You packed what?

I was recently reviewing my equipment list I used for my BigSky Adventures Africa overland trip.  The list had plenty of items on it which got me thinking about the kit that I should have left behind...

One of the most obscure items I packed, which I only used three times, was a little photo printer.  The idea was to take photographs and then print them out for the people we met.  The idea was fab however the fact that the printer was stashed deep in the bowels of the Land Rover Defender meant that we only used it on those few occasions when we were camping.

Another obscure item I packed was a traditional three-legged Dutch oven or potjie-kos pot.  My idea that I would be able to use it daily to cook with passed us by as we tended to use gas or charcoal for cooking.  The gas hob was quick & easy whilst charcoal (when available) was excellent for cooking roasted vegetables or the usual BBQ.

The last item on my list which I thought was pretty useless were two hiking backbacks. Initially we had throught that we would use them to go on various treks, however they proved to be cumbersome to pack due to the straps and size.  We used them once...

Here's a link to the original equipment list...  Let me know if you think of things that you packed for some obscure reason!

Land Rover Expo - Sydney, Australia

The annual Land Rover Expo was held on Sunday 25th September in Castlehill, Sydney.  The weather forecast predicted rain, just like a UK Land Rover Show, however the tropical rain did not deter the few Land Rover owners that Australia has.

Land Rovers are scarce in Australia - esp. if you are looking to purchase a Series vehicle so I was keen to see what the show had to offer.

The few Land Rover Series vehicles that braved the weather where in showroom condition.  A credit to the owners for looking after the vehicles in such detail.

One of the Series II Land Rovers on display was an ex army Ambulance.   I liked the Safari roof that was fitted to the vehicle.

There were a few expedition prepared vehicles and a few trade stands offering expedition kit. A company called Mulgo had a few Land Rover 130's for viewing.  The tilting roof added that extra comfort for those long overland journeys.

There were a few camper conversions, the most unique was the modified Discovery II:

Camper mounted on a Disco II.

In summary, it was a real pity that the tropical rain caused such havoc as the event hosts had prepared a good days outing.  The goody bag has some useful reading material and the trade show owners kept their enthusiasm.  I am already looking forward to next year...

Additional photos:

South Sudan - Overlanders needed...

It's interesting to see world maps change as new countries and new borders begin to emerge.  The most recent is South Sudan.

Mashable, a social media website, picked up on the Google Maps story and how people petitioned to get South Sudan recognised on Google Maps.  Read more: http://t.co/LPzfg9FT

I am eagerly looking forward to reading about the first Overlanders that venture into this new country.  The possible route might be heading North from Uganda or West from Ethiopia.  
Time will tell if it is even possible to get a tourist visa.  Exciting times though!


View Larger Map

Six months of silence...

It's a daily occurrence for my mind to wander onto the topic of overland travel.  Random thoughts populate my head as I glance at someone's overland prepared 4x4 driving down the road, or a photo on my laptop computer.
Yet, over the last six months, I have not managed to put my thoughts to this blog. The primary reason was the move to Sydney, Australia with my family.  There was an overland route planned yet the timing did not work out so 24hours of travel in airports, planes and taxi's safely landed me on a new continent.  The amount of admin and time needed to move a family to a new continent is unreal.  It has been six months of hard work with little thought for anything else.

So, what's next... Over the next few years, I will be exploring the best of the Australian outback, and her tremendous coast line.  The Africa Overland Network site will continue (currently over 1000 trips listed) and the Overland Live podcast will resume in the late Autumn (Northern Hemisphere).

For now, I shall leave you with Google Maps route from London to Cape Town...  I think we need a volunteer to contact Google to let them know that the route proposed is not quite possible in today's political climate.

Book Review: Overlanders' Handbook by Chris Scott

"Be prepared", the motto of the worldwide Scout movement, is very appropriate to overland travel.
One of the tools available to 'being prepared' are books and especially the series of books written by the English author Chris Scott.  His latest book, Overlanders' Handbook, offers an excellent insight into the world of overland travel.

