Re: Kapp2Cape - Nordkapp, Norway to Cape Agulhas, South Afri
Hi all!
It is time for another weekly update on the preparations! Not long to go, and then I'll be scribing our adventure diary! Enjoy the last few installments of 'preparation journal'!
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1 month to go
When I started the preparation journal, I wondered if we would ever reach this point - would we be able to follow through on our ambition, our dream? I am pleased to say we definitely are! In many ways, as time ticked by, and we became more and more engaged in our adventure preparation, the option to ‘bail out’ and return to corporate jobs thankfully diminished.
I also wondered where we would be preparation-wise when I wrote the entry that had the “1 month” on it. Would we be ahead of plan? Would we have too much to do? What would be our stresses? Would the house be empty or still full of furniture? Would the vehicle be ready to go yet?
Now that I have reached the “1”, I have no idea whether I have met expectations or not! I do know that we still have lots to do! I also know that we couldn’t have reached this point without all the help and support we’ve had from friends, family, the 30DC community, the forums and the overland community. You’ve all helped us on our way - even if it is something as seemingly small as a comment to say “keep it up”. So, I’ll apologise in advance if you don’t get a specific mention - but know that you have all been so instrumental in us reaching our departure date.
So what have we been up to this week?
Firstly, with a month to go, it is the time to give notice on all the services to the house: TV, SKY, phone, water, council tax. It feels quite strange - especially when the “retention” team try to prevent you from leaving! “No, I really am going travelling, and won’t be needing the SKY movie channels - even if you are offering them free!”
Our dear friends - the Devon Connection - have very kindly offered to look after our box of Very Important Documents, and will also be receiving our post while we are travelling. They are true stars, and we look forward to them joining us for a holiday in Ghana!
Our other dear friends - Scottish Aussie Twosome - are taking ownership of the first of our cars. They will also be looking after the dear furballs while we are adventuring. Similarly, big stars. We also look forward to them joining us for a holiday in the far south of Africa. Hooray!
Very Helpful Friend came to lend a hand again, with wiring the aerial (hopefully it’ll work now) and attaching the roof-top tent to the roofrack (which needs longer bolts than those supplied - obviously!). Like the other big stars, we look forward to him also joining us along the adventure.
We took advantage of the late summer weather on the weekend, and brought our final car boot sale forward by a week. We were rewarded with good sales, but nowhere close to selling everything. Valuable funds added to the travel pot, but lots off to the charity shop next week. That will make a big difference in removing the clutter in the house.
The other online sales have been doing well. The furniture continues to trickle out, and other small appliances have joined the exodus. We’ll continue this in the coming week.
The sewing machine has been in action again this week. We have been unable to source the “perfect” backgammon set - so I made one! OK, I didn’t quite make the counters and the dice, but I made the backgammon board from scraps of fabric I had left over from the other sewing projects. There is a little internal pouch on the right for the counters and dice, and then the board rolls up! I just need some orange ribbon and it is complete.
(If you have been intrigued by the sewing projects, please do come past and visit us at the Adventure Overland Show where we’ll have them on display.)
On the sobering side of the preparations, we have prepared our “In Case of Emergency” contact list, and will be sorting out our wills in the coming week. We have also purchased travel insurance, with a focus on medical evacuation, and also coverage in FCO restricted countries. We do, of course, plan to be careful on our adventure, and we hope that these will never need to be used.
I think that is broadly the week gone by. Viking Explorer has only 5 more days of employment! African GirlChild has a mere 11. It is 26 days until we start our adventure with a journey up to the Adventure Overland Show!
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That is it for this week!
Until next time!
kind regards
African GirlChild