Impressions of Africa
June 12th, 2008>> Rating (5 stars is best) >>> 
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Third World Travel at above-First-World Prices
[Note that the politically correct term is Developing World and Third World terminology is obsolete Cold War rhetoric]
Africa is much more expensive than I expected, even after researching prices and speaking with others who had been here before. Part of this expense is due to the flaccid weakness of the US Dollar (thanks, George W.) and the large dependence that most Southern and Eastern African countries place on the historically solid US currency; many locals and businesses prefer dollars over their own currencies which may have astronomical inflation rates. Zimbabwe is the current red-headed economic stepchild with recent inflation measured at over 1,000,000 % (your $10,000 cash bundle from last year is worth $1 this year, plus the notes themselves have expiration dates that prevent them from holding any value beyond 3 months). In addition to a devalued dollar, many African opportunists play a fun game I liked to call Screw-The-Tourist where they set their prices in US Dollars, which are nearly impossible to get in Africa (when possible one incurs a hefty 8-15% exchange rate gouging), they adjust those dollar prices based on how far the dollar devalues relative their home currency, and then when you move to pay in the local currency they bump the exchange rate an additional 10-20% in their favor; it’s all just one big, fun, shell-game of getting fleeced at every end.
Many of the roads in Kenya are horrible, with rocky, pock-marked vast sections of highway mixed with other vast sections of poorly constructed roads (where the construction funds were siphoned by corrupt politicians who then skimped on construction) and these are rutted up to 18 inches deep along the wheel radius by the weight of trucks who pass over them. On a night bus from Arusha, Tanzania, through Kenya to Uganda we were unlucky enough to come across an unmarked detour on the dark, unlit highway at night (”highway” is a stretch because although it was the main road it was all rutted dirt and rock) and the driver rolled the vehicle swerving to avoid a collision with a gas tanker truck parked perpendicular to the road to serve as a detour barrier (fortunately we all survived with only minor bruises and scratches).
After 2 full days of travel (3 mini buses, 1 taxi, 1 half bus and 1 eleven-hour long distance bus) I made it from Nkhata Bay, Milawi to Dar Es Salaam on the Tanzania Coast. On the ‘luxury’ long distance bus (no isle seating and with a bathroom) to Dar I reacquainted myself with a lovely Australian couple who I had met the first night in Nkhata bay the week before. Arriving at night in one of the more sketchy cities of Africa we quickly hopped into a cab to be taken to a hostel. The next morning after breakfast I said goodbye (they were off to Ethiopia) and walked to the bank on my way to the wharf where I boarded the fast ferry for Zanzibar (for the exorbitant rate of $35 for the 90 minute trip). In Zanzibar I managed to extricate myself from the hounding taxi touts and walked with all my bags (about 70 lbs or 31 kg).
After Etosha we drove to the Namibian capitol of Windhoek, in the central-Eastern part of Namibia where we had another night in a bed and where we had a farewell party for 9 of our tribe who were departing (3 new members arriving). After Windhoek we said goodbye to the wonderful country of Namibia as we crossed the border into Botswana. 
I have been planning on taking a trip to Africa for the past 2 years now and while normally I choose to avoid organized tours that tend to be overpriced and filled with couples and senior citizens I discovered that many of the game parks in Africa require guides and due to the slow pace and rough nature of African travel that there are dozens of Overland trips that are frequented by youngish adventure backpackers like myself. After doing a fair amount of research I came to realize that the cheapest overland tour is not necessarily the best and from my research and first hand feedback on Lonely Planet’s Thorntree Forum I was leaning towards 
After 25 hours of flights and a 9-hour time change I arrived in Johannesburg somewhat delirious on Tuesday, April 8th. As Johannesburg has the reputation as perhaps the top most dangerous city in the world in terms of violent crime and murder, I was a bit nervous about finding safe transportation to a hostel or guest house in a relatively good neighborhood (I had meant to do some research and book ahead but I ran out of time). Thankfully my trusty Bible (Lonely Planet travel guide) came through as it had countless times before and I found a place in a nice neighborhood who also organized their own transportation and after waiting a bit over an hour I was on my way through the seemingly benign urban sprawl that is Johannesburg. After arriving about 6PM local time with 9 hours of jet lag I promptly booked my room and passed out, sleeping through until 6 the next morning.
After a good night’s sleep I booked onto a backpacker travel bus that allows you to hop on and off at any number of stops throughout South Africa and by the early afternoon I was in Nelspruit, the gateway to quite famous Kruger National Park – the largest game park in South Africa and one of the most famous in all the world. I have always heard how amazing Kruger is to visit, but I was a bit concerned it might be over-touristy and was frankly a bit skeptical as it seemed a bit over hyped and with the knowledge I would still get to go on a safari in 4-6 other parks through Africa I almost even considered skipping it but decided it was best to see it and make my own judgment and comparison with the other parks. Also, being an experienced traveler I tend to avoid packaged tours and the geriatric crowd along with many of them but I did not see any easy way of seeing the park on my own and decided with limited time I felt it was best to book onto a tour and gain the expertise of a seasoned guide, but to shop around for a tour with a small vehicle size (animals are not likely to get to close to a huge bus), one that catered to backpackers with a smaller group size and still with a highly experienced guide. What I ended up with by booking through the Funky Monkey backpacker hostile exceeded all my expectations on all counts and made my visit to Kruger one of the more spectacular travel experiences of my life. 