Our Captains log is a capture of some of the random thoughts, frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along. Hopefully it helps to show the good, bad and sometimes ugly side of full-time travel. These log entries cover the first month we spent in Tanzania. Apart from the log we also put together a travel diary together with pictures, the one for Tanzania will follow shortly.
30 October
Today we found a small piece of paradise after a hot sweaty day yesterday, not all days are fab travelling but yesterday ranked up there as one of the worst for me. It wasn’t a long day or involve a border crossing it was just hot and we lost out on a great overnight stay because l thought that another place would be better. It was a bad gamble I took, what can I say win some loose some but ultimately try to learn from it.
2 November
Great day, got to watch the Rugby World Cup final in the a far from typical location (a schoolroom in the grounds of the campsite we staying at, FloJa Foundation), picture projected onto a white cloth screen. Andreas the owner, went out of his way to ensure he had the right DStv channel for us and so with some friendly banter between 3 rugby fans (Stuart, 1 Aussie & 1 Pommie) together with the Dutch owner and Tania we got to cheer the Springboks on to a great win. A quick dip in the lake at halftime was the perfect way to cool off.
3 November
Border day with the usual frustrations in sourcing local currency (the border ATM’s never work) and purchasing insurance, etc. The long climb/drive from the border to Mbeya was very pretty and spectacular.
5 November
After a rest day, its time to start moving towards Dar es Salaam. Once again a spectacular drive, at one point cresting at 2300m. Had a bit of “sport” with local cops at one point, they zapped us speeding up out of a 50km/h zone roughly 100m before the sign but only stopped us 5km later and presented us with a picture on a cellphone, which started a long discussion and refusal to pay until Stuart saw the actual radar gun. It took nearly 30min for that to arrive as the operator had to get a left on a motorbike taxi, which gave us plenty of time to observe the scam in progress. Basically the locals when pulled over were doing some “cool drink money” payments, and after quietly filming this it gave Stuart the opportunity to negotiate hard. A further 30 minutes later we were back on the road with no fine paid and having seriously disrupted there sideline business for the last hour.
7 November
Another day of hectic Tanzania roads/drivers, a GPS planned 3 – 4 hours seems to always mean closer to an intense 6 hours o concentration. Today we had 2 fuel tankers careering past us on a steep downhill pass through blind bends (VIDEO), thank goodness no one was coming up the pass at that point.
10 November
Yesterday we arrived at Firefly (Bagamoyo) and our first impressions were “we can stay here a while” due to it’s shabby chic and chilled vibe. The local mosque however chanted all night and we woke to rain and flies (due to local fish market), perhaps we won’t stay that long after all.
12 November
Turns out the all night chanting was for the prophets birthday and a one night thing only so we slept better the next few nights apart from waking early for the veryearly morning call for prayer. A 3 hour round trip into the outskirts of Dar es Salaam for shopping means we are now well stock again and plan to move up the coast to Barrys Beach lodge which promises white sands and hopefully a long stop next to the ocean.
14 November
Yesterday was a day of frustration & disappointment! Firstly got stopped again for speeding despite being supremely careful about the 50 zones but think I now know how they trick you into thinking the 50 zone no longer exists. Anyway after the receipt machine wouldn’t work and after turning down the offer of “them helping me out” I was let off with a warning (2 – 0 in the Stuart versus Tanzanian cops match so far). Secondly what we thought was going to be tar all the way ended with 90km of rough and slow dirt and so adding 2 hours to our journey time. Thirdly when we arrived at the lodge, the sought after white sands were no longer as the big storms of a few days ago have washed in heaps of dead seaweed plus it was stinking hot with humidity off the charts. On the plus side there is a swimming pool and the staff are super helpful.
15th November
It took a day to chill out from the drive and the heat. Lying on the lounges with the breeze of the ocean did help the situation that is until I walked into a palm tree exiting the campsite and landed on my ass, yay another bruise, scrapped knee and sore nose but the day had been good enough for it not to put a damper on us.
16 November
As the crow flies we only moved about 50km but it took about 2,5 hours due to the road conditions, a ferry crossing and then having to pull a broken down Land Cruiser off the ferry. We should have moved to this new spot (Peponi) a day earlier, it looks and feels great.
20 November
Peponi has been just what the doctor ordered, it’s been easy to while away 5 days camped a few metres above the high tide mark under big trees and with a lovely pool and chill area to relax in. If there were just waves to surf it would be perfect.
21 November
Grrr, a hard day driving in mud including rescuing a truck from the mud and then finding out the fees to traverse through Amani nature reserve are USD65 and not USD30. Tanzanian park fees are ridiculously expensive!!
23 November
After 24 hours of hard rain, I wasn’t looking forward to the descent from Amani but it turned out okay. The drive up into the Usambari West mountains was spectacular and thankfully tar most of the way and now we are camped in a hotel parking lot but only 2 metres from our backdoor is the cliff and spectacular views to the Maasai plains when the clouds clear.
25 November
Did a great little walk yesterday with a local guide and then on our own today around Irente and though the local villages and farming areas. Was very impressed with how well looked after the land is and little plantations. Then swapped our parking lot site for the Irente farm camping spot which is nice and peaceful in the forest, just no view.
26 November
Not a good day, we moved to Moshi just below Mount Kilimanjaro. The campsite we stopped at had good reviews on iOverlander and when we got there we were greeted at the gate by a young man who took us around the property, showed us the ablutions, arranged for the vehicle gate to be opened so we could setup, etc. At no time did we have any reason to believe he did not belong especially as he chatted freely with others on the property. iOverlander reviews indicated the price to be USD10pppn and after having setup the young man arrived and told us the price was now USD15pppn, Stuart argued a bit with him about this but in the end as we were tired and setup we paid. Only 10minutes later did the older caretaker arrive with a book to register in and a receipt for USD10pppn, naturally a big argument then ensued with Stuart demanding the overpaid amount back and in which the manager/owner claimed they did not know who the youngster was. Eventually we got the official rate refunded and left to camp in the back of a hotel parking lot. Grrrrr!
28 November
Having debated if it was worth heading further west before going up to Kenya, very glad we did head west as we have ended up in a superb campsite, possibly the best one since leaving SA (Migombani). It has lovely lawns, modern ablutions and a pool overlooking Lake Manyara. We are really close to Ngorongoro Reserve but sadly won’t be going there due to the exorbitant fees (USD280 per night for 2 persons camping in you own vehicle plus an additional USD300 if you want to drive down into the crater)
30 November
Migombani camp has been great, a variety of overlanders (British, Canadian, Dutch, Danish & German) plus superb facilities. Had loads of rain today but dried out this afternoon and it is now time to move on. Tomorrow hopefully we will be in
The latest edition of our travel diary, this one covers the two months we have spent in Malawi. In addition there are links to the picture galleries, our hopefully “useful info” pages for anybody perhaps planning a trip here in the near futureand of course the obligatory maintenance log showing what has required attention (not just Mr. Jones related)
After an exhausting day to enter Malawi and a less than desirable first night at Palm Beach campsite we were up early and on the road, first task of the day was to obtain local currency and a local SIM card in the closest town (Mangochi). The banks only allow 3 withdrawals of KWH80 000 per person (ZAR1600) and as credit cards are not easily used we made sure to obtain the maximum and nearly needed a kitbag to store it all as the largest denomination is 2 000!
