Do these 10 things before going on tour
To go on an overlanding trip requires a long list of things to pack and organise. Here two travel gurus list the top 10 things you need to do before hitting the road.
How do you tackle all the preparations for a long overlanding tour? What are the most important things to do before you go? And where on earth do you start?! To answer these questions, we spoke to two guys who almost spend more time on expeditions than in the office. Our first guru, Johann Groenewald, needs no introduction. As the managing director of Tracks4Africa, he doesn’t only tour with his family but also sometimes finds himself alone in some of Southern Africa’s most isolated wild areas. Riaan Haasbroek from Bushward Safaris also likes to travel with his young family, but as a tour guide he organises cross-border expeditions for as many as 30 people at a time. Riaan says he spent more than 200 days a year on the road both last year and in 2017. So you might as well say his Cruiser is his office.
1 GET THE PAPERWORK IN ORDER
“The paperwork and your finances are the two most important things to have in order before you go on tour,” says Johann. “Without all the necessary paperwork, you’ll simply be staying home or get turned back at the border.” The AA’s website is a great resource for info on the documents you’ll need for a self-drive, cross-border trip, as are T4A’s guide books on Namibia and Botswana. Apart from a valid passport, you’ll need to have your vehicle’s registration certificate, a letter from your bank authorising you to take it abroad during your planned dates (if the vehicle is financed), and proof of insurance on it. “Also make sure you know what happens after an accident. Will your insurance recover the vehicle from the scene or do you have to get it to the nearest border post yourself?” Riaan adds that an unabridged birth certificate for your child is also a must (Drive Out witnessed the importance of this on a recent trip to Swaziland when a young couple were simply refused entry without it). “And when it comes to your wheels, don’t try to drive across any border with your dad or friend’s bakkie without a letter of authorisation and a copy of their ID.” He also advises making a list of all your electronic gear and declaring it at the border. “You might think Customs don’t inspect things like this, but I was stopped just the other day for a tablet computer lying on my seat. Luckily I had declared my electronics when leaving the country so I didn’t have to pay any unnecessary import duties,” he says.
2 GET YOUR MONEY READY
People’s budgets will differ, but Johann says you can get a pretty clear idea before you leave the country how much money you’ll need for fuel and accommodation. “You obviously know more or less where you’ll be staying and how many kilometres your vehicle gets per litre of fuel. So when I plan my trip, I use this info, with the distances and road conditions I expect, to budget.” It’s also very important to use the local fuel price and not calculate everything in rand at South African fuel prices, he adds. Then you also have to gauge how much cash to take, where you can pay with a card, and make sure what the situation with the local currency is. “Namibia, for example, is easy. Rands are accepted everywhere and you can pay with your credit card at almost any fuel station. But Zambia’s a different story, not to mention how difficult it is to get kwatchas in South Africa.” When he travels to Zambia, Johann always exchanges some kwatchas at the border and the rest in Lusaka. “You can exchange money at almost any border post in Southern Africa – you’ll spot the traders standing around almost everywhere. Just make sure you have an idea of the exchange rate and do a bit of bargaining. I also make sure that I exchange just enough to get through the border, and the rest at a bank in Lusaka.” Johann says he ensures there’s lots of credit on his credit card, because he can draw money on that in an emergency. “Any international hotel has a money exchange. You’ll probably pay a higher fee than in a bank, but that’s chump change if you’re in a bind.” Riaan says he often withdraws cash abroad, so he makes sure his daily limits are set very high before and that his bank knows he’s going to travel. But when he goes to Zimbabwe he takes dollars from South Africa, since there’s still a big shortage of cash in that country’s ATMs. “Places in the south of Mozambique, like Ponta do Ouro, also often accept rands, but be careful if you’re travelling up to Xai-Xai or Inhambane. You can’t just walk into a South African bank and exchange rands for meticais – you have to prearrange it with the bank. It’s also very difficult to get rid of your meticais back in South Africa, so make sure you exchange them in Mozambique or when you cross the border again.”
3 PLAN FOR ENOUGH WATER
Water is obviously very important if you’re camping, but these days, says Johann, “the camps are so well-organised that you can fill up your supply every few days”. For camps where there’s no water available, his family budgets about 5 litres per person per day (if they skip showers and make do with a cloth cleaning). He also takes water-purification tablets for emergencies. “When I’m travelling on my own and staying at camps with no running water, I take about 3 litres of drinking water per day. For drinking, cooking and dishes, 20 litres per meal is sufficient when I’m taking a group,” says Riaan. “Also, remember that places like Botswana and Namibia have brackish water. It’s fine for washing up, but not great to drink.”
