We came up with a routine that works for us when we are camping, but yet again this is something that you more or less have to work out what is your family’s needs.

We choose not to pitch our tent to close to the ablution blocks for mainly two reasons:  there is a constant foot traffic to and from the ablution block past your camp and well, unintentionally so, there emanates a bit of a smell from time to time.  These are things that bother us, but other families may have other needs for the choice of pitch. 

Off to the bathroom then. 

Over time I have come up with a plan to avoid dirty surfaces on my bathroom expeditions.  First off to PEP stores to get some cheap slipslops for the shower.  Do not bother to break the bank on this item as you need to replace them from time to time.  This is soley in an attempt to evade any foot fungus which may lurk in damp corners and which is also a bit tricky to get rid of once you have contracted it. 

Step two is to take a bag that you can hang on a hook in the shower cubicle to hold all your girly things that you need.  I have one with different sized pockets to hold a variety of items.  It seems to me that there is never a dry space to put down my things …… I really don’t know who design these cubicles!

The third and oddest item that I sometimes take to the bathroom is a chair.  Why on earth?    At the community campsites in the remote parts of Caprivi and Botswana there is normally just a basin slapped against a wall to do your thing.  I simply put my chair next to the basin to hold my towel, toiletry bag and clothing, as there is normally no hooks, while brushing my teeth.

And my last “secret weapon” is a square black rubber mat with holes in it like those that you use in the garage.  They work perfectly when getting out of the shower and to avoid stepping on those bathroom carpets/floors where unknown fungi hide. You see, the thing is, dirty surfaces in a bathroom just freaks me out!  I do not like it.

Now considering my above utensils, I am quite sure that I strike a funny figure (and understand the puzzled looks) when going on my bathroom trip armed with my four items, but this is the long and short of how I cope with the challenges.

Leave your secrets in the comments section to create more happy lady campers.

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Gaan jou voertuig na

Gaan die ruitveërs na, want daar kan onverwags ‘n bui reën val.

Vul die water vir die ruitveërs aan en gooi maar ‘n ou sepie in, want daardie een gogga het mos die vermoë om reg in jou gesigveld te kom blerts.

Loer ‘n bietjie of jou spaarwiel se druk nog reg is.

Stoor dokumente

Stuur al jou belangrike dokumente wat jy op jou reis gaan nodig hê na jou e-pos adres sodat jy toegang daartoe het.  ‘n Mens weet nooit wanneer jy dit gaan nodig kry nie.

Gaan al die toerusting na voordat jy pak

Kyk dat die gasbottels nie ‘n lek het nie en toebehore wat gebruik gaan word korrek werk.

 Onthou ook van die tentpenne!

Hou die weer dop

Maak seker dat jy genoeg warm/koel klere inpak vir die rigting waarheen jy mik.  Dalk gaan jy daardie warm duvet nodig hê waaroor jy gewonder het.

Sleutels

En kyk maar na die remote se battery.  Daar is regtig niks so lastig wanneer jy op vakansie is jou en motor wil nie sluit en niks gebeur nie. Gee ook maar ‘n spaar stel sleutels vir iemand om te hou.  Dit gaan jou niks help as dit in die paneelkissie van jou motor is nie!

Spring weg en begin werk aan die planne om die lewe makliker te maak!  Veilige reise wanneer dit weer vir ons moontlik gaan wees.

—oOo—

The post VYF DINGE WAT JY MOET DOEN VOORDAT JY DIE PAD VAT appeared first on TRAVELBUCKET.

However, there are a few things that you need to get in place to make the trip, not only for yourself but also those that you left behind, easier and comforting.  Sticking to these five easy rules can make a huge difference to a solo trip experience.

Read on!

Rule 1:  Start off on a good foot or will that be a good tyre?  Before you spread your wings and leave home base, check your car’s tyre pressure.  This can easily make or break a trip.  It is also a good habit to form to check the overall conditions of your tyres on a regular basis.

