ouccccccchhhhhh

Yip we went for our "shots" on Tuesday. No not fun ones like 'springbokkies' or tequilas....but more like Rabies, Meningitis, Typhoid and the Hep A booster. This cocktail is on top of the one we had in June when we went off to Pemba...a smoothie served up with Yellow fever, Hep A, Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio.
My arms are only feeling better today!

The bad news (ok ok I mean for the pain) is that we have to go back next week AND the week thereafter for 2 other rabies shots....there are 3 in the range one has to take!!! But you die from rabies....even in 2007 there is no cure....and that's hectic!

clever husband

Real pity, we were planning a weekend trip to Wilderness to meet my folks and chill and eat Mom's mince pies Yummmmmmy!!!! However Wilderness NP has been closed as the river burst it's banks, so the weekend has been canned :( Brad wanted to use it as a last tester before the BIG TRIP....to check that everything works, ie. systems, all his rewiring doesn't blow fuses or whatever (never!!!) that we will survive ;)

But I did all the wiring under Warthog.....no not wiring wiring....just on my back on the floor shuffling along leading the cables through and cabletie-ing them to the bodywork for all the electrics at the various points (if that's what you call it). Well let's just say I look beautiful when I came out....dirty, very dusty and a lot of sand in my mouth....I learnt quickly not to talk or laugh when under the beasts belly!!!

See what Mr Brad does early in the mornings while I'm still pushing a few Zzzzzzzzzzzz's ...ha ha ha...amazing this technology!!!

map

So we are really getting there and this trip has become a reality...from just a map on the dining room table to actually piling stuff in the spare bedroom...the 1st Aid kit to cover every conceivable ailment, a range of clothing, the carnet, the food boxes and copious lists of what goes in which box.....

Trekking in South America was way less intense than this....but I trust Brad implicitly and know he's taking every precaution for us to be mobile and safe....but this time in our vehicle and not on our two feet!

Looking at that map though, I've realised how far it is from Cape Town...

interactive map

just added our interactive map - it is really cool - only campsites at moment, but other data will be posted in priority - next is border posts, fuel, interesting sites. when we done we will make a kml for those real map geeks ;)

va va vooooom

We've read and heard how bad the roads are/could be, so we've done a pretty tight itinerary to fit it all into 32 days, so Brad can be back at work on Monday 14th January (shame).
We are obviously hoping if we can stick to our schedule to stay at the following places. On the days were we've been too ambitious (ie. do the 800km's) to make it to the next stop and we don't reach it, well we'll just have to rough it at some roadside campsite, but if we do make it :)))) check out these links:

Botswana:
Mokolodi

Zambia:
Fringilla
Kapishya Hot Springs
1. Vic Falls:
Maramba

Tanzania:
Kisolanza
Twiga Campsite

1. Ngorongoro Crater:
Simba Campsite (a)
2. Serengeti:
Pimbi Campsite
Simba Campsite
seeing this:
and doing this:
3. Lake Natron:
doing this hike to take a peek at:
Lake Natron campsite
4. Ruaha National Park
staying at the "tourist bandas" - no pic
but here is a bit of detail on the park itself:
Malawi:
Njaya Lodge
and do a spot of diving here with:

then via Lilongwe to Lusaka back to Vic Falls for a night, then on to Gabs for a night and home.

We've read through tons of blogs and websites posted by people with vehicles from all corners of the world both old and recent - some really grumpy travellers and others who take the continued breakdowns and bad campsites as part of the experience....so we are using them to help land us in the best but safest spots, and save us from the pitfalls (or should that be potholes?? :)) )

Will be back soon with updates!

Linz

ps. Mr Brad has been working like a trojan on Warthog to get her (in my books) ready for the trip. Much more planning than South America!!! and Brad is at me about a timeline...but in my mind "more is nog 'n dag" and I don't know what he's so eggy about as to me I'm ready...1st Aid kit and food is ready so what more does he want?? Anyway...all will be revealed...ha ha ha..nite nite

3 weeks to go, borders, fuel and dollars

Well, we have lots of things to do, but we have pretty much got our itenary together, which has changed a few times of the past few weeks as we get feedback from those people on the ground in africa and we thank you for that! The border details at some posts is sketchy to say the least, so we are planning our times and crossings accordingly. The fuel is of course a big thing, so bought a jerry can, so with main tank and second tank and jerry we now have 160l x 6,5km/l gives us a range of 1040km. The fright of the week is the increase from USD100 to USD200 entry fee per vehicle into Ngorongoro Crater. Till later, need to concentrate on running the business so i can afford to travel africa on a shoestring ;)

4 weeks to go

It is 4 weeks until we head north, I can't wait, the planning has taken the best part of the year, inlcuding modifications to Warthog to make him better serve people traveling solo. During the time leading up to departure we will put more and more info here as we finalize the last details.
Just bought our forex yesterday and saved almost R2000! from our original budget.

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SMS from 881631546731@msg.iridium.com

THIS IS OUR FIRST BLOG FROM THE SATPHONE

Message from 27823755900

Wow. We live in an awesome country. On top of dassklip pass with a birkenhead and the sunset is gonna be amazing. I love my wife and boy are we gonna relax.

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Hi everyone, whenever we travel with warthog in africa, we will keep everyone updated by posting to this blog via sms on our satphone.