Nairobi to Jozi
Days 1 to 4: Nairobi, Kenya, to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
Distances Day 1: 328km (Nairobi – Eldoret), Day 2: 296km (Eldoret – Jinja), Day 3: 0km (rest), Day 4: 482km ( Jinja – QEP). Take the A104 out of Nairobi (leave before 5.30am or after 9am to beat traffic) to Eldoret and Naiberi River Campsite (1), about 16km out of town. Take the A104 to get to Malaba border post. Follow the A109 to Jinja. Nile River Explorers Club (2) is 8km out of town on Lake Bujagali. Take the A109 to Kampala and then head west through Kibale Forest National Park and south at Fort Portal on the A109 to Kasese. Cross the Kazinga Channel and look out for signs to The Bush Lodge (3).
Days 5 to 9: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, to Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania
Distances Day 5: 131km (QEP – Bwindi), Day 6: 0km (rest), Day 7: 284km (Buhoma Village – Kayonza), Day 8: 294km (Kayonza – Kibondo), Day 9: 248km (Kibondo – Kigoma). Take the Mbarara–Kasese road out of QEP and continue south on the Ntungamo–Katunguru road through Kigezi Game Reserve, past the Kayonza Growers Tea Factory to Kanyatorogo and then Buhoma (4) in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. From there get onto the Kabale–Kisoro road to Kabale for the Gatuna border post. Take the RN3 to Kigali and then east (staying on the RN3) to Urugo Women’s Opportunity Center (5). Continue on the RN3 to Rusoma Falls border post. Take the B3 to Muzani and Nyakanazi, then the B8 to Kibondo. We stayed at Cheya Hotel (6) but if you want to skip this stop (recommended) do the drive from Kigali to Kigoma in a day (allow 11 hours plus time at the border). Head south on the B8. Take the B381 after Kasulu to Jakobsen Beach and Guesthouse (7) on Lake Tanganyika.
Days 10 to 13: Kigomo, Tanzania, to Lusaka, Zambia
Distances Day 10: 514km (Kigomo – Kipili), Day 11: 0km (rest), Day 12: 445km (Kipili – Kasama), Day 13: 888km (Kasama – Lusaka). Take the B8 south through Katavi National Park, past Sitalike and then the road right to Kipili and Lake Shore Lodge (8) after Kisi. It’s a long drive and in retrospect we should have broken it up with an overnight stop at Riverside Camp in Sitalike (camping from R130 pp, riversidecampkatavi.weebly.com). From Kipili take the B8 south past Sumbawanga to the Mpulungu border (it’s a small operation; we had to go to the next village, Mbala, to get third-party Insurance). Then head via the M1 to Alitasha Lodge (9) in Kasama. Take the T2, passing Mpika and Kabwe, to the capital, Lusaka, and to Eureka Camping Park (10).
Days 14 to 16: Lusaka, Zambia, to Johannesburg, South Africa
Distance Day 14: 556km (Lusaka – Kasane), Day 15: 486km (Kasane – Francistown), Day 16: 689km (Francistown – Joburg). Head out of Lusaka on the T2 to Kafue and then onto the T1 after you cross the Kafue River. Follow the T1 to Livingstone. Take the ferry at Kazangula into Botswana and then the A33 south for about 20km until you see the turn-off to Senyati Safari Camp (11). Take the A33 to Nata and then the A3 to Francistown and Cresta Marang Gardens (12). From there head on the A1 past Palapye and then take the road east to the Martin’s Drift border post, where you’ll cross into South Africa. From here, the R510 to Lephalale, the R517 to Vaalwater and the R33 to Modimolle will get you on the N1 south to Pretoria and Johannesburg.