Rule 2:  Keep hydrated,  especially during summertime.  Know where you are off to, the route and the driving times to your destination.   Go prepared.  You never know when you get bogged down along the route and what your waiting period will amount to.   Keep in mind that tap water is not a given to be safe anymore in South Africa.  No matter where we go, we always carry about 2 liters of water in our vehicle … and if you do not use it on the trip, hand it out to someone that is in need of water in the drought-stricken areas.

Rule 3:  Charge up.  Before leaving home-base make sure that all your gadgets are fully charged.  There is nothing more frustrating when you get let down in the middle of nowhere without the necessary power.  Also make sure that you have all the different cables to all the different gadgets to recharge enroute.  This can also be your lifeline to call someone when you are stranded somewhere.

Rule 4:  For your own safety and comfort check in regularly to a chosen person, especially if you  know that you are going to an area where there is no cell phone reception.  Yes, there are still remote areas in South Africa where you can go without cell phone reception.  This is a great comfort to those left behind to know that you are still safe and sound.

Rule 5:  Calculate your distance and make sure about fuel supply enroute as well as at your destination.  Know your vehicle’s fuel consumption ratios.  Do not be left stranded, because of a dry fuel pump or a miscalculation!

– – – – – – – – – – –

For some more tips on travelling go to Tips on how to negotiate African Roads

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Shopping for a mattress can be daunting as there are many choices out there and of course each manufacturer will say that they have the ultimate solution and every traveler will convince you that his choice is the best, but what is your choice?

Our first trips we did with a big bulky foam mattress with a fully packed classic Range Rover, because that is what we could afford in those days.  Over the years things have changed, although we still travel with a Land Rover, and we have switched to an air mattress that is still giving us good service after 20 years and many kilometers in rough conditions on the African continent.

However, there are a couple of considerations when making your pick (that excludes you if you have a rooftop tent, because normally they come standard equipped with a certain type mattress).

How much space do you have?

Are you willing and able to inflate your air mattress?

What happens if your air mattress gets a thorn puncture?

Insulation?

Space

What is important to you?  Are you going to give up something else for your preferred choice or are you going to bear it for two weeks with a bit of discomfort and extra effort?  In our setup, space is of importance, so we go with the inflatable version. 

Method of inflation

On a hot summers day when setting up camp are you able and willing to operate a manual hand pump and become sweaty in your workout?  On the flipside of the coin – if you go for the foam mattress option are you comfortable to sleep on a foam mattress in sweltering summer night conditions? 

Plan B

Plan B includes what is your next option if you go with an air mattress and it gets a puncture?  Believe me I can vouch that Namibian soil, without a mattress, does not promote a good night’s sleep.  You will realises the next morning that you have more bones in your body than you can remember!  We carry a simple repair kit and patches for this purpose, although since carrying it on each and every trip we never needed it once.

Insulation

Be aware that during cold nights your air mattress might not be as comfortable as it feels as if deflates a bit.  To combat this we “over inflate” it when putting up camp in the late afternoon.  We found that the cold is mostly coming from the ground.   We also have a plan for this.  We use a thin foam-like sheet under the mattress to keep out the cold.  (We call her the Korean tannie, but we will introduce her on another day). 

Save up and buy the best mattress you can afford.  For us it makes a world of a difference when on a camping trip where several things can go wrong in one day to enjoy a restful night.  Your normal pillow, sheets and a duvet can go a long, long way to ensure a good rest and be invigorated to face the challenges of the next day. 

Good night, sleep tight.

—oOo—

For more camping decisions read the blog on Which One? Rooftop versus ground tent

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So, what are the symptoms of a sure travel addict?  I do not know, please help me with this one.

After pondering a while on this question I came up with the following as sure signs that you are a travel addict:

• Maps and the globe are part of your life.  If you hear about a place and you are not sure where it is, you go and find out to satisfy your curiosity.

• Google Earth is fascinating, and you easily get lost in that space.

• You probably know how Tracks4Africa work as you use the tool to plan future excursions into remote places that has less tourists than usual.

• “Into the wilds” means something totally different to you than for the average person.   

• The iOverlander app is a place that you check out regularly to see what is new in the area of your next visit.

• You check online flight booking sites to see where the bargains are, because just maybe there is a cheap flight to a destination that you have not visited which means that place will become your next destination.

