Wheels point to Arusha

Up early , today is  home time straight through the world renown Ngorongoro crater that is of course a caldera , but crater just sounds more dramatic and from the air it was both  mystical and dramatic , so I was looking forward to getting up close and personal with the bowl . First we have the long game drive through the […]

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First project: Build a storage/sleeping platform.

We already knew we would need some sort of storage/sleeping solution before we purchased any vehicle and in true flightless fashion decided to restrict planning to an absolute minimum.  We already had a rough idea of what we wanted from seeing other setups, researching online and from having half built one for our old Hilux. […]

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WikiOverland, the encyclopedia of Overland Travel.

Since we’ve been overlanding through Central America,  we’ve  come to realize there are many Overlanders out there in the community who are extremely supportive and helpful to others planning to set out on a grand adventure. Many of us try our best to post information on our blogs, Facebook, twitter, discussion forums and other social […]

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Solar Panel Mounting and Bed Platform Build

Two of the major projects that we need to complete before our trip involve significant modifications to Sweetcakes. The first of these is mountin the solar panel and wiring it through to the second battery, and the other is building our sleeping platfo…

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All I want for Christmas is... camping gear!

Bethany here, the other half of this dynamic duo. Like Ike said, we are in trip-prep mode. Hard to go back to our jobs after taking some time off in December and knowing that our trip is only 4 months away. In the mean time, here are gifts that our awe…

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Georgia 2, 6-2014

A day in our peaceful river camp gave us time to reflect on this new country. Thoma, the gentleman who had presented us with wine, cheese and bread the evening before, adamantly insisted we go and visit his mother in her house above the river the next morning, even though he would be out of […]

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THE LEGEND OF THE QUETZAL

“Wha happin’?” We cross the border into Costa Rica at Sixaola, on the Caribbean coast. After our experience with Butt-head, the customs officer who slashed and gouged his way through our car at Panama’s Manzanillo port, it is a pleasure to meet this genial fellow sitting behind the customs counter. Unlike Butt-head Mr Genial doesn’t […]

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Neural Activity

We managed to navigate the 2nd ger visit without having to consume any fermented mare’s milk, which I have to say, was a bit of a relief, as all reports suggested that it would go through us quicker than rancid chicken.  We tasted some home-made cottage cheese and the obligatory milk tea before saying our […]
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Monemvasia, Peloponnese, Greece 2/2014

This jewel town is located on a small island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, separated from the mainland by an earthquake in 375AD and now linked to the mainland by a short causeway. Founded in 583 by people seeking refuge from the Slavic and Avaric invasion of Greece, the site had a powerful […]

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A stove with character

The SVEA 123 (Courtesy Spiritburner.com)
My first proper backpacking stove (not counting cans of Sterno here) was called a SVEA 123 (pronounced like a word: “Sveyah”). It was a lovely thing of solid brass that ran on white gas and needed no…

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Lagoon or Sea? Intex Explorer 2 inflatable Kayak review

Testing the Intex Explorer 2 inflatable Kayak   We’ve always liked the idea of an inflatable Kayak but have been apprehensive to buy one because takes too long to set up, fear of it getting punctured, and lastly we didn’t think it would feel stable in the water. But we knew we would like one […]

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Camping equipment

Overland Roof top tend ( Qty 1 )
Sleeping bag (-10oC to -5oC) ( Qty 2 )
Inside the sleeping bag fleece ( Qty 1 double )
Bedsheets & Pillow Cases  ( Qty 2 )
Stove Coleman / Parts gaz ( Tem1 / 4 )
200 cl stainless steel saucepan
Glasses, Forks , Spoons ( Qty 2/2 )
Dishes / Bowl [...]

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Heading Home

Hello Everyone
Today is my last day in Bali and  I will be heading back home tonight .Personally I spend a great 8 months here in Bali but all good thing come to an end. Now leaving back Indonesia beside the fact that I met Rochelle  here ,  our stay in Bali was an unforgetable experience [...]

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On the Banks of the Rio Darro

The grass along the banks of the Rio Darro hung tall and still under the roasting midday sun. Below the dipping reeds the water flowed crystal clear without hint of turbulence, like air with the viscosity of motor oil. A group of orange and white cats passively surveyed the river from under the drooping stalks […]

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Cartagena – car shipping

This morning I concluded with the very professional shipping agency; Enlace Caribe, the shipment of my car, back to Bonaire. Señor Luis Ernesto la Rota and his partner Sonia had the process down to a very effective one week loading […]

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Where are you going?

Four days in SID the Safari Car and Hookey started to lose it a little.

