点评:This is a review of our Cape to Cairo overland ( mostly) trip from 1May2023 to 1 Sep2023. For reference we are aged 57 and 65 and we had an absolutely amazing time.
I will break it down by main area, hopefully in some kind of order.
Pre-trip
Oasis were not out first pick. We had initially booked the Cape to Cairo trip through Madventure, but because of post Covid travel and lack of bookings for this portion of their trip, they put us in touch with Oasis. The transfer of deposit and communication between the companies was first class and we signed up our trip with Oasis.
The information we received, and the correspondence back and forth was timely and accurate. Also, although we didn’t travel with Madventure, based on their communication and timely transfer of information to Oasis, I would also like to believe that their physical trips would live up to the support they provided pre-trip.
Oasis were great to deal with and provided accurate and detailed information in a timely manner. Payment was easy and receipts were provided straight away.
Cape Town - Definitely show up early for the trip. We arrived 4 days prior to departure and we were busy looking around the whole time. Never underestimate the hop on hop off bus that travels around the city - it is a great way to travel and drops you off in all the right spots. Money well spent.
Truck
We met the truck in Cape Town and first impressions were that it is BIG. The truck we were in had a rear door design (have seen some photos of ones with a side door) and that worked pretty well. The seating was layed out as 10 seats facing each other and 4 seats at the front facing backward. The seats were comfortable and the long drive days went by easily. There are lap seat belts that I highly recommend using - the unforeseen speed bumps can, and will, launch you into the air.
The locker space under the seat is ample for your bags and sleeping stuff (one person on our trip even asked for the dimensions from Oasis, so he could build a dummy at home to trial pack). It was nice having the locker inside the truck, making it easy to get out anything you want when travelling. Some other companys have external lockers, which would be harder to access. It took us about 2 weeks to figure out the best way to pack our things to make it easy for access, but once you do, life on the truck was easy.
There is also upper storage above your seat for small items. It is very handy to buy a small lunchbox type thing to put snacks or anything else in that you need regularly.
The “beach” is the last area of the truck and is in front of the forward facing seats. Handy if you are not feeling well, or just need a nap during the long drive days. Some people used it more than others, but I only used it once after I had hurt my back one day.
At most, there were 20 of us on the truck and it never felt crowded. The two things we liked about the inward facing seats was that it made it easy to talk to each other and also you had the whole opposite side to look out of as you were travelling.
Truck security was flawless. We never felt unsafe, our belongings were always secure and the system that is in place is great. For obvious reasons, I will not share what they are, but at no time did we feel threatened or our important personal belongings were at risk. Great job Oasis.
Crew
We went through 3 leaders and 2 drivers, over the 4 months,for reasons that at the time were frustrating. In the end everything worked out well and each leader had their strong points - from giving exceptional geographical and animal information, to detailed political and historical information. This was something we didn’t expect on this trip, but the level of detail they provided was outstanding. Saying that, each lead is different and I think we got very lucky with our leads for the majority of the trip.
The drivers were both professional and we never felt unsafe while driving.
The leaders handled camp bookings, upgrades and excursions well, while the drivers dealt with any truck maintenance and issues that came up.
They also sometimes cooked for the group, which was a wonderful change from the normal cook groups and got us usually trying local food.
Luckily, we only had 2 major breakdowns that required outside help - of which one led to an extra activity of tuktuk racing through Dar es Salaam. (Something Oasis should add as an added activity).
Every crew member was professional, friendly and helped us whenever they could.
Accommodation
Tents. Yes, tents most of the way. After instructions on how to put them up and take then down, they were easy. Plenty of room for 2 people and a small bag or two. That’s why organizing your truck locker is important.
The comfort was based on what sleeping bag, liner, sleeping pad/ air mattress you brought with you. This is where it gets complicated.
Even the most expensive of pads leak after a while. We had friends that were constantly fixing leaks in their mattress. Our self inflating mattress leaked, but we could never find the problem and simply lived with waking up on the ground. An extra, solid small foam pad helped with this.
That being said, one person on our trip upgraded to a room for most of the way. Apart from the times we bush camped, and even twice when we did, he booked a room where we stayed. On the east coast, this is the norm. For the majority of the trip you can upgrade to a private room whenever you want. Obviously, this comes at a price, with upgrades going from $10-120 per night. This is not included in the daily published budget, but we did upgrade if the weather was bad (rainy) or if it was too cheap to turn down. Our total cost of upgrades for the 4 months was US$xx.
