Online presence

The good thing about the Internet is that it makes the world a smaller place (some might say thats a bad thing) but it does allow you to share your experience with people, share knowledge, stay in touch and provide links to forums and other sources of information.  It also gives you a central point for friends, family and travellers to visit and see what you are up to.  We use 1 & 1.  They are the UK's leading hosting and website company.  For £27 you get an "Instant Website" package which includes a website domain name of your choice, an 8 page website, email, guest book, feedback forms, CGIs, online software to build your website and 24/7 support.  You can then upgrade as you see fit.  I have been impressed with the service!!! For more info click here.

Planning (be flexible)

Time - Most of the people we have met spent approx 12 months (minimum) planning and researching their trips but in reality it appears to be more like 2-3 years. Its hard to make comparisons as a rule because no one trip is ever the same.  For example we have met people who are pretty much driving back to re-settle and have set fairly strict time lines to do the trip, while others are taking a longer period of time and have a much bigger travel plan in mind.  Also, since we started the planning for this trip our circumstances changed so we had to be flexible.  The one thing that appears common is leave lots of time for jabs, visas and paperwork !

Budget & costs (be realistic)

mmmmm - this is the BIG question and perhaps the one we spent several months researching.  So far we have decided to go for a pretty standard vehicle with pretty standard equipment.  When we got the vehicle we both had full time jobs, very few tools and very spare time, so we got help with the vehicle prep from Foley and R&E Land Rover.  We cant over stress this.......what you spend now, you save later!!

The overall budget has changed a few times based based on duration, route and level of comfort - discomfort we are prepared to endure.  We are looking at a 12-18month trip.  In summary (as a rough guide) we are looking at the following budget which you should consider a "base" case......we have seen people spending up to £100k......  we aint in that league :-o

1. Base vehicle 10-12 year old Defender 110 with 100k+ miles (unmodified): £3k - £5k
   
2. Basic overland vehicle equipment, prepration, labour & VAT: £10 - £12k
   
3. Mechanical work,  service, MOT, misc repairs, labour & VAT: £2k - £3k
4. CARNET depends on the value of your vehicle and where you go (TBC)
   
5. Visas, medical, paperwork, misc administration £2k
   
6. On the road - Fuel, tourist stuff, food, camping, consumabales, misc: Up to you really.  Shoe string budgets with minimal tourism trips / bush camping and no major incidents £20 / day.  A more comfortable budget for 12+ months is closer to £30-£40 per day for two in a Land Rover.
7. Other - we are selling house and importing vehicle into SA when we arrive (as we plan to live there).  This means we do not need 2 x flights home or shipping costs.  These two alone could add up to £3k.  If you rent out your house furnished there will be admin costs etc ....while you are away and additional storage costs if you rent it out unfurnished that could add another £2k to your cost base.
   

As you can see, costs add up quickly, but they are realistic and based on real quotes / research.  Labour and VAT are a big factor if you are getting a lot of new parts and someone to fit them for you but we are shopping around and trying to be realistic.  One thing we have observed is that many overlanders do comment (retrospectively) that they wish they had spent more £££ upfront and not cut corners or bought a vehicle already prepared with all the gear - we have seen a couple of accounts where the trip was a nightmare because things went wrong in a big way!!

We had plenty of time on our side as we are trying to get exactly what we wanted and to get familiar with off-roading, mechanical issues, equipment before we depart.  From a vehicle safety point of view we are NOT compromising (Vicki lost a very dear friend in an accident in Namibia) so we are spending a little more on things like a cab roll cage and the normal / basic vehicle upgrades.  Our view was if you roll your the car the trip might end there and then and you can forget about all the time and effort you spent worrying about saving a few ££ here and there......it all adds up but some basics are inescapable.  The current list of planned modifications and equipment is shown below.

Vehicle Choice & vehicle preparation

Well, if you are thinking about a trip like this you quickly find out (from overland sites, forums, books and vehicle specialists) that people have their pet favourites and debates rage about what vehicles you should go with, Land Rover Vs Toyota appears to be the most common debate but there are some strange and wonderful modes of transport being used to cross Africa ranging from walking, camel, push bike, motorbike, 2CV, ambulance, tractor, as well as some pretty full on 6x6 vehicles / high specification trucks with integral quad bikes and radar !!! Either way, the choice is a personal and practical one with your destination and budget playing a big part. 

