Expedition Southern Africa
written by admin am 28. Oktober 2010 | archived in Afrika, in English, Südafrika
Take a cheap flight to Johannesburg, buy a 4×4 and start driving up to Kenya – that was the plan. So I arrived in Jo’burg. Remember Marnus and Hon? 
The couple Verena and I met at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world – Ko Phi Phi (Island). They are living in Pretoria and offered that I stay a few days, until I had my 4×4, but during the preparation for the trip, it turned out that I underestimated the work, the knowledge, the details and last but not least the South African bureaucracy.
The vehicle: Only a Four Wheel Drive would bring me through the rough dirt roads, also a long range tank, diff-locks, only a Toyota-vehicle, other cars break down easily and I won’t get spare parts all over Africa. The 4×4 should not be too old, but also not too expensive. It wasn’t easy at all. 
Finally after almost two weeks I found a 19 year old Toyota Hilux at a dealership in Johannesburg. Marnus’ and Hon’s best friends are Chris and Alex. Chris is so to speak crazy about 4x4s. He helped me a lot with all his knowledge about cars tents and bush camping. He recommended a workshop where I spend all day to finish the technical service.
Next big mission: How to register a car on a foreigner’s name? I got documents and documents. My passport, 2 photos, a proof of temporary residency with Marnus and Hon, confirmed by the police station, an electricity and water bill for their house, a bank confirmation about my financial independence and a (fake) return ticket. It is unbelievable but after spending about 8 hours in different queues in Pretoria and in Jo’burg, I am still waiting for my registration. The papers are now on their way to Capetown to get a registration there; in the meantime I am back at the workshop, because the rear differential and the alternator of my Hilux decided to die on me.
Only because of the excellent service of Alex from DriveAfrica (www.driveafrica.co.za) I could get a registration with my name – now I am “living” in Cape Town, but who cares 
Next step is a “Carnet de Passage” a document which is required in some African countries, if you want to travel through them.
After all Chris sent me a list of the most important stuff you should take with you. Have a look at this list.In a nutshell you can say that I was a bit hasty to think all those challenges would be met in one or two weeks.
But luckily I was staying at Hon and Marnus even more luckily that they have friends like Chris and Alex. All of them helped me a lot with all their knowledge about the local stores, dealerships, workshops, etc., they took me to all parties, drinking events and barbeques. 
Now I can tell that South Africans are as hard drinking as Germans are. Next competition will be the Oktoberfest
I am staying here now for three weeks and they make me feel like I could stay another six. Either they are very good actors or we really got along very well
Hopefully the vehicle will be repaired by tomorrow and I can start my trip to Kruger National park.
During my flight research I found out that a lot of flights from Frankfurt to Johannesburg have a stopover in Cairo, Egypt. One of them was landing in Cairo at 9 a.m. but leaving late at 10 p.m. First I had the idea about hopping out of the aircraft in the morning, running up the Pyramids of Giza, coming back to the airport in the evening and fly to Johannesburg. Well, as my Mom heard this, she wanted to come with me. “You have to see the Pyramids once in your lifetime!” We made a whole week out of this one day: five days in Cairo and another two in Luxor…
It’s always easier to stay overnight offside the road in the van, if you are away from the big cities. You just drive to a rest area at the highway or to a national forest, park your van, climb in the back and you just sleep. With our queen size mattress and a cozy blanket we always sleep until 9 or 10 a.m. But to stay in a city is different: lots of “no camping” “no overnight parking” or “loading zone” signs. So we asked again some couchsurfers very short-dated. But 