• You probably know more place names in far-away places than the average person sitting next to you.

• Browsing travel blogs is more interesting than reading the depressing views of reporters on news pages.

• You can calculate exchange rates in your head, because you follow the news just to hear the day’s exchange rate for USD or Euro and you also know what currency converter works best on your phone.

Have you visited any interesting places that you want to share with us?  Help us to keep on dreaming and leave a reply in the comments section.

*** KEEP ON DREAMING; KEEP ON EXPLORING ***

The post DO YOU HAVE A TRAVEL ADDICTION? appeared first on TRAVELBUCKET.

Getting vaccinations depends largely on where you plan to go and if you plan a prolonged stay and the destination that you are going to visit.   Under destination this includes remote and poorer areas where health precautions is not as up to date compared to a formal five star hotel in a first world country.   

Am I a high-risk traveler? 

Destination  – Developed countries  =  lower risk

Length of stay – Short term = lower risk

Location within country – Urban = lower risk

Type of accommodation –  1st class (hotel) = lower risk

Purpose of travel – Business = lower risk

• Take note that I say lowER risk so it does not exclude that you will not contract a disease!

What do you do next?

Visit your local travel clinic and get advice from people that know.

What are the diseases that I can contract?

Tetanus (locked jaw // klem-in-die-kaak)

It is a bacterial disease that affect the nevrous system.  It is mainly contracted through a cut or a wound that becomes contaminated with the bacteria.  The spores are present in soil, dust and manure.  Tetanus is not transmitted from person to person.  The symptoms are headaches, stiffness of the neck, stiffness of the jaw and occurs about 8 days after the infection.

Hepatitis A (jaundice // geelsug)

It is a viral infection of the liver and is common in developing countries where sanitation is poor.  Travellers can be infected via food and water that has been contaminated with animal or human faeces.  The common symptoms are yellowing of the skin, fatigue, nausea, stomach pains and fever.  You can prevent contracting jaundice by only drinking purified water and consume well-cooked food. 

Typhoid Fever (dysentery // maagkoors)

It is mainly spread via contaminated water and food or directly from one person to another.  It can be  life-threatening despite antibiotics.  The disease is common in many developing countries of Africa and Asia, Central and South America.  The common symptoms are a high fever (often over 40°C), headaches, loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, chills, constipation or diarrhea.   You can prevent contracting it by drinking purified water and eating well-cooked foods. 

Yellow fever (geelkoors)

This is a deadly viral illness transmitted by mosquitoes with a mortality rate of up to 60% in adults.  It is endemic in specific areas of the world and there is no recognized treatment yet.  The most common symptoms are flu-like symptoms which can include nausea, vomiting, bleeding, abdominal pains and jaundice.  Vaccinations are compulsory to limit the spread of the virus to non-infected countries.  Therefore, all travelers to endemic Yellow Fever countries need a vaccination.  The golden rule will be to avoid mosquito bites.  A yellow fever injection gives you protection after 10 days and lasts for 10 years. 

These ones mentioned in this post are the most important once, however there are other vaccinations like rabies also available. Remember that some of the vaccines takes 2 to 4 weeks to become effective. 

The responsibility lies with you to get the jabs timeously before setting out on that holiday trip.  Happy travels and make memories!

The post DO YOU NEED A VACCINATION FOR YOUR DESTINATION? appeared first on TRAVELBUCKET.

First of all, there is a little (or bigger) sticker pasted on the inside of your door frame on the driver’s side that displays all kinds of figures.  Make time to read and understand what it is telling you, it can make life a lot easier than a random thumb suck figure! 

Note ladies: these figures are recommended by the vehicle manufacturer in order to assist your driving pleasure and eradicate tyre problems.  

When you throw into the tyre pressure mix different surface types – sand, thick sand, pebbles, shaled surfaces, tar – the pot gets a different mix altogether.  Another factor that adds a little salt to the mix is the weight of the load that you are carrying, but maybe I will attempt to explain that in a future post. Let me not divert from my topic …

Interesting stuff?   Yeah, right.  So, let me try to explain this theory in ordinary English as how I understand it.