Organising our wads of cash
A SIM card proved to be a far greater challenge and after stopping at numerous street side vendors we eventually found one who had a SIM. A lengthy registration process ensued and an even lengthier mission to get airtime due to a simple mistake by the vendor. While frustrating, it was easy to see how the mistake was made when we were trying to purchase KWH 18 000 worth of data and typically all the vendor deals in is transactions of KWH100 per person. He was absolutely devastated by the mistake and did his utmost to fix it, so after 3 hours standing on a bustling sidewalk we were finally on our way to the lake.
The first 2 days at Cape Maclear were spent cleaning out Mr Jones after the horrific roads of Mozambique and getting some items fixed in the village (small sewing jobs and welding of our rear step). Just as we were getting ready to relax the lodge informed us they were expecting a group of 40 school children and it might be best of we relocated our camping spot, so we moved in close to another South African couple and laagered up… Kitty & Gerit had initially set off from PE with the intention of driving up to the Serengeti and back down again, after many diversions their children back home have decided “Africa had swallowed them”.
Just as Kitty & Geritt left another group of 4 vehicles from SA arrived and where once again advised to laager up by us as a large church gathering was taking place in the village and much noise was expected for the next 4 days, so a few more social days followed.
Cramped quarters at Chembe Eagles Nest, Cape Maclear
Just as we were getting ready to leave we got wind of 3 days of planned protests around the elections held earlier in the year. Previous protests had got a bit ugly so we decided to sit tight and wait those out. The say bilharzia is a risk at Lake Malawi but quite possibly a much greater risk is “Lake Fever”. Symptoms vary but generally include the inability or lack of desire to leave the lakeside, days may blend into weeks and then who knows after that..
Every evening we watched glorious sunsets and the village children playing and laughing while they played on various sorts of craft on the lake. In general life is hard for children in Africa as there are many chores to be done and no time for play, this is one of the few places were you just see children playing for the sake of playing.
In total we spent 13 days at Cape Maclear which was a little longer than we planned or wanted but nonetheless a pleasant break. Our days where spent taking the SUP out and paddling across to one of the islands or just chilling with a good book. We have become quite proficient on the SUP and averaged 3 – 4 km per day of paddling with our longest paddle being 9km.
Fish Eagle swooping inSunset with a “Special Brew”SUP timeThere is a SUP down there somewhere
When the protests fizzled out on day 2, the decision was easily made to pack up and head for the Lilongwe for a supply and admin run. On the list of “to-do’s” was: Extend our visas by 30 days, replace our inverter that had broken (needed for charging of electronics), food shopping and to get COMESA insurance so that we are covered for all of East Africa. Unfortunately we didn’t come right with the Inverter or Insurance but were pleasantly surprised with the smart Gateway mall on the outskirts of Lilongwe. That night we camped at Woodlands which is a little forest reserve in the heart of the city, it was really pleasant and surprisingly quiet considering it’s location.
The following day we headed back to Gateway to buy some more wine we had found “marked down” after having first tasted one with our braai at Woodlands. Wine is generally 3x the price here and so finding an “okay” bottle at almost normal prices meant we cleaned the shelves of all stock.
A short skip and hop got us to Nchisi Forest Camp. A lovely little spot in the mountains with flat grass to camp on and nice hot showers. They have marked trails through the forest, one of which we did and it turned into excellent training for our future gorilla trek as the first 2km just go straight uphill. That afternoon a lovely English couple arrived, Steve & Leanne, they have been on the road in East & Southern Africa for 3 years now. Their initial plan was for 6 months…
Forest walk at NchisiA little bit of beauty in amongst the dryness
After two full days at Nchisi, we headed back down to the lake and were most grateful for Tracks4Africa as the roads were very minor with many diversions. Steve & Leanne were also overnighting at Nkhotakhota Pottery Lodge and over some wine and quite late into the night (for us at least these days) we swapped stories and experiences of life on the road.
Our original plan was to stay at the pottery lodge for Stuart’s birthday as the restaurant had some interesting and different choices from the standard offering but when the wind blew constantly for 24 hours and coated everything in a fine layer of beach sand we decided on the morning of his birthday to pack up and move. Before making that decision though we spent a relaxed few hours holed up in Mr J catching up on social media, receiving birthday messages and even a video call from his folks (go Jenny & Norman!). The marvels of modern technology keep you close to home.
Steve & Leanne had already moved just 100km further up the lake at Ngala Beach and said it was nice with lawn and trees so we took a leisurely amble up there, stopping along the way at a roadside market to do grocery shopping. A really pleasant surprise on arrival at Ngala was a card and beer (from Mozambique) as a birthday gift from Steve & Leanne, a very small gesture but it made Stuart’s day. The campsite was quite busy with a number of people using it as a last stop before arriving at the Lake of Stars music festival so we got to have a number of interesting chats.
Ngala beach was food for the soul with big trees, lush green lawns and just so peaceful. We ended up spending 3 days just chilling and reading, we even put the slack line up and spent an afternoon playing…
With time on our hands due to our visa extension we turned back south, our objective being Zomba plateau and Mulanje mountain, two areas we hadn’t been to and where we thought we might perhaps escape the heat, wind and dust for a few days.
The final road up to Zomba Plateau is a spectacular winding narrow road with great views and excellent roadside shopping (giant strawberries, gooseberries, mulberries). It gains 600m in altitude over just 8km. A slight mixup in our route planning meant we missed what we thought was the better campsite (but in fact wasn’t) and ended up at Kuchare trout farm. The campsite is nothing more than a picnic site in a clearing in the forest but it was divine, surrounded by massive trees with a mountain stream flowing past and we had it all to ourselves. A planned one nighter turned into two and we could easily have stayed more days if not for a lack of sunshine and the need to charge our dual batteries. The solar system did well but a misty day 3 meant zero chance of charging. On a whim we decided to follow some of the forest tracks before descending back off the plateau and were rewarded with some spectacular scenery. Unfortunately just as we were nearing the end of a rather long loop we found our path blocked by a broken down logging truck and although the driver said help would be there in 15minutes, he did not in fact have a watch (and 15 African minutes could be ??). As it was already 3pm we decided to play it safe and reverse our route.
