10 Must-Dos Before Going On Tour

To go on an overlanding trip requires a long list of things to pack and organise. Here two travel gurus list the top 10 things you need to do before hitting the road.

- Charles Thompson

How do you tackle all the preparations for a long overlanding tour? What are the most important things to do before you go? And where on earth do you start?! 

To answer these questions, we spoke to two guys who almost spend more time on expeditions than in the office. 

Our first guru, Johann Groenewald, needs no introduction. As the managing director of Tracks4Africa, he doesn’t only tour with his family but also sometimes finds himself alone in some of Southern Africa’s most isolated wild areas.

Riaan Haasbroek from Bushward Safaris also likes to travel with his young family, but as a tour guide he organises cross-border expeditions for as many as 30 people at a time. Riaan says he spent more than 200 days a year on the road both last year and in 2017. So you might as well say his Cruiser is his office.

1 GET THE PAPERWORK IN ORDER

“The paperwork and your finances are the two most important things to have in order before you go on tour,” says Johann. “Without all the necessary paperwork, you’ll simply be staying home or get turned back at the border.”

The AA’s website is a great resource for info on the documents you’ll need for a self-drive, cross-border trip, as are T4A’s guide books on Namibia and Botswana.

Apart from a valid passport, you’ll need to have your vehicle’s registration certificate, a letter from your bank authorising you to take it abroad during your planned dates (if the vehicle is financed), and proof of insurance on it. “Also make sure you know what happens after an accident. Will your insurance recover the vehicle from the scene or do you have to get it to the nearest border post yourself?”