Overlanding Essentials: 5 Survival Skills Every African Explorer Needs
Overlanding through Africa is a dream adventure, combining the excitement of traversing breathtaking landscapes with the thrill of connecting deeply with nature. However, this type of journey requires more than just enthusiasm—it demands preparation, adaptability, and essential survival skills. Whether you’re crossing arid deserts, navigating dense forests, or setting up camp in the wild, knowing how to handle the challenges of the African wilderness can make or break your experience. Here’s an in-depth guide to the five most critical survival skills every African explorer should master.
Africa’s vast and often remote terrain makes navigation a top priority for any overlander. Many routes lack clear signage, and in some regions, roads can disappear entirely. Relying solely on GPS or smartphones is risky, as signal coverage can be unreliable in remote areas. A blend of modern tools and traditional navigation techniques ensures you stay on track.
Key Navigation Skills
Using GPS Devices: GPS systems like the Garmin Overlander are designed for off-road adventures. These devices are preloaded with detailed maps, including lesser-known trails and campsites. Apps like iOverlander and Maps.me are also invaluable for offline navigation.
Reading Paper Maps: Always carry physical maps of the regions you’ll be traveling through. Learn to interpret contour lines, scales, and landmarks to pinpoint your location.
Using a Compass: A basic compass is a lightweight, reliable tool for orienting yourself. Combine it with map reading to navigate through unmarked terrain.
Common Challenges
Unmarked Paths: Particularly in regions like the Kalahari Desert or the Namibian outback, paths may be covered by shifting sand or overgrowth.
Seasonal Changes: Rainy seasons can transform dry tracks into muddy, impassable routes. Planning ahead is crucial.
Pro Tips
Plan your route in advance and mark waypoints for critical stops like fuel stations, water sources, and campsites.
Share your itinerary with a trusted contact and schedule regular check-ins for safety.
2. Vehicle Recovery and Maintenance
Your vehicle is the heart of your overlanding journey. Whether you’re driving a rugged 4×4 or a modified camper, knowing how to maintain and recover it from tough situations is essential. The African wilderness is unforgiving, with terrains ranging from deep sand to jagged rocks.
Essential Vehicle Recovery Skills
Changing Tires: Punctures are common on gravel and rocky roads. Always carry a spare tire, a tire repair kit, and a portable air compressor. Learn how to replace a flat tire quickly and efficiently.
Using Recovery Gear: Master the use of traction boards, tow straps, and winches to free your vehicle from mud, sand, or snow.
Basic Mechanical Repairs: Understand how to handle minor repairs like replacing fan belts, jump-starting the engine, or fixing a leaking radiator.
Regularly inspect your vehicle, especially after driving through challenging terrain. Check for loose bolts, tire wear, and fluid levels.
Consider attending an off-road driving course to build confidence in navigating tough trails.
3. Water Sourcing and Purification
Access to clean water is vital when overlanding in Africa. While you’ll likely carry a significant supply, knowing how to source and purify water in emergencies is essential for survival.
Sourcing Water
Natural Sources: Streams, rivers, and even condensation from plants can be lifesaving. Look for green vegetation or animal tracks leading to water sources.
Community Stops: Villages often have wells or water points. Always ask permission before using these resources.
Purification Methods
Portable Filters: Devices like the LifeStraw or Grayl UltraPress are lightweight and effective for removing bacteria and parasites.
Boiling: Boil water for at least one minute to kill harmful microorganisms.
Purification Tablets: Compact and easy to carry, tablets are a reliable backup.
Water Conservation Tips
Use water sparingly for cooking and cleaning.
Reuse water where possible, such as for rinsing dishes after washing.
4. Fire Starting and Camp Cooking
A fire serves multiple purposes during an overlanding trip—it provides warmth, light, and a means to cook food. However, starting a fire in windy or wet conditions can be challenging.