All on our own, Zomba Plateau#behindthescenes
80km south of Zomba is Mount Mulanje where we had hoped to spend a few days doing walks on and around the mountain but quickly changed our minds when from the moment we arrived at the turnoff we were swarmed by “mountain guides” wanting to offer their services and running after Mr Jones as we moved along the road, using shortcuts to catch-up and “point” us in the right direction, etc. It was too much of an onslaught for our liking and so we skipped out of there quickly. Luckily we found a pleasant new spot (Africa Wild Truck campsite) set in amongst the tea plantations and ended up spending 4 days there. It seems we are starting to settle into a slow method of travel and becoming less destination driven.
We had a loose idea to try and meet up with Steve & Leanne in Cape Maclear for Steves 60th birthday which was in 6 days time so we intended to go from Mulanje to Blantyre to restock supplies and then slowly work our way up to the lake. The plan quickly changed when Blantyre had almost no options in terms of wine and meat and so a quick decision was made to head for Lilongwe again. What is a 4,5 hour detour with 35deg temps inside Mr Jones when you are low on red wine? Speed markings in Malawi are usually very vague as to when they start and end and so Mr Jones picked up his first speeding fine ever, we could only hope that it would all be worth it when we got to Lilongwe.
Absolutely worth a speeding fine and a little bit of heat
The drive from Lilongwe to Cape Maclear goes down a spectacular pass just south of Dedza, along which there are many “ToyRUs” stores selling brilliantly carved and manufactured wooden replicas of Land Rovers, Landcruisers, Cameras and bicycles. A stop at one and we now have a “mini me” of Mr Jones on board for good luck, we only wished we had space for more items as they would make wonderful pieces of art when we eventually settle down again into a fixed homestead.
Cape Maclear was once again spectacular in terms of scenery even if the madness of the village and people going about daily life on the shores of the lake can be a bit overwhelming at times. One sad observation is despite Cape Maclear being one of Malawi major tourism attractions, a national park and the existence of many lodges whose livelihood depends on tourism there does not appear to be any concerted effort by the role players to ensure a clean environment free of litter on the beach.
After two nights at Fat Monkeys, which still has the same chilled and bohemian vibe as it did 9 years ago when we we first stayed there, we moved into a room for the first time in 2 months. A lovely afternoon and evening ensued celebrating Steve 60th birthday.
From Cape Maclear we did a relatively big hop up the lake hoping to stay over at Makuzi, which we had so enjoyed 9 years ago as it has lovely grassed terraces and a quite secluded bay and private beach. It however was not too be as the International schools were having a week long holiday and Makuzi was full, after consulting iOverlander we moved just a bit further to Songa Muyo. This was perhaps an even nicer find than Makuzi with big lawns and trees to camp under, super friendly staff and wonderfully decorated ablutions and a nice beach with big rocks.
We had been hoping for an extended stay at Makuzi and certainly got marooned at Songa Muyo, in the end spending 7 days there whiling away the days reading, swimming and taking the SUP out including paddling to another lodge in order to catch the Springboks play Japan in the rugby world cup quarter finals. Our list of maintenance issues not related to Mr J continue to grow, this time the high volume manual pump for the SUP broke but fortunately we have an adaptor for the car pump and so could still use the board. Red Paddle have so far been great in attempting to deal with the issue and with a bit of luck we will have a replacement pump waiting for us at DHL Dar Es Salaam.
The road north takes you up into the mountains to a town called Mzuzu where we hoped to do some restocking. On the steep pass we passed a cyclo tourist pushing his bike, he seemed okay and we didn’t think to stop but when we come out of Shoprite he was wandering around our car looking a bit forlorn, turns out he was English but had been living in Cape Town for the last year and was now cycling home. He was feeling very flat and had in fact bummed a lift after we passed, so we offered him a coke and a chat.
On iOverlander we had seen an isolated lodge on the lake which had rave reviews “despite the road to get there”. The lodge doesn’t appear on Tracks4Africa yet but T4A did have a 4wd track heading to the area the lodge appeared in so we figured that must be the road. Fortunately when the track seemed to head in the wrong direction, Stuart decided to consult iOverlander again and google maps as we where definitely not heading to the correct place. The road that followed while a little rough and probably no fun in the rainy season but was spectacular and took us over the mountains and down into a little bay on the lake. It reminds us of Betty’s bay in South Africa but just with a sand track leading over the mountains into it instead of along the coast. Usisya lodge while not setup that well for vehicle camping (i.e.you camp in the parking area) has a great outlook, really cool outdoor shower and a very chilled vibe plus we had it all to ourselves apart from the owner and staff.
Halfway down the big descent to Usisya, the lodge is on the other side of the hillMountains dropping straight into the lake
The drive out from Usisya certainly challenged us and Mr Jones, you climb very quickly and steeply and on a relatively rough road. As Mr Jones struggles with such steep inclines unless he has high revs and a reasonable pace it didn’t take long until we had him in Low Range 3rd. All was going well until after one corner even in low range he started to lose power and then cut-out. This was a far from ideal place to breakdown as it is rather isolated, there are maybe 3 cars in the village and we were on a very steep incline! Even though we had 1/4 tank of diesel in the main tank Stuart assumed we had a fuel starvation issue so we started to pump fuel from the 3rd tank and to hand prime the fuel system. After 20min we were back up to half a tank and so we held thumbs and attempted to start, what a sweet sound when the engine kicked in. Mr Jones got a gentle slap of admonition for stressing us! As luck would have it the fuel transfer pump stopped working as we got started but as we now had enough fuel to move upwards we left that for another days worry and fortunately it turned out to be just a loose power connection.
The next couple days in Mzuzu were taken up with admin issues such as filling gas bottles, hunting down paraffin in the back alleys of the local market (for our fire stones instead of firefighters), shopping and some maintenance on Mr J. And we got to catch rugby semi-final on our way out of Mzuzu at the local tavern together with a couple of other Saffas who are also heading north.
Rugby time
We have far preferred the scenery along the lake of Northern Malawi as it has lovely mountains and far more indigenous forest than the central and southern portion, the drive from Mzuzu to the mushroom farm near Livingstonia was no exception. The road meanders along valley floors then climb up and over this big mountain which is clearly hell for the long distance truckers based on the number of trucks broken down on it before descending back to the lake and then climbing up to the mushroom farm via an iconic dirt pass. There are so many switchbacks that at one point the road almost looks like a big blob on the GPS.
Camping on a cliff, Mushroom farm
The mushroom farm is perched on the edge of a cliff and it was very easy to spend a couple of idyllic days admiring the view with our biggest worry only being the repositioning of our solar panel through the day to ensure our fridge battery maintained optimum charge.
