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Trip planning : South Africa : Namibia
: Botswana
Lee-Anne and I have always dreamt of
undertaking an overland trip. So many things have always seemed to get in the way - many people
recommended just selling what we have, renting our house, and driving off with the sun
setting. Some people said we were absolutely crazy to dream of doing an overland
trip. But this was our dream, and we were the ones to make this dream happen.
Our dream took a huge step forward when
I was offered contract work for five weeks. These five weeks of work proved to be
the biggest financial boost we had ever had, thus enabling us to start planning our trip.
The vehicle is chosen...
There were many 4x4 vehicles available in South Africa which would suit the type of trip
we wanted to undertake. We had the option of Toyotas, Isuzu bakkies, Land Rovers and
even the odd Nissan. The type of vehicle we eventually decided on was an old Series IIA
Land Rover build in 1968. The reason for choosing an old vehicle was the
fa ct that this Land Rover was fully kitted out
for an overland trip and that it had proved its worth by traveling to Uganda and back.
It included a rooftop tent, long range tanks, dual battery
system, fridge plus many extra items like jerry cans, sand ladders
and spares.
The disadvantage was the age of this Land Rover and my lack of mechanical abilities. (More Land Rover info)
The date is set...
June 3rd was going to be launch date, directly after our second national elections in
South Africa
Huge decisions are made...
Having purchased the Land Rover, we needed to clear up many admin related issues.
These issues ranged from medical checks, resigning from work, selling what needed
to be sold and buying the last few traveling items. We initially tried
to sell our townhouse, but eventually decided not to.
We decided that we would use this time
in our life to travel for 4 months and then to move to England for a few years before
possibly driving home (another dream!). Based on this, we started to sell everything we owned. First
to go was our cars we used for commuting. Next, our furniture disappeared
and finally we
only had our camping gear lying around the house. Tough emotional times for both of
us!
The route is planned...
From Pretoria, our home, we would head for the fairest Cape via the Karoo - in other
words, taking all the back roads to Cape Town. From Cape Town, we would head up the West
coast and finally arrive in Namibia.
Only the above part of our trip worked
out according to a plan. The rest of our trip changed on a daily basis as we
traveled through Namibia and Botswana. Our
Journey to Cape Town continues.... |
