By Oliver Prittie

Now for those with a sense of adventure who might want to consider a trip of a lifetime and something different. Let me tell you about an extraordinary trip overland in Southern Africa which took place in the Autumn of 2014. My very good friend Ian Perkins and l conceived the idea of driving from South Africa to Northern Africa some years earlier.

It takes a spark to ignite the fire but more often it takes boldness, vision and burning desire for an adventure or maybe it was just itchy feet to take five groups of friends through the un-spoilt, raw and wilder areas of Southern Africa to experience and admire its breathtaking beauty and richness.

We drove from Johannesburg, South Africa to Northern Ethiopia covering 15,500 kilometers over a period of 10 weeks mainly on dirt roads and rocky tracks sticking to the “off-piste” option wherever possible. For this we were rewarded with an experience rich in the culture, history and scenery of the countries and land that we travelled through. We combined camping with the occasional luxury stop to prevent any discontent amongst the team.

We saw game at close quarters in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya; we saw the “chimps in Tanzania, the gorillas in Uganda and the wolves in Ethiopia; we travelled through the remotest parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Ethiopia; we enjoyed the wilder parts of the western Serengeti; we camped beside 1000 hippos in the Katavi National Park and were really quite lucky that only one hippo decided to join us for dinner; we saw close up the workings of the Mursi and Hammer tribes witnessing some of their tribal rituals in Ethiopia; we travelled up the length of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, raw beauty at its best with a tingle of trepidation as we drove past a few bandits holding their Kalashnikovs watching our progress from a knoll or two; we could often travel days without seeing a signpost, distance marker or vehicle; we experienced sunsets over the mountains and lakes where the deep orange glow was something special but above all we enjoyed the Africa we travelled through in almost complete privacy.

We discovered new rustic and remotely located inexpensive lodges to stay: in particular Musango located on an island on Lake Kariba run by Stevie and Wendy Edwards, Lake Shore Lodge run by the fabulous Chris and Louise on Lake Tanganyika, Chaka Camp close to Seronera in the Western Serengeti, Kyaninga Lodge overlooking the moon mountains close to Fort Portal in Uganda and last but not least Bale Mountain Lodge in the Bale National Park Ethiopia owned by Guy Levene. To be able to see such a diverse continent close up almost without a human footprint is a privilege and an experience that will remain with us forever.

There’s so much more to tell about our huge late breakfasts, wild moments on roads and tracks that defied belief, evenings around camp fires where after yet another fine “wok” dinner there was a mixture of reminiscing, sing songs and Perudo a game that was not much understood by the locals. Why not take a chance and try this for yourself and have a crack at the alternative Africa. We can fix it for you.

And you may be pleased to learn that Wedge and Wildlife is expanding its offer into South America starting June 1st this year and by some fortuitous co-incidence Ian and are going to attempt a similar road journey around South America from mid-January next year.

The headlines of this overland extravaganza are that we will be departing Santiago De Chile on the 22nd January. We will be on the road for 100 days taking on board 6 different groups. Our journey will take us all the way down to Ushuaia at the tip of the continent and then up the length of Route 40 from close to the bottom of Argentina to the very top of the country which is a distance of just over 5000 kilometers. Just to put that in perspective it’s the same length as travelling from the UK to Afghanistan.

We will then continue into Bolivia experiencing some of the infamous precipitous roads before relaxing on Lake Titicaca. Onward to Cusco and the Sacred Valley with Machu Picchu as the highlight before heading back south to Santiago de Chile via the Atacama Desert. This round trip will be 25,000 kilometers in length and as before our aim is to do as much “off-piste” driving as possible. We are excited at the prospect and hope that this journey will be as adventurous as our Africa trip of 2014.