Kapp 2 Cape - Nordkapp to Cape Agulhas 2012

Only in a tank! First there's Algeria or Libya, then Niger or Chad, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo before even reaching the safety of Zambia! Yep, coastal routes are the only way.

I assume you'll be travelling through Angola on your westerley route, that must be okay these days then?

Enjoying reading these posts, and best of luck for your trek

mugwump wrote:

Enjoying reading these posts, and best of luck for your trek

Thanks mugwump! Hope you are picking up some do's and don'ts ...

rgds
African GirlChild

Tom Mc wrote:

Only in a tank! First there's Algeria or Libya, then Niger or Chad, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo before even reaching the safety of Zambia! Yep, coastal routes are the only way.

Yeah ... back in the 'good ol days' I think you could at choose CAR and DRC if you wanted to go from Cameroon to Uganda and miss the southern part of the continent ... no such luck now (sans tank).

Tom Mc wrote:

I assume you'll be travelling through Angola on your westerley route, that must be okay these days then?

Yip - at the moment it all seems fine. Angola comes with an advisory though - you are advised to stay on the roads and not wander off for fear of landmines!! Anyway, assuming advice is adhered to, the next challenge is making it across Angola on the 5-day transit visa that is customary for the Angolan Embassy to issue. As I am sure most overlanders wish, we are hoping to get a letter on invitation from someone in Angola which means we'll be more likely to get a 30 days visa ... By the time we hit Namibia, I think we'll be due a celebratory drink!

rgds
African GirlChild

Hi all!

Another week has flown by - not without activity. Excuse the length. Get comfortable, and enjoy!

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The rollercoaster continues!  This week, we received good news about Viking Explorer’s end date, and have adjusted our departure date from 2nd September to 7th October.  After weeks feeling a little like we were in limbo, it is a great relief to once again have a departure date set.  We sincerely hope that this won’t change again.

As a result of our delay, we are able to attend the Adventure Overland Show.  Not only that, but Brodie will be on display and we’ll both be on hand to answer questions about our preparation.  We will also be giving talks in the Seminar marquee about the trials and tribulations of our preparations.  Lastly, we’ll be given a send off before we head to the ferry port at Harwich to catch our ferry to Esbjerg, Denmark.  So very exciting.  Big thanks to Tom Mc.  We look forward to seeing you all there!

Onto the more mundane …

A relatively successful week was had with the furniture sales:  A bookshelf, double wardrobe and futon all found new homes; the bed not yet.  There was a momentary feeling of space in the spare room ... before the boxes were gathered from the rest of the house.  Good.

Our planned 2nd car boot sale was, unfortunately, a victim of the great British Summer.  We postponed it to a later date in August after the forecast promised yet more rain.

Regarding tax and MOT on the vehicle while we are travelling, we received good news from DVLA: they are happy with the letter that RAC has provided us.  We can let them know to put a permanent export marker against the vehicle in the database after we have taxed the vehicle and are on foreign shores.

I also spoke to Peter, a very friendly helpful man who has travelled overland extensively.  Their solution to the tax and MOT issue was to SORN the vehicle, and then reverse the process when back in the UK.  Either solution requires booking an MOT for the moment one is back on UK shores.

Grand Central station continued:

Our cast iron “Dutch Oven” arrived this week.  Unfortunately, it somehow was damaged in shipment, and arrived with a large piece missing.  While a replacement has been offered, I am unconvinced that this product is up to the rigours of Africa.  I’ll have to resort to the proper South African potjie pot ... a false economy not to, me thinks.

In addition, the jacket for the fridge arrived; the final items for the medical and first aid kit joined the kit.

I have also been in contact with a few storage companies about storing our precious possessions.  So far, it looks to be more reasonably priced than self storage.

So, that was the week!  Only 13 to go ...

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So very excited to be attending the Overland Show! Looking forward to meeting everyone. Massive big thanks to Tom Mc for planning a send off to remember!

We'll be giving talks - I'll be talking from a girl's perspect, and Viking Explorer will be sharing his thoughts. We hope our talks will be insightful - but this is where I need your input:
In talking about our preparation, which parts of my musings would you like to hear more about? What have you enjoyed reading about and would have loved to have had more detail on?

Feel free to post or PM me.

Anyway, that is it for this week!

kind regards
African GirlChild

Hi all,

Just a quick update this week!

