unURBAN Adventures - Alaska to Argentina to AFRICA!
- Thread starter unURBAN
- Start date
Thanks for comments, Everybody!!
And yes, bobDog, we are now in Africa getting ready to continue the drive north (you have to check out www.unurban.no every now and then (the twitterfeed on the right is live info!)).
Malin
And yes, bobDog, we are now in Africa getting ready to continue the drive north (you have to check out www.unurban.no every now and then (the twitterfeed on the right is live info!)).
Malin
Travel too fast
Some years ago a friend made a comment about that he thought travelling by plane was to travel to fast. I heard what he said, but I did not fully understand or really agree with him. I thought flying was pretty amazing and it enabled me to get to exotic places quickly from Norway. Flying home to Norway after traveling overland in Africa for 5 months I now think I understand what he meant.
When you are somewhere for a while you get used to the conditions around you and it kind of becomes normal. After travelling thought Southern and Eastern Africa for 5 months I got used to people live in mud huts, washing their clothes in rivers, carrying water from the local well and home to their houses, bad roads with lots of potholes, and people resting literally on the road as the villages and houses come all the way up to the road. Or people making a living out of selling 20 tomatoes and a few onions that is stacked nicely on a table. I have gotten used to that it is only hot water in the showers at campsites in the afternoon as the water has to be heated over a fire. Doing laundry by hand for three months, as the last time we came across a washing machine was in South Africa. Policemen are no longer your friends, but your “enemies”, as most of them are looking for a bribe. I have gotten used to carrying clean syringes and needles in case we have to see a doctor. We have been informed that there is not enough medical equipment in hospitals in parts of Africa for everyone to get a clean needle if you need an injection. So it might be a quite a gamble seeing a doctor when over 15 % of the population in Southern Africa has HIV.
After parking the Patrol in Arusha we boarded a plane to Norway. Just a few hours after passing a masai mud hut village where the cattle was roaming, we landed in well-organized Norway. I think it must have been one of the biggest cultural shocks we have ever had. The difference from Eastern Africa to Norway regarding everything is incredible. Climate, culture, buildings, roads, health care, technology and…… the list is long. It was then I remembered the comment from our friend about traveling by plane was to travel to fast.
We landed in Norway on a Tuesday afternoon, and on Friday morning we were back at the airport and boarded another plane, this time to Italy. Friends of us were getting married and we were joining their wedding party. Yet again we jumped from one place to new place in a couple of hours. Italy is not very different from Norway, but compared with Africa it was like arriving on a different planet. Suddenly we were joining the Italian way of enjoying life with amazing food and wine.
After a few days in Italy we went back to Norway where we spent a total of one month. Not once in that month did I drive on a public gravel road, have to avoid a single pothole, not being able to spot pedestrians in the dark as they were all wearing high-visibility clothing or retroreflectors (those campaigns in Norway have been very efficient), wash my clothes by hand, argue with a police officer about a bribe, or drive around with clean syringes and needles in case I had to see a doctor. I didn’t even need a health insurance.
With our bags packed with winter clothing we were ready to fly again, this time to get to work. Leaving all the autumn colored threes behind in Norway we arrived to the beginning of summer in Punta Arenas in Southern Chile. After a few days with sun and t-shirt temperature it was time to board another plane taking us to almost 80 degrees south in Antarctica with negative 20 Celsius and 24 hours sunlight. The changes really blow your mind away.
In the end of January we reversed the journey, now from late summer in Antarctica and Punta Arenas to late winter in Norway. More time at home seeing family and friends, and also to prepare for the journey north through Africa. Soon it was time to get on the plane again. We left the white snow behind and found white sand beaches on Zanzibar.
Again we saw people living in mud huts and carrying water from the well and to their houses. After one hour in our rental car and the second police check point, we meet a policeman looking for a bribe. Welcome back to Tanzania and Africa!!
Now it is time to pick up the Patrol and travel a bit more slowly, and perhaps to think of my carbon footprint. As I also had a couple of flights back home to visit my sister in a different town, and to pick up some visas in Stockholm, Espen commented one day that my carbon footprint was probably equal with that of a small country (he’s not that much better, though...).
