April 2011 travel update from the Weranui Wanderers
Having now spent 5 months in South Africa relaxing, catching up with family and friends and generally travelling around visiting various parts of the country, assisting at an Outdoor Living exhibition, picking up vehicles in Joberg and delivering these to Knysna plus being invites to spend time on three game farms where we were able to get up close and very personal to wildlife ranging from the big 5 down to the smallest of ground squirrels and rabbits we can only say that we have had the most wonderful experiences.
We have decided that we will have our new truck shipped straight to NZ where we can store it in our super new barn until we get home. So I thought it was high time that I picked up the laptop and started our blog again to share with you our plans for stage 3 of our expedition which includes finishing off Europe and then driving from North Africa, down the east coast and into South Africa. As part of this plan we have decided that we will ship our new truck directly to NZ where we can store it in our super new barn until we get home as it needs NZ registration before we can use it. In the mean time we have planned a trip to the Riechesveld which is an area on the boarder of SA and Namibia for about 10 days over Easter. This will see us returning to Knysna in early May when we will prepare to return to Europe to visit those countries we didn’t get to see last year due to the onset of winter. These are Austria first to pick up Moggy and visit our dear friends Segreid and Gerhardt who have kindly been looking after Moggie for the last 6 months. We will then set off to drive through to Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece and Turkey. From Turkey we are planning to ship Moggie to Cairo where we will meet up with a small group of like minded people who are doing the Cairo to Cape Town journey. If this comes to fruition we will travel with them as far as Kenya where we will then head into Uganda & Rwanda while their itinerary is to go Tanzania and then into Botswana. There is much planning and research still to be done, visas to apply for and endless documentation to satisfy the border patrols in Africa but as this is half the fun we actually enjoy it. We will keep you updated as to our plans and departure date. Once again we hope that you will join us on our travels and if you have any tips, suggested stops offs or places that we must see please let us know. We are also happy to look up old friends and acquaintances for you and pass on your best wishes.
Our families are well and we are able to catch up with the children regularly on skype which is wonderful. All of Vic’s children are now living overseas, Julia in Dubai, Stephen in Sydney and Andrew sailing in the Med while Rebekah and Hamish and his family remain in Auckland.
Inserted are just a few of the numerous shots taken throughout the last 5 months on the. Until we hear from you or write again have a super Easter. I hope that where ever you are you get nice weather, don’t eat too much chocolate or steal the children’s Easter eggs.
Love and warm wishes Michele & Vic