Drives like a dream (C.Cooper 2015)

So as Charles sits in front of the TV fixing my laminator - which I broke... and I ply him with ice cream to keep him happy .. and fixing my laminator, I felt I should do something useful..

So if you have been reading/keeping up with our facebook page - Where to Next Africa https://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-to-next-Africa/301927936647306?fref=ts - you may be aware that the boys bought new wheels and tires last week and proceeded to fit them at the weekend. We also had a new clutch put in our disco so according to Charles she now drives like a dream... I have yet to verify this spurious claim.... We are going camping at the weekend so watch this space...

The boys have been in contact with two guys who are about to leave to do the same trip as us, Key2Africa. We are meeting up with them on Saturday for their leaving do, however they have provided us with some great information and insights to their travel plans. They were going to do a similar route as us however due to certain boarders being closed they have had to think about alternate routes - they gave us a great website which shows current boarder restrictions and also an alternate shipping route if things carry on in a similar way.

Africa boarder monitor - http://www.africabordermonitor.com/
Blog with the shipping info - http://www.africabordermonitor.com/

Apart from these events not much has been going on, we have been playing around with a new camera, bought mosquito nets and double sleeping bags (Go Outdoors) and have been testing them out (a bit hot however in a heated house with a 3 season sleeping bag!). We have a moving out date (27th July), a vague leaving date and 3 lots of injections to have!

My next job is to sort out the medical kit which is something I aim to do when I am on Easter Holidays which are in the next 2 weeks! We spoke to a family friend who told us to ring the Hospital of Tropical Medicine's travel helpline to help us with Malaria tablets- which type to take and when - so that is also a job for me to do! They apparently will also advise on the drugs to get out through a private prescription - mainly involving stomach problems... I say no more!!

So lots of things still to do, a few less on the car but more to do admin wise! Just now got to wait for the passports...!

The technical stuff (finally!!)

After a lot of nagging I have finally sat down to write what we have been up to in the past few months..

A lot has been going on so if I miss something out I do apologise!

Firstly one of the most important things we have purchased is a 45L Terrafirma fridge (to ensure that we have cold beers and can keep the meet fresh). I spent hours upon hours looking at the various options available from Engel to Arb, however after weighing everything out and keeping a keen eye on the budget I felt that the Underdog Terrafirma was the best option for us. This has now been placed an a locking front runner fridge side for ease of use.

On the long straight roads I think that music is going to play a big role with passing the time so have installed a good stereo head unit which should drown out Cat's singing

A T-max split charge system and leisure battery has now been fitted. We went with T-max split charge as it enables us to monitor both batteries and at the same time ensures us that both batteries are charged.

Following that we have put on new front and back stub axles, new bearings all round, steering shaft, new brake calipers and pads, extended breathers and made a flip down table on the back door. We have also opted for a t-max air compressor that is fairly large however seems as this is going to be used frequently I think it will be worth it. The only thing that I am disappointed with is that you cannot fit it under the bonnet unlike the ARB compressors - I suppose that is why they have the price tag they do.

Also we got our hands on a really nice aluminium lockable box for the roof box which doubles up as the perfect sun down viewing point. At this point it is extremely useful to hold our bulky sides for the tent and awning, as well as the braai.

The next thing I need to mention is that we have fitted a Goodwinch tds winch, this came with a cable however to save weight and to add to safety we opted for a synthetic rope instead.

Next thing is water... and I spend a lot of time researching this however I ended up thinking simple is best so we have 2 x 25l storage bottle that is connected to a seaflo 12v pump with a RO 0.5micron water filter. This comes out of a self coiling hose out the back door that will serve as our shower cooking water. For drinking water we have a lifesaver filtration bottle that removes all bacteria so should help prevent the travelers stomach... if you know what I mean.

I have decided to build extra storage by adding a second shelf and making the most of the side dead spaces. This will incorporate a fuse and switch board for the future lights that I need to install. With the budget in mind again I have gone for waterproof led strips that will be placed inside the tent, under the tent to light up the back door and along the awning however this will be a bit of trial and error to find the best places for this. The best thing with using led strips is that they are very economic and draw minimal energy as well as not over heating for a easy £7 for 5 meters.

At the last land rover show Landy Lubber had really help us out again with some max trax, D shackles and a nice little safe for pass ports and cash.

Right now for the list of things that still need doing..

Fit the hi lift jack holder Finish the storage system Finish water system Switch board Garmin Montana with tracks for Africa maps Full service New filters Change the exhaust to a side exhaust so that I can start the engine when the tent is fully set up New steering box and pump Tyres (will be ordering as soon as possible) Duel fuel cooker Small pressure cooker Oztent bi folding table Tools Binoculars

As mentioned I am positive that I have left things out but looking forward to our next trip to give everything a test.

If you have any questions or advise please do get in contact!

Don't forget to follow our face book page: Where to Next Africa!!

Update: First Aid courses and injections!

