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.

If you still have some outstanding gifts to buy and all the holiday makers, tinsel and Jingle Bells are freaking you out, so that you cannot think properly, I have some quick and easy travel gift ideas for you – and no you do not have to spent a fortune to impress someone.  Think about the person’s personality and his/her love of travel and voila you have many options to choose from!  I am leaving some of my thoughts for gift shopping ….

• For the friend that loves travel into remotes places where electricity is not always an option – how about a power bank to keep them connected to the world and social media?
• For the loved one (friend or family)  who is an adventurous coffee addict – Veer from the well-known coffee brands and try something from the African continent.  You will be surprised on what is on offer and does not have to cost a fortune.  Shop around, you will find something interesting.
• An international travel plug for that wish list destination in 2019! That couple of bucks that they save can buy a cup of coffee at the destination.   When they enjoy the cuppa you will definitely be remembered.
• Create a music play list or some something inspirational for your travel buddy when he/she has to wait in a queue to buy admission tickets to a popular attraction or buy the tickets online for them!  You can even buy a train ticket or a day pass on public transport for the city that they are going to visit.
• A good pair of socks (a big plus point for me as I am prone to suffer from blisters on a trip!).
• Search for a favourite preloved book to read in many of the book exchanges or buy an e-book online. (Usually I walk out at the book exchange with a book for myself too …)
• You will surely be remembered if you gift wrap some favourite food nibbles to enjoy at sunset whilst admiring the view over the Victoria Falls, Kariba Dam, Serengeti, at the pyramids in Egypt or Kilimanjaro.
• A re-usable cup (with a lid) for all those coffee take aways.
• A multi-purpose bandanna – the uses are endless!
• A small hip flask for the hype of the season — craft gin.
• A small pocket knife or a multi tool to eat the biltong and cut the cheese when on a trip.
• And if you really feel generous buy your buddy a tank of fuel to discover some unknown places and make a wish come true.

I can add a lot more to the list.  So, eat your heart out and think out of the box this CHRISTmas!  Let us keep the commercial side out of Christmas and remember what CHRISTmas is really about – celebrating a special birthday and spreading love amongst all.  If you do wish someone a “Merry Christmas” this year let it speak from your heart.

—oOo—

Christmas is the spirit of giving, without the thought of getting — Thomas S Monson

—oOo—

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Since Wallace arrived in our family there was some minor changes to it.  First of all we had to change the number plates that it does not read “GP” anymore.  Second major thing that needed to be done was to fix the oil leak (of course!).  Then we started to fit some smaller things from our previous vehicles – an awning to one side for some protection against the harsh African sun and the unpredictable rain when we travel.  Wallace’s story starts under the post: The Life of a Landy Wife

First things first.  A list of “essentials” was drawn up versus a list of “nice to haves” as our budget is not unlimited at the moment.  Now everyone has a different “essentials” list and a different “nice to have list”.  Our lists at the moment look something like this, but it is constantly under reconstruction (as any good list should!):

ESSENTIALS                                                                                     

• Dual battery system to run the fridge and all other chargers and lights (an interesting plan and new project is coming up here!)
• A spare wheel carry to preserve Wallace’s back door on those rutted gravel roads
• Gas bottle holders as we do not like to carry the gas containers inside the car
• Spot lights for night driving as Wallace only have candle issues, but with that comes a bulbar ……
• Jerry can holders for the extra fuel load on a long trip, and
• To get the heater system working – at the moment we have to wipe manually with an ever ready shammy!

NICE TO HAVES

• Extra fuel and water tank to take the weight off the roof
• Checkered plating on the front fenders
• Mellville & Moon Seat Covers – who do not want a set of it?
• A drawer system (never had that before in any pick-up we owned)
• The list can be elaborate and detailed, but I will not bore you with all of it

But then unexpectedly the scales get tipped as some bargains pop up on Gumtree or on the Defender site on Facebook and the list needs to be adjusted one more time.  You see a Land Rover requires constant loving care and adaptations …………. more the reason why we love Wallace!

As they say watch this space as Wallace gets transformed and kitted over time to our perfect overlanding vehicle.  In the meantime we love Wallace just the way he is, including all the Landy niggles that it throws at us.

If you need some advice, please feel free to ask questions – I will gladly help!  And if you have some advice – please share!

—oOo—

Adventure is out there!

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I prefer to travel as light as possible and keep the kitchen equipment/ utensils to the minimum.  Fancy cooking is something that I will attempt when I am at home with all the crockery and cutlery at hand.  After all, this is why we come to the bush – to get back to basics again and appreciate nature.  I can proudly say that I have had a braai in countries like Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast and Zambia!

When camping there are basically two ways to cook – either with a gas cooker or over the open fire.  We make a fire every night when camping so that is the obvious choice for us when we travel in Africa.  You will find wood or charcoal almost everywhere in Africa as it is an integral part of rural living on the continent.

There are various ways and methods to braai as this is second nature for us South African.  Read more on this topic in my post a  “Braai – a way of life”.

When we come to potjiekos which is made in a cast iron pot (three-legged or flat bottomed) over flames and not coals like when you are braaiing.  I prefer the flat-bottomed pot as my dish normally burns in the three-legged one.  I do not know what I am doing wrong!

