Fun on the Road – Don’t Do Road Rage!

If you take a road trip, you will be surprised to see the amount of road rage spewed left, right and center. It is funny that two strangers can so much get onto each others nerves over a little incidence on the road, a road that they will both leave there. It is actually awkward.

Someone says that drivers in Miami are so fast you can hardly flip a hand. Try driving in Africa where every traffic rule has been formulated with one aim only, to be flouted! This is where drivers have no regard for other road users, and so road rage in a place like Nairobi with its notorious, bold graffiti bearing matatus, is the norm of the day… the middle finger, driving on pavements and so on are the order of the day.

But in Africa, good things happen more often than bad things. Thus, you never know what lies ahead of you, until you see it. Drive with your eyes open! No… no, not for the road signs, but for lack of them for they have already been vandalized by some guy who didn’t know how to read. It is your duty to keep yourself safe.

It could be a giraffe staring stupidly at the cars, or it could be a group of monkeys waiting for some charitable mzungu to give them bananas…. Or, as happened sometimes back in Kenya along Langata Road, it could be two playful male lions basking in the sun, in the middle of the road.

But some road experiences in Africa can be nasty! Not the lion one, that one was solved amicably, by the two young lions walking off after they had made everyone aware that Leo is not only the king of the jungle, but of the road as well… They walked away into the Nairobi National Park (Did you hear that? Yes, we have a national park right in the city!). If you have been following us closely, we ran a story sometime back of a jumbo with an abscessed tooth. It was angry, and a typhoon is nothing compared to an angry, tooth-achy bull elephant! Long story short, the elephant nearly smothered a car with a couple of tourists that were on a sight-see of the Kruger National Park. Now, that is something that you don’t want to experience!

Now, back to today, you may be looking for a way to bond with your family. Take a road trip across your country and see what Africa has to offer. Remember what the Western Frontier pioneers used to do? Heap everyone and everything in a wagon, join a caravan and go to places unknown? You can do the same today, only that you will be doing it in style.

We have ran articles here about how to prepare for a road trip in Africa. Firstly, you need a good car, a 4WD preferably! You never know where you will find potholes big enough to swallow a Toyota Vitz! You can order your used 4WD from BEFORWARD.

Carry your camera and take random shots! Will you be traveling along a well known route? It had better be yes. Don’t go too much into the interior of nowhere. Stay close to the main roads, always. But tell you what… the best road trips are the unplanned kinds, where you just strike out with nothing but a map! You will see places you never knew existed, yet all along they have been under your nose.

Don’t go alone! Taking a road trip is like having a beer. It is not fun if you drink alone, but it can taste 7 times more heavenly if you are drinking with pals. Bring a long a couple of humorous people if you do not have a family.