Africa is still considered one of the toughest long-distance travel experiences on the planet, but that degree of difficulty keeps the imagination of many going about the Cape to Cairo dream. This journey is unpredictable, fragmented and at times dangerous; yet there is nothing about the Cape to Cairo journey that makes it hard to resist. The dream will not go away but it hasn’t ever simplified either.
Thinking about the irony of this will make anyone shake their heads in awe. Africa has large amounts of land; it has populous cities and emerging economies in each country; however Africa has a problem with moving “people and things” in an efficient manner. Airfare between two cities in Africa could be more costly than travelling to Europe. Shipping goods via land in Africa is so complicated that shipping them around the coast of Africa might be more efficient. The problem lies with the lack of infrastructure to support the movement of both people and goods.
Long before people started experiencing problems travelling today, a man had a crazy idea – to build one long continuous line (one railway, one telegraph, one road, etc.) connecting all of Africa from one end to another. The Cape to Cairo vision was more than just a means of transportation; it was a means of dominating power and ambition over a continent. This idea originated with a very colonial mindset, which makes the story both interesting and unusual at the same time.
To this day, the statistics tell a clear story; there is more transport done in Africa on road than on rail, but the amount of road that actually gets built is very small. Therefore, when looking at African transport costs, they are a lot higher than those of developed countries – rail systems are not even close to connecting from borders to borders. Hence, rather than having one integrated system, one has many fragmented transportation routes around Africa, with routes that could connect but do not.
When someone wants to travel from Cape Town to Cairo, they are not simply taking some tickets and lying down for a restful journey. They will deal with toll booths, must obtain visas and are subject to the whims of unpredictable travel schedules. They will use trains, buses, ferries, and/or will walk across the border. There will be some train services within the more modern regions; however, they will be interrupted by sections where the railway station completely ends. Thus, the traveller will need to create an improvised plan to continue with their journey.
There are parts of this journey that are quite luxurious, like one of the many long-distance trains with very nice cabins. Other parts, however, are quite the opposite, including the dirt roads, remote areas, and great logistical problems that arise. It isn’t one trip but instead a series of smaller journeys tied together to make one large journey.
What makes this journey even more surreal is that over 100 years ago there was a vision of a route that would link the southern portion of Africa with the northern portion of Africa. During this time, when Europe was in the height of its expansionism, linking the two portions of Africa was a representation of power and ambition. This is when the first segment of railway began to appear throughout the regions where there appeared to be enough resources, such as mineral deposits, to make it financially beneficial to build. However, world wars, the political landscape, geography, and global economic collapse would hinder progress in the building of the railroad system.
At one point in time it appeared as though the link between the two portions of Africa would become a reality. There were beginning to be major territorial agreements between countries, there were matching rail gauges in some parts of the connection, and construction was taking place. However, as history often does, it interfered with the realization of the original dream. Disconnected lines now exist along what would normally be the railroad route, with each disconnected line telling a part of the overall story.
There are travelers who attempt to travel across multiple countries/regions for a long time to accomplish what was once a commonly known route (Cape to Cairo). There are others that also follow the route but do it over a certain period of time (visiting each country along the route) and document each challenge in the process. Whether you get from A to B is not the issue; it is proving that you can still do that.
The reason for this possibly being an issue is because if we had more effective transportation throughout Africa, the improvement of overall economic transactions would benefit so many millions of people, thus improving their daily lives. The work of the Trans-African Highway is ongoing, and helps connect areas that have been isolated for many years, demonstrating improvements; however, the level of progress happens at a pace that many individuals would consider disappointing.
In addition, the Cape to Cairo experience embodies many elements of an uncompleted project (i.e. part historical desire, part modern effort & part travel fantasy). The Cape to Cairo experience is an example of how inadequate planning and infrastructure can impact the way in which the world views movement, connection, and potential.
It may also be that this is the reason that the dream of Cape to Cairo is still very much alive today – it is because it is difficult.
