African Safari by Bus
Apr 12 '00
If you're not rich and you want to get the most for your money, patient and healthy, this is the way to go. I took a "truck" tour across Europe to South Africa. It's actually a bus but for tax reasons it's referred to as a truck.
I went in March and got a one-way air fare from San Francisco to London, England for $400. Pack lightly as this is a no frills trip. A heavy sweater or jacket and jogging shoes for a three-day stay over in England and the trip across the Continent. I took one large canvas bag, sandals, jeans and plenty of T-shirts and shorts. That was all I needed for this very casual tour. Air fare going to and from the tour headquarters and hotel rooms at the beginning lay over to catch the tour were not included. Food, ground travel and living accommodations and laundry were included in this economy tour.
The bus was ferried across the English Channel. It's a long trip by bus, you get to see the countryside, it's probably the best way to go, but you have to be in good shape. We traveled across Europe to Spain, where we were ferried across to Morocco. This trip lasted for nine months for me because I left it after reaching South Africa, but some people determinedly went through the whole twelve months. The average age seemed to be thirties and forties, some younger twenties, and a few troopers in their sixties. Most were English but there were some German and French students.
Some days we traveled all day long without stopping except for pit stops, no washroom being on board, and sometimes the nearest bush the only one available when we stopped. Other days we did get to walk around and take pictures and some side tours. At night they pitched tents for us and we slept outside and they managed to provide us with make shift showering facilities and took care of our laundry. Meals were picnic style. You have to be into camping, then it's fun.
Africa by bus, south along the west coast can be harrowing and bring out the best in the travelers. Sometimes there were several days in a row of nonstop driving across arid terrain. Then there were the war zones, like in Mali, where mines were distributed everywhere, so we had to follow a military convoy who knew where the mines were (we hoped).
The animal preserves were fascinating. I took lots of pictures of those and bought some native arts and crafts in their tourist gift shops. But by the time we got to Cape Town South Africa I was ready to go home. Before I left I got to see some prehistoric caves where the first humans lived and made stone artifacts and tools. South Africa has some very good museums of dinosaur bones and early human bones. Some of the earliest human remains have been found along the sea coast of South Africa where they apparently camped and made some early stone tools.
I'm glad I took this tour. It was an endurance test but fun and back once more in the States, I thought it might not be as hard as driving a car in the rush hour traffic--it's all what you get used to.
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Epinions.com ID:
LauroA
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Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 47
Trusted by: 25 members
About Me:
Degree in Hotel Management, attended language school in Japan. Enjoy travel, basketball and computers.
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