Waiting, waiting, waiting…

We are currently in Pietermaritzburg, waiting for the Kota Lawa to dock in Durban. The vessel was a couple of days late, arriving off Durban on 24^th August. Since then it has been at anchor in the Durban outer harbour waiting for a berth. The current best estimate is it will dock 08:00 tomorrow morning, 30^th August.
We knew we would need to learn to wait in Africa, we did not anticipate it would be so early in the trip.

We left Melbourne on the 14^th August to Singapore. We had a pleasant couple of days there, doing the normal tourist things. Looking at the shops (our cases were too full to buy!) and eating. We went on the “hop on – hop off” bus around the Island, walked around the new marina precinct and went to the night safari at the zoo.

We caught up with Derek Fisher (ex BG Tunisia) in Singapore and had a wonderful dinner with him. Surprisingly, it turns out he is a Republican.

We left Singapore for Johannesburg at 02:00 on the 17^th August. At this time the vessel ETA was still 22nd August.

It was 2^oC when we arrived in Oliver Tambo airport. The airport was very efficient (no issue with not having an onward flight) and we were quickly on our way to Pretoria to stay with Avril’s brother. It was great to spend some time with Graeme, Jenny and Alex. Lots of catching up and talking! On Saturday evening we went to a show at Monte casino in Johannesburg.

We used the time in Pretoria to get visas for DRC, RoC and Gabon (if you are going to follow the blog, you will need to work out the acronyms). They were all very simple to get. The RoC went out of their way to be helpful issuing the visa in 3 hours instead of the normal 3 days. So we now have visas all the way to Cameroon, where we meet the kids for Christmas.

We receive daily updates on the ship ETA. It soon became clear that we would be looking at delays. So, we took the opportunity to go to Cape Town for a few days. It was really great to catch up with our niece (Brittany) and Avril’s uncle and his family.

We went around the wine route to Stellenbosch, Franshoek etc. Despite the incessant rain we had an interesting day. The mountain scenery is spectacular. The South Africans have yet to discover the concept of a measuring line on a glass, so when you order a glass of wine – that is what you get.

We stayed at Camps Bay (full breakfast at a foreshore café = R 20 i.e. A$ 2.80), watched wonderful sun sets, walked through the down town Bay area and strolled around Kirstenbosh Botanical gardens. Then, back to Pretoria.

The daily shipping report continued to be discouraging. We had intended to visit with Jen Crooks in Pietermaritzburg. Jen is Avril’s “twin” from university days and the person who convinced her to take a safari to SWA/Namibia in 1978. We had originally planned to spend the weekend of 20/21 August with her, but with the delay in the ship, we pushed this back to the 27/28 August. We went to a bird park and small game farm near the city on the 28^th.

Steve and Ing Marshall have arrived in Cape Town. We had originally planned to meet them in Springbok in the northern Cape (to look at the wild flowers) – now it looks like to we need to make alternative plans.

Fingers crossed on the ship!!!

The Vehicle

For those interested some information on the vehicle.

Most importantly is the big thanks to Peter Mitchley. The vehicle purchase and modifications were done with the great support and assistance of Peter. We could not have done it without him.

Mind you, I am not sure what he will do with his weekends now I am not there to take all his time.

We purchased a 2006 Toyota Landcruiser, HDJ 79R, from the South Australian government auctions.

We decided on the 4.2 Turbo diesel model as reports on the newer V8 were not encouraging. Also, the new model required higher specification diesel, which will probably not be available in some parts of Africa.

With assistance from Enzo at Northpoint Toyota in Adelaide, we set about making appropriate additions and modifications.

1.     Suspension: stronger springs and shock absorbers from Old man Emu. Vehicle upgraded to 3, 500 kg. Firestone airbags to assist the rear springs.

2.     ARB Diff Lockers; both front and rear. Fitted by ARB in Regency Park. Thanks to Craig and all the blokes there, nothing was ever too much trouble.

3.     Diff and gear box breather extensions.

4.     The vehicle came with winch.

5.     Vehicle electrics: Ctek D250S battery isolater and charger. 2^nd (Optima) battery fitted. Hella driving lights.

6.     General electrics; all by fitted by Torsten and the great people at Mobiletek in Adelaide. Kenwood GPS and general entertainment system. They also installed rear parking sensors and a reversing camera (integrated into the Kenwood unit) and a permanently wired tyre pressure monitoring system

7.     Internal fittings: bonnet & head light protectors, side window windshields. Internal roof console; this includes hard wiring of multiple cigarette lighter points to keep GPS devices, phones etc charged. Seat covers. Window tinting.

8.     Long-range fuel tank 150 l.

9.     ARB roof rack

10.  The aluminium tray which came with the vehicle was replaced with a custom made steel tray and was built to include a large cabinet behind the driver’s cabin. This was done by Dekkers in Adelaide. Michael was fantastic –a true professional. Even the smallest change was not too much trouble. The cabinet, which is dust proof, holds 2 spare tyres, Honda generator (in an easy slide draw on the driver’s side), 2 draws for odds & ends (on the passenger side) and a water treatment system.

11.  4 x underslung tool boxes. One holds 2 permanently wired ARB compressors. The others have recovery gear, spare parts and tools.

12.  Trayon camping unit (www.trayon.com). We chose this unit as it allows for internal seating (in case of rain, privacy etc). There were many modification to this including:

·         removal of the LPG system in favour of electrics (Ctek M300 battery charger, 1,000 W inverter, marine quality circuit breaker panel, 120 amp hr deep cycle battery, many additional 12 v outlets).

·         Installation of draws in the cupboards etc.

·         On the commissioning run through the Australian outback we found that the Trayon unit with its long bolt down threads could slide about on the tray, so we installed stoppers to maintain a minimum distance from the cabinet and also ties to provide additional security.

·         Sound system with iPod, radio, speakers etc

·         Secure compartment with safe

 

We are looking for a name of our expedition transportation i.e. what do we call the vehicle. Suggestions welcomed.

On the Way

We will depart Melbourne on the 14^th August for a couple of days in Singapore before arriving in Johannesburg on the 17th August.

We have been advised that the vehicle will now arrive in Durban on the Kota Iawa on the 21^st of August. There has been some stress with the documentation to temporarily import and then export the vehicle (Carnet). We sent the carnet via the postal service. Australia post insisted that it arrived in South Africa. South Africa Post insisted it never arrived.  

So, thanks to the fine efforts of the AAA and RACV, a new carnet was issued in 24 hours. The Australian customs assisted by signing the new document in Melbourne, rather than insisting that it be resigned in Port Adelaide. So, the new carnet is now on its way to Durban (fingers crossed).

Steve & Ing Marshall (from the UK) are saying they will join for the RSA & Namibia legs of the trip. So if that comes off, it will be great to have company.

The tag along tour through Angola is proceeding. It is planned to start at Ruacana on 13^th September. http://africa-bushcraft.co.za/ . Many thanks to Peter Richards, Maria and the crew at Minbos for assisting with the Angola visa.

The kids should join us in Cameroon for Christmas. Gabrielle is working up the details for that.

The only other fixed date thus for is that Olympics in London.