We plumbed for the good old Land Rover and after some research chose to go for the Defender 110 Hard Top 300 TDi.  As a quick note here - the naming of the Defender marque is a little confusing to newbies like us so here is a summary on which ones are which:

• 2.5 (1984 to 1986)
• 2.5 T/D (1986 to 1990)
• 2.5 Tdi 200 series (1990 to 1994) 
• 2.5 Tdi 300 series (1994 to 1998)
• TD5 (1998 onwards)

Many overland sites and books recommend the 200 or 300 as the best, later model choice as the TD5 is a more complex beast.  Also, these models are still "electrically simple" and parts easy (ish) to find - famous last words eh!!  Noteable words of caution seem to focus on gear box, timing belts and body condition.  There is also debate about available power from a 2.5L engine and dust in turbos - but we decided that there is never going to be an "ultimate" vehicle for this trip and there is a certain romance associated with the Land Rover - ask us that when we are stuck in the mud in Gabon and its 35oC and the Mosquitos are biting!!!  :-o

Our pride and joy, Dassie (a Dassie is a South African, rock crawling hamster on steroids) is a 1997 Reg, Ex-Environment Agency vehicle that was bought from a nice chap called Steve who bought it from The Land Rover Man for a trip to Morocco and Europe.  When we took delivery it had 133k miles (not 100% service history) but was in pretty good order.  We had it checked by a local Land Rover dealer who pointed out a few normal faults, like seals, gaskets and oil pipes as well as the universal leaking door!!  But the body work was OK and her belly was pretty much rust free. 

BEFORE                                                    AFTER

 

This is our Landy in its bought state (left) and after the Foley "Treatment"  (right) see the preparation video for more info

So what did we do??

The vehicle had already had some prepration performed like bonnet cross plate, side cross plate, running boards (very useful), roof rack, side awning, rear ladder, rear work light and centre storgae box.  The engine seemed sound enough (no black smoke) and there were a few very small oil leaks - although we have subsequently found that one of the bearings had gone in the back axle (Salisbury Axle).  In terms of interior, there was no preparation and we had a blank sheet of paper to work with.  The roof rack had to go (not strong enough) and all the wheels wheels / suspension were upgraded.  We broke the work into 2 sections:

Mechanical work

The list of items below were completed by Foley Specialist Vehicles 

• Service including new air, fuel, oil filters
• New oils all round
• New steering box
• New Radiator
• Fuel sedimentor
• 4 x new brake discs & pistons
• Remove ERG & new down pipe
• New cam belt & kit
• New P Gasket
• 2 x rear hub assemblies and drive shafts
• 1 x front left hub assembly and drive shaft
• New drop arm BJ
• New drag link BJ
• Remove sump, new seal
• 2 x ball joints
• 1 x steering UJ
• Repair to seat
• MOT

Vehicle equipment list & fitting out

The final list of kit we are going for is shown below - there was a fair old bit of stuff to stick on Dassie !! We got quotes for both supply and fit from 3 leading UK overland preparation companies. Now who you choose is up to you, but we ended up going for Foley Specialist Vehicles  They were prompt to respond, offered very sound and honest views on our trip, our needs and problems we might encounter.  They have a lot of experience and were able to point us in the right direction.  We would highly recommend them.  Its approx. a three to four week job for them to kit out the vehicle with the items below. 

We had discussed doing some of it ourselves, but to be honest, the research and our own conclusions, especially with respect to safety and not having the right tools, knowledge, a ramp, inspection pit and much spare time because Nick did a lot of travel with work at the time, were always the same.......... let the specialists do it !! ;-)

Body protection

• Steam clean & under body wax treatment
• Warn bumper winch (2nd hand)
• Bumper, with winch fitment, 2 x D Shackle towing points (2nd hand)
• Bull bar
• Underbody protection - front diff guard
• Full cab roll cage ½ internal ½ external roll cage over drivers and passengers compartment
• Safari Snorkel raised air intake (modified to fit with roll cage)
• Raised transmission breather kit
• Rear door, inside cross plate liner
• Rear step
• New driver door hinge

Power, Lights & Electrics

• Auxillary deep charge battery
• 2 x front 12 volt aux sockets
• 2 x rear 12 volt aux sockets
• 1 x external 12 volt aux socket
• Fuse box under the seat
• Split charge relay
• New starter battery
• Spot lights x 2 on the front 100w
• 2 x inside lights - low voltage
• Wiring consumables
• New stereo unit (speakers already fitted)

Suspension upgrade & Wheels

• 4 coil springs, 4 shocks. Land Rover
• Extra pair of shocks x 2 for rear
• Suspension mounts
• BFGoodrich All-terrain 235/85 R16 x 6
• 7x16" steel modular rim x 6
• Locking wheel nut kit