I am looking forward to travel overland again and trying to see the differences and small changes from one area to another. Some people think that traveling by car is also to travel to fast. In the Canadian Arctic I worked with Alistair Humphreys (www.alastairhumphreys.com) who had spent 4 years on a push bike traveling around the world. He said that he sometimes thought that even using a bike was to travel to fast. He later spent a month walking across Southern India. In South Africa while waiting for the Patrol to arrive from South America we briefly meet Amy and Aaron (http://www.walking4water.org/index.html) in the guesthouse where we stayed, and they are currently walking from Cape Town to Cairo. That is moving as slowly as you can from one place to another, and the experience of traveling must be totally different from ours in a car. Maybe I can agree that travelling by car can sometimes be too fast, but it is kind of in between walking and flying, and I am really happy with the possibilities it gives us.
So let’s get back on the road and hopefully see all the changes from Eastern Africa to Norway as they occur outside our window, and maybe even stop if we see something fascinating.
Malin
Some years ago a friend made a comment about that he thought travelling by plane was to travel to fast. I heard what he said, but I did not fully understand or really agree with him. I thought flying was pretty amazing and it enabled me to get to exotic places quickly from Norway. Flying home to Norway after traveling overland in Africa for 5 months I now think I understand what he meant.
When you are somewhere for a while you get used to the conditions around you and it kind of becomes normal. After travelling thought Southern and Eastern Africa for 5 months I got used to people live in mud huts, washing their clothes in rivers, carrying water from the local well and home to their houses, bad roads with lots of potholes, and people resting literally on the road as the villages and houses come all the way up to the road. Or people making a living out of selling 20 tomatoes and a few onions that is stacked nicely on a table. I have gotten used to that it is only hot water in the showers at campsites in the afternoon as the water has to be heated over a fire. Doing laundry by hand for three months, as the last time we came across a washing machine was in South Africa. Policemen are no longer your friends, but your “enemies”, as most of them are looking for a bribe. I have gotten used to carrying clean syringes and needles in case we have to see a doctor. We have been informed that there is not enough medical equipment in hospitals in parts of Africa for everyone to get a clean needle if you need an injection. So it might be a quite a gamble seeing a doctor when over 15 % of the population in Southern Africa has HIV.
After parking the Patrol in Arusha we boarded a plane to Norway. Just a few hours after passing a masai mud hut village where the cattle was roaming, we landed in well-organized Norway. I think it must have been one of the biggest cultural shocks we have ever had. The difference from Eastern Africa to Norway regarding everything is incredible. Climate, culture, buildings, roads, health care, technology and…… the list is long. It was then I remembered the comment from our friend about traveling by plane was to travel to fast.
We landed in Norway on a Tuesday afternoon, and on Friday morning we were back at the airport and boarded another plane, this time to Italy. Friends of us were getting married and we were joining their wedding party. Yet again we jumped from one place to new place in a couple of hours. Italy is not very different from Norway, but compared with Africa it was like arriving on a different planet. Suddenly we were joining the Italian way of enjoying life with amazing food and wine.
After a few days in Italy we went back to Norway where we spent a total of one month. Not once in that month did I drive on a public gravel road, have to avoid a single pothole, not being able to spot pedestrians in the dark as they were all wearing high-visibility clothing or retroreflectors (those campaigns in Norway have been very efficient), wash my clothes by hand, argue with a police officer about a bribe, or drive around with clean syringes and needles in case I had to see a doctor. I didn’t even need a health insurance.
With our bags packed with winter clothing we were ready to fly again, this time to get to work. Leaving all the autumn colored threes behind in Norway we arrived to the beginning of summer in Punta Arenas in Southern Chile. After a few days with sun and t-shirt temperature it was time to board another plane taking us to almost 80 degrees south in Antarctica with negative 20 Celsius and 24 hours sunlight. The changes really blow your mind away.
In the end of January we reversed the journey, now from late summer in Antarctica and Punta Arenas to late winter in Norway. More time at home seeing family and friends, and also to prepare for the journey north through Africa. Soon it was time to get on the plane again. We left the white snow behind and found white sand beaches on Zanzibar.
