In preparing for our journey we have come across a
number of very useful websites, people and organisations. In order to publicise
these and acknowledge their involvement in our trip we have listed
them below.
:: Vehicle and Expedition Preparation
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Footloose 4x4
These guys have been absolutely fantastic and have been our
main supplier of equipment, servicing and general advice. To say
that Paul Marsh (who owns Footloose) is a seasoned overlander is a
massive understatement! He is an authority on all things
expedition-oriented. We would highly recommend Footloose to anyone
who is thinking about an overland expedition and would like to find
out any information from a mechanical and technical
perspective as well as for general first-hand, "been there and
done-it" advice.
Click on this
link to read an interesting article about Paul and Footloose
4x4.
www.footloose4x4.com
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Foley Specialist Vehicles
Following our unfortunate mishap with the Land Rover just
before leaving, Foleys where able to assist us with repairing and
rebuilding the Land Rover. Paul and Stuart Foley have many years
of experience and knowledge and provided us an excellent option in
the rebuild. Many thanks to them for their hard work in turning
our car around in a matter of weeks after the accident.
www.foleysv.com
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Plastor
We used Plastor boxes for storage in the back of the Land
Rover. Storage is key element of the preparation phase - getting
it right can make life on the road so much easier. Wolf boxes are
popular but extremely expensive as they are imported from South
Africa.
We went for the Grey Range Container System. These boxes are
great - they're modular and come in a wide range of sizes. There
is no wasted space being rigid and square, and they fit together
very neatly.
Having been provided an excellent service we would recommend
them highly. The MD, John Yates, is very helpful and personally
stayed behind after closing time to help us solve our storage
puzzle!
www.plastor.co.uk
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Brownchurch
Brownchurch are also a well-respected London-based Land Rover servicing centre and expedition
specialist. We got our roof rack from them and also some other
bits and pieces.
www.brownchurch.co.uk
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Tracks for Africa
These guys have collated some excellent GPS maps for Africa
incorporating fully routable auto maps and an extensive points of
interest database. They are well worth the money and cover most of
Africa (some parts more extensively than others).
www.tracks4africa.com
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:: General Information
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Landyzone.co.uk
Excellent bunch of Land Rover nuts and an excellent resource
for finding out useful information.
www.landyzone.co.uk
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The Land Rover Network
As above, the Land Rover Network is an excellent resource for
meeting like-minded Land Rover owners and expedition travellers.
www.landrovernet.com
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4xforum
This is a South African website that is run by Andrew St.
Pierre White. Andrew is a well-known authority on off-road driving
and expeditions. He has some excellent information available and
we would recommend his books and DVDs as excellent information
resources.
www.4xforum.com
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:: Spares & Equipment
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Tilley Hats
Tilley have very kindly sponsored Catherine and I two of
their comfortable and durable hats. Tilley hats are
Canadian-made and known to be of outstanding quality which will
suit us very well in the African bush.
We have chosen the
Tilley Insect Shield Hat and the
TH9 Hemp Hat.
While Tilley are famous
for their hats, they also sell a range of travel items and
accessories. See their website for more details.
www.tilleyuk.com
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BushCables.com
Bush cables are stainless steel cables that are attached across the
bonnet of the Land Rover. They are designed to force tree branches away and
protect the windscreen during
off-road driving.
Kurt from BushCables.com has very kindly sponsored us a set for our trip.
They are
excellent quality and will no doubt be invaluable on our journey. Please
visit his website for full details of his products which are designed to
fit a wide range of off-road vehicles.
www.bushcables.com
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Extreme 4x4 & Durite
Jeremy from Extreme 4x4 has very kindly sponsored us an anti
roll bar upgrade kit following our rebuild. This significantly
transforms the handling of the Land Rover and should reduce the
risk of rolling the vehicle.
Extreme 4x4 sell a wide range of offroading suspension,
recovery and protection equipment.
Jeremy also runs Durite - selling auto electrical parts. Most
of our electrics are Durite, which we obtained through Footloose
4x4 and so far have been very reliable.
See the websites below for his full range of products.
www.extreme4x4ltd.co.uk
www.durite.co.uk
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Eezi-Awn We are very grateful to Eezi-Awn in South Africa
who sponsored us some spare parts to repair our tent. We would
wholeheartedly recommend their tents for any overlanders. They are
comfortable, practical and eezi.
Eezi-Awn tents are available in the UK - see their website
below.
www.eeziawn.com
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eBay
We have used eBay extensively to source equipment for our trip
and saved loads of money this way. What more can I say - this
website
is brilliant!
www.ebay.co.uk
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John Craddock Ltd
Great for general equipment and spares for the Land Rover.
www.johncraddockltd.co.uk
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Paddock
Great for general equipment and spares for the Land Rover.
www.paddockspares.com
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:: Legal, Health and General Preparation
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RAC
The RAC provide the very important carnet de passage. This is a
legal document that will permit the temporary importation of the Land
Rover in each country that we'll be travelling through. It's
complicated so if you're interested, visit the website.
www.rac.co.uk
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Fit For Travel
This is an excellent NHS website that provides essential
medical information for all the countries that we will be
travelling through.
www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk
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City of Westminster College
I did a 10-week DIY car vehicle maintenance course at the
college to learn the core skills that would be needed to keep
the car running in good shape while we are on the trip. I
would recommend this to anyone who is looking to gain a basic set
of DIY car maintenance skills. Thanks to Dale and Paul for their
input.
www.cwc.ac.uk
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:: Other Overlanders
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Wild Sightings
This is the website of Ross and Heidi who travelled down the
west coast during 2007/2008. I met them while on a work trip in Gibraltar. Seeing them in action provided the impetus and
inspiration to turn our trip from a dream into a reality. Thanks
guys!
www.wildsightings.com
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Long Road Trip South
There are many overlander websites out there. Some seem to
strike a chord - others don't necessarily grab you at first
browse. I found this website (Rob & Ally) to be particularly
inspiring and full of the information needed to help in
undertaking a trip
of our own. Thanks for this!
www.longroadtripsouth.com
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Siza iKhaya ("We are coming home")
This is the website of Richard and Heather Philips who are
departing in May 2009. We were put in contact with them through a mutual
friend from Cape Town, Rob Galliers. We will be following their
progress closely.
www.siza-ikhaya.co.uk
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The Africa Overland Network
The Africa Overland Network provides a catalogue of independent
overland website indexing current, past and future trips.
www.africa-overland.net
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