Monday, April 14, 2008

moving sites

http://www.travelpod.com/members/bonthorn
I've created a new travel site, much more user friendly for being on the road. It gives a map of our exact location, I can upload pics easily, etc.

Please click on the link above to continue following our travels through Africa.


UPDATE (Nov 2019): Travelpod has since been stopped working. But we have saved all our FOXY blog entries here. If you want to read about our African Overland Journey, click here: 

https://www.floating-point.ca/travelpod/bonthorn.trip.1/bonthorn.trip.1.html

Sunday, April 06, 2008

initiation

This weekend we wanted to try out some 4x4 trails to test out Foxy's new rear diff lock and low range gears, break open our new high-lift jack and try sleeping in our roof-top tent.

So late Saturday afternoon (after another day of running around and preparations), we drove 30 minutes north of Cape Town to Melkbos 4x4.

This place was definitely not one of your usual charming and pretty South African campsites. It looked more like a junkyard with sand and litter and abandoned vehicles everywhere. No wonder there were no pictures on their website.

Upon arriving, we realized our low range gear did not engage properly, and so there was no point in going on the trails. We had to get it fixed first.

Still, wanting to make the best of it, we camped in our roof-top tent for the first time and with friends Maria and Paul joining us, cooked up a delicious braai dinner and sat around a big bonfire. Maria even remarked the "campsite" didn't look so bad in the dark - and after some wine and champagne.

The next morning we woke up to some vicious wind and rain and unanimously decided to head off in search of a warm cozy cafe somewhere to have breakfast.

In a way, the night was a good test to see if the tent could withstand all the wind and rain. I'm happy to report it did, beautifully.

The only slight worry is a small tear forming on the one side of the canvas which will have to be repaired immediately. Another item to add to our ever- growing list!

We found an open cafe (not easy to do on an early Sunday morning) and warmed up with hot coffee and cappuccinos. See pic of us chomping on cinnamon french toast and flapjacks, happy to be somewhere with four walls and a roof.

I think we'll have to develop a bit more tolerance during our overland drive though since there won't be too many opportunities to escape to such comforts. Still.

The day wasn't wasted as we managed to take apart the gear box and fix the low-range gear stick problem!!

Bursting with pride as ad-hoc mechanics, we spent the rest of the day with Matt fixing the console box, amplifier for our sound system, hood latch, etc., and me sorting out all of our gear and equipment in piles.

Our living room floor is bare no more! Now the real challenge lies in trying to strategically pack every single piece of item in Foxy to maximize her space and minimize hassle of finding that item when we desperately need it, like say, in the Serengeti desert.

It's all coming together; i can chart our preparation progress, albeit slower than we want. But soon we shall be on the road, date still undetermined, and we'll know we will have done what we could to prepare for this journey.

Friday, April 04, 2008

birthday

My hectic birthday began at 6:30am.

Matt and I spent the day running around with the car, trying to get her little kinks sorted out.

I did manage to sneak in a little ten minute power nap somewhere among the chaos, a little gift to myself.

To celebrate, we spent a lovely evening with friends Gailyn and Craig (and the kids they were looking after) at the local Primi Piatti restaurant.
We ate pizza (again!) and outrageously delicious chocolate brownies.

This time last year i was being pampered at one of Hong Kong's top luxury spas overlooking the spectacular harbour; tonight I'm being cuddled and read to while lying on two foam mattresses on the floor of our very bare house.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Foxy me!

Despite the darkness and a bit of paint spillage, we had a very successful painting-Foxy party tonight with friends.

It's amazing what a little colour and creativity can do!

Thanks Piyali, Gagun, Paul C., Maria, Gemma, Anna, Paul N., Gary, Franzelle and Etienne!

Your beautiful artwork will certainly draw lots of positive attention throughout Africa!

ps. Sorry about the ants in the pizza!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

out of sight out of mind

Wow, the packers are here and i have nothing to do.

Well, that's not strictly true. I could sort out all our gear for the trip but i'm just too exhausted.

It's been a sweaty 40 degrees today and i feel sorry for the guys who have to pack our stuff.

Due to some mis- communication, there wasn't enough boxes to put our stuff in and in any case, they had only gotten through about 80% of it. So they'll have to come back tomorrow and finish off the job.

It feels good to get all our stuff out of the house - physically - so that we can mentally be on our way to starting our long-trek up to London.

Tomorrow we continue.