Again we saw people living in mud huts and carrying water from the well and to their houses. After one hour in our rental car and the second police check point, we meet a policeman looking for a bribe. Welcome back to Tanzania and Africa!!
Now it is time to pick up the Patrol and travel a bit more slowly, and perhaps to think of my carbon footprint. As I also had a couple of flights back home to visit my sister in a different town, and to pick up some visas in Stockholm, Espen commented one day that my carbon footprint was probably equal with that of a small country (he’s not that much better, though...).
I am looking forward to travel overland again and trying to see the differences and small changes from one area to another. Some people think that traveling by car is also to travel to fast. In the Canadian Arctic I worked with Alistair Humphreys (www.alastairhumphreys.com) who had spent 4 years on a push bike traveling around the world. He said that he sometimes thought that even using a bike was to travel to fast. He later spent a month walking across Southern India. In South Africa while waiting for the Patrol to arrive from South America we briefly meet Amy and Aaron (http://www.walking4water.org/index.html) in the guesthouse where we stayed, and they are currently walking from Cape Town to Cairo. That is moving as slowly as you can from one place to another, and the experience of traveling must be totally different from ours in a car. Maybe I can agree that travelling by car can sometimes be too fast, but it is kind of in between walking and flying, and I am really happy with the possibilities it gives us.
So let’s get back on the road and hopefully see all the changes from Eastern Africa to Norway as they occur outside our window, and maybe even stop if we see something fascinating.
Malin
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Getting ready
We've now been on the road for almost three years. There have been two longer breaks, one for about three months in Patagonia when we flew in to work in Antarctica, and a second break, for about 5 months when we signed up for another season in Antarctica earlier this year. Other than this we've been more or less on the move, and we have driven about 100 000 kilometers since we set out from Florida, US, in 2010. The Patrol has been great! No major problems and only “standard” maintenance as a few bushes, and oils and filter changes. Still, sometimes we need to get some new parts, and that is for some reason much easier to take care of when we are in Norway or when we get “visitors” from home. This time we have packed the bags full. So, here is a quick update on things we have to do before starting our last leg through Africa.
The Optima batteries gave me some headache the last couple of months on the road. It seems they don't charge properly, and the length of the relatively small cable combined with the Patrol's infamous low charging voltage (about 13,9, probably 13,6-7 on the aux batteries in the back), I believe this to be the problem. AGM batteries (and gel) should have 14,4 volts, and this will now be fixed with a CTEK DUAL250 dc to dc charger. This is also an intelligent charger that will switch to a different charging program when the battery is closer to full. A nice bonus is the built in solar controller that also feeds the intelligent charging programs so that it switches to maintenance charging when the battery is full. A very nice piece of equipment that I really look forward to install and try.
Next up is a new set of lights. My old ones have literally been shaken to pieces, so now we've picked up two 60 W xenon high-beams that should take care of the dark roads in the late afternoons driving north.
The compressor that we “fixed” epoxy glue down in Malawi is up for a set of new valves.
Our trusted Garmin GPS died on us just before we left Africa. The contact for the USB plug (and thereby charging) has vibrated off the motherboard, and refused to accept charging. A new Garmin Nuvi 2595 was purchased in Norway before we left, and all maps should now be loaded and tested. We'll see if it performs as well as the old Nuvi 255w. It would be nice with the 3590 for multi-touch, but it cost more than 100 bucks extra. Maybe next time if Garmin wants to be a sponsor…
Something we've been looking for a little while are new bushes for the rear control arms. Leaving Norway three years ago, I had new third party polyutherane bushes in the arms (they came with my new adjustable arms). These were gone after about 40 000 km. I looked for new Patrol bushes in Bolivia, but they were sold out, and I decided to install some Nissan Pathfinder bushes instead. These have the same inner and outer diameter, but significantly less rubber in them as the Pathfinder is a much lighter vehicle than the Patrol. These have now done about 60 000 km, but I'd like to change them before setting out north from Kenya as these roads will probably be the worst so far on the trip. And as this is a pretty remote area, I'd like everything to be in perfect order. I found a press in the garage where we stored the car.
