Sorry no photos yet as I have some technical issues with my blog!

Our adventure has begun. We had a very easy flight to Heathrow and a delayed flight on but all was well. Nobody slept very much but we were collected from the  airport to get our vehicles. They are fantastic, great big hi-luxs with double cabs and lots of kit! We think that we are prepared for every eventuality with lots of water, two tanks of fuel and some gadgets - sat nav, walkie talkie so we can communicate between the cars, and a satellite phone. We've also go penknives, a sling shot and a flint and steel. We've stocked up with food for the next few days and managed a swim at the hotel in Johannesburg.

It is spring here as we get ready to travel to warmer climes. Work is (almost) finished we are (almost) packed and we are certainly ready to start our adventure. We have managed to catch our magnolia tree which has just come out.

Packing again

As we start packing again I remember the feeing of last time - when we were moving to Malawi for three years. This time we are going for 3 weeks and it's not just me, two kids and a doctor, we are taking friends and their children too.

I described moving abroad like the cupboard under the stairs - if you don't look you can forget what's in there or what is involved. As we prepare again I feel a bit like when you drive into an enormous puddle (something we used to do a lot in the rainy season in Blantyre) and you don't know how deep it is so I used to imagine I had my eyes shut and just go for it.

So join us again as we journey across southern Africa, beginning in Johannesburg and travelling up through Botswana to Zambia.