Livingstonia at roughly 500m above the lake was built by Scottish missionaries in 1894 after two previous attempts to establish a mission on the lakeshores (one of them being a Cape Maclear) had failed due to most of their people dying from Malaria. Many of the original buildings are still standing which the Livingstonia university now utilise but for us as tourists there was not much to see. In addition to the Mushroom farm there is another camp perched on the edge of the cliff called Lukwe Eco camp, the write-ups on IOverlander are very positive and so we had in mind to spend a night here too. We were very impressed upon arrival as the attention to detail and hand crafted art and buildings make a great impression, over a Coca Cola on the balcony we thought to spend a night in one of their little chalets as they look directly over the valley and from the outside look great however upon viewing one we were horribly underwhelmed. The campsite was at the back with no view so also didn’t really appeal and we therefore decided to head back down to the lake, a decision we would soon regret.
The descent back down the pass was as spectacular as the ascent 3 days earlier and fortunately any traffic we did meet was at a spot were two vehicles could squeeze past each other. The first time we found the iOverlander reviews to be totally foreign to our experience was on our first night in Malawi two months ago and now as we near the end of our stay we again experienced this. The owner and staff of Hakuna Mutata are very friendly and helpful but the campsite is just a large plot of sand with one central thatch shade area and a long walk to the waters edge. In 40 degree heat with strong “berg” winds this is far from ideal and was made worse when Stuart sunk Mr Jones into the sand trying to park in a shady spot. As we didn’t feel like letting the tyres down just to move the landy 10metres and with it being too hot to dig him out we decided the best course of action was to grab a couple of beers, sit under the thatch and wait for it to cool down. Having been grumpy and irritable about the situation we were served a good portion of humble pie when the staff arrived with a large hose to wet the sand down and help to get Mr Jones out.
Nothing could however change the environment and so the next morning we moved 60km further up the lake to what we hoped would be a campsite with more shade and some grass. FloJa camp turned out to be exactly that with lovely terraced camping spots, big trees, funky sitting areas and only metres from the waters edge. As a plus it looks like there is a good chance of being able to watch the finals of the Rugby World Cup here (Springboks versus England).
Our last beachfront property for a while
Final thought on Malawi and our time here
In total we will have spent 58 days in Malawi and have absolutely loved our time here, the people are super friendly and it still deserves to be called “the friendly heart of Africa”, it is easy to get marooned on the lake and in addition the various mountain destinations (Mulanje, Zomba, Mushroom farm/Livingstonia) are spectacular. It is therefore well worth a visit.
The negative side to Malawi is that it is one of the poorest countries in the world, 173 out of 182 and we cannot see how that will change in the foreseeable future. From our observations Aid and the provision of Aid is big business in Malawi, you cannot drive more than 5km without seeing a sign proudly announcing that XYZ was funded by ABC organisation or country. It is so bad we nearly crashed the first time we saw a sign stating that a project was funded by the Malawian government. Aid has been flowing into the country for 30+ years and yet there appears to have been no progress (88% of the population live on less than USD2 per day, 35% cannot read or write by the age of 15, etc, etc). In our amateurish observations the actual impact of aid has been to create a culture of “expectancy” whether it be from large aid organisations or simple travellers like ourselves. In addition after chatting with many people who have spent far more time here than ourselves there is a general frustration with the slow pace of change and implementation of programs. We are sure there is a very controversial thesis waiting to be written about the true impact of aid in developing or hindering a country’s development.
Our Captains log is a capture of some of the random thoughts, frustrations and experiences we go through as we travel along. Hopefully it helps to show the good, bad and sometimes ugly side of full-time travel. These log entries cover our almost 2 months in Malawi, we have 1 week left before we enter Tanzania. Apart from the log we also put together a travel diary together with pictures, the one for Malawi will follow shortly.
9 September
Today we can start to relax and enjoy the lake, last two days have been spent cleaning out the internals of Mr Jones after all the dust of north western Mozambique
10 September
Great sunset cruise on lake with fish eagles swooping in for fish from the boat. Nice social evening with two retiree couples who are the first other travellers (barring one motorbike) we have met since leaving SA
11 September
Amazing how one party can spoil an idyllic location for so many. An arrogant Dutch couple arrived, practically demanded that vehicles are moved so they can camp near lake and then proceeded to bury their car in the sand down to the chassis creating dust for all. To top it off they blamed everyone else for not wanting to move. Unnecessary tension in camp for next few days.
13 September
Great day out on the SUP, paddled about 9km so fairly tired at end but scenery was amazing both above and below water. Water is so clear, with loads of fish and underwater boulder formations to observe.
16 September
Peace and quite in the campsite this morning, for the first time in 9 days we have it to ourselves and selfishly it feels quite nice even though the couples that have been here have all been great and good company. And lets not forget the 3 days of forty 13 year old kids camped around us followed by 3 days of church service just over the wall in the village.
18 September
It’s 11 days since we arrived at Cape Maclear and we are ready to leave BUT we learnt there are protests planned in all major cities over the elections. This scuppered our plans to go to Lilongwe and stock up plus extend our visa. We will sit tight for at least the 3 days of protests and then it’s the weekend so guess we are here for another 5 days.
19 September
Familiarity breeds contempt! One of the camp attendants has been really helpful during our time here sorting out the welding repairs on the back step, organising some sewing repairs and making market runs for us but lately we have noticed him taking advantage of certain things. It is such a pity as were going to give him a really nice tip, now we are left wondering and probably will only leave an average tip.
20 September
Great day as we extended our visas at Monkey Bay (took all of 5 minutes) giving us 60 days in Malawi and were pleasantly surprised by Lilongwe where we got all our shopping done except we didn’t come right in finding a replacement inverter.
24 September
After a few relaxing days in the mountains at Nchisi Forest lodge we headed back to the lake. After enjoying a simple lunch and beer (after the waiter managed to spill half of one beer all over Stuart) at Ngotagotha Pottery Lodge, tensions rose when trying to setup camp – it was busy (ish) so felt like we were parking on top of people, hot and humid with wind, a little sandy (which were hoping to avoid) and after parking and setting up we got swarmed by ants. Later while attempting to fix the inverter, Stuart cut his forehead open. Some days things just don’t go your way!!
25 September
Another day of the small things getting to us, the wind blew all day and night picking up dust from the beach and coating the insides of Mr J and us while we slept.
26 September
Stuarts birthday and having spent another night of being rocked and rolled by the wind, with dust thrown in for good measure we decided to move and try find somewhere else where perhaps we could enjoy the day. Ended up at a beautiful spot called Ngala beach, lots of green grass and big trees. It just has such a nicer “energy” than the last couple of days. A very nice surprise was a birthday card and beer from two travellers (Leanne & Win) we had met a few days before.
