Hi all,

I'll apologize in advance as this will likely be a rather long post, but if you're experienced in long term travel in southern and eastern Africa I'd love to hear from you! I also posted this to r/travel, but as I'll be solo for this trip I figured I should post it here too.

Background

I'm a 29 year old Canadian male. I've previously solo traveled overland from Colombia to Patagonia (8 months), a few 2 month long backpacking trips to Europe, and lots of shorter trips to a variety of countries (India, Guatemala, etc). My major interests when traveling tend to include (but aren't limited to): historical/cultural sightseeing, hiking/excursions to areas of natural beauty, and food.

I've been doing as much research as possible through reddit, various travel blogs, and forum posts (Thorn Tree, etc). I wanted to post this to get feedback from this great community and to help further my planning, especially with current information as many websites and blogs are a few years old.

Plan

I'm currently planning a solo trip from Johannesburg to Cairo over approximately 8 months (though this is flexible--could be as short as 6 months or as long as 10). Likely to depart from Toronto around Feb. 1, 2020

Planned route currently includes: South Africa (potentially brief side trips to Swaziland and Lesotho), Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, maybe Burundi?, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. Depending on a variety of factors (time, money, points of interest, safety, etc)--that route may change. Originally I was planning to fly home from Nairobi, Kenya--but if possible I would like to go all the way to Egypt.

Packing

I'll be buying a new bag for the trip (the 10 year old 60L long discontinued MEC bag I have has served me well, but it's time to downsize for this trip). I'm planning to pack lightly (looking at probably a 35L bag like the Gregory Stout). Any recommendations for a suitable bag? I'm looking for something relatively compact so it's easy to keep with me on buses, matatus, boda bodas, etc. Only other requirement would be that it is durable and can fit a 1 person tent.

I'm planning to pack a 1 person tent and lightweight sleeping bag, to use both for camping at hostels/campgrounds to save a bit of money, as well as for some multiday hiking trips hopefully. I'm rather tall (6' 4") and don't need a top of the line ultralight tent that's going to cost me an arm and a leg, so I had my eye on the MEC Spark. Anyone have any thoughts on that or a suggestion for a suitable tent?

I'm pretty comfortable with packing for long term travel in general, but if anyone has any specific items that aren't commonly packed that I should know about, let me know. A portable charger is something I'm currently without but will be buying.

Budget

Based on some research and some very loose estimates, I figure I will spend around $25,000 all in on this trip. I would like to do day to day fairly frugally (walk/use local transport when possible, make my own meals, etc), but am also planning to do an expensive excursion probably once a month (safari lodge stay, game drive, gorilla trek, Kilimanjaro climb etc). I have enough saved currently for this and will be continuing to put money aside, but for those who have done a similar trip, does a budget like this seem reasonable or am I way off? The whole point of the trip is to see the sights and have these amazing experiences, and I know excursions, safaris, etc are typically very pricey--but I don't have unlimited funds so want to make sure my expectations are realistic in terms of what I'll be able to afford.

Other Specific Questions

A few other questions I have:

-While not my goal for the trip, I wouldn't be opposed to settling down in one place for a longer period of time to get involved with a quality, grass roots NGO. I find this hard to research online due to the presence of some many voluntourism agencies. Has anyone been involved with a group they would recommend anywhere along my route? I have a background in elementary teaching, recreation and camp programming.

-When first arriving in Johannesburg, my plan was to rent a car for a longish amount of time (1-2 months) in order to explore Swaziland, Lesotho, the Garden Route and Namibia without relying on public transport. I've looked at a few rental agencies and it seems possible, but expensive. Anyone with experience doing this? Also, is there enough of a traveling community in Johannesburg that I might find people interested in joining me in order to split costs?

-As a Canadian, most of my visas look relatively straightforward--but is there anything I should be aware of with them? (insane wait times, weird embassy requirements, etc)

I apologize again for the length of this post (and for the formatting--I tried!). Thanks a bunch for any feedback!