Frank, Juanita and Vanessa's
African adventure

Layout of Landy

From front to back

Front of the Landy

Cubby Box

  • In a small toiletry bag are: tissues, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, floss, matches, lipbalm, etc.

  • Headlamp

  • Sunglass case (I'm wearing my sunglasses most of the time)

Door pockets

Passenger side

  • pack of baby wipes

  • current guide books of the area we are in

  • road atlas

  • small bag of boiled sweets

  • sunscreen for me and our daughter

Drivers side

  • headlamp

  • sunscreen

  • mosquito repellent

  • chewing gum

Visor Wallets

Passenger side

  • pen/pencil

  • small note book

  • large fold up map of area we are in

Drivers side

  • pen/pencil

  • logbook

  • small notebook

Arm Rest Box

  • small binoculars

  • fake wallet with old/cancelled cards, old currency or notes not worth much

  • mobile phone

  • The camera seems to live on my lap and its bag with lenses sits on top of the arm rest box.

I also tend to keep a box of tissues by my feet and there is a hook in the landy to hang a rubbish bag. A friend of ours gave us a very useful gift of a travel bin that we hang here. It is not too big but a good size to keep a small rubbish bag and our 2 water bottles (as we haven't found the right cup holders). Travelling with a child a lot of stuff tends to accumulate around my feet though ???#

Vanessa's seat. She sits behind me. We did think of moving her chair but that seemed more hassle than it was worth. We got her the Britax Kidfix car seat as we have isofix and this is the best car seat in its category. We put a Sunshine Kids Grip-It on the seat – not necessarily to protect the seat from damage by the car seat, but more to help grip the car seat so there is less movement – important when going off roading. We also got a pocket organiser. It straps onto the back of the passenger seat so she has plenty of space to put bits and bobs. There are also pockets on the seat cover but they are a bit hard to get to. I found a nifty activity centre made by Little Tikes. http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3487682/Trail/searchtext%3ETIKES.htm She can keep her crayons together and has a little table to draw. It is working really well.

Back Seat Pocket

Passenger side

  • behind the pockets we put up for Vanessa there is a pocket as part of the seat covers. I put a travel potty (Potette) in here with wipes etc. for those times when a toilet is not available. I have tried to do the bush thing with Vanessa but she is too young and doesn't quite know how to squat and aim yet.

Drivers side

  • everyday first aid kit: plasters, cotton wool and a Savlon spray

  • small dustpan and brush

  • few loose ods and ends that need to be tucked in somewhere

Windows

The windows are currently not tinted (which is something we would still like to do as well as add smash and grab security) so we use Outlook window covers. They work brilliantly. Some of the reviews say they let water in when it rains. We haven't experienced this. They are brilliant and a lot of people have asked us where we get them. The only thing is I think they restrict our daughter's view a bit, so I'm hoping tinting her window will let her see better but still protect her from the sun. We won't do away with the window covers yet.

Boxes

Next to Vanessa are vehicle storage boxes from Touring Gear http://www.touring-gear.com/categories/Storage/Large-Storage-Boxes/ packed with lots of things to keep her entertained: books, puzzles, dolls and a few doll accessories. We also have a box of arts and crafts type of activities. When we get busy with our day to day lives one doesn't always have time to do such activities with kids, so I'm hoping we get plenty of time during our travels.

There is also one box containing our pencil bag with basic stationery, guide books and maps, pack of cards, travel chess set, Uno, compass etc.

Water tank

In the footwell of Vanessa's seat running across the bottom of the Landy is a 50 litre water tank.

Freezer

The Engel fridge is behind driver's seat. We took out the double back seat to fit the fridge and extra battery pack. On top of the battery pack is a shelf to put the boxes that are next to Vanessa.

We've stuck a fire extinguisher next to the fridge.

There is plenty of nooks and crannies to put things like high-vis vests and there is space on the back board behind Vanessa to put up cargo nets to hold things like our fleeces, small bag with clothes line and pegs, sun hats etc.

Camping Chairs

Next to the fridge is a gap and our 3 camping chairs happened to fit in there perfectly.

Back of the Landy

In the back we had the following fitted:

  • drawer system – this is the kitchen drawer

  • there is space to fit 2 large green wolf boxes and 6 black boxes filled with our food supplies, clothes etc.

  • On the one side is space for charcoal, braai, spares, gas bottle, shower etc.

  • On the other side there is space for the waterfilter and jerry can with pump which leads to the little tap.

On the back door is metal sheeting with 2 shelves and straps that holds the 2 plate gas cooker in place.

On Top of the Landy

Patriot Roof Rack

We had a Patriot Roof Rack fitted – again Paul at Footloose4x4 said this was the best to get as it is the only roofrack that gets bolted together (not welded together which can have weak points).

Roofbox

The roofrack is loaded with a roofbox where we keep a lot of spares for the Landy, toilet paper, sleeping bags, stuff we may need but don't use all the time etc.

Gas Cylinder

Originally the gas cylinder was in the back close to where the gas stove is. But to open up more space we moved it to the front of the roofrack with a long gas pipe.

Eezi Awn 1.6m T Top Tent

Need I say more about this as we know how it works and how good they are!

Second Spare Tyre

Under the roof rack

  • The aluminium table slides into a slot made for the table.

  • Maxtrax sandmats also fit into a slot made for the mats.

Home

Countries visited

  • Morocco
  • South Africa
  • Botswana
  • Kenya
  • Malawi
  • Mozambique
  • Swaziland
  • Tanzania
  • Uganda
  • Zambia
  • Namibia

Preparation

  • Truck
  • Shipping the truck
  • Spares to take along
  • Medical
  • Visas
  • The planned route
  • Layout of the truck
  • Useful items (reviews) and information
  • Library

About us

  • The team
  • Q and A
  • Guest book

Contact us