2.1 weeks and counting!

That's right folks, we are down to 15 days until take off.

Oh. My. God.

Every time I cross one thing off my 'to do' list, I add two more things on.
So far I have contacted every bank I have ever come in contact with to let them know that we are going overseas so that there is no foreseeable circumstance in which our money could be frozen (I hope).
We have both resigned from work, although my resignation was ever so more painful because Alex's boss has known about this from the start and mine was none the wiser.

We think we have purchased almost everything there is to purchase, but are yet to try and fit it all in our packs... eeeek!
So now it is just a matter of spending precious time with family (already missing you mum and dad) and cleaning up our mess at home.

Some exciting news is that Alex, the man with friends/family in almost every corner of the word, has found out that four of his New Delhi friends will be in Cape Town during the week we have there and they have organised a mini AES high school reunion! Very exciting indeed!

Now would be the time to confess that I have never been very good at keeping diaries, or infact anything that requires regular and consistent updates... So all I can say is that I will try my very hardest (because we all know Alex will never write this thing) to update this blog as often as possible, and even if I am the only one to ever lay eyes on it, I can say.. mission successful.

Check back in 15 days or so from beautiful Cape Town, Sout Ifrika!

159 days to go...

So, as you probably guessed from the title of this entry, there is exactly 159 days until the day that we leave for Cape Town. We continue to count the days, and the pennies.

Our ever-evolving plans have been tweeked once again, and now -money permitting- the plan goes a little something like this: CT to Cairo, Cairo to Jordan, Jordan to Turkey, Turkey to UK. WooHoo!

Today, African Trails (AT) posted pictures on facebook of the truck that we will be calling home for four months. It is (at the moment at least) the newest AT truck on the roads as the living room is newly built, having just had the finishing touches completed this week.

This truck, yet to be named, will be leaving from Marrakesh in a few days on its maiden voyage all the way down the west side of Africa to CT, where we will be joining it (in 167 days in case you were wondering).



(Que David Attenborough Voice-over)  "A magnificent safari truck captured in it's natural habitat.. the WILD"




One side of the lounge room




Other side of the lounge room




Home sweet home


Well, thats all folks... for now :)

New Blog, New Life

So this is the very first of what will be many, many entries over the next few years.

Currently there is exactly 232 days, 8.3 months, 33.1 weeks, 5580 hours, 334824 minutes, 20089431 seconds until the day we go overseas... but whos counting right?!

For those who dont know what we are doing, heres a quick run-down. A year ago, we booked- somewhat impulsively- an african adventure. We have one way tickets to Cape Town, South Africa leaving Melbourne, Australia on the 12th of April 2011. We then have a week in Cape Town to explore and prepare for the massive adventure ahead of us. We are booked on a 16 week overland safari with a UK based company called African Trails. We will be spending 4 months camping our way up the eastcoast of Africa and follow the great Nile River all the way to Cairo, aproximatley 15,000 kilometers by road with a driver and a group of simillarly crazy strangers.

After Cairo we will be making our way to Morocco on our own to spend some time there, maybe in Fes and Marrakech. From Morocco we will make our way up to London, UK to work for a few months and then go where the wind takes us until we are ready to come home. We want to explore and experience as much as we can, northern Europe, eastern Europe, Ireland, Scotland, the list is endless.

When our time is up, whenever that may be we will come home. Maybe via India and Japan, or South America?  We have recently been talking about stopping at Darwin, Australia and hiring/buying a car and driving down to Melbourne rather than flying which could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months depending on what we find and where we stop.

Phew.

So thats the plan. Pretty scary when its on paper in front of you.

There is so many things to buy and accumulate, its almost overwhelming. Just as we get a few things off the list, we have to add a few more onto it. I think we have all of the 'big' stuff now after my anaconda shopping spree yesturday. We have plane tickets, insurance, backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, good windtec jeckets each, a good waterproof jaket each, camera, laptop.

So now we have to pay the remainder of the money owing for the 4month overland safari, save the local payment and of course as much spending money as possible. Then I guess we just need to start collecting little things, like towels, toiletry bags, mosquito nets, waterproof sacks, and so on and so on and so on...