4 TAKE THE RIGHT FOOD
Rather than taking everything along, Johann and his family include a few big towns or cities on their route and restock supplies as they travel. He also keeps enough emergency rations on board to last them a week, should they get into trouble and be forced to wait for help. “A large bag of rice, a few cans of food and about 2 litres of water per person per day is sufficient for this,” he says. Lastly, he warns that you have to take food restrictions where you’ll travel into consideration when you plan your route, for example Namibia’s Red Line. Riaan adds that you should research the border crossings you’ll use. “Some, like the ones to Ponta or Thuli, aren’t so strict since they know there’s very little to buy on that side. But at a place like Buitepos, which is an import-export border post, Customs can be very strict.”
5 MAKE SURE YOU CAN COMMUNICATE
Just like food and water, it’s important to have all your communication equipment sorted around the conditions in which you’ll travel. “Cellular communication is so widespread today that we go almost everywhere simply with a SIM card bought locally,” says Johann. He also uses a SPOT satellite tracker. When he travels in really isolated areas, he’ll notify a friend at home beforehand. This friend, who will also have Johann’s travel itinerary, will then keep an eye on his SPOT location. If it seems the location has stopped moving for very long and his friend suspects something has happened to him, the person can notify local authorities or rescue personnel, with Johann’s exact location. The device also has an SOS button for emergencies.
6 KNOW YOUR NAVIGATION EQUIPMENT AND ROUTES
A GPS device doesn’t help much if you don’t know how it works. “Make sure you use the same aids to plan the trip as you’ll be using on the trip, and that goes for your GPS as well as printed maps and guide books.” This, he says, helps you to be familiar with your navigational aids before you actually need them and helps you to orientate yourself once you’re on the road. It also helps you to calculate travel times between destinations, which in turn benefits your logistical planning. “What time will you have to hit the road? Do you have time for a braai tomorrow night or will you arrive late at camp? If you’ve planned your routes well and you know how to use your navigation equipment, you can answer questions like these more accurately.” Riaan adds that you’ll also be able to calculate your refuelling points better this way.
7 BE PREPARED FOR VEHICLE ISSUES
“Your vehicle is your lifeline in the bush,” Johann emphasises. “So I think it’s really valuable to do a basic ‘bush mechanics’ course before you go.” He also carries a tool kit with lots of basic tools and spares. Furthermore, he suggests you check out some internet forums and groups for any problems typically associated with your type of vehicle. “I drove a Disco 2 for many years. I read that this vehicle, for example, commonly had water pipe issues, so I used to keep one on board – and I did end up needing it.” Riaan keeps all sorts of stuff in his “spares box”, he says, from extra globes and fuses to oils, brake fluid and a tyre pressure monitor. He even carries extra number plates. He also says that he always makes sure he has the numbers of some local workshops where he’s going to travel. “There might not be a dealership close, but with a bit of research you’re sure to find a workshop in the area that knows your type of vehicle.”
8 TAKE THE RIGHT TENTS AND SHELTER
According to Johann, your choice of tents and shelter is also an important part of your trip preparation. “The level of luxury depends on you, but it’s always important to have enough protection against sun, rain and wind. It’s also important to plan around the environment in which you’ll be camping. If you’re going to be sleeping amongst the lions of Mabua or the Kgalagadi, a roof-top tent or a rented bush caravan might be a better bet than a one-man tent.
9 FILL UP YOUR FIRST-AID KIT
Johann and Riaan both travel with first-aid kits with things like broad-spectrum antibiotics and pills for nausea, diarrhoea and pain inside. According to Johann, burn wounds are the most common medical issue on their trips, so they carry a good supply of Burnshield plasters. “Also make sure you have something to break a fever if you’re travelling with small children. And remember enough plasters! They’re like Smarties to kids and they think it heals just about anything.” Riaan adds that anti-allergy medication is very useful (it even helps with some insect bites and stings) while Johann always carries a pot of camphor cream. “You’ll be surprised how quickly a pair of office hands starts to take a beating if they have to work with tent straps and camping gear every day!” Lastly, he says it’s important to make sure your vaccinations are up to date. Your nearest travel clinic can tell you exactly what you’ll need for the areas you’ll visit. And when was the last time you had a tetanus shot? Also create a list of emergency contacts like clinics, hospitals and tow-in services en route, as well as emergency numbers back home, Riaan suggests. “I create a document with my route and the places I’ll stay, with contact numbers. This stays with a friend or family member so they can get hold of me if there’s something back home I need to know about.” Also see Drive Out #109 for a paramedic’s advice on preparing for medical emergencies on tour.
10 KEEP CLEAN
Johann’s last travel tip is a small thing that can prevent big trouble. “We always buy a bottle of Dettol soap and keep it handy in the vehicle. Every time we go through a border control office, everyone has to wash their hands. Those offices take a tremendous number of people from all over, so any virus imaginable tends to hang around there.”