How not to do it....

Second part of the training and the instructor got stuck in the mud and had to be winched out by the rest of us. Now I (Don) am a qualified 4 x 4 off road specialist. Should come in handy when we next go camping in the rain and mud in the Gower. 

Shopping for tents

Ground floor or first floor? decisions decisions....

Learning to drive our bakkie

We went on this 4 x 4 course in Durban where we learned how to navigate inclines. We are going back next week for part two where we will be taught how to drive through rivers and deep sand. One bit of information which unsettles me (Gabi) is the fact that when driving through rivers it is the passenger's job to get out and wade through the river first to determine the depth and strength of the current. Guess who will be doing the driving?

Now we are back at 'headquarters' in Ingogo with Heather & Ian and are seriously planning the route and making the final preparations. Next week will be shopping for roof top tents etc and having things fitted to the bakkie.

 Hoping to set off in about 2 weeks time :)

   

Buying our Bakkie

We have bought our bakkie (that's what the locals call their 4 x 4's), next thing is to turn the 'house' into a 'home' so we are looking at rooftop tents, fridges, chairs, tables etc and the boring bits like winches, re-inforced suspension, 'all terrain' tyres, water tank and many other things.  We have also  booked ourselves onto a 'Learning to drive your 4 x 4' course this Saturday, should be fun!

Camping shops over here are on a different scale to the UK as you can imagine, no such things as 'wellies with heels' Mel! We had lots of fun buying the car, at one dealership they offered us a huge discount on the basis that they thought we were missionaries travelling through Africa! We did come clean though.

Sunday lunch in Durban at Ed & Sandy's

Ed doing what Ed does best

Shopping for wheels

...difficult choice...

this one or...

...that one?

Shopping for cooking pots

Arriving in SA

Arrived to a beautiful winter's day here, got to Ingogo (where Heather an Ian live) only to find that we can't unlock our cases because we can't remember the codes for the locks so will be sleeping in our clothes tonight but hey....Macuna matata