A Kenyan-born United Kingdom (UK) resident, Malkit Rooprai, has driven from Europe to Africa in seven months.

On October 6th 2022, he left West London in his Toyota Landcruiser on a mission to create awareness about the African continent and encourage his countrymen to visit.

“It has been a wonderful experience travelling across Africa by myself. I have been on the road for about seven months and in that time, I have explored many countries and raised awareness of the beauty and potential of this amazing continent. Africa has so much to offer in terms of business and tourist destinations and I intended to let people know that as I documented my experiences in pictures and videos online,” said Rooprai.

He drove through France and Spain and took a ferry through the Mediterranean Sea into Morocco.

He then drove across Algeria, Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe into East Africa through Tanzania, Uganda and finally completing his journey in Kenya.

He says his most memorable journey moments were the travels in the Sahara Desert and the tracking of mountain gorillas in Western Uganda.

The motive of the gruelling journey was to experience Africa by road, a feat many have not attempted.

He travelled slowly, sightseeing places he had heard about or seen in books and would take breaks stopping in villages and towns to share meals with locals before resuming his journey, spending four to six days in each country he visited.

He manoeuvred his way around countries using iOverlander, a mobile app that enabled him to find information about places, hotels, fuelling stations or mechanics.

Rooprai is now spending time in Kenya where he spent the first 17 years of his life before moving to the UK.

“I have decided to interact and spend time with my former schoolmates and neighbours whom I haven’t seen for a long time in Thika where I grew up. I have also spent time visiting temples in various areas in the country like Kitale, Kisumu, Eldoret and Kericho,” he said.

The trip cost him Kes 6.8 million, with fuel taking the largest portion. He drove 350km daily, which ultimately became 70,000Km after the journey was completed.

He was born in Thika in 1960 before his family moved to the UK in 1978.