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Another week flown by, followed by a tiring weekend, so excuse the quick update:

We have finished our cholera vaccinations this past week, with the second dose of an interesting tasting effervescent drink.  Tomorrow sees us complete our jabs with the final Hep B jab.  Hopefully we have now given ourselves all the immunity we’ll need (or rather not need) while on our journey.

The weather kindly held out for us, and we managed to hold our second car boot sale.  After another scan through the house, we managed to fill the Touran yet again.  It was somewhat successful in that we did sell some of what we took, but not nearly as much as hoped.  However, all funds are welcome!  We’ll likely hold a third and final sale in late August / early September after which any remaining unsold items will head to the charity shop or tip.

We are continuing with selling our furniture, and have listed a few more items online - hopefully they’ll all sell this week.

Our library swelled by another valuable book: a bird book for Southern Africa!  A late birthday present for Viking Explorer from our dear friends which is much appreciated.

Brodie has been booked in to the doctor.  There is a “seep” and a “weep” on the transmission box which we thought better to take care of now before we start our journey.

Viking Explorer spoke to Patriot roofracks this past week.  The roofrack seems surprisingly more ‘customisable’ than we had anticipated.  This is good - but means we need to design what we want!  We need to decide now about the layout of the roofrack - particularly the positioning of the tent.

Just a short one for this week!  12 more weeks to go ...
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Until next time!

kind regards
African GirlChild

GirlChild wrote:

Brodie has been booked in to the doctor.  There is a “seep” and a “weep” on the transmission box which we thought better to take care of now before we start our journey.

Clearly you are not Land Rover owners, as this wouldn't be a concern, it would be a relief. You must have heard the old joke -

What do you do if your Landy isn't leaking oil?

Top it up quick - it's empty!

Tom Mc wrote:

Clearly you are not Land Rover owners, as this wouldn't be a concern, it would be a relief. You must have heard the old joke -

What do you do if your Landy isn't leaking oil?

Top it up quick - it's empty!

Priceless!

No, very clearly not a Land Rover owner But, now when I see a persistent black smudge down the west coast, I will be grateful that a Landy has thoughtfully left us a trail to follow ...

You must have heard the ol' favourite that's been doing the rounds for years, it's even on stickers nowadays?

Land Rovers don't leak oil, they're just marking their territory.

I tell you, if ever I'm at a Land Rover show and I'm at the gate distributing flyers (not an uncommon sight), as vehicles pass a solid black line will appear on the tarmac between muddy tyre tracks as the drips get progressively worse. The British manufacturing industry could never make a decent oil seal (old British bikes are exactly the same), nor could they make decent door seals, vehicle lighting ...

However, there is an upside to all this. Wipe off the sludge that forms on a Land Rover chassis and you'll find steel every bit as shiny as the day it left the factory - better actually as the factory versions in the 70's and 80's were usually covered in a layer of surface rust where they had been stacked up outside the works canteen in the Midlands rain as the strikes dragged on - and door seals leaking are another bonus. Plunge into a river in a Jap motor and you can't open the doors as the pressure builds. That would never happen in a leaky Landy! As for dim lighting supplied by Lucas Industries (fondly known by one and all as The Prince of Darkness), this was probably old stock left over from WWII carefully crafted for Blitz blackout conditions. With no investment money for donkey's years, Land Rover had to use what was already on the shelf.

We all know Land Rovers are flawed, but at least they have character.

I rest my case.

Tom Mc wrote:

You must have heard the ol' favourite that's been doing the rounds for years, it's even on stickers nowadays?

Land Rovers don't leak oil, they're just marking their territory.

No - I hadn't! But I bet I'll see it everwhere now

Tom Mc wrote:

However, there is an upside to all this. Wipe off the sludge that forms on a Land Rover chassis and you'll find steel every bit as shiny as the day it left the factory - better actually as the factory versions in the 70's and 80's were usually covered in a layer of surface rust where they had been stacked up outside the works canteen in the Midlands rain as the strikes dragged on - and door seals leaking are another bonus. Plunge into a river in a Jap motor and you can't open the doors as the pressure builds. That would never happen in a leaky Landy! As for dim lighting supplied by Lucas Industries (fondly known by one and all as The Prince of Darkness), this was probably old stock left over from WWII carefully crafted for Blitz blackout conditions. With no investment money for donkey's years, Land Rover had to use what was already on the shelf.