Food
This was prepared by daily cook groups that were picked when we left. The cook group was responsible for buying, preparing & cooking dinner and lunch and also preparing breakfast.
Dinner was organized by the cook group including finalizing the menu, buying the food at a supermarket or local market, cooking and final cleanup.
Breakfast was mainly on the truck unless we were in a hotel, and was included. Cereal, eggs, bread, real milk were available, powdered when not were on the menu every day. This was laid out by the cook group and set as a help yourself meal. Clean up was usually by the group.
Lunch was typically prepared with dinner the night before and served the next day. The majority were transit meals where we stopped at the side of the road and put everything together. Pasta salads, sandwiches, coleslaw, bean salads, tuna and eggs. Usually something filling to take us through to dinner. Again, clean up was usually by the group.
The food $ allowance was adequate and there was always plenty to eat. The range of food depends on the cook group’s imagination and experience, but we never went hungry and the groups usually helped each other out. A word of warning though, is that as you head north, the selection of food diminishes, but the buying experience definitely improves. Think local markets that do not speak your language. Incredible. Also, do not dismiss vegetarian menus because sometimes, this is all you can get.
The other thing about food, is the available cold storage. There is one designated food storage (cooler) on the truck. It is not refrigerated and requires ice to keep cool. This is not a problem in the south, but as you head north, ice is not a thing. I think we went through 3 countries that did not offer ice anywhere. This goes hand in hand with meal planning and organizing - you need to be prepared and plan for these things.
Excursions
This, for us, went far beyond what we had imagined when booking the trip. Although the side trips were detailed in the pre trip information, our thinking was that we would be researching and booking trips ourselves while travelling. This was definitely not the case. At every stop where there was something to do, our lead had someone available to outline activities and organize things for us.
This was not something that was forced on us, and we were told numerous times that we did not have to organize trips with the people that were provided. In doing some research on similar activities in areas, we found the pricing overall very competitive with what was being offered. Apart from one trip into the Okavango Delta, the optional excursions were well organized, professional and great value for money.
On the subject of money, the trips were very close to the price that is in the predeparture material and could only be paid in cash, mostly $US, but you could sometimes pay in equivalent local money if you argued enough.
Money
As I said, for budgeting, the excursion prices were really close to what was published.
Visa prices, again, were really close to published prices, but if you are a duel passport holder do some research on what passport to use. Some passports are a lot cheaper to travel on than others.
Now, for spending money, we found that we didn’t spend close to what was published. To be fair, we didn’t buy a lot of souvenirs, but a breakdown of what we spent on food and drink $USxx and on souvenirs and other $USxx average per day. We didn’t go without on a lot of things, but yes you could have spent a lot more. But when local food and drinks are cheap in most places, you really don’t spend a lot. Again, some people spent more others spent a lot less.
Changing money from US$ to local in all places is very easy. Either at the border or guide recommended, someone will show up to change money. We found black market rates were always better than ATM rates - usually by 20-50%. Everything we found was negotiable, but remember that you always get a better rate with $50 & $100 bills.
ATMs are available when/if you run out of US$ money, but ask which bank is the most reliable in the area. They will dispense local currency only and please bring backup credit cards in case the machine eats your card. 2 people lost cards that way on the trip (us being one of them).
Visas
Getting visas was relatively easy. Most of the time it was an online application that was done somewhere with good wifi or cell service. The tour leads are always there to provide help if needed. Payment for all the online ones are done online with a credit card, so US$ is only needed for a few.
At the border, the majority were easy to navigate and the local officials were always friendly. The only issues we had were at the Mozambique border where we had to camp outside the immigration office on the street and also in Ethiopia where we had to wait 2 days to get the truck processed - this time we drove back into Kenya each night to find a bush camp. Annoying, but just part of the adventure.
Weather - Hmmm. We left Cape Town on 1 May, which is just in their fall/autumn. Maybe, we should have done a little more research or maybe we were just unlucky with the weather, but it was cool. When you think of Africa, you picture hot climates (well, at least we did) and shorts and tshirts. Our experience was not the case for a lot of Southern Africa.