Other Equipment 

• Expedition roof rack to be modified to fit roll cage 
• Side awning with swing out arms (free standing)
• Hi-lift jack 4” & mount
• Defender 90/110 Hi Lift adapter
• Rear door swing away mount for 1st spare wheel
• Roof rack wheel clamp for 2nd spare wheel
• 20L Jerry can (Fuel) x 2 - this is emergency fuel
  
• 20L Jerry can (water) x 2 - back up water in addition to **
  
• Jerry can spout
• Ezi-Awn roof tent for 2 plus mattress and ladder (front mounted)
• Auxiliary fuel tank: 37L under RH rear wheel arch auxiliary fuel tank
• **Water tank & system: 35L under LH rear wheel arch water tank
• Water purification system and shower (Brown Church)
• 40L Engel Fridge, fridge fitting kit & cover 

Recovery & Repair Accessories

• Steel Sand Ladders (small set) 1 x Pair
• Recovery kit (to include straps, towing rope, shackles, strops, gloves)
• Puncture repair kit and tyre levers
• Hub spanner, Fan Spanner, Circlip pliers
• Air compressor (includes pressure indicator & inflation kit)
• Haynes Manual and associated user guides.  NB: we also found a few useful Defender Manuals in pdf format on the web.

Storage & Security 

• Rear windows / door window security grills
• Cab / rear guard/separator
• Lockable cubby box with side nets, radio compartment, cup holders and cups
• 2 x Foley side lockers (jerry cans for water and fuel fit exactly in these and this helps keep centre of gravity low.  Putting jerry cans on the roof / spare fuel inside the vehicle was something we wanted to avoid)
  
• Misc storage and boxes to be fitted by us - still working on the internal layout
• Padlock hasps on all 3 doors
• Spare sets of keys

Misc items

• We intend to make a rear door roll out sun shade made out of a 2nd hand awning
• Will also look to create a light weight front windscreen roll down sun shade
• Will also take a spare tarpualin, poles, guy lines and assorted pegs

Navigation, Maps, Guides & Books

Navigation - This is is a complex area as there are many "gadgets" you can take BUT they have to serve a useful purpose and you need to know how to use them.  We are going to take a range of maps as well as a Garmin GPS, a set of binoculars and a Silva compass as we want to be able to use both methods to get about and "know" where we are - rather than relying on a GPS until it fails!!! We will be using the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx:

Its a very rugged / waterproof (it floats) unit that has a colur screen, map and way point capability with autorouting.  It can store 1000s of way points and has track back facility.  It also has a baramoeter and altimeter and has trip time, speed and odometer functions.  It is shipped with a base map of the World and the Mapsource Trip and Way Point Manager software.  It links to your laptop via a USB and has mini SD cards for extra memory. The key advantage with this unit is its dash mountable and can be used hand held for walking.  You can buy a range of more detailed maps for it for a range of uses depending on your needs.  For more details go to the Garmin site and check out the unit there.

Maps - we are taking the Michelin National Series for Africa: 746, 741, 745 as well as the National Geographic Adventure Atlas (which has maps, stats and guides within it - its pretty big - but covers things like the Game Parks and things to see along the way). 

Guides & books - we have found the following useful:

• Bradt Africa Overland by Sian Pritchard-Jones and Bob Gibbons
• Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide by Tom Sheppard
• Africa on a Shoe String by Lonely Planet
  
• Sahara Overland by Chriss Scott
• Haynes Manual for Land Rover 110 Defender
• Travel Health for Africa (pocket book) by Lonely Planet
• Various pocket language guides
  

In addition - a great historical read on overland travel is First Overland by Tim Slessor (London to Singapore in the 1950s!!).  We also picked up a couple of books on Land Rovers and Green Laning in the UK.  There are also a load of tips, down loadable files and guides on various topics located on various Overland websites (see links pages).

Communications

Again, this is another area where it's gadget heaven!! We are adopting a pretty straight forward approach that will involve using this website as the main hub (not really going to update it too much on the road) and use a selection of simpler media to remain in contact personally or on a wider basis:

Weather & time of travel

We have been working on a detailed weather plan so that we miss the hot times and the wet times.  We quickly concluded that this is a HARD task for Africa!!!  We are starting in Morocco in September but plan to spend a month there so will be heading South proper Oct / Nov onwards.  This is not a conventional time to hit Africa - most people plan for January / February.  That said, all you can do is plan to minimise peak heat and peak wet periods.  We know that in Cameroon and Gabon we will hit rain and MUD - so you just have to accept that getting hot, wet and stuck in mud will happen!!!

