The trouble with Africa is that all the news is bad: the roads are abominable, all officials are corrupt, the malaria is inevitable (to say nothing of the prophylactics debate) and it's a wild unknown world full of crime and danger where you must take everything with you and expect nothing comfortable, especially a decent bathroom. But the trouble with Africa is also how contagious the raw beauty is, how friendly the cops are to meet and fine you, how endearing the people are and how wonderfully untainted, exciting and unique the experience is. The colours, the cultures, the smiles, the goats, the mud huts, the potholes, the mountains and beaches, gorges, valleys and lakes - all are unforgettable. Doing a trip through Africa has been a dream of ours for a number of years now, but there have always been the logistical problems of vehicle, leave, convoys etc. In December we started dreaming for 2012 and a trip like this was merely that, a dream. We heard of our friend Glenn's plans for a trip and started making some hypothetical plans into a possible reality. When that fell through we decided we would give it a go on our own, proving far more difficult, to put an itinerary together and organise everything we needed. In a very stressful two month period we managed to get leave for Ant three weeks before leaving (when we decided we were going) after debating resignation without having a vehicle or arranging anything. Then we went through a long process of researching the correct vehicle and the camping gear we need and after nearly being ripped off by used car salesmen on a number of occasions selling clocked vehicles, unroadworthy vehicles and overpriced vehicles, we bought a 96 landcruiser gx blindly in Johanessburg, two weeks before departing. It had all the camping gear we needed from previous trips through Africa and very comfortable and clean. And so began our adventure. A mad scramble ensued to organise Carne, insurance, equipment, vehicle services, visas, food, medical supplies and vaccinations and we managed to accomplish it all in two weeks before getting on the road to Pretoria, our first stop to spend a night of last minute admin and planning with Sarah. To all who may read this blog, thanks for listening to our plans (our lives have seemed like a soapie, drama every day but if you tune in once a week nothing's really happened), lending us equipment, advising us on travel plans and routes, campsites and stopovers. To all the people we have and will stay with, thanks for hosting us and choosing to be a part of our adventures, we normally arrive at people we know to unload our problems and get local advice and support! P.S. We are mainly writing this for our mothers to read and so if you can't read a page a day, maybe just enjoy some of our pictures!