Yes, there were a few areas that were warm, but things didn’t really heat up until north of Victoria Falls. And even then, it depended on the altitude. If we were to do this again, we would definitely pack an extra sweater and something warm to sleep in at night.
As far as rain, not so much. It was dry for most of the time and we only saw rain a few times during the trip. But it was cool. 8C coolest in the south to mid 50C in the north.
Overall, this trip was a journey of a lifetime.
Although, Sudan was closed due to the war and northern Ethiopia was closed due to local conflicts, the areas that we saw and the itinerary changes coming from these conflicts were timely and well communicated. Yes, we were close and we passed columns of armoured vehicles heading to conflict zones, but they all waved when we passed and we never felt in harms way.
By no means is it a leisurely trip. Many days we were on the road by 7.30am, therefore breakfast at 6.30am with tent packup happening prior to this. There were not many long days though, with 10+hr drives being exceptional, and in most cases, after a long drive day, there were 2 nights at the next location. This is definitely not the case with other companies.
From the majesty of Table Mountain and Victoria Falls, facing a rhino, sitting with mountain gorillas, trekking with chimpanzees, rafting in the Nile and then sitting at the base of the pyramids. and much, much more, it was truly an adventure.
If you read this and feel this is something you want to do, please carefully read the Oasis literature and make sure you know what you are signing up for. It is definitely not fun and games everyday, and things will definitely go wrong, but if you are prepared to live with a little discomfort on occasion you will find that it is the journey and not the destination that brings you joy.
翻译:这是我们从 2023 年 5 月 1 日至 2023 年 9 月 1 日从开普敦到开罗(主要是陆路)旅行的回顾。作为参考,我们的年龄分别是 57 岁和 65 岁,我们度过了一段绝对美好的时光。
我将按主要领域进行细分,希望按某种顺序进行。
出行前
