Hi
Dee has handed the computer over to me.
After three and a half months on the road I feel we have had an awesome time and I'm at last starting to see a bit more of South Africa Namibia & Botswana. This is the first time I have had time and not been on a tight schedule. We have tried to keep out of most of the major towns as much as possible as I feel that this is where the biggest problem is with security as anywhere in the world. We only go in if there is safe parking.

Dee is slowly converting me to camping. At Anderson Camp I was actually looking foward to the next two days back at a campsite in our own trailer tent. I seem to sleep better and its nice to know where everything is and its enjoyable to just be on our own again. The trailer has been great and there have been no problems with it and it's starting to feel like home. I am still only a fair weather camper - when it's raining it's nice to be in a room with an en-suite bathroom.

The Land Cruiser has had a few problems; first off the towball wasn't strong enough so Bushwakka had to make up a new bracket and weld it to the back bumper, but Lesotho tested it to it's maximum, going up and down the steep passes. In hindsight we should have left the trailer at a campsite as we burnt out the brakes on the trailer and the vehicle, so for the next 1000 miles the car had to do all the braking until we reached Windhoek and then Bossie & Jackie at Chameleon got the car serviced and tightened up the trailer brakes to work as best they could.

I had to take out the electronic fuel management as it could not seem to cope with the heat and the weight of the trailer. Since then (touch wood) we have not had any engine problems. There are a few more things for me to fix; the sliding roof still leaks, but Bushwakka were kind enough to make us a cover for the whole roof so that has temporarily fixed the problem.

Mark Atton's drawers in the back have worked really well and this is our secure and dust free area in the car.

The fuel consumption is high about 4km per litre when towing, this is probably because I estimate the total weight of the car and trailer is in excess of 5 tonnes. I am slowly working at stopping all the squeaks and rattles as they drive me mad!

I thought travelling by ourselves would be easy and less tiring than on a truck or package trip, but it has proved very tiring as it is stay 1, 2 or 3 nights then move on. We didn't build enough rest days into the itinerary (Martin didn't want any more when I did the itinerary in UK). I feel I have tested Dee's paitence to the limit, when I get tired and things go wrong and I start mispronucing names and forget the name of where we are meant to be going.

God knows how she puts up with me 24/7?? I still wonder why I put up with myself sometimes. I think it is testing her love for me to the maximum, it's a great break when we see friends and have someone else to talk to and hear about all that they are doing.

Most of the game lodges have been fantastic, one or two however have been disappointing, it's usually down to poor management or guides. In the later it is usually when they haven't bothered to find out what we have seen and know and then treat you like it is your first game trip and don't listen to what you want to see. I suppose we have been spoilt by having some of the very best guides in the Kruger area. I am finding it a great adventure and definitely is living my dream.

Good luck and love to you all xxx