Self drive web resources.

[graynomad]

I already have a thread running on this forum

 

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/116776-The-ultimate-Aussie-expedition-camper

 

and will have a blog on my own site. But can do a summary as it goes here as well if people want.

 

What's an appropriate board?

[armchair bushman]

yes I'd like a summary here on ST when you finish it (or as you're in progress). Exciting prospect! I'd love to build one myself.

[Game Warden]

Self driving

[armchair bushman]

none of your pictures show up on that forum unless you're signed in as a member, so adding pictures to ST is, in my humble opinion, mandatory.

[graynomad]

Oh I didn't realise that, OK I'll post something.

 

EDIT: Hmmm, just added a new topic, hit submit and it disappeared. I'll try again.

 

EDIT2: Tried again, same result. The post previews OK but when I submit I get taken back to the home page and there's no new topic in "Self Drive". I did a cut and paste from the other forum (I was surprised to see all the pics pasted OK) and as I say the preview worked, but nothing gets posted.

 

EDIT3: It worked the 3rd time, something to do with the embedded images copied from the other forum.

 

http://safaritalk.net/topic/11625-overland-vehicle-build/

Edited October 16, 2013 by graynomad

[Anthilltiger]

Hi, most of our trips are self-drive - so over the years we've figured out what works for us, especially since we travel alone.

You may find some handy tips if you are planning a self-drive trip, check it out here -> http://anthilltiger.blogspot.co.uk/p/logistics.html

[kpredator]

as far as self drive sources,we look at trip reports @4x4 community .za.

lots of good information there.

[Fiffouu]

In terms of useful web resources for self driving, I would recommend the following:

 

- Google : this seems to be obvious but I would like to remind that efficient search can be obtained by using quotes " " and exclusions -, for instance you will get a lot of irrelevant hits if you just type : self drive car rental safari tanzania, vs typing "self drive" "car rental" safari tanzania. Scanned Maps can be obtained from "images" tab in google and filtered to obtain only "large images" to get maps with more details.

 

- Google Earth with all "layers" activated, in particular the tracks loaded from Wikiloc. It can also be installed on your smartphone, but with less functions. It can then be used off line (with no mobile coverage) if you loaded images related to your journey, and activate the "large cache" option.

 

- Tracks for africa website : tracks4africa.co.za

 

- Wikiloc wikiloc.com as useful as tracks4africa from my point of view,

 

- tracks for africa and wikiloc uploaded on your GPS smartphone (would suggest taking 2 GPS smartphones each loaded with off line maps and selected tracks).

 

- In terms of detailled maps with terrain info, but sometimes a bit out of date, look for your "Tactical Pilotage Charts" (old US/NATO military navigation maps). The full index and most maps are posted on http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/tpc/ (just look for your destination country in the web page). I have seen similar maps made by Russia airforces, but could not remember the name.

 

- For french speaking Safaritalkers, there is also some useful information on self driving on voyageforum.com

 

Hope you will find this post useful. (Don't forget that you will also find some useful information about self driving by searching the Safaritalk website).

 

Renaud

[Fiffouu]

In addition to my previous post:

 

Google Earth Pro is much better and easily available for non-profit purpose.

It allows to select & save high resolution pictures in jpeg format, that you can later use off line in your car from a smartphone or laptop. You can add several layers to the picture, including roads, and the tracks you created or downloaded, and grid showing GPS information.

 

Another good source for detailed maps, where you can also find detailed Russian military maps (useful even if you cannot read RussianI mentionned earlier: http://loadmap.net . Just type the name of a city/village and it will list all maps available in Large files/high resolution most of these with better Terrain information than tracks4Africa or google maps/earth.

 

For those of you travelling to Northern Tanzania, you can track migration day by day in Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Loliondo with https://twitter.com/herdtracker

[Botswana Footprints]

Reference to our Company :

 

Botswana Footprints offers booking services for self drive in Botswana. www.botswanafootprints.com

Botswana is a beautiful country for self drive - 4x4 dirt roads through the National Parks with many parks, there's much to discover!

 

We charge a once-off P500 booking fee for Self drive Camping Bookings (added to your final invoice so you only do one payment to me) for Self drive Camping Bookings and can pay/arrange for all campsites/lodges and national park entry fees that you will need. We can then email copies (or courier the originals if you prefer) to you so you have all paperwork that you need for your trip (and don’t have to fuss about trying to get permits when you arrive!). Payments to us can be done once off - by bank transfer or credit card (online and secure).

[Ndolets]

Ndoleta- Kenya's largest Car Rental/Hire Company offers cab or car rental services for Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Moi International Airport.