Africa has some of the least developed public transport systems in the world, which are seldom punctual. But using public transport across Africa is an incredible way to see parts of the continent you wouldn't encounter otherwise.
There is only one piece of advice that'll work when using public transport in Africa: plan for things not to go according to plan.
While Africa's one of the fastest-urbanising continents, its public transport infrastructure desperately needs attention. In 2015, my friend and I were broke students who'd managed to squirrel away savings and could only afford to travel by public transport.
From Cape Town, we managed to make it to Zanzibar in three weeks, mainly by rail, via Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania. People find it hard to believe we managed to travel to all these countries on a budget of R10 000, including accommodation.
Our journey started where all good stories do, at Bellville railway station in Cape Town, where we boarded the Shosholoza Meyl to Pretoria, planning to take a connecting train to Komatiepoort and cross the border to Mozambique.
