At the time of doing this interview, Kim Musau who plans to drive for 400,000 kilometres, just for adventure, was in Spain. He had stopped by a garage for what he calls “recovery”, after being on the road for six months now.
“So far, I have done 30,000km. My fuel budget is in the range of Sh10 to Sh20 per kilometre. I have used about Sh500,000 so far on fuel and other car-related services,” he tells BDLife.
He wants to cover 30-plus countries. He left Kenya in January 2023 to travel to the UK via South, Central, West and North Africa by road—taking a break in March when he flew back to Kenya from Ghana, where he had packed his accomplice in his journey to tour the world — a Land Rover Defender 110 200 TDi 1998 model.
He has made other stops in Windhoek, Yaoundé and Monrovia before embarking on another long trip.
He first drove to the Namibian coast, followed the coastline up north eventually ending up in Morocco where he took a ferry to Spain. All this, alone.
Mr Musau who takes about four years of planning before his travels, says he is not just living his best life, he is living the dreams of many people, if the comments on his social media posts where he goes by the moniker- Alpha Land Rover are anything to go by.
“Out of the 197 countries in the world, I have been to 37 and I keep going,” he says.
He admits that he has always been outdoorsy, never one to like city life. He is at home where roads are narrow, and dirt and Google Maps has no sense of direction.
He likes to go where few dare to set their feet. He is adventurous and his life for the last decade is proof of this.
Kim Musau, an adventurer, during a desert drive from Sesriem to Sossusvlei dunes in Namibia on February 2023. PHOTO | POOL
Before he started his road explorations, he had summited Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and The Rwenzori. When conquering Africa’s highest summits was no longer a big challenge, the road called.
In 2015, he assembled his friends in a WhatsApp group to plan a maiden trip to Cape Town. Four couples would take part in that trip.
“The ladies would fly to South Africa as the men hit the road. This didn’t happen. At least as per their initial plan. Seven people did not travel. But I did, with a friend,” he says.
They did a round trip to Cape Town and back, Mr Musau driving his Land Rover and his friend a Land Cruiser. The trip took a year to plan. From that trip, he learned many lessons.
“Remain focused on your goals. Plan and be bold enough to execute. When an idea is sold to people at first, they get excited about it and commit. But as the travel plans start taking shape, the excitement wears down, numbers dwindle and the plans change,” he says.
After the success of the first trip, he embarked on another major one from Nairobi to Cairo, Egypt in 2019.
The plan was like the first one, his friends assembled and made plans, and then as the dates approached, he found himself alone.
On this trip, he also suggested the 300,000km to the same group and it sparked excitement.
“As you can see, I'm alone again,” he tells BDLife.
The first question you want to ask Mr Musau when you talk to him is, why does he travel—especially by road? Why subject himself to so many challenges when he can hop on a plane and get there faster and easier?
Kim Musau, an adventurer in Arusha on January 2023. He is camping with Aggie, a fellow club member from BunduRovers Club who escorted and flagged him off from Arusha. PHOTO | POOL
“Travelling opens your mind to what the other side of the world has or has not. There’s an adage that says, ‘he who doesn’t go far thinks of his mother as the only cook in the world.’ I travel to see and experience the world. I travel for business as well and on my current trip, I am doing research for my PhD,” he says.
It takes a lot to travel like Mr Musau. First, he had to repurpose his car to serve his newfound thrill. He calls it a moving house now. It has auxiliary 120-litre fuel tanks that keep him on the road for at least 1,000km.
He has installed a kitchen that has a Sno at the back, an Alucab Icarus roof conversion (instant double bed), front runner seats and table, 100-watt solar panel and batteries and an auxiliary battery management system fully kitted recovery gear for him and the vehicle and storage drawers and boxes, all in one car.
For most people, travelling is an activity for the uber-rich, especially the kind of travelling Mr Musau does. Something he does not entirely agree with.
“It comes at a cost of course but not as much as many imagine. It all condenses into priorities. Many years before I travel, I start by saving. This means I sacrifice a lot of leisure activities like parties because I need every coin on the road. I’ve worked for most of my life in the private and public sectors and now I run family businesses, which makes it easy for me to spare some time. The main thing is to plan,” he says.
Sleeping in the car also saves him hotel money. He also cooks his meals.
Kim Musau, an adventurer, explores Bissau city. PHOTO | POOL
“My daily accommodation is largely on camping, so my budget remains between Sh1,000 to Sh2,000 a day,” he says, adding, “I cater for my food and on most occasions Sh2,000 to Sh3,000 shopping takes me through a week.”
His routes are determined by what he wants to achieve on the road, the security and accessibility of places.
He spends a lot of time researching the routes and getting to understand them before travelling. Has he ever been stranded while on the road?
“Yes, ironically, the worst incident happened in Kenya while touring Tsavo,” he says.
On his current trip, his car broke down in Accra, Ghana. Like the adventurous traveller he is, he has learned to always be on the lookout for solutions.
He says he notices garages and vehicle repair shops that one would not see normally.
His travelling days start early in the morning and end at 5pm. He avoids the darkness as it is easy to get stranded at night with near zero chances of getting help.
While on the road, he learns a few words in the local languages to ease his communication with the locals. He has had to use sign language and Google Translate.
He travels with his Kenyan passport and many people find it hard to believe given the limitation a Kenyan passport comes with.
Kim Musau, an adventurer, wild camping in the bush in Tembusha Camp, Zambia on February 2023. PHOTO | POOL
Surprisingly, he has experienced more difficulty with African countries than those outside the continent.
“Getting visas from West African countries, especially has been one of the biggest challenges in my travels. But to travel is to conquer and therefore I brace myself for such difficulties. Luckily, I have not been denied entry into any country this far,” he says.
Mr Musau is a family man and balancing family and travel can be a challenge.
“First, I don’t travel every time. This trip is the first I have taken since 2019. When I am out there, I call my family every day on video. We are in touch as much as when I am with them physically,” he says.
Where does this then end, or what is the end goal?
"Travelling has never been about accolades and approvals. I only share it on social media to inspire people and tell them that they too, could travel if they wanted to, " he says, adding, "When I'm done, I will come back fulfilled and maybe, having completed his research on Intra-Africa Trade, Economic Integration and Mobility and ready to graduate with my doctoral degree."
