Joburg to Scotland

I’m told blogs should be either funny, interesting or provocative so here’s a picture of Ross and I to kick things off.

More photos to come but first, a quick update on the preparations for this epic road trip. It seems I have been packing FOREVER! It started when I packed up my apartment in Johannesburg leaving only a backpack of clothes behind. With my other worldly possessions (two bicycles and an espresso machine) packed into long term storage, I was ready to travel.

Three weeks later and life on the road is maybe on the horizon. After a two week delay on Land Cruiser engine repairs, today our travel machine was approved as roadworthy and the correct license plate was issued. It’s comforting to know that in Africa, dealing with road and transport authorities is no less frustrating than anywhere else in the world.

The past weeks have been spent with Ross trying to get the final details sorted and travel preparations made. It has been a little stressful to assist Ross with the various last minute pieces of this massive jigsaw puzzle called “Travelling Overland in Africa”. He has spent the past year doing most of the hard work and planning so as a last minute participant I tiptoe my suggestions and ideas out. So far I have mostly contributed my enthusiasm regarding the coffee and beer we will encounter along the way as well as the team uniform concept.

We’re both cautiously optimistic about the prospect of sharing a roof top tent for 3-4 months. I’m a little nervous for passing through Uganda as two men sharing a tent but despite this potential hazard, the “partnership” is off to a great start with each of us exhibiting different strengths and strategies for problem solving. For instance, in our preparation session last weekend when using the satellite phone . . .

Ross said “yea, it’s cool, it’s like working in a remote mine.”

I said “No, it’s cool, it’s like calling in a drone strike.”

I’m sure that over the course of the trip, Ross’s inclination toward efficiency in exploiting remote resources will balance out my American instinct for problem solving and bridge building with explosives.

If all goes well, the roof top tent, camping awning and other accessories will be installed tomorrow. Then we just need to load and organize inside the car a small amount of gear and we will be ready to depart.

After a long and arduous search (on an ultra tight budget), we have finally secured a car for the trip. The goal posts have shifted significantly since we started the search three months ago looking for a Diesel Land Rover Defender 110. We have eventually found our match in a 1995 Petrol Toyota Land Cruiser in a colour the previous owner called “champagne”. The engine needs a bit of a rebuild but she should soon be in tip top shape.

Numerous lengthy discussions with 4×4 enthusiasts have made me realize there are essentially two types: Land Rover drivers and Toyota drivers. Ownership of a Land Rover gives you access to a tight knit community. Their drivers give a friendly wave to every Landie they pass on the road, they view mechanical failures as “part of the adventure” and a chance to make new friends and, in the words of my Landie mechanic friend Org from East Pretoria, think that “all Toyota drivers are c*nts”.

Toyota drivers, on the other hand, are completely indifferent to this rivalry and do not support the idea of spending most of their holiday staring into their bonnet. After many years as the flagship vehicle for UN operations in Africa, Land Cruiser spares and expertise are about as common as cockroaches throughout the continent. Considering Shea and I are both equally useless at navigating our way around an engine, this seemed the logical choice.