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Ellies in SID

Our first taste of ‘SID the safari car’ – just a taster of more videos to come as we try our hands at wildlife cinematography.

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Namibia – Part II

When planning this trip we hadn’t put much thought into our showering expectations other than the certainty that at times we’ll get very smelly. We’ve packed an emergency shower bag that, after a day tied down on the roof, will give us a few minutes of warm water to wash with but haven’t yet had […]

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Cerro Negro Volcan, Nicaragua

Cerro Negro is a young volcano in the Cordillera de los Maribios mountain range in northwest Nicaragua. It first appeared in April 1850, which amazes me. To think of an entire mountain just appearing out of the core of the… Read More ›

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End of Days.....

That’s it, the end. Its over…..The car is loaded on the final leg of our trip. Matilda is in a big steel box and waiting for shipping back home. We are also waiting for our shipping (flight) back home. I’ve posted some info on Wiki Overland about who we used for the car shippingLoading and [...]

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Tanzania mania …….

Day 42 – L: Turn the light off……..That is what I woke up to. The sun was hitting the lake at such an angle that it beamed all the way up the 700 metres or so and shone into the gap at the front of the tent we stayed in. Amazing. What a shot. I […]

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Budget: Honduras

We spent 15 days in Honduras and spent a total of $2,133.  That means that we spent on average about $142 per day. So, we blew the budget in Honduras. What happened? First off, we spent a week in Utila diving, and during that time we stayed in a hotel and ate out almost every […]
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Riding from Honduras to Nicaragua

After leaving Choluteca early, I ride just under an hour to get to the border station at Guasaule. It’s a bright and clear day, and it’s going to be hot. I could feel an immediate difference in the air temperature… Read More ›

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Retrospective Número Uno

When I find myself thinking of our trip, it comes back to me in bits and pieces that look something like this. People continue to ask us about our favorite parts of the trip, and I wish we could ‘wow’…
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Honduras: Camp Site List

Texaco Copan Date Visited: 04/27/2014 Location: 14.83915, -89.14773 (Altitude: 1972 feet) A texaco station with a parking area out back that they let you camp in. Very close to Copan. They have restrooms, non potable water, and even purified water (5 gallon jugs) for only 20L. We heard from friends you can even plugin here […]
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The road to La Palma, El Salvador

Thanks to Fernanado Llort, a famous El Savadoran artist, La Palma is a colorful village in the mountains near the border with Honduras. He moved here in the early 1970s. After a beautiful ride up winding mountain roads, I wander… Read More ›

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Riding from El Salvador to Honduras

The border near El Poy, El Salvador is not a popular one for tourists. There are no fixers on the El Salvador or Honduras sides to help point the way, so it’s a good thing we have done our homework… Read More ›

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Copan Ruinas, Honduras

The Copan Ruins are near the Guatemala and Honduras border and lie in the fertile, green river valley of the Rio Copan. This Mayan city was the capital city of this kingdom for several hundred years from 500-900 AD. Copan… Read More ›

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Riding through Honduras

After spending a day at the ruins, and two nights in the small town of Copan Ruinas enjoying the local restaurants and beer, it’s time to move on toward the southern border. We plan to head east and a bit… Read More ›

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You’re buying your vehicle in Alaska? …ooh

Our flight arrived into Anchorage shortly after midnight. As we had flown north it had become gradually lighter and lighter, so that by the time we were coming in to land we could see the rugged snowcapped peaks receding into the twilight. The excitement was building—we were finally arriving in Alaska. Not being ones for […]

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Radio silence in the Serengeti

Hello Folks. I just had a satellite phone conversation with Mike.  He was bubbling with excitement.  Stories of the great “Serengeti Migration” and an out of this world wildlife experience have got him all thrilled with life.  I personally can’t wait to see the photos when he finds his way back onto the internet grid.  This will only be […]

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Riding through Honduras

After spending a day at the ruins, and two nights in the small town of Copan Ruinas enjoying the local restaurants and beer, it’s time to move on toward the southern border. We plan to head east and a bit… Read More ›

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Impressive holes in the ground

Not wanting to skip the key tourist spots while we were in Arizona, we stopped by the Grand Canyon and the Barringer Meteor Crater to look at two of the largest holes in the ground we are likely to see on our travels. We intend to revisit the Grand Canyon again when we pass back through, […]

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Diving Utila- Part 2

Diving in Utila was as cheap as the rumors lead us to believe. We did 12 dives each (six days) and the total for all the dives was about $530, around $25 for a two tank dive!  The diving in Utila was amazing for the variety of colorful coral, visibility, warm Caribbean water and diversity […]
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Return to VAN

Since Jen’s return its been pretty much life as normal.  Whatever “normal life” means to us now…  I took part in a few more neighborhood meetings and tours, trying to do what we can to make sure our neighborhood develops in a manner best for everyone.  A difficult task in …

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Ok, fine then …….