Note to the men : You are welcome to leave a comment if I am not correct!

When you drive on a flat even tarred surface and you keep the prescribed figures (remember that sticker on the inside of the driver’s door frame?) you will be okay.  Now you are heading deeper into darkest Africa and things get a different taste.  The road surface changes to thick sand as you head into the Namib desert or mud in the rainy season in Zambia.  Lekker, man! 

So, hubby taught me the following and most times it gets me out of trouble.  Deflate, deflate, deflate to zero point eight! 

Now what is the theory behind this?  The higher the pressure the less rubber makes contact with the ground and less traction you will have.  The lower the pressure the bigger the rubber surface gets and the more traction you will have.  It all boils down to if you are firmly anchored to the ground the best chance you have for traction and traction means moving forward!  But then there is another bit of sauce that gets added to the mix in the pot – we are not done yet! – when you get back on hard surfaces (i.e. a tarred road or good gravel) inflate again to avoid heat buildup in your tyres. 

You see ladies, It is actually hard work to go off-roading and explore the African continent! 

Some of you will know that the general off-road slogan is drive as slow as possible but as fast as necessary.  Then the tyre slogan should be something like:  deflate your tyres as much as necessary, but as little as possible. 

Further to this, the best of all about lowering your tyre pressure is that it is even good for the environment as it causes less corrugations which again do not prompt drivers to widen the track to avoid the corrugations (you see the green side in me popping out again!).

You see the bigger picture of how all the things just add up in this pot and cooks nicely together?

Important things to remember:

1. Always carry a reliable pressure gauge on your trip
2. And the flipside to that is to carry a trusted air compressor

The long and the short of this post is that a 4×4 wife quickly learns to read things that are not really interesting to her, but you anyway put it into storage as you never know when is the day that you have to scratch in those stored files – and remember if all else fails, read the instructions in the manual!

If you found this of value and need some more driving tips head over to our post; How to negotiate African roads

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This is a following up on a previous post about travelling South Africa and some basic tips on what to do and expect.

Money and the ATM  

• Plastic money (ie credit and debit cards) is widely accepted.  However, make sure you have some cash on you for tipping parking attendants, etc. 
• Do not you stuff your wallet with a wad of notes where everyone can see it.  Just keep a small amount in your wallet where it is visible to the public.  Keep the wad stashed at another secret place.  This also ensure that you have money left if things turn out for the worst!
• Take care when drawing money at ATMs.  In busy areas, there will be a security guard on duty.  Of course, Avoid ATMS that are in dark corners.  Be aware of accepting help from persons at the ATM as a lot of scams happen in this way.
• It is safer to draw money at the ATM at the bank.  If your card gets stuck, go inside immediately and ask for assistance from a bank official. 
• It is a good idea to keep some small change in your pocket in the event that you get mugged.  If you just hand over the small change they will probably take it and leave.  Do not resist and fight!  Things could turn out ugly.  Report the incident to the nearest police station, because this is not acceptable behaviour in South Africa.  Here we respect each other.

Valuables

• When on the beach, and enjoying the African sunshine, make sure that at least one person stays behind at your belongings otherwise you might go back to your hotel in your swimming suit.  It is a really an easy target for pick-pocketing.  Nowadays there are lockable storage containers available at some beaches.  Try them out!
• Do not walk around and advertise your expensive jewellery and valuables exposed.  Be discreet with valuables when wandering the streets.  This means dress accordingly to where you are and be streetwise. 
• Ask the staff at your accommodation regarding safe areas to walk if you are in doubt – they will know the how, what and where of the city or town.
• Rather leave your valuables in the safe at your accommodation and just take what is necessary and needed. 

General

• If you wander in dark alley ways after a night out that will be an open invitation to get robbed.  It is not worth the risk.
• At night rather spend the money and make use of Uber, Bolt or Taxify.

Do not be put off to travel South Africa – keep it on your bucket list.  Bad things do not happen as a rule if you are vigilant and streetwise.

I invite you to come and experience the warm hearts of the complex Rainbow Nation!

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