and we are off!

At last the wait is over and we all made it to Johannesburg in time for the connection to Walvis Bay. At least most of us did it smoothly but one unnamed individual left his passport on the plane and had to retrieve it after he had made it to the baggage claim. In the best South African style many people told him that they would go back to the  plane for him, but unfortunately they all vanished into thin air. Eventually after asking a variety of willing officials, after two hours a responsible individual went onto the plane to get it back. By this point we were about to board for Namibia so it really was in the nick of time. Good work SAA,

I had thought that we would be the only group or at least the biggest group on the plane. No way. There was a group of French vintage car owners who had shipped their cars down and were going touring through the Namib in them.  Amazing the spectrum of people you meet here.

The other thing that impressed me on our arrival in Walvis Bay wasn't the airport building, but how much attention they were paying to Ebola. Because most of us were from the USA we had to fill out forms about where we had traveled in the prior three months. When questioned about this the nurse was very clear. Ebola exists in the USA but not in Namibia. They weren't taking any chances with those dangerous Americans. There was also a guy scanning everyone who got off the plane with a hand held thermometer, just to make sure that no one was running a fever.

Anyway we made it to the hotel, and then the priority stop was the biltong shop. Namaqua Beef is surely the world epicenter of game biltong. We stocked up, much to their delight, and I have it on good authority that the cupboards were bare  when we left. Old Mother Hubbard has nothing on them.

Dinner that night was once again at the Tug, which has become the go to place in the region. It’s a beautiful restaurant on the beach and since I discovered it about 4 years ago, every trip has included at least one meal there. There has also been something unique about each visit and this night was no different. One of the specialties of the house is sole. Its really good and they can prepare it a few ways. Johnny in his best indecisive way, couldn’t decide among them so what is a man to do but order all three options.  His leftover bones at the end of the meal looked very much like preparation for a ichthyology class.

The next morning we headed over to Mike to pick up the trucks which he had so painstakingly prepared. They looked spectacular and just to ensure there were no screw ups each of us had to take a drive around the block to get a feel for them. When we returned we backed them into a nice straight line, except for Allan who backed his into the wall. Good thing we were at an auto electrician’s yard. We finally got


on the road at about 10 and once again the police were waiting for us. This time we were smart and only had one person in each truck. No problem. They then told us that we had too many documents, that the clearing agent had screwed up, that we had more licenses than we needed which was illegal and that one way or another we would have to pay fines.  So we paid the penalty, passed go and got rolling.  We made it to Windhoek after only one more roadblock. 

 

Once again we got a little lost. We pulled off the highway and turned into the city proper and quickly realized we had no clue where to go. We stopped on a blind curve and a cop came running over, screaming at us about how dangerous it was. I told him we needed help and his whole demeanor changed. Unbelievable what a difference between there and where we live. He started smiling and asked how he could help. At this point there were just two trucks waiting, and when I showed him our map and told him where we were going we ran into a familiar problem. He knew the hotel but the road we were looking for had changed its name, so there was no such address. He agreed to show us where to go and then saw the other six trucks pulling up. He didn’t seem very disturbed and we followed him to an intersection close by. He climbed out of his van and came walking over to us with a huge grin on his face. The hotel was across the street but he very keenly informed me that they had no real parking lot and we had no chance of making a tight turn into the property and then parking even one truck, let alone eight. And with that he climbed into his van and drove away. Anyway we fooled him; we made it into the lot and managed to park, although we had to lift a couple of awnings to get in.

Then the fun started. The indicator on one of the trucks showed that the cab was loose, not a good thing. Another one wouldn’t start. So we called mechanics and they worked incompetently until about ten that night, when they told us that the part we needed was at the warehouse which was too far away to go. However, one of them just happened to have one at his house which he could let us have for a price.  Right!. Anyway we did it and headed out the next morning, going north for a long haul to Etosha.

It was a long haul but we drove into the camp at about 5

Seek and ye shall find

The wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze me. Soon they will amaze you too. Not only will you be reading about our little trip but you will be able to watch where we are. All you have to do is log in to
https://www.gsattrack.com

Go to Login at the top of the page and click on it.

Enter  User Name : test@test.com

           Password   :  test

And if you really want to keep track of us you can also click on Remember me. 

