Friday, April 19, 2013

Mapped Routes for East African Odyssey


Here is three of the possible routes I will be taking while travelling in Africa this summer.

Route one: Using black is the original planned route, starting in Khartoum Sudan. I shall cross through North Sudan to explore the many ancient Egyptian and Nubian sites that are scattered along the Nile. After Sudan I shall head southwards to Ethiopia to see Gonder, the supposed home of the Ark of the Covenant, then continue to Lalibela, a place of ancient pilgrimage for Ethiopian Christians and is said to be one of the places where Saint Matthew began the Christian Church in Africa. Once I reach the Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa       
I will have a decision to make, with the ultimate goal of making it to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania by July 30th for my one week climb. The question now is what route do I take? The main plan with route one will be to make my way down through Kenya to Dar es Salaam, hit up Zanzibar Island to relax and then make my way over to climb Mount Kili.

Route Two: Route two, highlighted in red ont he map gives a couple excellent options on how I can get to Mount Kilimanjaro  I can head North East in Ethiopia and go to Somaliland, the self declared independent nation on the northern part of Somalia, then cut up to the former French colony of Djibouti, before coming back to Ethiopia and head down to Kenya and Tanzania.

Route Three: Now route three can be a continuation of route two, or a complete 180 in the trip. I may head South West and make my way to Africa's newest country. The Republic of South Sudan. From here I can head down into Uganda and make my way over to Kenya and Tanzania from there. All of these options are viable, and knowing myself, I will be tempted more and more to explore the road less travelled once I get going on the continent.  

After eventually arriving and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, I will board a flight that takes me to Madagascar, via Kenya. I will spend two weeks in Madagascar searching for Lemurs, exploring a completely different culture and history than anywhere else in Africa and most likely indulge in some fo the world's finest chocolates and vanilla, which are two of Madagascar's biggest cash crops.

To top it all off, after Madagascar I figured a short 5 day stop in South Africa would be needed. Hop down to Cape Town, and go up into Wine country to relax and learn about one of my other passions, WINE! And to take an opportunity to reflect on this vast and diverse continent in the comforts of the Western Cape.

Check it out! And suggestions for any of these areas are much appreciated.

Cheers,

William Delaney


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