Conquering Eastern Africa (Madagascar & Vic Falls Too!)

The time has come to explore all of Eastern Africa.  So far I have only explored Nairobi, considering that I have been officially living in Kenya for about 2 months and my South Sudan Visa is going to take longer than expected, I decided start my journey at the Victoria Falls.  The main reason is the Devil’s Pool which you can only visit a certain time of the year due to high water levels.

The Devil’s Pool allows you to to swim right on the edge of the Victoria Falls, read that again, right on the edge.  You can look over the cliff as you are swimming in the small pool.  I have been told by numerous tour guides in Africa that the best time to take a dip in the Devil’s Pool is at the end of September and beginning of October when the water levels are the lowest.

Map of Africa with my planned Eastern Africa Route

I thought a lot about whether I wanted to take a bus through most of  the region.  Since I really don’t like being crammed on a bus for over 24 hours I decided to fly.  There were a few options available all being very complicatd:

• Nairobi-2 days in Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania) – Lusaka- Bus Victoria Falls
• Nairobi – Dar Es Salaam – Lusaka – Bus to Victoria Falls
• Nairobi – Johannesburg – Victoria Falls (bus or flight)

I was preparing myself similar to when I was preparing for chaos in the Guiana’s.  Trying to get around Africa is probably one of the worst things that you can try; buses and planes are usually delayed, its hard to get help when things go wrong, its Africa!  The first flight for my trip to Israel was cancelled because the power at the airport in Dar Es Salaam was out.  They obviously don’t have any back up generators, no lights on the runway means the plane can’t land.

Map of Somalialand

After Victoria Falls, I plane on taking a bus or flying to Johannesburg  and explore the city for a day or two.  If you didn’t know, Johannesburg is one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

I met a great guy at the hostel here in Kenya that is going to let me stay with him.  Nothing like a local letting me know where not to get kidnapped like when it happened in Venezuela.

After Johannesburg, I plan on flying direct to Madagascar to see a few things that were at the top of my list when I decided to take my talents to Africa, The Stone Forest & Avenue of the Baobabs.  After 3 full weeks in Madagascar I will be heading to Ethiopa and then attempting to enter Somalialand.  I have found great information on how to get into Somalialand which I am really excited about.

Many people don’t realize that Somalialand is completely different from Somalia.

Ethiopia and Somalialand are a going to be a toss up because I could spend anywhere from 1-3 weeks in each.  There are tons of things to see in Ethiopia that many people don’t know about and one of the oldest known mosaics in Africa happens to be in Somalialand.

If I have enough time I will try and hang out with the Gorilla’s in Uganda and also try to explore the countries of South Sudan, Rwanda, and Burundi.  I also wanted to visit Djibouti and Eritrea but I don’t think that I will have the time to visit either.  Eritrea happens to have beef with everyone, including the Pillsbury Dough Man, so I am staying away from that region for now.