Another thing that needs to be looked after every now and then is our water purification system. It is always a little disgusting to remove the old one…
These cartridges have been hard to find outside Europe and North America, but then we only need to replace them after 4000 liters or 9 – 12 months (some change after 6 months, but we have been fine). Not a huge problem as they don't take up much space, but our challenge was that we never intended to be away this long. We had to order one from the UK, and it ended up being ridiculously expensive as shipping costs and the Norwegian value added tax is quite steep. If you have a filter system for your water, stock up on cartridges when you can, and hopefully a place where it is cheap. We also brought with us a new tap as the old one show signs of leaking after three years of abuse, and also a few meters of plastic hose as the old one looks, well, old.
The Patrol has now been parked for five months, and we will of course change all the oils and all filters before we start driving north. We have some spare fuel an oil filters in the car, and we also picked up an extra fuel filter in Norway so that we don't have to drive around and look for this in Tanzania. We should have all the spares we need for the drive across the Sahara and back to Europe. I hope…
There are multigrade syntetic oils to find in Arusha, so the “normal” 5w-40 (or 10w-40) that I prefer to put in should be available. I also thought I should change the oil in the rear diff as this is the one that gets most of the mileage. And talking about the diffs, I really hope that the seal we had some problems with in the front axle is still holding. We'll see.
Other items that came with us in our bags are a stack of guide books to see us through Northern Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe, and also a long static rope for a winch extension line. The rainy season in Eastern Africa is just about to kick off, and we're going to have to drive through it. Would be really nice with a new set of 37 inch BFG Mud Terrains for that job, but they wouldn't fit in the bags…
More soon!
Espen
We've now been on the road for almost three years. There have been two longer breaks, one for about three months in Patagonia when we flew in to work in Antarctica, and a second break, for about 5 months when we signed up for another season in Antarctica earlier this year. Other than this we've been more or less on the move, and we have driven about 100 000 kilometers since we set out from Florida, US, in 2010. The Patrol has been great! No major problems and only “standard” maintenance as a few bushes, and oils and filter changes. Still, sometimes we need to get some new parts, and that is for some reason much easier to take care of when we are in Norway or when we get “visitors” from home. This time we have packed the bags full. So, here is a quick update on things we have to do before starting our last leg through Africa.
The Optima batteries gave me some headache the last couple of months on the road. It seems they don't charge properly, and the length of the relatively small cable combined with the Patrol's infamous low charging voltage (about 13,9, probably 13,6-7 on the aux batteries in the back), I believe this to be the problem. AGM batteries (and gel) should have 14,4 volts, and this will now be fixed with a CTEK DUAL250 dc to dc charger. This is also an intelligent charger that will switch to a different charging program when the battery is closer to full. A nice bonus is the built in solar controller that also feeds the intelligent charging programs so that it switches to maintenance charging when the battery is full. A very nice piece of equipment that I really look forward to install and try.
Next up is a new set of lights. My old ones have literally been shaken to pieces, so now we've picked up two 60 W xenon high-beams that should take care of the dark roads in the late afternoons driving north.
The compressor that we “fixed” epoxy glue down in Malawi is up for a set of new valves.
Our trusted Garmin GPS died on us just before we left Africa. The contact for the USB plug (and thereby charging) has vibrated off the motherboard, and refused to accept charging. A new Garmin Nuvi 2595 was purchased in Norway before we left, and all maps should now be loaded and tested. We'll see if it performs as well as the old Nuvi 255w. It would be nice with the 3590 for multi-touch, but it cost more than 100 bucks extra. Maybe next time if Garmin wants to be a sponsor…
Something we've been looking for a little while are new bushes for the rear control arms. Leaving Norway three years ago, I had new third party polyutherane bushes in the arms (they came with my new adjustable arms). These were gone after about 40 000 km. I looked for new Patrol bushes in Bolivia, but they were sold out, and I decided to install some Nissan Pathfinder bushes instead. These have the same inner and outer diameter, but significantly less rubber in them as the Pathfinder is a much lighter vehicle than the Patrol. These have now done about 60 000 km, but I'd like to change them before setting out north from Kenya as these roads will probably be the worst so far on the trip. And as this is a pretty remote area, I'd like everything to be in perfect order. I found a press in the garage where we stored the car.