绿洲并不是第一选择。我们最初是通过 Madventure 预订了从开普敦到开罗的行程,但由于新冠疫情后的旅行以及这部分行程缺乏预订,他们让我们联系了 Oasis。公司之间的押金转账和沟通都是一流的,我们与 Oasis 签约了我们的旅行。
我们收到的信息以及来回的通信都是及时、准确的。另外,虽然我们没有和Madventure一起旅行,但根据他们与Oasis的沟通和及时传递的信息,我也相信他们的实体旅行不会辜负他们行前提供的支持。
Oasis 非常好相处,并及时提供了准确、详细的信息。付款很容易,并且立即提供收据。
开普敦 - 一定要早点出发。我们在出发前 4 天到达,一直忙于四处寻找。永远不要低估环游城市的随上随下巴士 - 这是一种很棒的旅行方式,可以让您在所有合适的地点下车。钱花得值。
卡车
我们在开普敦见到了这辆卡车,第一印象是它很大。我们乘坐的卡车有后门设计(看过一些带有侧门的卡车的照片),效果很好。座位排列为10个面对面座位和4个朝后座位。座位很舒服,长途驾驶的日子很快就过去了。我强烈建议使用膝部安全带 - 不可预见的减速带可以并且将会将您抛向空中。
座位下方的储物柜空间足以容纳您的行李和睡眠用品(我们旅行中的一个人甚至向 Oasis 询问了尺寸,这样他就可以在家里制作一个假人来试用装)。卡车内有储物柜真是太好了,可以在旅行时轻松取出想要的任何东西。其他一些公司有外部储物柜,访问起来比较困难。我们花了大约两周的时间才找到打包物品的最佳方式,以便于取用,但一旦你这样做了,卡车上的生活就会变得轻松。
座位上方还设有上部储物空间,可存放小物品。买一个小饭盒之类的东西来放零食或其他你经常需要的东西是非常方便的。
“海滩”是卡车的最后一个区域,位于前向座椅的前面。如果您感觉不舒服,或者只是需要在长途驾驶期间小睡一会儿,这会很方便。有些人使用它的次数比其他人多,但我只在有一天背部受伤后使用过一次。
我们车上最多也就20个人,一点也不觉得拥挤。我们喜欢面向内的座位的两点是,它让彼此更容易交谈,而且在旅行时你可以看到对面的整个面。
卡车安全完美无缺。我们从未感到不安全,我们的物品总是安全的,而且现有的系统很棒。出于显而易见的原因,我不会透露它们是什么,但我们从未感到受到威胁或我们的重要个人物品面临风险。绿洲干得好。
全体人员
在 4 个月的时间里,我们更换了 3 位领导者和 2 位司机,原因在当时令人沮丧。最终一切进展顺利,每位领导人都有自己的长处——从提供特殊的地理和动物信息,到详细的政治和历史信息。这是我们在这次旅行中没有想到的,但他们提供的细节非常出色。话虽如此,每条线索都是不同的,我认为我们在大部分旅行中都非常幸运地拥有线索。
司机都很专业,我们开车时从未感到不安全。
领导们很好地处理了营地预订、升级和短途旅行,而司机则处理了任何卡车维护和出现的问题。
他们有时还会为团体做饭,这与正常的厨师团体相比是一个奇妙的变化,让我们通常尝试当地的食物。
幸运的是,我们只遇到了两次需要外部帮助的重大故障 - 其中一次导致了在达累斯萨拉姆进行嘟嘟车比赛的额外活动。 (绿洲应该添加一些东西作为附加活动)。
每个船员都很专业、友好,并尽可能地帮助我们。
住宿
帐篷。是的,大部分都是帐篷。在了解如何安装和取下它们之后,它们就很容易了。空间足够容纳 2 个人和一两个小包。这就是为什么整理卡车储物柜很重要。
舒适度取决于您携带的睡袋、衬垫、睡垫/气垫。这就是事情变得复杂的地方。
即使是最昂贵的护垫也会在一段时间后泄漏。 我们有朋友不断地修复床垫的漏洞。我们的自动充气床垫漏水了,但我们永远找不到问题所在,只能在地上醒来。额外的坚固的小泡沫垫对此有所帮助。
话虽这么说,我们旅途中的一个人在大部分时间里都升级到了一间房间。除了我们在丛林露营的几次之外,甚至两次,他都在我们住的地方预订了房间。在东海岸,这是常态。在旅行的大部分时间里,您可以随时升级到私人房间。显然,这是有代价的,升级费用为每晚 10 至 120 美元。这不包括在每日公布的预算中,但如果天气不好(下雨)或者价格太便宜而无法拒绝,我们就会升级。我们这 4 个月的升级总成本为 xx 美元。
食物
这是我们离开时挑选的每日厨师小组准备的。厨师组负责购买、准备和烹饪晚餐和午餐以及准备早餐。
晚餐由厨师组组织,包括最终确定菜单、在超市或当地市场购买食物、烹饪和最后的清理。
除非我们住在酒店,否则早餐主要是在卡车上,而且是包含在房费里的。每天的菜单上都提供麦片、鸡蛋、面包、纯牛奶和奶粉。这是由厨师组布置的,并设置为自助餐。清理工作通常由小组进行。
午餐通常是在前一天晚上与晚餐一起准备并在第二天供应。大多数是过境餐,我们停在路边,把所有东西放在一起。意大利面沙拉、三明治、凉拌卷心菜、豆类沙拉、金枪鱼和鸡蛋。通常是一些丰盛的东西带我们去吃晚饭。同样,清理工作通常是由团队进行的。