29 September
First sick day of the trip. Stuart woke to serious upset stomach, but once there was nothing left in the stomach we decided to still move a couple 100km down the lake. He was a very broken man by lunch but an ice cold coke, plate of hot chips and a good afternoon nap went a long way to making him feel better.
30 September
Woke up feeling like normal again, thank goodness it was literally only a 12hour bug, whatever caused it. Had a chilled day around camp.
1 October
Camping in a picnic site on top of Zomba plateau, so peaceful as we are the only ones here and when the mist arrived it was quite every. Basic facilities but its so nice we will stay an extra day.
3 October
When overlanding a campsite should offer 3 simple things, hot water for showers and enough pressure to rinse soap off, grassy sites so can keep feet clean and ideally a clean dishwashing area with basins not super low. Malawi campsites are relatively expensive at USD20 per night and often don’t tick any of the boxes. Tonight’s is a prime example, sandy/muddy parking area and showers which were just warm but an almost non-existent water flow! We haven’t check the basins yet.
5 October
After being bombarded by “guides” when we tried to camp at the Mulanje mountain campsite we have moved to Africa Wild truck campsite, its so nice and peaceful. Think we will do a tea plantation walk tomorrow.
8 October
Made a 4,5 hour detour today in order to purchase wine and groceries, Blantyre didn’t have much decent stock so we trekked off to Lilongwe. Annoyingly picked up a speeding fine on the way – the road signage is often very unclear in the little villages and Stuart got caught out twice, the first one he argued his way out of but no chance on the 2nd one!
10 October
Had a great evening last night, joined Steve & Leanne for a curry and then went to the campsite bar which had a few expats at it. Good conversation and many laughs resulted in us only getting to bed @ 1:30 and felt a tad fragile this morning.
12 October
2 months on the road and we have showers with decent water pressure and hot water (not that we need it as it is so warm already). What a difference the little things can make! Fat Monkeys, you were great 9 years ago and once again tonight.
13 October
We got a room and it was hot! To celebrate Steve’s 60th birthday we joined them at Thumbi Island view lodge. We had a great afternoon and evening however we definitely sleep better in Mr Jones when it is this warm.
17 October
Time flies by when you are in a beautiful spot, we made a big hop up the lake hoping to stay somewhere long and use the SUP for a few days. The wind has conspired against us but that hasn’t stopped us chilling and “losing” a few days.
18 October
Did a big paddle on the SUP today, roughly 4km into a headwind and swell, the island we were targeting seemed to take forever to get too. The homeward trip was however a wonderful downward paddle.
20 October
DSTV seeking mission to watch the Springboks take on Japan. First walked 1,5km along lakeshore to a neighbouring lodge with no luck so once back at Mr Jones took the SUP in opposite direction, spotted a roof with satellite dish and after a small dumping coming into shore we had success and the bokke had success too 🙂
22 October
Yesterday drove a fantastic narrow dirt road with great views over the mountains to an isolated lodge. The road reminded us a lot of both the Valley of a Thousand hills and wandering along the wild coast. We eventually dropped 900m over the last 8km into the bay in which the lodge is located, when the road ran out the local villagers were only too happy to show us the tracks to Usisya lodge.
24 October
We knew Mr Jones would have to work hard leaving Usisya and very soon we were in low range due to the steep inclines. About halfway up, even in low range we lost power and then the engine cut out on a rather steep section. Far from ideal. Even though we had a 1/4 tank in the main tank Stuart figured it was most likely a fuel starvation issue so we started to pump fuel from our 3rd tank and prime the fuel system with the handpump. Fortunately this worked and 20min later we were moving upwards again.
26 October
The last 2 days have been spent doing all the boring stuff of travelling in theory, but the difference is when you are on the road you seem to always find the gems in humans. Maybe its just that we have the time these days or that we are willing to engage and don’t have the do not disturb sign on. From the random aid worker who admires Mr Jones to the guys at the car wash that tell you about being deported from RSA or to the guys in the market that help you through the maze to find the ever elusive paraffin that we have been hunting down for the last 2 months.
When we left Mozambique after our 3 week holiday in April we debated which way we would head North when we eventually started full time travel in a few months time, would we go West and via Namibia & Zambia OR would we return back to our happy hunting grounds of Mozambique and head northwards that way? In the end the decision was made by Stuart acquiring another surfboard and the desire to test it out.
New board, Old Board & Tania’s body board
With a desire to at least have some new experiences as we travelled the southern portion of Mozambique we decided to enter through Kruger National Park and the Giriyondo border post, this would be our 5th different border post used to enter Moz. In hindsight this wasn’t the best decision as we had to incur additional transit fees for the Mozambique portion of the trans-frontier park and some very corrugated roads which threatened to shake both us and Mr Jones apart. All was made good once we arrived at Chidenguele and enjoyed a Rum & Rasberry while looking out at the ocean.
A short hop took us up to Tofo where we spent the next 12 days just chilling out, enjoying the great vibe of this little village and of course surfing. This brought our residency time in Tofo to 36 days for 2019 and many of the locals seemed to think we were permanent residents or long lost friends. Over the years we have seen a steady upliftment of Tofo, one improvement we really appreciated was a new Japanese restaurant called Sumi which just happens to be run by a childhood friend of Tania (Craig Harburn). The menu is influenced by the availability of local produce and the catch of the day, it is world class and we enjoyed a couple of evenings out there.
In 2008 on our first trip to Mozambique, we had three goals, firstly to celebrate Stuart’s Dad 70th birthday somewhere along the coast, secondly to tick off a lifer for Stuarts folks birding list ( a Green head Oriale found on Gorongosa mountain and thirdly to visit Ilha De Mozambique. Although we managed to achieve the first two goals and did get quite far north we quickly realised that Ilha was going to be too far on bad roads especially with 5 people and all our camping gear packed into one Land Rover. On subsequent trips we have had the loose goal of getting to Ilha but invariably got marooned on the beaches down south so this time given that we didn’t have the usual time restrictions we decided we would visit Ilha, leaving Tofo we knew we had almost 2000km and at least 5 days of hard driving ahead of us.
As we moved north of Vilankulos the road began to deteriorate and we soon found ourselves rock and rolling through potholes while playing dodgem with 30ton trucks. Truck & pothole dodgem video
A days break at Goody Villas in Inhassoro was just what the doctor ordered for both Mr Jones and ourselves as it was so nice to have grass to camp on and not have sandy feet as moved around in camp.
A stroke of luck meant the expected bad roads north of Inhassoro were not too bad and we made good time to the planned overnight spot so decided to gamble and see if we could make the next days drive as well which fortunately went well as we made Gorongosa in the late afternoon.