After promising there would be a technical update in the last post and it never emerging (not my fault!), I found myself with a spare half hour to update on our progress - (I cannot believe I last updated in December!!).

At the beginning of February we had an all day first course with Peter from the Oxford College of First Aid (http://www.oxfordcollegefirstaid.co.uk/). It was a brilliant day, a very steep learning curve! We covered general health, CPR, recovery, major cuts, burns, splints along with a variety of other little bits and pieces! He also gave us a basic First Aid Kit contents list which we need to buy (our First Aid Kit box is going to be very large and extensive) and also suggested getting some antibiotics from our doctors before we go).

Charles has been busy adding to the interior of the Landrover - he is supposed to be finishing it off today! He has also bought a water pump to fit the shower (look on the facebook page to see Rob's). https://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-to-next-Africa/301927936647306?ref=aymt_homepage_panel. FIngers crossed it will all get done soon....

We have all been having injections (with varying degrees of success)! The injections include: diphtheria, polio, tetanus, hep A, typhoid (all these were on the NHS), and hep B, Yellow Fever, meningitis and cholera. Malaria tablets have also been discussed. My advise being with injections is to make sure you start the process 8 months at least before you go, each of our doctors (we go to 3 different ones between us), have a different procedure with varying processes. Mine have been very hard to book and get appointments with however Mandy and Rob have nearly finished all theirs! The approximate costs have been around £300-£350.

Again I am waiting for the technical stuff from Charles.... I am hoping this post will kick him into gear (fingers cross this evening!!).

Time flies....

I have been meaning to update the blog since the last blog (back in September?!), and have been nagging Charles to write down the technical stuff so I can copy and paste into this post.. this has not yet been done so I will write down what we have been doing from my viewpoint!!

So it all started when Charles finally got around to varnishing and carpeting the car, all is now finished and it looks really good (I will post photos of this when I get some!). Charles bought some more boxes so now we can store everything neatly and tidy (not sure how that works considering our house is normally a tip!) - and it means no crates sliding about in the back! At the same time Rob (I think) fixed the sagging driver seat so no more complaining!

After this the ever lasting search for a fridge came to an end when Charles found one (again technical details to follow) - he managed to get one for Rob as well with a sneaky discount which always helps! The boys spent a long evening fixing various things but they fitted a second battery (technical to follow) and also the fridges on sliders. I just now need to buy a stool so I can actually see what is inside! On our recent trip to the rugby in Cardiff it was tested (only on beer!) and works really well!

I think that is most of the car stuff out the way - Charles is now spending his evenings researching water systems... (as opposed to fridges!). So hopefully in the new few months we will have one installed.

Regarding the route we now have a more specific one planned... I can't remember exactly but it involves Morocco,...! Again I am sure in time we will get it up into the blog! We spent an evening with Rob and Mandy talking about this and talking about jobs as we move forwards.

From this evening my main jobs were to sort out injections needed and also First Aid courses/kits. Having researched every African country (not just the ones we are expecting to go to) it was evident we need yellow fever and many many more!

 The ending conclusion was to get to our doctors, see what we already have, their advice and get ordering because injections can take a while to order in. It is safe to say we will be feeling like a pin cushion for a while! I have also been in contact with Oxford Collage of First Aid (http://www.oxfordcollegefirstaid.co.uk/) who have been amazing and are providing us with an outdoor personalised first aid course in February for a very reasonable price. We will then speak to them about what we should be taking with us medical supplies wise!

Last week we we camping in Cardiff to watch South Africa v Wales... we won't talk about the crushing score (in case Charles has a strop!) but it was successful in other ways! The temperature was not as cold as expected however, it was great to try out sleeping bags etc in minus temperatures. We also were able to use the fridge (as talked about already) and add to our ever lasting list of things we need/need to do! The next thing is a magnetic plate under the roof tent to attach lights to when it is dark and we need to get to the back. After the rugby, on the Sunday, we went green laning somewhere further into Wales, it was good fun- it is safe to say I need far more practice (without Charles to begin with), however the car was great - go to the facebook page (see below) for videos and more pictures!

Since this trip we have been waiting for a sunny day to dry out and clean the tent - sadly during the very un-summer holiday to Scotland it got damp and began to go a little mouldy, so yesterday we were at my parents' house scrubbing and drying! Fingers crossed that will be the last time!

Now on the count down to Christmas (and snowboarding in Austria!), there are still many things we will be needing to get and now plan for - I am hoping Charles will get all the technical bits into a blog after he sees I have done the main writing.. I may well have forgotten 90% of what we have done!

Have a lovely Christmas and if you have not already like our face book page: Where to next Africa. Rob is very good at updating the page especially with the technical stuff and photos of what he is doing to his car!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-to-next-Africa/301927936647306?fref=ts 

Scotland: beautiful scenery, great food, amazing biking and lots of midges!!!

