Life on the road: Overland tour basics

On the truck, we are cruising along at 80 kmh, perched high above the highway with grand vistas opening up to the right and left. Every couple of minutes, we passing through little settlements, with small bar/restaurant shacks and a mobile top-up store. Some of our fellow travelers are listening to their ipods, others are talking about burning man, Mu is reading a book, and a few are dozing comfortably. Music, a known indie band at the moment, is playing over the onboard stero as well. It just started raining and we put down the plastic windows to keep the water out of our little corner of the world.


We joined our overland tour, run by Oasis, a little less than a week ago and since this is our world for almost 2 months it seems appropriate to give you a little sense of our first couple of days and an overall sense of life on the overland tour.

The Rig

It all starts with our rig, a 14 ton merger between a truck undercarriage and a custom built living compartment above. The rig was custom built in the U.K. and shipped down to Namibia about 3 years ago, but the drivetrain is about 16 years old. It is built on one of the, if not the, most common trucks here in Eastern Africa, which means that if we need to get parts it should be relatively straightforward. I should note that our rig is called Jozi, but Mu and I are refraining from that name in deference to our dear friend Josie Bean.

The living, or more accurately the riding, compartment is quite large, with a large set of steps deployed to get down to the ground. Inside, there are 2 rows of seats along the sides, where most people sit or lay out for our travel days. Under the seats are a hollow compartments to store our personal effects. There is also a 'beach' in the front of the living compartment over the cab of the truck where some travelers lounge out for the drive. Under the floorboards, they store food, truck parts, and a 'fridge' (read: safe), as well, with two separate locks and keys for added security.

Everything that we will use for the next 56 days is on the truck, a self contained moving island through this grand continent. On the exterior of the truck are a number of lockers, some for jerry cans of water, tents, and cooking supplies. Things fit quite snuggly in these communal lockers, since space is at a premium and to minimize the potential energy of shifting cargo.

The people

Who are the people we are sharing this adventure? First, there is our fearless, and chipper tour leader, Grace, and a driver, Malcolm. In practice, these two are mr. and mrs. fix it and work very well together to keep things moving along and functioning. They both have a breezy air of confidence and competence. Then there are our fellow passengers, 22 in all. There are only 3 Americans (we are 2 of them and the other is a girl who has been abroad in Japan, Australia, and the UK for at least 5 years). There is a plurality of Aussie and Kiwis, as well as a sprinkling of folks from Canada, England and Holland. It is a polyglot bunch, with people having lived and worked far from their homeland. Mu notes that it isn't so polyglot since everyone seems to be of caucasian origin.

Mu and I are the oldest people on the trek, but not by too many years. There are several other couples, but just one other married set (although one Kiwi couple is getting married in a few months). Also, there happens to be a thread of skiing/riding culture in the group, as many logged a bunch of ski days and many done entire seasons in resorts, mostly in Canada. As i always up for talking shop regarding skiing, that has been a nice initial bond to build off. Beyond the common threads of skiing and traveling, it has been enjoyable to find common points of interests (ex: music, current affairs, sports) with fellow travelers, and that is a process that will happily continue throughout.

Thus far, we like the group, people seem to be interesting and asking good questions and the like. I am sure there are days the rig will feel very, very small, but Mu and I can always tunnel into each other and ride through any sense of claustrophobia, physical or mental.

Collaboration

While Oasis is the tour operator, it is far from a full suite affair. There is a bit of a DIY component of the trip, with daily cook groups for the shared meals and food shopping, truck watch when we stop along the journey and truck duty to clean up the truck after the day. In addition, there are many optional activities, for instance just today I went to a Masai village and cultural center with 15 or so others to learn about that very interesting culture. Everyone's experience across Africa will be different on the margins, but we are decidedly together in the grand thrust of the trip.

The vibe is quite reminiscent of a wonderful summer camp I was fortunate enough to attend in the four corners of the US, called Prairie Trek. Quick aside, for anyone with a preteen, this is an amazing experience, I was 2nd generation as my mom attended when she was a kid. Of course, it is the adult version with free will and some legal age hedonism, but the thread is similar. We set up our tent at camp, we cook our food and have to work together to make the most out of this opportunity.

Overall, we are excited to be on the trip that we planned and booked so many months ago. We did not really know what to expect and have been pleasantly surprised at how quickly this temporary lifestyle feels comfortable. We love camping and the continual movement of life on the road suits us well. Also, not having to spend hours and hours planning logistics is wonderful.