Mozambique seems to be a tale of thirds, the southern part has steadily developed around tourism over the last decade, the northern section is also growing and changing due to coal and maybe gas. However as we drove through the middle section we couldn’t help but feel depressed as we pushed towards the Beira & Gorongosa area, there is practically no change from 12 years ago in terms of development of the area or people. Possibly the only change is that the children and teenagers we saw back then are now parents.
Another depressing sight in this section is the level of deforestation and slash and burn activities, for 50km before and after the Inchope intersection (Beira) the bush is just burnt or burning and smog/smoke hangs everywhere.
We arrived at Gorongosa Adventure campsite (a little camp just outside the park boundary) to a “ghost town” feel. We were the only people there and there was no indication of anybody around. Everything still seems functional if just a little covered in winter leaves so we parked and opened the car. It was stinking hot at first but as evening arrived it cooled down nicely and went “bushveld quite”. Also some camp attendants arrived and we “checked-in”, based on their register we were the first visitors in 30 days which sums up our interactions with other revellers in Mozambique. In our 24 days travelling through the country we met one Swede on a motorbike and saw in the distance two other “overland” vehicles, in particular once we left Tofo most of the time we felt like the only foreign travellers.
From Gorongosa to the Zambezi was only 300km but took us over 7 hours, the road had massive potholes, lots of detours, dust so thick from trucks on the detours that sometimes we couldn’t even see the end of the bonnet. The terrible roads resulted in a coolant leak which fortunately Stuart could bypass quite quickly and keep us moving.
What is crazy is that 11 years ago the EU spent a fortune on building a bridge over the Zambezi which is world class and certainly cuts out waiting for a ferry etc, but what good is it if the 300km leading up to the bridge are a road from hell that just punishes and kills vehicles, cargo, people etc. A first world bridge connected to roads that don’t exist…. After a hard day on the road we couldn’t help but wonder how cynical will we become about aid and the mix of 1st and 3rd world by the end of this trip?
Waiting for the Zambezi ferry in 2008The Zambezi bridge under construction in 2008
After a long day, CUA CUA lodge was a welcome relief, a couple of beers later and the bartender bringing round a hosepipe to wash off Mr Jones grime from the day makes the world seem better. We camped on the front lawns below the bar and next to pool, the shower facilities are not great so we rinsed off the dust in the pool.
Another long, hot day followed in order to get to Nampula with no stopping for 9 hours but at least the roads were improved. We camped next to a beautiful lake and granite outcrop, the only downside was it is the weekend picnic spot for the Nampula brat pack and the party was in full steam when we arrived Sunday afternoon. The last revellers left around 9. We slept like the dead until some voices and what sounded like an attempt to open the back door woke Tania at 4:00, then the main security light went out! We sat nervously staring out the windows trying to see if anybody was around and luckily nothing come of it. When the security light come back on, Tania took night guard shift together with her kindle while Stuart caught a few more zees.
A pleasant surprise when leaving Nampula was to find a brand new Shoprite, which was very well stocked, clean and had safe parking with nobody hassling you while you try and pack the car. We also found a shop selling water so stopped and bought a number of 6l containers which we decanted into water tank right there on side of road, so that we had our full 60l of freshwater back on board. A reminder of the differences in priorities when travelling in the 3rd world is how as soon as you finish emptying a water container somebody is there looking to collect the empty for their own use.
The only camping option at Ilha de Mozambique is on the mainland where the causeway starts, our first impressions upon arriving were not good (perhaps cause we were exhausted from many hard days of travel) as the entry to the campsite is right in the busy part of the village and rather dirty but it turned into a good find. The people running the site are super friendly and go out of their way to help even though there was a major communication barrier as neither of us could speak the others language, the facilities are old but nice and clean and we are camped right on the edge of sea. There was a nice casita to sit under and watch the comings and goings of the village pass by on the sea shore. We were planning on going across to Ilha right away but when we got a surprise breakfast (fried egg and bread roll) brought to us, we immediately started to relax and ended up spending the day chilling and doing chores on Mr Jones. Tomorrow is another day…
Camping on Mainland just across from Ilha de MozambiqueSimple but what a pleasant surprise
The island of Mozambique (3km long by 500m wide) was ruled by a sultan (Musa Bin Bique) during the times of Vasco de Gama and it is from this and subsequent Portuguese pronunciations of his name that Mozambique derives it’s own name. In the 15th century the Portuguese established a port and built a chapel which is now considered the oldest European building in the Southern Hemisphere. In the 16th century a fort was built and the island become a major trading post for slaves, spices and gold. A 3km bridge erected in the 1960’s now connects the island to the mainland.
The island has an interesting mix of Arabic, Chinese and Portuguese influence and we enjoyed a day of visiting the museum, fort and then lazing on a rooftop terrace watching dhows sail by as they go about their daily business.
Fort on Ilha De MozambiqueIlha de Mozambique protectionStone Town, Ilha de MozambiqueIlha de MozambiqueStone town, Ilha de MozambiqueTrading Dhows, Ilha de Mozambique
From Ilha to Malawi we had 700km to traverse and based on the information we had the middle part was really bad roads, the plan was to split this over 3 days driving. When we outpaced the GPS calculations by 2 hours on the second day and the GPS showed we could make Malawi by 3 that afternoon we decided to carry on.
That decision turned what had been an easy day into a day from HELL, the road for the next 200km was ugly dirt with soft powdery sections (like Dakar Fesh Fesh) that just enveloped the whole car. Almost immediately the GPS ETA started to climb and we were under pressure.
The irony of arriving at the Town Of Malema exactly as the tar ended and terrible dirt started was not lost on usThe irony of arriving at the Town Of Malema exactly as the tar ended and terrible dirt started was not lost on us
Mr Jones did not get higher than 3rd gear for the next 5 hours as Stuart battled the road. We arrived at the border filthy and tired. Somehow we survived the border crossing with our sense of humour intact even changing money with the black market traders (and not getting conned) as the ATM inside Malawi wouldn’t give us cash and we had border fees plus insurance to buy. The last 40km were done in the dark (breaking a hard rule of ours to not drive at night) with Stuart sticking close behind a truck no matter how slow or fast he went as at least he was a moving wall.
Mozambique/Malawi Border, not exactly a major crossingNo Mans Land between Mozambique & Malawi
The straw that almost broke the camels back was arriving at Palm Beach camp ground on the Lake, opening the back door and absolutely everything including the inside of draws was covered in dust and the campground and its ablutions are grimy. We closed off a 12 hour day on the road with a beer and packet of Simba chips as we were too tired to be bothered to do anything else….
The dust penetrated everywhereOur crockery cupboard after the terrible dirt road
All in all we had a great time and a few adventures in Mozambique, now we are looking forward to some R&R time next to Lake Malawi.
