So…WHY are you doing this? What’s this all about? The FAQ edition
Many people have asked us various questions about the trip from why we’re doing it, to what we’re looking forward to most, to nitty-gritty logistics.
We’ve answered them all below, and grouped them by approximate themes and used your exact words where possible to honour the spirit of the questions - let us know if you have any more :)
Reasons why and what we’re hoping for:
Why, I would love to know?
What are you looking for from your adventure?
What made you decide to undertake such an adventure?
What’s the aim of the trip?
The aim of the trip is to simply live some of our life and fulfil some dreams – to experience vastly different places, meet people and experience nature and epic landscapes that we’ve only ever dreamt of when watching Attenborough documentaries. To take it all in as slowly as we can, not rushing through and squeezing too much in (we’ll be back!)
I always liked being on an actual continuous journey – 12 years ago I lived in Aus and bought my first 4WD and it opened up a whole new world of adventure. I spent 4 months just travelling across the outback and have been waiting 11 years to do another similar trip!
I’ve wanted to get a 4WD since I returned to the U.K and learn even more about the mechanics, how to use the vehicles in different terrains etc, so that I can keep experiencing the world in different ways.
I’m also looking to gain even more knowledge and confidence to do longer, more advanced expeditions in the future. And my partner (John) has never done a trip like this or had a 4WD so it will be his first experience – which will be amazing for him.
Why Namibia?
I was/am supposed to be joining an all-female elephant tracking research expedition in Namibia (called The Matriarch Adventure) - and still have fingers crossed that this will happen, so we decided to tie the adventure in with this.
Was there any small step or action that you think tipped the balance from this being something in your dreams to something that was going to happen?
Very good question! I’ve kept this dream alive for years with reminiscing on the previous one; reading blogs; trying to figure out how it might work; putting things on vision boards etc…I think what tipped the balance was sharing with John (my partner) that I wanted to get an ancient 4WD to start learning more about the mechanics etc…he then started looking online in idle interest, (he’d never even thought of such an adventure before)…then I got involved and spotted Penelope and I got very overexcited… then went to see her and bought her… so it was that sharing of the dream and the why that started a snowball effect that just kept going! When you have someone encouraging you and egging you on (whatever you’re doing), it really helps.
Expectations:
What are you most looking forward to?
Where are you most excited about going?
What are you hoping to do/see on your travels?
Which place are you most excited about exploring?
It’s very hard to choose! But here are a few answers:
Being somewhere new, different, and spending time outdoors in epic landscapes and meeting new people. The animals, different cultures, different food, enjoying exploring the world at a slower pace of life.
Hoping to not DO a great deal other than soak it all in and simply experience it – marvel at nature in all its glory and the scale of these epic landscapes.
I love the smell of tent canvas (to me that = adventure!), so to have this every day will be wonderful.
For me, a massive part of the feeling of being constantly on an actual journey – moving on from one place, not to return, but onwards to explore somewhere new. Since I can remember, I’ve loved journeys of all sorts – even just on a bus or a train journey, the feeling of being in transit, exploring…and I’m often disappointed when they finish!
We’re most excited about all of it! But more specifically (if we have to choose!):
Exploring the Okavango Delta (particularly on a mokoro trip); Sossusvlei; Kubu Island; Caprivi Strip – and what I expect will be most exciting is somewhere we’ve not yet heard of but will blow us away.
How long will you be away for?
Three months
How, where and when did you start the planning process?
In my mind, 11 years ago – to just go somewhere else after the epic Aus trip. For this specific trip, end of December last year, once we’d bought Penelope.
Are you taking anything you don't really need but want to have with you?
Probably LOADS! I think this will be part of the learning – how much we’ve taken that isn’t needed. We have invested in some fancy camping chairs which aren’t at all necessary, but they are VERY comfortable :)
Are you going to sleep on the roof, or separate tent?
We have a roof top tent – it’s huge!
What make of roof tent have you got? Did you get it in the UK?
It’s a Tembo tent - and we got it second-hand from some lovely people that we met online. It was a BARGAIN at the tenth of the price. (I’d caution about roof top tents unless you KNOW that you like them/can deal with them as I think they’re great, but constantly getting them up and down to move on is a consideration and brand new they are a huge investment. So, this was a good chance to try it out for less than the cost of a 2 person regular hiking tent).
How are you getting you and the car to Botswana/your starting point or driving all the way there?