When making potjie your choices of meat are endless – venison, beef, lamb, chicken, etcetera.  I even make a kick-ass lasagne potjie.  The best thing about a potjie is that you can add what you can find on the local markets.  In our case this mainly determines what type of potjie we are having that night.  (I will post on how to buy food on the local markets in a separate post).  However, I prefer to make a potjie when we are making camp for more than two days at a place, especially if you arrive late, there is not always enough time to make the potjie as it requires simmering over the fire.

A potjie is a good alternative to a braai as quality meat can at times be hard to find in Africa.  I am pretty sure that we had donkey tails once (sold as ox tail) in Choma, Zambia, but we survived that too!  When you are hungry and there are not a lot of options available, you just give it and go ….

My flat bottomed potjie also serves as an oven in which I bake bread.

Buy food that will last in the African heat.  Refrigerator space is always limited.  Butternuts (hard to find in Africa), gems and potatoes, onions and cabbage can take you a long way and sometimes it is the only vegetables that you will source for a couple of days.  So you need to be innovative with your recipes.  Aluminum foil comes in handy when doing vegetables over the fire.

I also take some dry rations such as pasta and couscous for emergencies – you never know what can happen in the African bush.  Rusks and coffee is also a quick breakfast fix when you have limited options in the bush.  Eggs are always problematic to pack and keep them whole, so I only buy it when I am pretty sure that it will be used the same day – boiled for lunch later or scrambled for breakfast.

Share your cooking experience in the commentary section of the post.  It may be useful to some newbie camper that is unfamiliar with local customs and conditions.

–oOo–

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If you like to explore the back roads of South Africa the route through the Overberg that will take you to the pont at Malgas across the Breede River is a worthwhile, one of a kind experience.

What makes the Malgas pont rather special?  It is the only remaining hand-drawn pont of its kind in the country. There are at least two other pontoons that comes to mind when writing about this topic, but they are not hand-drawn – the one over the Kei River in the Eastern Cape and the one at Sendelingsdrift in the Richtersveld crossing the Orange River in the Northern Cape but it is not the same as the hand-drawn one at Malgas.  I am adding these two pontoon crossing to Wallace’s travel list!

The service begun in 1860 and is still operational today from sunrise until sunset, weather permitting. It will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to cross the river.  Just enough time to take the compulsory pictures of the Land Rover on the pont and have a chat with the friendly operators of the pont.  As they were walking up and down on the pontoon I was wondering what is the total amount of paces that they take every day.  Surely, during the holiday season and over weekends they walk further than during the week when there are less visitors.

The village of Malgas peaked during the year 1860 when it boasted a hotel, shop, boarding house, school, church, goal and a powder store.  During this period fresh water was also transported in flat bottomed boats down river to Port Beaufort and Infanta at the mouth – a distance of about 40 kilometres.  However, today all the hustle and bustle are gone and you will find mostly accommodation, a couple of holiday homes and a little country store along the shores of the river.

Malagas was the name of a Hottentot chief, whose kraal was situated near the site. The name of the village was changed to Malgas because in the olden days, post for the village ended up in Malaga Spain!  Today both versions of the name are still in use.

If you are willing to travel on gravel you will find this unique experience at: S 34° 18.132′ E 020° 35.410′

NEED TO KNOW: 

They take only cash – no card machines in this part of the world.  The fee we paid during April 2018 was R55 per vehicle.

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At Kalizo on the banks of the mighty Zambezi river

Now there are no ”official” rules for having a braai.  The people of the Rainbow Nation each has his/her own preference on the when, how and what to braai.  Some of us like to have a basic fire place where you can sit as close as possible to the fire when it is cold – and do not mind smelling like smoke – and some of us like to do a classy braai in a build-in fireplace inside the house or on the stoep.  For most of my fellow citizens a braai is not about grilling the meat on a gas barbeque.

Lighting the fire in the Klein Karoo

First of all, the choice of firewood has to be sorted.  If you come from the Winelands you will probably prefer old grape vines, but if you are from the maize producing areas you may prefer to build your fire from maize cobs.  A popular wood, which is also freely available, is the alien Black Wattle and Rooikrantz or the option of charcoal.  It is all about taking time to sit around the fire and chat while you wait for the coals to get ready.  As a guest, it is very important to remember that the host is the one who starts the fire and will decide when it is ready for the meat to go on the fire!

Preparing a meal in Northern Kenya

The host will stipulate beforehand whether it is a “bring and braai” or not, but this is not always the case.  You will be notified if you will have to bring your own meat and/or salad, etc.  Remember that you are only allowed to braai your own meat if you are told so.   So, listen carefully!!

What do we like to braai?  Our creative nation loves our meat – anything from red meat, chicken, sausages, sosaties, fish or a braai pie.  We are always ready to try our hand at something new!  And with your choice of meat you will be served braai broodjies or garlic bread or pap en sous and a salad ….. or just meat!

Making a breakfast plan in Mozambique

A braai in South Africa is a social event, most public places have braais available.  In a campsite, you will have braai stands, but mostly each campsite will have an individual braai place.  Apart from braai we love to travel and if you do self catering accommodation the chances are excellent that you will have access to a braai space. And when on holiday, South Africans will braai.

Even in the Sudan we managed to find some wood in the desert

We even made a plan on Christmas eve in Sudan where wood is really a problem to find.  As you can see from the pictures you make do with what you have, as long as we can braai and enjoy some good company.

Do we only braai on National Braai Day?  No!  The Rainbow Nation will always look for an excuse to enjoy their favourite pastime any day of the week and regardless of the weather conditions.  The braai rules are actually very simple:  make your choice of meat and wood and braai regardless the weather!

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