|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
Getting
Started:
So, the big decision has been made. We're quitting
our jobs, selling our house, packing up our worldly belongings,
and setting out in a truck for Africa and beyond. Now what?
How does one even begin to plan for a multi-year expedition
of this caliber? Just addressing personal details seemed
a big enough challenge. What do we do with our house and
cars? How do we file income taxes from the Sahara desert?
How do we pay our bills from the Congo? The list was endless
and, for all the work involved, that was just the tip of
the iceberg. The real challenge was addressing the expedition
specific issues. What vehicle should we use and how should
we set it up? What equipment is needed? How do we plan our
route? How do we get the truck across borders? What paperwork
is involved? Should we carry weapons? So many unanswered
questions were swirling around in our heads that the task
seemed daunting at best.
Fortunately, with a bit of research,
we found that there's
a wealth of information available. For starters, we found
two books on the subject: Bradt's Africa by Road and
Chris Scott's book titled Sahara Overland. Both provide
useful information on everything from vehicle prep to budgeting,
paperwork, and route planning. There's also an excellent
website titled The
Africa Overland Network [www.africa-overland.net]
which provides a catalogue of overland websites created by
other hardy adventurers mounting vehicle based expeditions
throughout the globe. We found this community of travelers
to be extremely knowledgeable and willing to share their
information and experiences.
Using research gathered through
these and other sources we developed a detailed project plan
for the expedition. In the sections that follow, we share
some of what we have learned along the way. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
