Getting ready

Alan and I are seasoned campers, have had a vehicle kitted out for overland trips for years so how hard could it be to get ready for a 3/4 month overland trip……  Well there are a myriad of little things that turn out to be great time consumers. Small things like inoculations, chronic medication, anti malaria treatment, first aid kit,  medical insurance, added car insurance, temporary import permits for the car, police clearance to prove that we haven’t stolen the car that we’ve owned for 15 years and the list goes on. I think it all goes towards getting you ready for life in Africa, where no one except you seems to be in a hurry. Having said that we have already encountered kindness, laughter (police clearance queue) encouragement and helpfulness from unexpected places. God is good!

This reminds me of a trip we did in 2010 to Namibia through Caprivi, Victoria Falls and through Zimbabwe then home.  At a road block in Zimbabwe, having traveled over  six thousand kilometers  a Zimbawean  policemen asked us “What is the meaning of driving a car in such an unsanitary condition?” to which our traveling partner replied : “Well first there was the tar road, then the salt road, then the dirt road, then the shale road, the chalk road…” At which point we were waved on……

So here’s to being waved on!

Here’s a snapshot of this past week’s planned and unplanned activities. Hoping to leave on the 20th May was not to be as first there was the prop shaft , then the Sani’s suspension which revealed the perished petrol pipes which has to be replaced. Then the mechanics of the shower were not quite right and the shower bladder burst. Just as we thought we were in the clear the fridge stopped working so we have given up planning and will leave when we leave!