From Johannesburg to Nairobi with G Adventures

I had wanted to travel to Africa for quite some time but wasn’t sure where to even begin. I was quickly overwhelmed with all of the different destinations and things to do, so I decided to book a group tour with G Adventures. It was the perfect way to explore part of the continent while making some lifelong friends along the way.

The Tour

G Adventures offers many different tours throughout Africa, which range from basic camping trips to solo-ish adventures to deluxe packages. After some deliberation, I decided to book a 27-day camping trip that started in Johannesburg, South Africa and ended in Nairobi, Kenya. I booked the tour for June, which is winter in the southern hemisphere (and dry season in the countries I would be visiting). Not only is the weather cooler, but safari animals are also easier to spot since they congregate around water sources more often during this time.

While they have tours for all ages, the one I chose was for people between the ages of 18-39. Indeed, the youngest in our group was 18 and the oldest was 39, so we had quite a range of ages! The group sizes for these tours are limited to 22 members, and we had 21 in our group which I enjoyed. It was nice to have a variety of different people to spend time with, especially since the tour was nearly a month long.

G Adventures tours are combo tours, meaning that different, shorter tours are combined to create one long one. On my tour, we had one guide and driver for the first 7 days from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Most of the group left at this point and we were joined by a new guide and driver, plus 16 new group members. Some of the new members had just flown into Africa, while others had previously been on a G Adventures tour in Namibia. This new group then stayed together for the final 20 days. This worked out well for me since my first group had been full of couples and Germans, making it harder for me to socialize.

Getting to know one another around a campfire

The Camping

I was nervous about the camping portion since I had never camped a day in my life. We were paired with another person of the same gender to share a tent with (friends and couples traveling together were put in the same tents). There is an option to upgrade to your own tent, but since I had no clue how to set one up I thought it would be wise to share with someone else. G Adventures provides all of the tents and all camping equipment except for a sleeping bag, which you need to bring with you. Each of the campsites had showers and toilets, although there wasn’t hot water at every site. We would also be getting a break from camping during the Zanzibar portion of the tour.

Me with my tent!

One of many campsites

Since this was a basic tour, we would be sharing in some of the chores throughout the long journey. We were divided into 5 groups and rotated through the Cooking, Picnic, Packing, Lando, and Washing duties so that each group had a different set of tasks each day.

The majority of our meals were included in the tour price. Most days we would eat simple breakfasts at the campsite and then make ourselves a packed lunch to take with us on our journey. The dinners were cooked by our guides at the campsites, with the Cooking group pitching in a little bit. The meals varied greatly from one day to the next and were delicious, especially considering that they were cooked with minimal equipment!

The Route

The tour started in Johannesburg and ended in Nairobi, which meant that we had a lot of ground to cover. We made our way through seven countries: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Kenya. By the end of the 27 days we traveled 4,500 miles or 7,200 kilometers! While this enabled us to see some amazing things, it required us to have a lot of early morning starts (usually at 5 or 6 AM). I am not a morning person at all, so I was thankful that coffee and tea were included with our breakfasts.

From South Africa to Kenya

It was interesting to see how each of the countries’ cultures varied from one another. G Adventures only hires local guides, so they were able to give us insight and knowledge that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. The guides for the first 7 days were from South Africa and Zimbabwe, while the guides for the second portion of the tour were both from Kenya.

We visited many different types of places throughout the journey, from cities to beaches to savannas and more. We went on many safari drives as well, with each one showcasing different animals and terrain. During these drives we saw everything from hippos, hyenas, zebras, cheetahs, and crocodiles, to so much more. We also saw all Big 5 safari animals (the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo) throughout the journey. It’s hard to visit a zoo after seeing these magnificent animals in the wild!

A lion right next to our safari vehicle!

A rare leopard sighting

Zebras at sunset

The Transportation

How did we travel all this distance in a relatively short period of time? With the Lando, of course! While this 24-passenger overland vehicle looks a lot like a bus, it is anything but (and we would get scolded if we accidentally called it one). These vehicles are owned and operated solely by G Adventures and are built to withstand the rough African terrain. We spent a lot of time riding in the Lando. While this was uncomfortable at times, I thought it was worth it since we were seeing so much of the continent.

Our Lando (not a bus!)

On safari days, we would switch into smaller vehicles that were driven by local guides. We also took a ferry to and from Zanzibar (which I highly recommended taking motion-sickness medicine for). There was an option to upgrade to the “Zanzibar Express,” which lets you spend an extra night in Zanzibar and flies you directly to the next destination, skipping a very long Lando ride in the process. It was quite expensive so I opted out, but we did have a few group members take advantage of this.

One of our safari vehicles

The Excursions

Many of the excursions were included in the tour price which was a huge benefit. All of our safari drives were included as well as some local dinners and activities. There were also quite a few optional experiences, ranging from free to very expensive (for example, a $600 USD hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti). These were all listed on the G Adventures website, so you knew which excursions were available before booking.

It was nice to have some activities that we did as a group and others that we could do independently or with a few other group members. There were a lot of days where we could “choose our own adventure” which allowed each of us to focus on things that we were most interested in. This also allowed for some much-needed rest days throughout the long journey.

Our final dinner as a group

Overall, I had an incredible time on my tour and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a low-stress yet adventurous travel experience. As a solo traveler, it was nice to have a group of built-in friends to share the journey with. I can now say that I have friends all over the world, and I’ve already met up with some of my fellow travelers in Australia and Malaysia.

I learned so much from both the guides and the destinations in general. I’ve also already taken another G Adventures tour since, with plans to book even more in the future. It was truly the experience of a lifetime!