食物津贴很充足而且总是有很多吃的。食物的种类取决于厨师小组的想象力和经验,但我们从来没有挨饿过,而且小组通常会互相帮助。不过需要注意的是,当你向北行驶时,食物的选择会减少,但购买体验肯定会有所改善。想想不讲您语言的当地市场。极好的。另外,不要忽视素食菜单,因为有时,这就是你能得到的全部。
关于食物的另一件事是可用的冷藏。卡车上有一个指定的食品储藏室(冷藏柜)。它没有冷藏,需要冰块来保持凉爽。这在南方不是问题,但当你向北走时,冰就不是问题了。我想我们走过了 3 个不提供冰的国家。这与膳食计划和组织密切相关——您需要为这些事情做好准备和计划。
短途旅行
对于我们来说,这远远超出了我们预订行程时的想象。虽然行程前的信息中详细介绍了周边行程,但我们的想法是,我们会在旅行时自己研究和预订行程。事实并非如此。在每一个有事情要做的地方,我们的领导都会有人为我们概述活动并组织事情。
这不是强加给我们的事情,我们多次被告知我们不必与所提供的人一起组织旅行。在对某些地区的类似活动进行一些研究时,我们发现总体定价与所提供的价格非常有竞争力。除了一次奥卡万戈三角洲之旅外,可选的短途旅行组织得很好,很专业,而且物有所值。
在金钱方面,旅行价格与出发前材料中的价格非常接近,并且只能以现金支付,大部分是美元,但如果你争论得足够多,有时你可以用等值的当地货币支付。
钱
正如我所说,就预算而言,游览价格非常接近公布的价格。
签证价格再次与公布的价格非常接近,但如果您是双护照持有者,请对使用哪种护照进行一些研究。有些护照的旅行费用比其他护照便宜得多。
现在,在花钱方面,我们发现我们的支出与公布的金额相差甚远。公平地说,我们并没有买很多纪念品,而是详细列出了我们每天平均在食品和饮料上花费的 USxx 美元以及纪念品和其他 $USxx 美元的费用。我们并没有放弃很多东西,但是是的,你本可以花更多的钱。但当大多数地方当地的食物和饮料都很便宜时,你真的不会花很多钱。同样,有些人花的钱更多,而另一些人花的钱少很多。
在所有地方将美元兑换成当地货币都非常容易。无论是在边境还是在导游推荐的地方,都会有人出现换钱。我们发现黑市利率总是比 ATM 利率好——通常高 20-50%。我们发现的所有东西都是可以协商的,但请记住,50 美元和 100 美元的钞票总是可以得到更好的价格。
当您的美元用完时,可以使用自动取款机,但请询问该地区哪家银行最可靠。 他们只会发放当地货币,请携带备用信用卡,以防机器吃掉您的卡。有两个人在旅途中就这样丢失了卡(我们就是其中之一)。
签证
获得签证相对容易。大多数时候,它是一个在线应用程序,在具有良好 wifi 或手机服务的地方完成。如果需要的话,导游总是在那里提供帮助。所有在线支付都是通过信用卡在线完成的,因此只有少数人需要美元。
在边境,大多数人都很容易通行,当地官员也总是很友好。我们遇到的唯一问题是在莫桑比克边境,我们不得不在移民办公室外的街道上扎营,在埃塞俄比亚,我们不得不等待两天才能处理卡车 - 这次我们每晚开车返回肯尼亚,寻找丛林营地很烦人,但这只是冒险的一部分。
天气 - 嗯。我们于 5 月 1 日离开开普敦,当时正是秋天。也许我们应该多做一点研究,或者也许我们只是天气不走运,但天气很酷。当您想到非洲时,您会想到炎热的气候(至少我们是这样)以及短裤和 T 恤。我们的经历对于南部非洲的许多地区来说并非如此。
是的,有一些地区很温暖,但直到维多利亚瀑布以北,天气才真正变暖。即便如此,这也取决于海拔高度。如果我们再来一次,我们肯定会多带一件毛衣和一些温暖的东西晚上睡觉。
至于雨,没有那么多。旅途中大部分时间都是干燥的,我们只看到过几次下雨。但这很酷。南部最冷 8 摄氏度,北部最冷 50 摄氏度。
总的来说,这次旅行是一生难忘的旅程。
虽然苏丹因战争而关闭,埃塞俄比亚北部因当地冲突而关闭,但我们所看到的地区以及这些冲突带来的行程变化都是及时且良好沟通的。是的,我们很接近,我们经过了前往冲突地区的装甲车列,但当我们经过时,它们都在挥手,我们从未感到受到伤害。
这绝不是一次悠闲的旅行。很多天我们早上 7.30 就在路上,因此早上 6.30 吃早餐,并在此之前收拾帐篷。不过,长途驾驶的日子并不多,10 小时以上的车程是例外,而且在大多数情况下,经过漫长的一天驾驶后,我们会在下一个地点住 2 晚。这绝对不是其他公司的情况。
从雄伟的桌山和维多利亚瀑布出发,面对犀牛,与山地大猩猩坐在一起,与黑猩猩一起徒步旅行,在尼罗河中漂流,然后坐在金字塔的底部。更重要的是,这确实是一次冒险。
如果您阅读本文并觉得这是您想做的事情,请仔细阅读 Oasis 文献并确保您知道您要注册的内容。这绝对不是每天的乐趣和游戏,事情肯定会出错,但如果你准备好偶尔忍受一点不舒服,你会发现给你带来快乐的是旅程,而不是目的地。