We got all the weather info off the Michelin Maps and constructed our own Excel planner covering monthly peak (average) temps and rain fall.  We then ordered the countries in the direction of travel and tried to work out a route (avoid blue and high numbers).  We will post this here when its finished but the initial WIP planner looks like this.......

There are several season planners (some interactive) on a few of the travel sites check the The Hubb for more info.  In summary, and like us, other people have made their own planners to suit their needs, some include animal watching and best time to visit parks etc.....  they are worth checking out.

Personal equipment & packing list

We are allowing ourselves 1 x small box each.  This is approx 30cm x 40am x 20 cm deep.  Other ad-hoc items will be stored in our cargo net behind our heads (we use this a lot). A full list will be posted soon.  Needless to say - you can always carry toooooo much stuff and we know from our shake down trip that we will be keeping it to essentials only.  We are going to use one of Nick's old canoe / dry bags as a washing machine that we will strap to the roof on a day drive that will allow for pretty good shaking and circa 35oC wash.  The elastic line we have will be used to good effect!

Cooking Equipment

Coming soon

Power on the road

Coming soon

Health & Medical kit

This is a pretty simple exercise - Visit your GP / GP nurse and discuss your plans.  They will be able to help you understand what jabs you need and offer travel advice.  They will also have access to your vaccination records, handy as Nick lost his little book years ago !!

We quickly realised we needed stacks of jabs over a course of approx 7 weeks!!  So don't leave this to the last minute!!!  Check out the MASTA site  and visit your GP / Nurse.  They can login to the MASTA system and you can plan your route - it then generates a list of vaccines you need.  By the end of it you will have an up to date vaccination record and a Yellow Fever Certificate which is must for traveling in Africa

              Nick being "a man"        Yellow Fever & vaccinations booklets        Vicki being "brave"

We also got a small book on first aid and health advice for travel in Africa.  Our medical kit is made up of some old First Aid kits Nick has had for years and we also bought some additional stuff from Nomad.  The key new bits we got were 2 x Sterile Kits for remote travel, the independent travel kit, dental pack and the BSES kit.  We then combined all this into easy grab packs.  The kit we have assembled looks like this:

One thing its worth doing is getting your blood typed - if you have ever given blood (like us) you will know this is on your blood donor card.  It sounds dramatic but this is quite useful because if you need blood in a remote area you will know who can donate to who.  In our case, Vick can donate to Nick but not the other way round (sorry Vick).  See this link for info on this subject.

The big one in Africa is Malaria (see maps below).  We plan to take Doxycyclin (daily antibiotic) with a separate treatment (Malarone) should we get Malaria.  A doctor friend of ours also has a couple of spare test kits which we will take.  We plan to get our Malaria pills in South Africa before we go.

Visas, insurance & paperwork

Boring but important, we plan to get visas as we go as most people do this.  We will monitor websites such as the HUBB for any specific issues that may arise as we go (e.g. Mauritania has a few issues right now), but that's the general plan.  Most of the sites in our links page have copious amounts of data on visas.

We will be getting 3rd party fire and theft insurance for Dassie as we go and a world personal travel / health policy for the both of us.  We are currently shopping around for quotes on this right now.

We plan to take a stack of passport photos and some A4 summaries covering:

• Personal details (translated into French)
• Vehicle details (translated into French)
• Medical kit and drug list (with letter of approval from GP)
  

CARNET

A Carnet de Passage en Douanes is an internationally recognised Customs document entitling the holder to TEMPORARILY import a vehicle duty-free into countries, which normally require a deposit against import charges for such vehicles (generally countries outside Europe) as follows;  

International Driving Permit

If you're planning to drive a car abroad you'll need an International Driving Permit (IDP) for certain countries. This is in addition to your UK driving licence (and a useful second ID) which you also need to take with you if you're driving and/or hiring a car abroad.  To be eligible for an IDP you must:

• Have a full UK driving licence (not provisional) covering the type of vehicle you're planning to drive abroad - be a permanent resident of the UK
• Be 18 or over.

You can't get an IDP with a foreign driving licence unless it's an EU driving licence and you're resident in Great Britain (see this link for more info).  What you need to know about getting an IDP:

• An IDP is valid for 1 year.
• You can only get an IDP 3 months in advance of needing it.
• You can't get an IDP issued retrospectively.
• There are 2 types of IDP (1949 and 1926) depending on which countries you visit

A complete list & documents that should help in your planning will be posted here soon

• Land Rover / Equipment list   Click here
  
• Medical Kit list                      Click here
  
• Packing list                           Click here
  
• Climate / season planning      Click here
  
• Daily costs / fuel data            Click here