So after months of writing posts about what we would wear, what we should see, what crisis contingencies we had in place and most importantly where we would pee I find myself back at my desk in London unable to concentrate and contemplating how on earth to consolidate 17 days into a readable piece. Yes, I know we should have been blogging on the way but we couldn't keep even one of three phones charged (which lead to parental panic on the grand scale) let alone figure out internet on it. And, to be honest, the freedom of not being connected to the world was one of the best parts of the trip. For 17 glorious days we didn't know who had killed who, divorced who or made what social faux pas, for 17 glorious days it was just Lyn, Robs and Laura on an epic adventure doing a ridiculous number of star fives.
Now I know you don't want to know verbatim what we did each day - there would be alot of hour 4 in the car, round 1000 of questionable car game in full-swing, huge amounts of laughter - which while hugely entertaining for us wouldn't be so much fun for you. What you want to know is all about....
The awesome people we met like Ferdie who fixed our car in Livingstone when the muffler detached from the rest of the exhaust. Ferdie who not only fixes cars but has patented and makes paper maiche coffins. We got a tour of the process - literally from paper to coffins - before he fixed our car and a photo of him afterwards which he requested a copy of to "show to his ex-wife".
Then of course there were family friends like Colin and Mary who gave us amarula and a two course breakfast and Candice who saved us from the chaos that is Tete, fed us roast beef and gin and tonics and whose favourite story of ours was the underwear drying in the car two days after we'd washed it. Like a mobile underwear factory there was literally underwear on every sunny surface. Robs now swears by underwear drying across a steering wheel, although she may or may have lost some of her underwear in the process. Not every plan is perfect.
And who could forget the home made prego roll from the strange but really sweet couple in Mozambique with their badly-beahved but ridiculously amusing pet goat. And the Afrikaans family who we amused no end when we had to ask them to fix our window which wouldn't wind up or down (but was "manual") and had sunk right down into the door.
And then there were the most questionable characters we met - the army officer that made me get out the car and wanted me to stay with them because he thought I was pretty or the other army officer who wanted Lyn's camera after she'd taken a somewhat ill-advised picture in Kariba. Or perhaps the suspected witch doctor on a road we dubbed death alley one hysterical evening in Mozambique on completely the wrong road. She was neither a witch doctor nor was it a death alley but anyone we met on the road did run from us so I held the mace, just in case.
And then of course there were the other ralliers themselves - some of the funniest and kindest people I've met. People that would flag you down for lunch or a sippie at a picnic site, push you out the sand, let you ride on and/or in their 4X4 when all three of you couldn't travel in the car (various reasons); who'd share their dinner, sippies and nail clippers with you and tell you all the gossip you'd missed along the way. People to swing dance with, do shooters with, swim in the sea with and chill by a camp fire with - people who had tyre pumps, cable ties, sweet potatoes and a cool beer or bottled water when you needed it most.
As I write this, I realise how long it's gotten so I think I'll finish up today's post here. You were brave enough to read our preparations so I hope you'll stick with us now - we'll tell you about Constance (the 4th member of the team), the roads, the animals, the music, the countries and the books.Drip-fed tales if you will - as they say, all good things come to those who wait!
Pictures on facebook as Lyn (the official photographer) can upload them. Again, good things and waiting!
