The Cape Town to Nairobi 42-day journey spans Southern and East Africa, linking desert landscapes, wildlife-rich deltas and legendary savannahs in one transcontinental overland safari. Beginning in Cape Town, travel north through Namibia’s Namib Desert and the towering dunes of Sossusvlei before exploring the vast salt pans of Etosha National Park. In Botswana, venture into the Okavango Delta and wildlife-rich Moremi Game Reserve, combining mokoro excursions with open-vehicle game drives across floodplains and woodland. Witness the thunder of Victoria Falls before continuing to the shores of Lake Malawi and into Zambia’s renowned South Luangwa National Park. The route then moves into Tanzania to explore historic Stone Town in Zanzibar, followed by the Ngorongoro Crater and the endless plains of the Serengeti. Concluding in Nairobi, this 42-day African safari captures the scale, diversity and iconic wildlife experiences that define the continent.

Highlights

This Cape Town to Nairobi route is available in two travel styles: Explorer (camping) and Classic (accommodated). Both follow the same expertly guided itinerary, travelling through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia & South Africa while offering different accommodation experiences.
Explorer is our authentic camping option, providing a spacious dome tent (2.4m x 2.4m) with a 5cm-thick mattress. Travellers will need to bring their own sleeping bag and participate in certain camp duties, creating a hands-on overland adventure.
Classic offers greater comfort, with accommodation in permanent tents, guesthouses, lodges and hotels along the route, while maintaining the same immersive safari and overland experience.

Classic Tents

 

Permanent Tents

 

Hotels & Resorts

 

Lodges & Guesthouses

 

From the Atlantic’s southern tip to East Africa’s sun-drenched savannas, this extensive journey across Southern and Eastern Africa stitches together a brimming tapestry of landscapes, cultures, and wildlife.

Beginning in ocean-kissed Cape Town, the route winds through the Cederberg Mountains cloaked in rooibos and across the blossoming semi-desert of Namaqualand. Trace the yawning chasm of Fish River Canyon before venturing into the alien world of Namibia’s desert. The Namib-Naukluft National Park reveals ochre dunes emerging over ghostly Deadvlei, a climb atop Dune 45 and the gorges of Sesriem.

Coastal Swakopmund offers adventure at every turn, from quad biking over dunes that tumble into the sea. Ancient rock art at Brandberg whispers tales of the past, and Etosha National Park’s sun-baked landscape is teeming with lions, rhinos, and thirsty herds gathering at waterholes.

Crossing into Botswana, the dry scrub gives way to the waterway arteries of the Kavango Zambezi Conservation Area (KAZA). A tranquil cruise on the Kavango River leads into the fabled Okavango Delta, where mokoro canoes glide silently through lily-dotted channels, bringing travellers up-close with the Delta’s life. The safari crescendo continues in Khwai and Moremi, with golden grasslands roamed by wild dogs and elusive leopards. Explore the serenity of the Makgadikgadi Pans and along the Chobe’s riverbanks on boat cruise, alive with roaming hippos and elephants. Then, the earth seems to split open at Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi thunders in a spectacle of mist and rainbows, inviting thrill-seekers to raft, bungee, or simply bask in awe.

From here, the journey spirals north into Zambia’s emerald heartlands, where handcrafted jewelry made from poacher’s snares at Mulberry Mongoose tells stories of conservation. South Luangwa National Park delivers you on a sunset safari and an optional walk through its prolific thickets filled with animals.

Malawi’s crystalline lake welcomes travelers with a gentler, paradise pace. Through the Tanzanian highlands, coffee farms and baobab-dotted plains mark the way to Zanzibar, an island refuge perfect for beach-side bliss. Explore the spice-scented labyrinth of Stone Town, dive into the azure water for ocean activities, or merely unwind at your own pace.

Our finale is a quintessential safari experience in the famous Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, where the Big Five roam freely across grassland and hot air balloons float like whispers above the savanna.

This is not just a tour. It’s an odyssey for you to write yourself into Africa’s wild heart and leave feeling the mark its drumbeat has left on your soul.