Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Landrover is on the ship

We are getting ready to fly out tomorrow at 13 o'clock.  Our nerves are stretched to the limit!!!!

Our schengen will only be ready tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock...



The Landy and Cruiser of Stephanus and Mariana


We'll keep you updated on our whereabouts...be on the look-out for some pics from Europe!

Regards

Hans & Elisme

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Getting Ready

This Dream of ours has been 2 years in the making.  Finally, after 2 years of research and planning, our Dream will soon become a reality.
We will be visiting 16 countries in West Africa ... so you can imagine the headaches of getting all the relevant information on National Parks, interesting things to see and do and the most important, security, we had to indure.  In Africa, situations change daily - another thing to consider and stress about, but luckily my husband, Hans, has many contacts regarding security and safety, so we are in good hands.
The Landy had to undergo a face lift, to ensure comfort, practicality and safety during our 6 month adventure.  A bed was constucted in the roof of the landy.  The roof lifts up by itself, making setting up camp a breeze.  The side windows were converted into storage space.  All our pots, kettles, pans and cleaning material are stored on the one side and all our veggies, salads and washing buckets go on the other side.  The back door was converted into a mini kitchenette, with crockery, cutlery and a gas stove.  Our National Luna fridge and National Luna deep freeze were neatly fitted in between the two front seats and six amo boxes are in place for all our dry ingredients, oils, spices, etc.  We even have a cupboard for all clothing, so we don't have to live out of suitcases and travel bags.
The Landy was now ready for our 6 month overland safari, but not us...  After all the "fun" we had in converting the Landy into a mini mobile home, our paper war started.  Try to apply for visums, schengens and passports for six people for 16 countries...  All I can say is, Hans is on Prozac!
We are now close to the time and our nerves are getting the better of us.  The vehicles must be in Cape Town by the 15th of May, to be ready for the containers that will be shipped to Casablanca in Morocco.  Hans will be driving down to Cape Town on the 15th of May and then the vehicles will be shipped on the 16th of May.  Four days later we will be on a plane on our way to Spain and Portugal until the vehicles arrive on the 20th of June.
We are extremely excited and scared at the same time, but we can't wait to start our African Dream!!

Follow my blog in the next couple of months for updates on where we are and what we've been up to...

A lovely day to all!!

Regards

Elismè


My Ding, Elismè Swart and Mkulu, Hans Swart

This will be our home for the next 6 months

Hans and I in our kitchen

Our Logo

                                                               Pride and Excitement!!!