We all know Land Rovers are flawed, but at least they have character.

I rest my case.

Now, if I had known all that, maybe we would have gone for a vehicle with FAR more character ... ... but then again, maybe not

Hi all!

It is that time of week again - update! Lots of pics this week - they have been rather scarce in the last few weeks, so a decent number for your enjoyment!

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This week we really made a breakthrough in our preparations!  It felt like a huge leap forward that puts us back on track for our departure date.  First up, we sold the spare bed - the final piece of furniture in the spare room. Finally, we could set up our Adventure HQ and collect all the items from around the house and put it in one place.  The furniture sales continued, with the first item from the main bedroom finding a new home.



Design of the roofrack was finalised this past week.  Viking Explorer spent time talking to Paul at Patriot roofracks to ensure we had a sensible design, and the necessary brackets and attachments.  We look forward to its arrival in early August.

The next layer in the drawer design in Brodie has eluded us for weeks.  We weren’t sure what shape storage we required - more wolf boxes?  Bigger boxes?  Space for soft bags? We also needed to decided where our cooking equipment will be stored. Anyway, we had a very productive half hour peering inside and measuring the space, and have a design we are happy with.  I’ll be sharing progress on the construction in the coming weeks.

Not done yet, we took advantage of the sunshine to bring the rooftop tent out from under the stairs.  I have been dreading this, fearing that the second hand tent we bought would not be in as good condition as I have imagined.  I needn’t have worried.  The tent canvas is in remarkable condition - even moreso since it has already been through Africa twice!  The flysheet has been reunited with the tent, and looks great (remember the repairs completed months ago?)



The mosquito net was indeed in a dire state - as remembered.  No challenge for the mosquitos - you could drive a bus through the holes and tears :shock:  



However, now armed with replacement nets (courtesy of Jurgens in South Africa) all I needed to figure out was how to remove the old net from the zip and reattach the new net to the zip!!?!!  Easy enough?!???



A slow job unpicking the old net was followed by setting up a mobile sewing room half inside, half outside the tent!  With help from Viking Explorer, the new net has been 80% attached, with the last bit likely requiring hand sewing.  



Lastly, we need a replacement mattress - Howling Moon have been contacted.  As for the old mattress?  This will be reused on the roofrack to protect the bicycles. Perfect!

Aside from everything else, we managed to squeeze in our last visit to the travel clinic.  If all has gone to plan, we should be riddled with diseases, and avoid the real ones on route.

We have engaged estate agents to manage our property while we are on adventure.  We hope they will find kind tenants who will treat our house with love and care - and pay their rent on time!

All in all, a very productive week.  It is 11 weeks until we leave, 8 weeks until Viking Explorer finishes working, and 9.5 weeks until African GirlChild follows suit.  Exciting!

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As you can see - a great week had! Let's hope more of the same to follow.

Until next time!
African GirlChild

In case you hadn't realised, the ROUTE section of your website still states:-

Start: Box Hill, Dorking UK
Date: 2nd September 2012

Deep joy and happiness, the weather's finally warming up so pretty soon you'll be able to test out the mozzie net by sleeping out in the garden overnight. Bet you can't wait.

Tom Mc wrote:

In case you hadn't realised, the ROUTE section of your website still states:-

Start: Box Hill, Dorking UK
Date: 2nd September 2012

Hey hey hey eagle eyes! Yip, completely forgotten about that page! All updated now, with a link through to the show website Looking forward to putting the photo in ...

Tom Mc wrote:

Deep joy and happiness, the weather's finally warming up so pretty soon you'll be able to test out the mozzie net by sleeping out in the garden overnight. Bet you can't wait.

Maybe we'll start with an afternoon snooze The garden is not as level as it may appear in the photo

Hi all!

It's a midweek special!

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With it having been such a productive week so far already, I thought I would capture it all before I forget what we have achieved.

I was transport-less on Monday, so used the day as “get it done” day.  

First, I patiently sat and hand stitched the remainder of the zip for the rooftop tent.  It should now be strong enough to withstand the journey through Africa.  I also feel confident that should it be necessary, I am able to replace any other mosquito nets by hand while on the road.  I also took the opportunity to wipe down the tent both inside and out.  Once dried, we packed up the tent and moved it back into the under-stairs cupboard.