Crossed into Mozambique @ Giriyondo and finished at Sunset Beach. Lessons learnt for the day: Research thoroughly if transiting through a National Park, paying R550 to transit across 70km of corrugated road with zero to look at other than Mopani forest is a waste. That excludes the potential wear and tear on Mr Jones as we rattled him to pieces, stopping to pick up pieces of gear that have fallen off is not fun!!
16 August
Good to be back in Tofo, enjoyed a nice plate of chips and beer for lunch. Had a great surf session late afternoon. Life is good!
19 August
Rude start to the day with a bee sting which is a first for me (Tania) but not as horrific/rude as it was for the poor bee. Was very windy on the beach but watching whales breach made it overall an awesome day
20 August
Overcast when got up, went for a surf and was the only one out for about 45min then joined by one other. Quite nice waves. Cold walk back to camp in the rain, fortunately madala had the donkey going so could grab a hot shower. Now we are enjoying our 1sqm living space (Tania on floor and Stuart sitting on fridge) enjoying coffee. Later moved upstairs to our “pyjama” lounge.
21 August
Windy together with off and on sun is making for an uncomfortable morning as can’t find a happy temp while sitting around for breakfast plus the wind keeps blowing stuff into the sand. Add in the fact that both of us are a bit sore and stiff and you have two grumpy campers today.
From grumpy in the morning to a great afternoon on the beach. Nice sun and temp combined with good surf.
22 August
Another great and full day. It is not obvious until you doing it but this lifestyle does consume time as we do everything manually, from washing dishes to walking into the market to buy food, etc. Of course we did also spend about 4 hours on the beach.
27 August
So long Tofo it’s been good to know you. Once again had a great time here, Stuart got some quality surfing time but both of us are ready to move on.
28 August
“No sand we feel so clean”. Camped on beachfront at Inhassoro but in a grassy campsite, what a wonderful feeling to have a shower and walk back to Mr J without getting feet full of beach sand.
29 August
Wind is pumping and its cold, how is it possible that we have have a King size duvet cover, a queen size duvet inner and only a 3/4 size bed and I (Stuart) still have only a little bit of sheet to cover me at night ?
30 August
Feeling rather depressed, it’s been 12 years since we last come up to the Gorongosa area and there has been practically no development outside of a few petrol stations and a Chinese built interchange outside Beira. The general population is living exactly as they did then, perhaps all that’s changed for them is that the young teenagers we saw 12 years ago are now parents. It seems like a rinse and repeat cycle.
31 August
A hard day of really krap roads (7 hours for 300km) ends on the lawns of CUA CUA lodge on the banks of the Zambezi. A few beers later and a wash in the pool and we feel better until the sun sets and the mozzies come out in force. We cover ourselves in Deet and worry about Malaria while preparing supper.
2 September
Long day of driving, good roads. Ended at scenic spot outside Nampula BUT it is the bratpack from Nampula party/picnic spot. The last revellers left around nine. Tania woke around 4 hearing somebody by the car, then the lights went off so we sat nervously peering out, luckily nothing come of it.
5 September
Never judge a book by its cover! We arrived at the only campsite around Ilha De Mozambicue and first impressions were we can only stay one night. The hosts were so friendly and even though facilities very basic it was spotless and rather peaceful so we ended up staying 3 nights. Il
6 September
Crows are worse than Hadi DA’s!!
7 September
SHATTERED! Yesterday was exhausting, Yesterday was ugly, Yesterday Africa did its best to chew us up and spit us out. 12 Hours on the road (including a border crossing) of which at least 10 were not stop driving and 5 of those on rough ugly foot deep powder dirt which left us and Mr Jones caked in dust. I think all 3 of us will be coughing out dirt for weeks to come. Supper was fit for a king, a beer and shared packet of Simba chips as we couldn’t be bothered to do anything else and they were the only things clean. To make matters worse our overnight stop was grimy, so we didn’t even get a shower.
Some of our our random thoughts and feelings in the weeks leading up to departure.
30 May:
Excited at starting new chapter, felt good to spend time saying cheers to everyone at work. Weirdly almost emotionless and surreal
1 June
Last farewell with friends and family at home. A final bash before we start packing up the house. Great to entertain in our lovely home once again
3 June
After a day of buying items for Mr. Jones and trying to get last minute jobs done, slept terribly as the reality of never collecting another pay check dawns on me. In the past I could just swipe the credit card and there was a pay check coming, this won’t be the case anymore
4 June
No, we can’t not need all of this!!! How can we have so much stuff to give away, won’t we need some of it when we settle back down? BUT let’s get rid of it now. All seems a bit crazy, how many sets of towels, sheets, blah blah do we think we really need
7 June
STRESSED and tired, not sleeping and feeling overwhelmed.
10 June
Irritability running High in the house today. The chaos and stress of trying to pack up even though we still have some uncertainty of the house sale and transfer are beginning to show, both of us needed little timeouts today.
17 June
3 days after having brought the cats down to Natal to stay with Tania sister, they are struggling to settle. Thomas in particular seems very depressed and sits staring outside for hours on end or just doesn’t interact with us which compared to his old self shows he is very pissed off or depressed. Leaving them here makes sense but it is heartbreaking
18 June
After all these years spent employed in this company I walked away with the reality that nothing you did or didn’t do makes a difference in the grand scheme of life.
Life goes on and you are just a vague memory of employee number 2904.
All the nights of not sleeping and worrying about deadlines/ budgets/ difficult clients or situations that you knew you would have to handle come morning are just meaningless.
I know that I look at this from the front seat sitting in my current position but if only I could have realized it then and truly internalized what a small impact I was making.
Why was I getting myself so wound up and sending my stress levels in to stratosphere over situations that would ultimately play out as they where meant to with or without my contribution.
Did it ever truly matter are there not bigger problems in the world to worry about or do we become so inward focused that we cannot see the trees for the woods?
22 June
The cats seem to be settling which great news and one less thing to worry about.
26 June
4am: How ironic that I sleep less now than when I was working and often very stressed out, back then my skin would flare up whenever stressed and I would feel wound up. Now my skin is great but without fail I have woken up almost every morning around midnight and struggle to go back to sleep, a very busy mind! Hopefully it will improve once we have completed the move out the house. The movers come today for our boxes and the couple of items of furniture we keeping.
28June
Emotionally and physically exhausted. Took our last things from home today. Even though we have given away more than we kept we still seem to have too much stored in Sam’s garage (perhaps we will slim down even more next week). We are officially homeless as of today!
