Congrats to the All Blacks

I must add, that we have been rather pre-occupied the last month (hence the lack of blog posts). we've been following the All Blacks about on their autumn tour. We are huge supporters of the team and recently had the pleasure of watching them play England at Twickenham, France in Paris and Wales at the Millenium stadium. The boys produced a clean sweep of all games; roll on the World Cup 2007! I feel the team is almost in top form.....

Jerry cans and sand ladders

I'm now well on the way to collecting things for the journey. The car is pretty much sorted; just trying to locate another spare wheel (I'll feel safer with 2). The radiator is being sorted as we speak; a nice local chap is promising to fix-up the one we have. The roof-rack is on (brought for the heafty sum of £1 on ebay), and she is starting to look more like the safari vehicle she was bred to be!
There is a corner of our spare room that is slowly piling high with supplies. The latest additions are: 50L worth of plastic water containers; 3x20L Diesel jerry cans + nozzle; sleeping mats; camp chairs + cooker; 2 x waffle boards(sand ladders); air compressor for tyres; multi-cigarette adaptor for charging batteries, sand goggles..We have a fairly small flat with no outside storage, so things are getting abit squashed!
Steve bought home some ready-to-heat meals from an outdoor shop for us to try. I have to report that the beef stew with dumplings, and the chicken casserole are not too bad (heat in bag for 7 minutes!).
The Speed Ferry is booked for Feb 2 departure...time is ticking on

getting started

Yippee! I made it into the Plymouth to Banjul car rally. My partner Steve and I are Team Lord of the Sands (think Lord of the Rings, Sahara style!) and our trusty stead is a 1984 Mercedes 200D in white. I found her on ebay for a little (!!) over the £100 budget. She runs like a dream and drives very smoothly, although not quick. We have only replaced simple things like air and oil filters so far, but she really could use a new radiator that will stand up to the desert heat. Thanks to our friend Phil for helping with things under the bonnet, sourcing mechanical bits and pieces and providing a paddock to park her in! and to Julie for making cups of tea and putting up with us all!!
So now I'm starting to collect things to take that will see us through the 3600 miles.