Next up, I had a chat to Howling Moon about a replacement mattress.  They were very helpful, but unfortunately do not have a replacement in stock, or one arriving soon.  No problem.  I called around to a few companies who custom make mattresses with covers.  I found a very helpful gentleman at “Foam for Home” who will provide a standard piece of foam of correct depth (which Viking Explorer can cut to size) and a mattress cover made to size.  The upside of this is that the offcut pieces will provide the last foam pieces we need to packing the bicycles on the roof.  Perfect.  I’ll place an order once the Olympics are finished.

A removals company came to inspect what we have left to store, and arrange for a storage quote. We realised that the hard work of reducing our belongings is starting to payoff!  The quote came through today - not toooo eye watering, but there certainly is incentive to keep on minimising, minimising, minimising…  I have also contacted a few other removals / storage companies for comparative quotes.

Then, off to visit the estate agents and arrange for more photos of the house.  They were suitable impressed at our general high level of organisation - very flattering.  We hope to see the house advertised soon, and tenants agreed in not too long.

Not quite done, I have been in touch with a journalist from our local newspaper about sharing our story and hopefully inspiring others to follow their own dream, no matter what it is.  We’ll have to wait and see what materialises.  In addition, I have been in discussion with local radio.  We are booked to join them in studio after the Olympics.  Very exciting - and similarly we hope to inspire others.

Last, but just as important, I bought lottery tickets for the big draw on Friday.  100 UK millionaires!  I’ll be one, thanks.

And in amongst all this, I have been to work and volunteered for the Olympics!

And so we continue …  

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Yip - a good week so far. We'll have to see how the productivity is affected from tomorrow with the start of the Games ...

Enjoy the Games! Whether on TV, on the roadside or from the stands!

kind rgds,
African GirlChild

GirlChild wrote:

Last, but just as important, I bought lottery tickets for the big draw on Friday.  100 UK millionaires!  I’ll be one, thanks.

Only 99 chances left, I've put my name down for one of those.

Hi all!

Back to the regular service ... week end update. Enjoy!

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So yes, the Olympics are underway!  I now have every sport available as it unfolds … at my fingertips ... dangerous.  Much discipline will be needed.

In spite of the Olympics, progress continues.  

Our blog is now up and running!  We have opted for a format that is easier to update on the road than uploading to our website. I still need to figure out how I'll be updating the forum

The sewing machine continues to kept in service.  This weekend my project was to make cushion covers for the cushions which will form our 3rd seat.  This would not have been possible without fantastic customer service from Sew Essential.  I realised on Friday morning that I didn’t have the zips I needed for the cushions.  I decided to reschedule the project until next weekend, but still went online to place my order.  Imagine my surprise when I received a dispatch notice at the end of the day, and my order arrived on Saturday morning!  And that was without my making a sweet-talking phone call.



Anyway, the cushions are now covered and installed in the vehicle.  We officially have space for a visitor or guide … or random hitchhiker?!?!????

Not a bad end to the week - especially considering 2.5 man days were lost to Olympic volunteering ...

It is a mere 10 weeks until we leave ... 70 days and counting ...

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That's it until next time!

kind regards
African GirlChild

Hi all!

Another week flown by ... much distraction caused by the Olympics! Supporting 3 nations is hard work

Lots of photos this week - enjoy!
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I can’t quite believe it - 2 months until we head off to live our dream!  We are actually enjoying our preparations - of which there is still quite a bit.  OK - quite a lot.  To say we are distracted at work is an understatement.  Every Monday I experience a culture shock: back behind a desk, toiling away at a computer on work that feels mundane in comparison to the long list of items on my ‘To Do’.  It seems so removed from the weekend of activity: creating, sorting, ordering, crossing-off.  Not long to go.

So what have we been up to this week?  

Well, we again fell ‘victim’ to the Olympics. We were fortunately to have tickets to handball, and spent a memorable day in the Olympic Park, watching sport, wandering around an soaking up the electric atmosphere.  A bit more volunteering to continue our Olympic experience.

Our house went on the market last weekend to find tenants for while we are away.  So, the first part of the week was spent turning our Adventure HQ back into a bedroom to convince viewers that you can actually fit a bed and wardrobe into the chaos!  We were rewarded for our efforts - from the 4 viewings we had, 2 expressed interest, and we have given the go-ahead on one.  Gratitude must be expressed to the estate agent for their service.

