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
One thing to be done is work something out regarding travelling times.
E.g. from the company info it says how far it is from Nairobi to Capetown and how long the trip lasts. So you divide the distance by the time and find out that you’ll be driving only about 120km per day.
Great! Only a couple of hours driving in the truck each day at the most! More like an hour and a half!
(Boy oh boy, are you going to be disappointed).