Also when you see us moving from Johannesburg to Walvis Bay on Wednesday at 5oo miles an hour, believe it. Only thing to bear in mind is that the tracker will be in a plane flying there so don't get nervous, we don't drive that fast. (I have heard that the South African Police are still looking for a car with a tracking device that apparently took off from Rand Airport after being stolen.)

You will find us at the little fire engine on the map. Now who said it was difficult to play Hide and Seek in Africa.

Progress including writing

Things are really starting to come together now. We have the final team all warming up in the locker room, and the ninth truck has arrived.

Actually this is our logo for the trip, and if you look closely you will see the Mudzimi sign.







 Far more importantly the eight trucks that were shipped are on land in Walvis Bay. They are in Mike's yard and I understand that he has been tuning them and making sure that  everything runs right.

The wine that was so carefully packed and shipped from Cape Town arrived yesterday and is safely locked in the tool sections of the trucks. Peter is already in Walvis and the rest of the gang leave over the next four days. Our New York detachment includes Goldie, Jackie, Sel Silver, Jarret Milligan, Henry Riveros, Richard Hodosh and me, with a possible mystery guest. Allan and Roy Chassay are coming in from LA and Sydney respectively, and from Zim we have Andrew Raft. I did some research and watched a few movies about the SAS and the LRDG recently to see if we could emulate them in some way, but I  must admit we have absolutely nothing in common besides a desert. Okay, bring on the sand!

Progress on all fronts except writing.

Okay, so I got into big trouble from my boss. He wants to know where the next post in the blog is, so I figured that if I want to see his smiling countenance in Namibia, I had better get writing ( or typing since writing is now akin to hieroglyphics or something found on the Rosetta Stone). He also threatened to cut of my supply of biltong from Namaqualand Meats which is really just a despicable thing to do. Even the threat is out of bounds.

Aaaaanyway. I will pick up the story in my art class.

Can you identify the artist.

From the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum

Okay, it isn't Miro, it isn't a Jasper Johns or even a Kandinsky. It is in fact the chart that is supposed to show where your particular ship of interest is.

I have no clue where ours was, but I can tell you its a terrific boat, much better looking than the old bucket of bolts that brought the last lot of trucks down to Walvis Bay. This is our new mode of transport, sleek, streamlined, environmentally correct. Okay, you caught me lying again.No ways could this have held nine fire engines, six maybe but not nine .






 Our new car carrier is this strange looking ship

Not very glamorous but she gets the job done, 

and in that giant distended belly are these, our gorgeous fleet of tomato red, ready for prime time trucks.









After weeks of waiting the fire engine company has just told us that they are going to be shipping us one short. Apparently there was a fire where one of the trucks was needed and so it was detoured away from the ship. Good authority has it that the truck will try to go overland to Namibia and get there in time for our trip.

From Genesis to Revelation

Okay boys and girls. All sitting round on your botties? Good. Then we will go to chapter 2.

As most of you remember the genesis of the whole firetruck adventure happened about two years ago when a group of intrepid young men ( not a soul over 65) led by Peter Lobel, their fearless leader, decided to deliver two firetrucks to Harare after picking them up in Walvis Bay, Namibia.  It was an amazing journey in many respects, and for those of you who haven't read it, there is a blog about it at http://zimfiretrucks.blogspot.com/. Everyone was very proud of their good work, and seems that the fire department put the equipment to good use.

The following year another truck was dispatched and safely delivered to Harare's bravest. Then in the spirit of no good deed going unpunished, some folks in Zim thought that they should encourage this group of stalwarts to make another run. Only problem is that this time it was to be 9 fire engines of various sizes and shapes. Not being lily livered chickens, of course the group ( or at least some of it) responded by saying "Hell yes". Given that it is really tough to drive this many trucks with only four people, another seven reckless fools were press ganged into joining the group. Not only that but in a ground breaking sign of the 21st century, one of them is female ( and Peter's daughter to boot). So with all of this now accomplished, the trip was planned.

Because things do change in Africa, and not always with the most logical of reasoning, we discovered that Botswana was not a viable route. I hate these people who begrudge our using their roads with big trucks, without paying taxes. Also, apparently they are very upset that last time we drove through, we scared some goats and chickens with the lights and sirens, so we are persona non-grata. Anyway we worked out a new route that will take us north to the Caprivi strip, then east to Zambia, past Victoria Falls, and then on to the border crossing into Zimbabwe over the Kariba dam wall. There will be a geography test on Tuesday to make sure you know where all of these places are.

The trail we will follow.