Another thing that needs to be looked after every now and then is our water purification system. It is always a little disgusting to remove the old one…
These cartridges have been hard to find outside Europe and North America, but then we only need to replace them after 4000 liters or 9 – 12 months (some change after 6 months, but we have been fine). Not a huge problem as they don't take up much space, but our challenge was that we never intended to be away this long. We had to order one from the UK, and it ended up being ridiculously expensive as shipping costs and the Norwegian value added tax is quite steep. If you have a filter system for your water, stock up on cartridges when you can, and hopefully a place where it is cheap. We also brought with us a new tap as the old one show signs of leaking after three years of abuse, and also a few meters of plastic hose as the old one looks, well, old.
The Patrol has now been parked for five months, and we will of course change all the oils and all filters before we start driving north. We have some spare fuel an oil filters in the car, and we also picked up an extra fuel filter in Norway so that we don't have to drive around and look for this in Tanzania. We should have all the spares we need for the drive across the Sahara and back to Europe. I hope…
There are multigrade syntetic oils to find in Arusha, so the “normal” 5w-40 (or 10w-40) that I prefer to put in should be available. I also thought I should change the oil in the rear diff as this is the one that gets most of the mileage. And talking about the diffs, I really hope that the seal we had some problems with in the front axle is still holding. We'll see.
Other items that came with us in our bags are a stack of guide books to see us through Northern Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe, and also a long static rope for a winch extension line. The rainy season in Eastern Africa is just about to kick off, and we're going to have to drive through it. Would be really nice with a new set of 37 inch BFG Mud Terrains for that job, but they wouldn't fit in the bags…
More soon!
Espen
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Update...
Just changed the oil in the rear diff. Ouch…
What was I saying about wanting to have everything in perfect order before we start driving north? Well, I filled it up with new oil, and I’ll inspect it again in Nairobi about 1000 kilometers from here. As everything has gone so smooth until now, maybe it is time with some excitement. Can we cross Sahara with this set of ring and pinion…?
Espen
Just changed the oil in the rear diff. Ouch…
What was I saying about wanting to have everything in perfect order before we start driving north? Well, I filled it up with new oil, and I’ll inspect it again in Nairobi about 1000 kilometers from here. As everything has gone so smooth until now, maybe it is time with some excitement. Can we cross Sahara with this set of ring and pinion…?
Espen
Dan Grec
Expedition Leader
Espen,
Thanks as always for the amazing updates. I'm following your every word and can't wait to see what route you pick in Northern Africa.
I know that updating WikiOverland on the road is a pain, but if you get the chance, can you please include a sentence per country on your blog posts? i.e. if you can post something simple like...
"Entrance to Turkey just needs a Carnet, insurance is $45/mo, diesel is $2.20/gal, roads are pretty good and camping is plentiful" or something like that, so I can get the key points for a given country into WO.
(I made all that up, by the way)
It will be amazingly helpful for some of the out-of-the way countries that we have no information for yet. I will link to your blog as the source for anything like that you can post.
Thanks so much, have fun and live the dream!
-Dan
concretejungle
Adventurer
looking at that diff fill plug if you have driven 100000 KM on that oil, i would say that amount of shavings is perfectly normal.
ravscin
Ravscin
dear unUrbans.
I've been following your journey and I'm happy U're doing fine.
I wanted not to "give an advice" as that's just cheap... but there is one thing You should definitely do after this 100Kkm trip: fill front axle knuckle flanges with fresh grease.
this will save You plenty of trouble .....
Best reg. RaV
I've been following your journey and I'm happy U're doing fine.
I wanted not to "give an advice" as that's just cheap... but there is one thing You should definitely do after this 100Kkm trip: fill front axle knuckle flanges with fresh grease.
this will save You plenty of trouble .....
Best reg. RaV
About 40 000 km. When I changed it the oil looked Perfect, and that is kind of what worries me a bit. Still, there are no sounds or any play that I can feel in the Wheel bearings. I'll check it again now one of the first few days and see what it looks like.
E