1 July
Finally had a couple of goodnights rest and starting to relax. Cool to go shop mid -morning on a Monday, everything is so quiet and Woolies has loads of free samples out to taste. We enjoyed croissants with ham and cheese followed by yummy strawberries 🙂
5 July
A few days later and not sleeping properly again, grrr! Been a week of admin and trying to get all the little things sorted
9 July
Have come out to Pilanesberg for a few days holiday while we wait for admin processes to play out. Had a lovely day in the reserve, spent a good few hours sitting at a picnic site in the furthest corner of the reserve reading and listening to the bush. Being mid-week we had it all to ourselves for practically the entire time we were there.
10 July
Stuck in No Man’s Land. Both of us have been feeling “out of sorts” lately. Is it because we are just waiting and can’t really say we are travelling/ travelers, definitely can’t say we have jobs or a career and we also no longer have a house. So, while we idle we feel out of sorts.
10 July evening
Our first petty theft!! So annoying, realized tonight that the small wire brush and gloves I use for the mini Weber have gone walk about. Not cool Pilanesberg
16 July
Been at Bela- Bela hot springs the last 5 days just soaking up the sun and hot water (surrounded by Silverbacks) which has been absolutely great. Both feeling really relaxed now. Even played like teenagers today on the super tubes and tube rides
22 July
Found the Weber brush in my tool draws (apologies Pilansberg). I have been in and out of that draw a few times since thinking it was stolen, may have even moved the brush and yet I didn’t spot it. Looks like we may be losing our minds already.
24 July
Received the wonderful news that the house transfer is registered, which gives us a few weeks to close accounts and claim deposits back related to it.
31 July
While having lunch we were talking about how after 1,5 & 2 months respectively from finishing work it feels so long ago and strange to even think how much time was spent at work, how it dominates life and how it now feels so immaterial, etc. also how we don’t even miss the house or all our material items from it, we have just moved on. It’s a great feeling of freedom.
3 August
Spent ¾ of the day with Mr. Jones mechanic getting to know Mr. J and conducting a final service before we depart. Up to my elbows in oil.
7 August
Completing lots of last minute, purchases of spares, tools and other essentials. It is time to get on the road so that we can stop all this spending
8 Aug
4 days to departure and the to do list still seems so long. In the past whenever we have left for 4 weeks of holiday there is always so much to wrap up in the last days and mostly you get it all done but if something gets missed you know you will be back in a few weeks. Not this time!
12 Aug
Finally, on the road, left behind a few oily spots on Sam’s driveway so that Mr. Jones can find his way back to Joburg one day. It is a good feeling to be moving forward.
As you will have probably read in the About section, both of us have always had a desire to lead a simple life and travel without the restrictions of annual leave.
While researching and dreaming of the route we would take if we took a Gap Year, Stuart come across an article from the Land Rover Club about a South African couple who drove around the world in their Land Rover Forward Control called Dipli ( http://www.overlandhb.co.za).
Jan & Dipli
We eventually got to meet Jan & Leone in 2016 but it was their website which first inspired the idea of a longer and worldwide trip as early as 2010.
Our early idea was to build a motorhome style camper on the back of a 4×4 truck, complete with bathroom. We figured the space and home comforts would be ideal.
When Stuart was explaining the idea to a friend who had just moved back to the UK, our email exchange went as follows:
Mr. D: The Gap Decade hey? That sounds pretty cool, especially if you build your own wheels and accommodation. You could go wherever, whenever. It begs the question why more people aren’t doing that all the time!
Stuart: I like the sound of a “gap decade”, never thought of it like that. Is it reasonably feasible or is it just a pipe dream, I think it is perfectly feasible with a bit of careful planning, some hard work & financial discipline and then some luck. It will require us to be sensible in our lifestyles and maybe make one or 2 sacrifices along the way, but from our point of view these sacrifices are not big however.
As an example, we had spoken of moving into a bigger house cause sometimes a bit of extra space would be good but then we thought about it and what we have is perfectly adequate (in fact very nice) and when I punched the numbers we realised that if we moved then after 8 years (ideal start date of the gap decade) we would have substantially less savings which could help to fund the gap decade. So easy decision!
Another example, my car is 5 years old now which is when most people would be looking to buy a new one, but if I keep it for a few more years we can save all those repayments towards the gap decade.
Why do more people not do it ? Apart from the financial sacrifices required, I think the next main reason is most people wouldn’t consider it that attractive, they would rather holiday in fancy hotels than live “rough” in a small truck. Then there is security, even if you hate your job you usually know it will be there tomorrow and that at the end of the month you will get paid whereas if we do this we will be on our own…. I think when it gets closer to the time breaking away from the job security will be (certainly for me as an accountant) the hardest step to make 🙂
In December 2010 we undertook a 3 week trip to Malawi for which we had planned very little and would be going further from home than ever before… Both of us considered it as a possible litmus test for being able to do a much longer trip. The trip was fantastic and definitely cemented the dream in our minds. We also met the next couple (Chris & Erin Ratay of www.ultimatejourney.com) to inspire us (and who in turn we subsequently helped inspire to abandon motorbike travel and purchase a Land Rover). In return Chris regularly checks up on us to see when we will be setting off!
Mr Jones & Vifaru meet, 5 years after Malawi & 4 years after Chris & Erin swapped their motorbike for a trial trip in Mr J
So after returning from Malawi we put together a ‘business plan’ that would allow us to embark on a Gap Decade in approximately 2020.
Over the next few years we continued to dream, take holidays and save furiously.
In May 2015 we set off for Mozambique, with the intention of going far north but plans are made to be changed and probably because we were both coming off incredibly hectic periods of work we ended up not going very far at all. In fact we got marooned in Tofo for 11 days. In the campsite with us was a German registered Landy driven by Hendrik and his Swedish wife, Caroline. Hendrik was also carrying surfboards and trying to re-learn how to surf just like Stuart and so we spent a lot of time going to the beach and cooking meals together. They were able to partially stand-up in their Landy and possibly because we were starting to have concerns about a big vehicle for long term travel in terms of road access, costs and maintenance it was during this trip that we started to revise our thoughts and wonder if we could make Mr Jones work for us long term and what it would take to do that.
Upon our return to South Africa we did research and found the Icarus roof conversion by AluCab which resulted in the seeds being sown to stay loyal to Mr J. The conversion of Mr. Jones to what he is today can be found here
9 years after the email conversation above, we are now in a position to leave and all the items (careful planning, hard work &financial discipline) have been needed, including right at the end a bit of luck.
In addition to those mentioned above who inspired and influenced us throughout the dream, we have also taken a lot of inspiration from:
The Bells( www.a2aexpedition.com) – A South African family, driving a Land Rover who over the last 7 years have driven much of the route we plan to take.
Tucks Truck https://www.tuckstruck.net – One of the websites Stuart followed regularly when we were planning to build a truck. Been on the road since 2014.