Day 39 – L: Suffice it to say…….that was a long and miserable night for me. Seems I caught the stomach flu that is going around in the village, maybe by shaking hands. S: I had been up with Lesley all night so when she was able to doze, I left her sleeping and got […]

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A day on the road

It’s been two months to the day since we bought SID, coincidently the same day we touched down in Africa. There have been days where we’ve questioned all the roads that led us here and funnily enough most days we spend quite some time questioning which roads to take us further on. There’s a lot […]

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06/04/2014 – 335 days/29137 miles

I woke up in Solo feeling perfectly fine, so I decided a trip to a doctor was not necessary…so, off to Gunung Bromo! Gunung Bromo (the name Bromo is derived from Brahma, the Hindu creator god) is an active volcano … Continue reading →

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Potosi Bolivia

The good news for today was that the 210 km out of Uyuni to the north and Potosi was paved! There is a 5 Bs toll here too. Leaving the salt we had 20 km of the dirt and then … Continue reading →

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Honduras

  HONDURAS Capital – Tegucigalpa                       Currency – Lempiras                   Language – Spanish   11th February – We leave Nicaragua through a … Continue reading →

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Comrades

Sunday June 1st saw the 89th running of the Comrades Marathon, an ultra-marathon between Pietermaritzberg and Durban. It is touted as one of the toughest ultra-marathons in the world, alternating each year with an up and down run. This year was a down run, from Pietermaritzberg to Durban (up runs cover the course in the […]

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A Toilet Trip To Remember

“Oh, arrrr, s*&%!” there is silence, Laws rolls over looks at Hook through a sleepy haze, “WHAT?”, “Bloody need to go to the toilet!” Hook grumbles. The knowledge that I have to get out of my warm bed, climb down the ladder and stubble to the camp toilet about 500m from our campsite and then […]

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Happy Cinco De Mayo! ” Que?”

“Happy Cinco De Mayo” I said to my Mexican friends. “Que? they said, looking at me quizzically. “That’s a Gringo holiday.” they all said and laughed. So of course I googled it and here’s what I found. It may surprise you. The 5th of May has become known worldwide as “Cinco De Mayo” — the […]

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Copan Ruinas, Honduras

The Copan Ruins are near the Guatemala and Honduras border and lie in the fertile, green river valley of the Rio Copan. This Mayan city was the capital city of this kingdom for several hundred years from 500-900 AD. Copan… Read More ›

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Light glorious Light..

Finished installing the NARVA  extreme driving lights last week, this week saw the 40″ light bar installed in the nose cone of the camper. A bit of aluminium work to get it in the right position but the result was definitely worth the modifications. If you haven’t seen one of these lights in action then […]
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Swaziland

After crossing the Oshoek border crossing into Swaziland from South Africa, we made our way to the Malolotja Nature Reserve. Malolotja is in the highveld on the edge of the Drakensburg mountain range. The nature reserve was lovely with hiking trails throughout. While none of the big five are present, there were many antelope and […]

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Off with the Fairies

It seems like an awfully long time since we were last sitting here in Cape Town, twiddling our thumbs and awaiting a phone call from Rodney, not knowing how long we’ll be extending our $16 a night dorm room. We returned yesterday after a wonderful 17 days on the road, following our noses and making […]

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De jongens (deel 2)

Josse is groot geworden, zijn baby buik is een strakke jongens buik geworden. Hij wandelt en rent mee met de rest. Hij heeft de stevigste en sterkste stappersbenen van ons vijven. Kent alle cijfers en letters, maakt vorderingen met lezen, tellen in drie talen (Nederlands, Spaans, Engels tot twintig) Heeft lange haren. Gaat helemaal alleen […]

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Namibia: a photographic update

After the adventures in West and Central Africa, Namibia is a vacation. I picked up Mees from Windhoek airport two weeks ago, and we bushcamped, stayed at some very comfortable and some very basic campsites, had oryx and zebra steak for dinner, spotted lots of zebra, giraffe, warthog, baboons, kudu, springbok, oryx (gemsbok), and even a […]

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Jakob’s verjaardag

Het is nu een feit, we hebben onze eerste tiener in huis (voorlopig in de tent).  We hebben nog een dagje langer rust genomen op Hacienda Venecia om te kunnen genieten van Jakob zijn verjaardag.   Omringt door de prachtige koffieplantages brengt het zwembad verkoeling voor het zomerse weer.  We eten Nutella pannenkoeken taart en doen […]

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