My copy of the book arrived on Saturday morning - no.34 signed by Chris Scott.  I must admit I was rather excited and scanned the huge volume reading paragraphs, drooling over photos and living the memories of the trip reports.

Would I recommend this book to those that have already completed a trip:  absolutely! The book covers every topic imaginable and will inspire you to pack your vehicle and head off in a new direction.
This is a must buy for those people thinking of an extended overland trip - it will help you to keep motivated during the long months of planning.

The Overlanders Handbook website lists the following subjects covered in the book.
• Planning, preparation and documentation
• Vehicle choice - from a regular 2WD car or van to an AWD truck
• Overlanding with children
• Outfitting a vehicle for long-term travel
• Guidelines on building your own motorhome-style cabin

• Life on the road: borders, wild camping, money changing, scams
• Off-road driving and recovery techniques
• Navigation using maps, GPS and common sense
• Short- and long-range communications
• Travellers health; a comprehensive resource on the road
• Travelling with dogs
• Vehicle troubleshooting and repairs
• The last word on intercontinental single-vehicle shipping
• One-page Overlanders' trip summaries
• Continental Route Outlines for Africa, Asia and Latin America
• Notes from the Road from people who've been there and done it

My overland trip was pre-family - I now have a child and a dog so was excited to when I noticed that travelling with dogs and children were included in the book.

Links:
Overlanders Handbook Website
Amazon UK - Overlanders' Handbook

Website Content - Make it interesting!

Have you thought about the content you will be posting to your overland website?
In this blog post, I provide my thoughts on overland website content and provide a few examples of websites which I think work well.  This compliments the website tools article and the audio podcast recorded in 2011.

One of the benefits that I have managing the The Africa Overland Network is that I get to see a lot of website design and especially the type of content generated.

Here are a few thoughts that I have on content:

Who is your audience?
Is it your family and direct friends or are you aiming on reaching the broader audience?

Are you planning on sharing information to the current or future independent overlander?

If it is, consider the following information:

• Organise your journal per country, per date, which makes it easy to find specific country information
• Categorise your preparation phase into topics like vehicle, paperwork, finances, medical etc
• Detail your route information with maps, route planning and if possible GPS track logs. Consider supplying GPS logs to Tracks4Africa

Overland Live Webcast - Overland website content

What type of content do you look for on an independent overland website?  Vehicle & route information, Family  & friend updates?
I have listed over a thousand independent overland websites over the last decade of managing The Africa Overland Network and have watched as the website design has become more creative, yet the content has remained the same.

On Sunday I will be hosting the next Overland Live webcast.  This session will be different as it will be an open microphone event.  I will be encouraging the participants to discuss website design, content, the audience and what works & doesn't when bandwidth is an issue whilst travelling.

Please join the session on Sunday if interested.  Register and Login details here

Podcast - Overland websites

The latest Overland Live podcast (Episode 03) is available for downloading.   This week we discuss Overland website creation - selecting your audience, hosting your website, digital content, and social media.  A must listen if interested in creating your own overland website.

Read the Show Notes for more information and the MP3 download.

Santana - a Land Rover Alternative...

The image of a Land Rover Series or Defender, dusty from the plains of Africa, conjurer up expedition images. The ruggedness of the vehicle, the availability of expedition equipment, plus the notoriety of their reliability make choosing a Land Rover as your expedition vehicle a tough choice.

The Santana PS-10 (image from dr-uf-loitsch.ch)

But what about an alternative?  Keep the shape, but change various elements to improve on performance, reliability but leave majority of the bodywork - Introducing the Santana PS-10.

Help for Heroes evening with Charley Boorman

The Long Way Round ; The Long Way Down ; Race to Dakar - all these titles link one person together: Charley Boorman

I was fortunate enough to attend a fundraising event in aid of the charity 'Help for Heroes'.  The guest speaker for the evening was Charley Boorman and the event was hosted by Vines BMW in Guildford, UK.