We’ve shipped our beloved Penelope in a container and she’s just arrived in Cape Town (chosen because our itinerary was/still is dependent on some things being sorted), and we had a recommendation for this agent. Sadly it’s not possible to drive all the way there at the moment due to border issues (either Covid or security-related). One day, we might do that!
I’d love to hear which company you use to ship your vehicle.
Will you be shipping it out to Walvis Bay?
How much is it costing? Did you get a Carnet De Passage?
Shipping to Cape Town first – with African Overlanders. Total cost (including all agent, port and entry fees, taxes, handling costs and some storage etc) to share a container with another vehicle £2,000. And yes, we got a Carnet De Passage (bit like a vehicle passport, for those who don’t know!). If you’re going for a few months, this is much cheaper than hiring a vehicle out there. There is the option of buying one in country, but that is not without its complications and admin-hurdles.
What sort of regulations do you have to follow/ensure when planning and traveling in Namibia?
Not too many regulations (Covid means PCR tests on entry), and follow the usual speed limits, national park guidelines etc but nothing massively out of the ordinary. On the logistical side, being very aware of driving distances, how road conditions massively effect fuel consumption and where the fuel stations are is a really important consideration.
Full truck tour and modifications please?
Sure! See our Youtube video introducing our gorgeous Penelope (and a more detailed/4WD geeky post and video on this will be up later!)
How are you paying for it?
Good old fashioned saving and budgeting (no sponsorship, sadly!) We’ve structured our respective businesses this year so that we can take the time off, pay for it and still work when we return in Jan 2022. Also, like many people, we’ve had a few holidays and shorter trips planned over the last 18 months that we cancelled due to COVID, so instead of doing something else, we put the money we would have spent towards this trip.
Have you been vaccinated?
Not sure if this is a travel vaccine question or a COVID vaccine question, but either way, yes, including travel boosters and rabies.
Other:
What doubts/fears have you had leading up to this point and how are dealing with those?
There’s a blog entry for that! Other than that, the possibility that Covid would scupper the plans was ever-present as we planned this year was on our minds. I’m lucky that I have a lot of tools from my work to help me respond more helpfully to my thoughts – immersing myself in the thoughts of ‘possibility’ and acknowledging the other more negative thoughts without giving them too much energy or following them down the ‘rabbit-hole’ has been helpful. Recently, one of my concerns was having my regular 6 month post-cancer/chemo check-ups come back clear, and, thankfully, just this week, after I had to have an unexpected extra biopsy, I’m now all clear again, thankfully.
Can I fit in your bag?
Can I come with you?!
You probably will fit!…but in all seriousness, I am hatching a plan for something where I’d love some women to join a group of us doing something similar in a vehicle or two, perhaps even a relay...I’ll keep you posted. Have got lots of ideas and think it could be an awesome experience 🤩
Sharing the story:
Please share your story with us. I'm sure it will inspire lots of women/are you intending to write a blog while travelling?
Will you be blogging it?
Can I live it vicariously by you posting your progress on here?
I’m asking you to keep us posted! Locations, plans, experiences, tips. It’s just the trip that I’d like to do one day.
Will you update as you’re doing it, or enjoy the moment?
My pleasure – and yes, as I’ll be keeping a travel journal anyway, it’ll just be a case of posting a bit of that on the blog - you can keep tabs on the trip here and there is a Youtube Channel as well, and I’ll put some things on FB and Instagram (@fowles.charlotte) where possible, but I’ll try not to spend too time online (yay!) or have much signal/wifi in places, so the main focus will be updating the blog. And I most definitely want to enjoy the moment and when I’ve had a chance to reflect and share, I will.
Route please !! How are you getting there, ferries, countries etc.. very cool!
We’re shipping her to Cape Town and we’ve got a very rough plan due to reasons set out above, hopefully this will become more clear in the next week before we leave!
We currently have: vague plan A; vague plan B and vague plan C….
Plan A (if elephant research trip going ahead): Cape Town – Namibia (research trip) - Botswana – Zimbabwe – Namibia – Cape Town/Durban
Plan B (if elephant research trip not going ahead): Cape Town – Botswana – Zimbabwe – Namibia – Cape Town/Durban
Plan C: something else entirely!
Any more questions - let us know :) I’m off to write yet another list of things to do! 🤯
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P.P.S. If you haven’t checked out our beloved Penelope yet, the Youtube channel has an introduction to her and our set up.