We are getting closer to installing our bedroom.  The roofrack and new mattress have both been paid for, and should be delivered in the coming week.

The carpenter and seamstress have been hard at work over the weekend.  Lots of pictures for everyone to enjoy!  The design of the third level in the interior storage make significant progress this weekend: frame plus 2 drawers built and the first coat of varnish applied.  







The third layer is only half the depth.  This gives space for 3 wolf boxes at the bottom.  All the remaining space (on top of the wolf boxes and in front of the third level) will no doubt be very useful for whatever hasn’t found a home yet: soft bags, boxes of fruit etc.

The other significant design modification is the right hand side of level 1: the 2 wolf boxes have been removed, and replaced by a full size drawer at the back, and a shallow drawer with space for the cooker on top.  The back drawer will make a perfect larder (any tin cans and other food stuff) that don’t

need daily access. The shallow drawer has a divider for my spice rack (special anniversary present from Viking Explorer), and guides on the lid to keep the cooker in place.

The sewing machine has also been in good use this weekend.  First up, a cover for the braai / BBQ grid.  This should help prevent any grease and grime from being spread on other items in the vehicle.



Then, it was time to recycle Viking Explorer’s old work jeans into something functional for the trip.

So, the bottom piece of one of the legs was turned into yet another pouch.





The rest of the jeans were turned into a carrier bag - useful for avoiding plastic bags when we go shopping!  I have more jeans from a friend, so time and priorities permitting, I would like to create another.  After not having broken a needle in years, I managed 3 in a weekend!  The sewing machine worked hard …

Other odds and ends have been ordered: vacuum storage bags, telescopic poles for tarpaulin.

The carnet application has been completed and submitted.  There seem to be comments that the processing has lengthened to 6 weeks, so we hope we’ll be able to sort ours in time.

Aside from our long list, this coming week will have a big focus on visas - particularly where we need to obtain which ones!  This appears to be an intricate strategic game in itself.

And so we are a mere 9 weeks to go.  This time in 63 days, we’ll have had our send off from the Adventure Overland Show and be sitting on the ferry to Esbjerg in Denmark.

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As you can see, a very busy, very productive week.

Until next time!

kind rgds,
African GirlChild

GirlChild wrote:

Just as well you opted for a roof tent as I would have been rather cramped squeezing on the top floor (level four) of the interior storage.

Know what you mean about the Olympics, extremely difficult to get anything done as I find myself wanting to soak up every last morsel. Incredible to see GB in third place of the medals table. Where are the Aussies, the Russians, the Germans, they are all well down the list? Incredible!

Tom Mc wrote:

Just as well you opted for a roof tent as I would have been rather cramped squeezing on the top floor (level four) of the interior storage.

Yeah, only space for skinny hitchhikers

Tom Mc wrote:

Know what you mean about the Olympics, extremely difficult to get anything done as I find myself wanting to soak up every last morsel. Incredible to see GB in third place of the medals table. Where are the Aussies, the Russians, the Germans, they are all well down the list? Incredible!

Made it ... got through the Olympics! Even made progress on the trip prep

Now, must make good progress before the Paralympics start :shock:

Hi all!

It is Sunday ... already! Another update. I can't believe the Olympics are over ... I have enjoyed it so much!! It has been such a worthwhile distraction

Anyway, here is the latest update.

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We are getting so exciting for our trip!  It isn’t that long to go, and rather than feeling panicked, we are excited about heading off.  We are so focussed on making our way through the to do list - but rather than it feeling like a chore, every item that is crossed off the list is a step closer to living our dream.  

Our main focus this past week was finalising visa purchase points.  Realistically, these will likely change in the coming year, but at least we have gathered enough information that we should be able to respond.  The main challenges still to investigate are purchasing the Nigerian visa, and the infamous Angolan visa.  Please have a look at our Visa page to see more detail.  



Our next accomplishment for the week was the tent mattress.  Fantastic customer service from Foam for Home who found a cost effective solution for us.  The net result was they provided a large standard piece of foam, and made a mattress cover for us.  All we had to do was cut the foam and fit it into the cover.



