The Grand Plan

Sorry for the fuzzy map, but here's the genreal route we are planning on taking: South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, France, UK (possibly Jersey).

The movers come March 26th. We plan to leave April 1st, earlier if possible. In between, we'll test out our rooftop tent on FOXY, have a big farewell party and finish last minute preparations.

We figure if we budget one week per country, it will give us enough cushion for any "unexpected" events (ie. visa issues, car trouble, upset tummies). We hope to be in London by early/mid August in order to see family and indulge in fast food and hot showers.

Then we'll hop over to Ottawa/Toronto to visit more family before flying to Vancouver, where we'll pick up our cargo which will hopefully have arrived from Cape Town by then, and ferry across to Victoria Island where Matt will begin his 2 year full time renewable energy technician course at Malespina College. And where I will be desperately looking for a job to put bread 'n butter on the table! ;)

After a rather successful blitz this week of selling our couches, chairs, PVR (tv recorder) and dishwasher, I will be bidding farewell to my beloved green Peugeot in 8 hours. I've sold it back to the dealership where I bought her from. We have already found her a buyer but going through the dealership eliminates the hassle of selling privately.

As for my piano, it looks like i'll get it specically crated and shipped along with the rest of our furniture. If i try to sell it now, i will most definitely lose money and, anyway, i'm told it is worth a lot more in Canada than in SA. Enough said.

Exciting stuff. We are relishing in the whole planning and researching and preparation of this trip.

As for accessories, yesterday we bought a solar shower, some excellent maps with GPS coordinates, camping chairs, a tire repair kit, a 4x4 first aid kit, and a couple of cans of pepper spray for those "you just never know" moments.

And just last weekend we participated in the Nissan Offroad Tactix course. While the morning was all about theory and 4x4 driving hints, the afternoon was spent on the trails, trying our emergency stall starts - uphill and downhill on a 30 degree angle, going through "hippo pools" which are basically huge ruts in the dirt, and traversing ditches that are almost my height.

Even though Matt is more at ease with 4x4 driving and has had quite a lot of experience, I needed to learn as well - just in case. I was pleased to find myself really enjoying it.

It's certainly a challenge to try and figure out the piece of road ahead of you, which may seem impenetrable. But the puzzle is to work out an angle of attack and to just go for it. It's as much about staying under complete control as it is about selecting the right tactic to use.

Gosh, listen to me. I sound like i know what i'm talking about. Well, it'll come i'm sure.