It’s been nearly three weeks, and we’re finally ready to check out of Cape Town and discover the rest of south and east Africa. To prepare for our departure, we’ve been to every camping store in a 1 hour radius. I’m quite certain we have all the essentials to camp, and a lot more– tent, sleeping bags, lantern, gas cooker, plates, cups, forks, chairs, food, cooler, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, etc, etc, etc.
For those of you who don’t know, the plan is to drive from Cape Town up to Tanzania, and then back. The original plan was to head up to Kenya and Uganda, but I think we’ll stay clear from all the trouble going on in Kenya right now.
We bought a 1994 Nissan Sani 4×4 which we hope will make the 7500mile journey. According to the woman we bought it from, “She’s a really solid ride”. We had “her” tuned up and gave “her” new tires. For security, we installed a safe in the back of the truck.
To start off, we are taking the scenic Garden route along the coast of South Africa. Most people would say the Garden route is a nice transition into the rest of Africa, for me it will be a good way to ease into camping. I’ve never been camping before, so it’s a bit of a nature challenge for me.
I’m excited to give it a shot, but the odds aren’t in my favor. Considering I prefer driving to walking, A/C to fresh air, and clean bathrooms to shared out houses, the odds really aren’t looking so good. Not to mention I am a magnet for mosquitos, and I cringe at the thought of spiders, ants, or any other insect invading my personal space. But I want to give camping a shot and will be providing detailed reports on our progress to become outdoor sportsmen.
Does anyone want to start a pool on how many nights before Christine sleeps in the truck? I say she will rough it for the first 10 nights. She’s tougher than she lets on.
i am so incredibly jealous of your trip – each journey, each picture, each story is amazing. thanks for sharing and blah for being there while i’m here.
So, did the car come with a wireless internet connection? Don’t worry, booking a hotel is as easy as a click of a button!
I’m in for $10 that she’s in the truck by night 5.
I’ve never responded to a comment before, but for those of you betting on how many days I camp, let’s get this straight…I never said we would be camping consecutive days. I’m thinking cummulative for the duration while we are in Africa. You can’t camp everywhere you go here. Apparently the tribal leaders have a problem if you camp on their turf. I’ll be keeping a tally of days we camp and will inform you at the end.
Christine doing SCUBA – now Christine going camping “in a tent” – I think for just trying it you get brownie points, but I think becasue you succeeded in the water you will do just the same on land.