Fire Starting Skills
Multiple Methods: Carry matches, a lighter, and a fire-starting kit with flint and steel. Waterproof matches are especially useful in humid areas.
Building a Safe Fire: Clear a 2-meter radius of debris and dig a shallow pit to contain the fire.
Camp Cooking Essentials
Portable Stove: Compact stoves fueled by gas or multi-fuel options are ideal for quick, efficient cooking.
Lightweight Cookware: Choose nesting pots and utensils for easy packing.
Easy Meals for Overlanders
One-pot pasta dishes
Grilled meats and vegetables
Pre-cooked rice with canned beans and spices
Pro Tip
Practice cooking over an open flame at home to perfect your skills before the trip.
5. Wildlife Awareness and Safety
Africa’s wilderness is teeming with life, from playful monkeys to apex predators. While encountering these animals is part of the magic, knowing how to stay safe is critical.
Understanding Animal Behavior
Elephants: Keep a safe distance and never block their path. Watch for warning signs like flapping ears or mock charges.
Predators: Most big cats avoid humans but stay inside your vehicle during game drives and avoid walking in dense vegetation.
Primates: Secure food and shiny items to avoid attracting curious monkeys or baboons.
Camp Safety Tips
Food Storage: Use airtight containers and keep food away from sleeping areas.
Fires: A fire can deter nocturnal animals but should always be extinguished completely before bed.
Awareness: Scan your surroundings regularly and avoid wandering alone, especially at night.
Bonus Skill: Crisis Communication
When you’re far from civilization, the ability to communicate during an emergency is invaluable. A satellite phone or a device like the Garmin inReach allows you to send distress signals or update loved ones about your location.
Learn Basic First Aid
Understanding how to treat injuries, prevent infections, or manage dehydration can save lives. Enroll in a first aid course before your trip, focusing on wilderness scenarios.
Final Thoughts
Overlanding in Africa is a thrilling, rewarding journey, but preparation is the key to turning challenges into stories of triumph. By mastering navigation, vehicle recovery, water sourcing, fire starting, and wildlife safety, you’ll be equipped to handle the continent’s most unpredictable moments with confidence.
Every mile traveled, and every skill practiced deepens your connection to Africa’s rugged beauty, turning an adventurous journey into a transformative experience. With these survival essentials in your arsenal, you’re ready to explore the vast, untamed wilderness that awaits.
Who am I? Well, the least you can say is that I am quite crazy about Africa, its nature, its climate, its culture, and more.
As a young woman in my twenties, I had already traveled to several African countries by traveling along in an overlander on my own and mostly camping ( or glamping ) and just fell in love with the diversity of it all.
So much, so that at the age of 26, I went back to university to study biology, which, unfortunately, I couldn’t finish because of health reasons (yes, I got sick from a tropical disease, oh cynicism). But this did not stop my dream of traveling back to Africa several times, and I still do.
My dream was back then to leave Europe and go study animal behavior, especially the elephants (sure, that’s every girl’s dream haha), but I am also very much intrigued by hyenas and other “ugly African animals“.
So, I “kind of” have a little bit of a scientific approach to my articles, when I write about African birds, for example. And most of all: the passion.
But life goes on, you move from one side of the country to the other, you get sick again and top it off with lower back problems, and before you know it, you are over 50 hahaha!
Now, I still travel to Africa, but take it a bit “easier” than the good old camping days, and stay in comfortable, yet affordable accommodations, together with my husband Wouter.
These are some of the countries I have traveled to: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Tunisia, and a little bit of Lesotho LOL .
While clearly not being African territory, but Spanish, I also visited Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and location-wise, I consider them “African”, because of their climate and nature, sue me :-p
The last trip I took was to South Africa in the year 2023, and it sure got the fevers for Africa back! From the Barberton mountains to the Drakensberg and the Southcoast, one month wasn’t enough at all to see the whole country, so we’ll be back! At ease and with a little bit more luxury than in my younger days haha!
