Preparation - crickey, am I missing something?
 

So, the big moment is approaching fast, we've found a tenant for the house. They want to move in 1st Sept, and we hadn't planned to leave before Oct 1....

We have a pretty clear idea of where we're going (countries rather than postal codes), we know how to deal with the carnet (gulp) and our car is being professionally prepared (Julian I know you'll read this). Insurance, jabs and outfitting are pretty much taken care of.

So, what am I missing? Our car (LC 80) is as good as it can get, we've been to Africa before, why do I think I should be panicking about something?

BTW if you are wondering what all the fuss is about we're going to Cape Town via Eastern Route starting approx Oct 1 and would love some moral support.....

Looking forward to your reassurance

Lucie 'n' Sean

Do you need to let your bank know you'll be using your credit card in some strange countries, so they don't block it?
Do you have copies of your passport/paperwork somewhere?
Spare keys?

tips and tricks
 

does your bank(mortgage) / house insurance allow you to sublet your house? Mine didn't. I had to find another insurer. Small problem though.

Do you have about 50 passport photographs per person with you for all the visa applications. Make your own pictures, multiply in Photoshop, print yourselves, very cheap. Locally a pain to find and expensive.

Check my website with a long list of tips and tricks ;

exploreafrica.web-log.nl: 30-Tips & Tricks (in English)

Cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

Best advice I can suggest is don't worry. Sounds like you have the big ticket things in hand and the rest will work out. You can probably make a ridiculously long list of things if you really want to but its not necassary. We went trans africa in 2001/02. Intended to go out to Aus via China and had put in a lot of preparation, then Sept 11 and the subsequent war in Afghanistan so we had to re route via Africa with about 2 weeks notice. Figured out route, visas etc on the way. Unless you are running on a very tight timescale then its not a problem. You'll meet lots of other travellers on the way, share ideas, etc. Have fun.

Phew!
 

Thank you all so much for all your input, your reassurance is really valuable and now I just have to worry about the really boring stuff, like the cost of getting through Libya......... :censored:

Lucie