To celebrate our success, we tested the mattress - on the lounge floor Certainly luxurious enough for our adventure.

We also successfully tested the cooker this weekend, taking advantage of the warm weather to enjoy cooking and eating at the pace we’ll uphold in Africa. Unfortunately, this time was only outside the house, but next time it'll be more rustic...



The interior storage progressed this week.  The third level and 2 drawers received 2 coats of varnish, and have been successfully installed.  Viking Explorer is planning to add 2 cargo rails, one each to the top of the second  and third levels to allow us to tie down any loose bags should we need to.

While Viking Explorer was installing the storage, I was packing!  The vacuum storage bags arrived during the week, and I put them to good use.  Since storage is by volume and not weight, I intend to reduce volume!  I repacked a bag and managed to double the contents!

While reducing volume to pack, we also went through other boxes of paperwork and asked ourselves whether we would really be interested in the papers 2 years from now when we unpacked?  This approached successfully eliminated another box that was destined for storage.

The furniture sales continue - a single wardrobe was purchased and collected, and a CD tower has been sold.  Still more furniture to go, but with school holidays, it seems quiet.  The unfortunate downside of packing, selling wardrobes, and sorting boxes is … the house is chaotic!!  

Brodie’s transmission still hasn’t been sorted - Toyota didn’t have the tools! - so another appointment has been booked with a specialist transmission workshop this coming week.  Hopefully they’ll be able to fix it.

We are making progress on a lot of smaller admin issues too - the little things that need attending to, but aren’t glamourous enough for detailing!

That was the week that was!  A mere 8 to go.  Can’t wait.

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Wow! Not a bad week, considering the Olympics were still on!

Not long to go now ...

Until next time!

rgds
African GirlChild

Hi all!

It's that time again - weekly update from Kapp2Cape! Hope you're sitting comfortably.

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Each journal update, I start off by asking Viking Explorer what we have accomplished during the previous week.  We scratch our heads, and try and remember what happened from Monday - which by Sunday evening doesn’t even feel like the same week!

Our fun for the week was an hour (or so) in the studio of BBC Surrey radio.  We joined Graham Dene in a slot called “Tea for Two” and had a relaxed chat about our trip: why, what, where, when … We enjoyed sharing our story, and hopefully we have inspired others to follow their own dream.



One of the questions Graham posed was what we want to do when we we return, and whether this trip will form part of it.  This has been a question floating in my mind, but more in a panicked “Are we going to find jobs?!?!!!” rather than a pondering “How can I incorporate the trip in my work life when we return?”.  It remains an interesting questions, and I while I am not sure how - exactly - I’ll be able incorporate the trip as my ‘work life’, I’ll let my sub-conscious come up with a plan while we are “adventuring”.  I am sure there will be opportunities to write for magazines, maybe a book, holding talks, help organise an overland show?  Other ideas welcome!

Enough waffling - the audio will be made available once we have a copy.

What else have we been up to?

Our storage for everything that isn't coming with us, is almost sorted.  Rates are agreed, but somehow the form to fill in to sign-up has me completely flummoxed!  I'll get some help this week ... but it is agreed.

In days gone past, it took a community to build a barn and “raise the roof”.  Well, while no barn-building was involved, it still took a community to raise the roof(rack) and install it on the vehicle.  It looks brilliant!  We ordered a long roofrack - 2.5m from Patroit - but once on the roof, we definitely had space for at least another 10cm either end. However, that said, it is probably sensible not to have the extra space … then the kitchen sink would have been packed!  In the coming weeks, the roof tent needs community support to be installed.



Brodie had a morning having the transmission checked over (again). Reassuringly, the transmission specialists reached the same conclusion as Toyota.  However, the vehicle needs to return next week to be repaired.  

The majority of other work this week has been around packing.  Or rather, around reducing what we have.  Everything in the house now falls into 1 of 4 very well defined categories:
- to pack: essential for the adventure - can’t do without it, will use it loads.  This absolutely should not be confused with “store”!  
- to store: we still want the item, but don’t think that it will be of much help on the adventure, and we think we’ll still love it when we open the box and see it in 2 years time.  I’ll report back in 2 years how we did on this
- to sell:  we don’t think we’ll love it 2 years from now, but it is still in good enough state for someone else to love it.  This pile is growing rapidly as the “store” pile shrinks … Selling online and another mammoth car boot sale are on the cards.
- out: no real use to anyone …  gone.

