The Cube

This was my first trip to Africa and the main reason was safari, of course. We wanted to catch the Great Migration but spoiler alert - we missed it even though we were 'in season'. That was also the reason why we made our first stop Maasai Mara National Reserve and went clockwise from there. Most people planned their trip counter clockwise. I think the reason why most people left Maasai Mara the last because well, save the best for last. It was evident to us that the rest of the national parks paled compared to Maasai Mara. 

The trip was prior to Air Asia's new route from KL to Nairobi so the best flights (timing versus cost) for us involved 2 transits, in Singapore and Mumbai. I travelled with my sister this round and we met up in Changi Airport at our first transit despite my first flight was delayed for an hour resulting in me running across Changi Airport but made it on flight. After another transit in Mumbai, we landed in Nairobi with my luggage left in Changi due to the delay. 

We took a flight out of Kenya to Victoria Falls and spent a few days there on both side of the falls before our last leg in Cape Town before heading home. 

I travelled on Malaysian passport and a visa for Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. On the beginning of trip planning, Malaysian passport holders were also exempted from visa to travel to Kenya. That said, Kenya recently implemented ETA for all travellers with some exceptions which you can check the official website. ETA to Kenya needs to be applied prior to the travel. 

Kenya is considered endemic for yellow fever so you may be required to show proof of vaccination when entering non endemic yellow fever countries. We were asked to show our proof of vaccination on arrival in Australia. I took this vaccination prior to my trip to Peru in 2018. The other preventative medicine we took was the malaria tablets. 

After reading about self-driving in Kenya, we decided to err on the caution side and organised for a driver/guide. Unfortunately he was very bad so will not recommend. We were on our own in Lamu and the brief tme in Nairobi. We walked everywhere in Victoria Falls, even across the border to Zambia. We organised for a transport to and fro airport. Mode of transport in Cape Town was walking, uber rides and a last minute private tour because we were not organised enough.