So after the fantastic wedding of our co-adventurers Mandy and Rob (see https://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-to-next-Africa/301927936647306 for some great wedding/land rover photos!), we left to do some camping up North - as far as we could go on a limited time/budget.

We set off in Ditsy with the bikes attached on the back and headed up to Barnard Castle in County Durham. We headed towards a campsite (see link below) and arrived at about 5pm. As we pulled in the wind began to howl and the rain began to lash down, however due to the fantastic staff at the campsite we were pitched out of the worst of it! We visited High Force and Low Force water falls (the longest in the UK - Charles was not hugely impressed!), which was a great visit and beautiful scenary. We walked towards Bowness and had the most amazing lunch and bought some local honey mustard (eaten throughout the week at various stops!!).




We travelled up towards a biking park in Scotland on one of the Forestry Commission sights at Glentress staying in Peebles for a while. Peebles was a small town but had a good couple of pubs - Charles was certainly happy with the ales!! Glentress was brilliant and after this we headed up towards Loch Lomand.

Once in Loch Lomand we stayed a while in Aberfoyle at a campsite called Cobeland. It was a lovely campsite next to the river next to a village with a great pub and a great butchers which sold some amazing pies and pork pies!!





Our next stop was a campsite next to the Loch called Milarrochy Bay. Again a great campsite and we were pitched right next to the Loch. We biked along the foot way - I had a slight sense of humor failure when we had to push the bikes up hill up 60 steps... It was such a beautiful place full of so much to see and do (even some shopping!!). It is safe to say however that both of us got munched on by midges despite cans of insect spray!



Overall another great trip -still tonnes of things we want to get done... many probably a carry over from the previous blog:

Table
Fridge
Shelving unit that goes beyond the load lugger in the back
Nets across the ceiling
Hooks to hang from the poles in the roof tent

We also need some boxes but we are going to see what the costings are like making them ourselves through a CAD design programme.



Links for the campsites

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/countydurham/barnardcastle/barnardcastle
http://www.crossburncaravans.co.uk/

http://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/scotland/cobleland-campsite

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/glasgow/nrdrymen/milarrochybay

A quick update and a few photos...

Again nothing much has been done in the last few weeks regarding the trip or the car. Charles and Rob went to Billing Land Rover Show which I am assured was a good weekend!

Whilst there he bought a jerry-can holder for the roof and also a ladder for the back of the car (to help me!!).  

As you can see below the car now has our facebook page (run by Rob) on it - it will eventually have the blog on! Please add yourself to it 'Where to next Africa' to keep updated.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Where-to-next-Africa/301927936647306?fref=ts 

It is safe to say we have been monitoring the Foreign Office website quite closely - especially with this outbreak of Ebola virus. It has been on their radar for about 3 months now so trying to see where it is spreading to and a time scale is quite important!

Our next jobs are to buy a fridge so if anyone has an opinion please give us your feedback below! We still also need to varnish and carpet the draws (especially as the carpet is sitting in my spare room!!) - however time at the moment is hard to come by (for Charles) so it may be a while before photos are up!

'She looks pretty good' (C. Cooper 2014)

Sorry for the lack of information or blogging in the last month or so... for me it is coming to the end of the school year so the weeks are jam packed counting down to the summer holidays!

It is safe to say we haven't done much on the car, or towards the trip since the beginnings of the shelving unit!

We traveled to the Eastnor Land Rover show which was a wet and wild weekend - I fully appreciated the back canopy that comes down from the roof tent when the rain was lashing down as we came down in the morning, somewhere dry to get changed made things more comfortable!! The boys had also bought a Dutch Oven/Potjie pot which we used (meat, veg and a can of beer), which again was very much welcomed!!

We bought an ipad holder which I am sure will come in handy.. sadly it is not near enough for me to read my books but map wise I think it will come in handy.

Last weekend the boys took Ditsy to Rob's garage to lift the body (apparently it wasn't big enough already!). According to Charles; 'well... we lifted the body, at that time we extended the front break lines (only the front due to the need of a refurbishment of the back axle - another job...!!)' ... he added 'anyone wanting to do it be prepared to use ingenuity and brackets to make it work!!'. 

The car now/still needs:

• A new steering shaft due to the lift which is not a necessity but will help to improve the handling.
• Discs and pads all round.
• Complete overhaul of rear axle - including diff.
• Front wheel bearings. 
• Full wading kit.
• Bigger wheels............. (apparently because INSA Turbos are noisy and rubbish on road.. any excuse!)

I do not know how they did it, all I can say is Charles needs to fix an additional loop in the door so I can hoist myself up!!

Regarding planning the trip none of us yet have had a moment to sit down to think about it, but I have been in contact with a helpful source who has guided us towards first aid courses, assault training and equipment...

Ah yes.. Charles did manage to pick up a tracking devise (Global Spot) which was lying around at his work that we can buy a contract for to use when we are travelling!! Amazing what you can pick up...!