We also have created a few (more) boxes with friends names.  Anything we think they’ll have use for is added. So far, so good: friends seem happy - or just go home and throw it all away!

We are making good progress with this system.  Our clothes and books have been reduced even further, and we are inching closer to having everything categorised and sorted.

Amazon continues to be far too good of a ‘friend’ as we sourced a few more books for the adventure.  Birding it an enjoyable hobby of ours - particularly while walking - and so we added “Birds of Africa: South of the Sahara” by Ian Sinclair.

Last but not least, I have made my “boozy fruit” for fruit cake which will join us on the trip.  Good quality cognac will ensure the cake is well preserved!



Anyway, that was our busy week - flown by in a blink.  7 more to go - a mere 49 days.

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Until next time!

rgds
African GirlChild

I remember Graham Dene's show when he was with Capital Radio (Cap Rad London that is, Euston Road, as nowadays it seems to have spread to other cities around Britain). He always came across as a really nice bloke, sure that's the case in real life. He had some hair in those days, then again that's true of a lot of us.

Patroit roof rack eh? Not cheap but really good quality, won't go wrong with that.

As for what to do when you return, reckon it's far too soon to be thinking to that. You'll have a totally different view on life at journey's end, so enjoy it now for what it is - a massive adventure - plenty of time later to be concerning yourself about what lays ahead work-wise.

Tom Mc wrote:

I remember Graham Dene's show when he was with Capital Radio (Cap Rad London that is, Euston Road, as nowadays it seems to have spread to other cities around Britain). He always came across as a really nice bloke, sure that's the case in real life. He had some hair in those days, then again that's true of a lot of us.

Super nice guy! He seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say, and very grateful for us for coming in!

On a similar theme - I was thinking of contacting BBC Northampton to do something similar, but with more coverage about the Adventure Overland Show too? Thoughts?

Tom Mc wrote:

As for what to do when you return, reckon it's far too soon to be thinking to that. You'll have a totally different view on life at journey's end, so enjoy it now for what it is - a massive adventure - plenty of time later to be concerning yourself about what lays ahead work-wise.

True words, Tom, true words. A few months ago, the prospect of NOT knowing what we were going to do afterwards was quite frightening. Now, it is exciting to know that there could be potentially so much that we could do! I am sure that right now I cannot even conceive of what I will be doing afterwards!

kind regards
African GirlChild

"The lurgy strikes" - mid week update ...

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It was inevitable.  I have been surprised it didn’t happen earlier.  Yip, trying to do too much does eventually take its toll, and so my body decided enough was enough.  I was forced into bed for 24 hours.  

I was paid a huge compliment this week by R, who I volunteered with for my final volunteer shift for London 2012.  I met R on one of my earlier shifts and he - like a few other of my fellow volunteers - has been enthralled by our journey.  He asked me where I had learned to write because “I had managed to make putting the roofrack on the vehicle entertaining”.  Thank you R.  Self taught, learning to write as I go.  R has been a great ambassador for us, sharing our adventure with his friends and family.  We look forward to him joining the big send off from the Adventure Overland Show.

Talking of the show, the seminar list of speakers and timings is now online!  We are speaking at 1245 on Saturday 6th October, and our send off from the show is at noon on Sunday 7th October.  We’d look forward to seeing you there.

The vehicle transmission has been seen yet again.  Despite looking at the transmission last week and saying they could replace the seals, this next company (who shall remain nameless …) almost started the job before the phonecall came.  No, they don’t want to take it apart and do the work.  Viking Explorer’s “cool, calm and collected”, icy facade melted as he boiled.  Spitting fire, he made a third trip to back to Nameless Company to collect the vehicle.  Anyway, we now believe the Universe wants us to make like a Land Rover and mark a trail down the west coast of Africa.  Although, we have discovered that if the vehicle is parked ever so slightly nose up, then the leak is gone!  Extra transmission fluid now packed.

Anyway, a bit more R&R so that I can make the most of the 3 day weekend coming up.

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C'est la vie!

rgds
African GirlChild

I was thinking of contacting BBC Northampton to do something similar, but with more coverage about the Adventure Overland Show too? Thoughts?

Sounds like a plan Stan - go for it! Where do you find the time?