Contact Info

Before I forget, here are my email addresses.  Apparently I can access my telus account (elorenz9@telus.net) from anywhere in the world by using mail2web.com.

I've also created another email address for myself with google, so here is my backup address should the telus address not work:  elorenz57@gmail.com

Travel stuff is still strewn all over the living room floor.  This includes the following technology:

•  a kobo ereader onto which I've downloaded 114 free books and 3 paid for books and still need to try to sign out an ebook from the Vancouver Island Regional Library;
• an iPod touch to be used in lieu of a computer.  Ask me anything...like how to power surge the iPod, or how to download my address book, music and selected files from my computer.  Ask Max how ecstatic he is to finally own a piece of up-to-date technology (this is the only 12 year old boy in all of North America who has never owned a video game; a result of having rustic parents.);
• a portable, small external hard drive to be used to back up photos and videos;
• a new video camera for which I've only had time to charge up the battery;
• my digital camera which I will never learn to use properly because it has too many gizmos on it so I'll keep it on automatic;
• countless extra batteries and memory cards and cords and adaptors and waterproof cases;
• an African cell phone for which I'll buy SIM cards in the countries we wander through, and;
• Max's hearing aid, batteries, case.

The low tech stuff includes:

• 5 guide books, 3 books to be given as gifts, 3 books on African wildlife, 1 book about Ugandan history, and 1 memoir about being a safari guide in Botswana;
• malaria pills, dehydration tablets, painkillers, antihistamines, antibiotics, sun screen, vitamins;
• sheet sleeping bags, hats, long sleeved shirts to keep out the sun, clothing which is not blue or black (colours loved by tsetse flies and Arctic blackflies);
• 2 journals in which to WRITE BY HAND (what a concept) for Max (alternating French and English) and myself (I'll write in whatever language I feel like);
• duotang with math homework for Max (some burdens must simply be borne);
• harmonica, recorder;
• clothing, sandals, flipflops, runners, sunglasses, prescription glasses, and;
• passports, plane ticket info, medical/travel insurance, credit cards.

This list is making me tired and I haven't even tried to carry it yet.  

Tomorrow is Hallowe'en.  Max is being cheery and dressing like an assassin.  This costume involves a fedora, suit jacket and tie, dress pants and shoes, 3 inch silver nails made using origami, a knife and leather holder he made in Scouts last year, and a white mask with a long nose which we purchased in Venice 6 years ago.

Happy trick or treating!

Namibian Luxury Toyota 4X4

In case you were wondering what's included in the daily rental of the 4X4 toyota pickup truck we are renting for 5 weeks (remember, this is a business run by German immigrants).  Photos will follow if I can reformat them as jpgs:

 Vehicle + camping equipment:

Lockable drawer storage system

1x Hydraulic pop-up tent

1x Mattress with sheet

2x Sleeping bags

2x Pillows with pillow cases

2x Towels with towel bag

1x pair of gloves

1x Thermos flask

1x 12v Camping light

1x Table cloth

1x Table

2x Chairs

1x Hatchet

1x Shovel 12V tyre compressor

1x Braai grid Tyre gauge

1x build in Water tank (50 l) Hand brush

1x Fridge/Freezer Spare fan belts

1x Double cooker and gas cylinder Spare fuses

1x Fire extinguisher Emergency tyre tube

1x Lockable safe Warning triangle

1x Gazebo Vehicle Manuel

2x spare tyres Gear/Steering lock

2x car jacks & slingers Tool kit

Wheel spanner First aid kit

Wooden block Luggage compartment

Jumper cables (1460mm x 1000mm x 265mm) - 387 l

Towing rope

 Kitchen set for 2 persons

2 big plates, 2 side plates, 2 cereal bowls, 2 mugs, 2 cups, 1 pan, 1 medium pot, 1 small pot, 1 kettle

2 cutlery sets, cooking utensils, sharp knives, tin opener, wine opener, dish cloth, wash cloth,

washing bowl, scrubbing brush, dish washing liquid, washing line & pins, bread board and bread knife,

salt, pepper, 2 salad prep bowls, gas cooker valve and spanner, toilet paper and kitchen paper towel

Our Bags Aren't Packed and We're Not Ready to Go...

Thanks to Aeroplan tickets, Max and I leave Nanaimo for...Vancouver (!) on November 2nd.  On November 4th we fly to Frankfurt (10 hours!!  Gott in Himmel!), then Johannesburg, landing in Windhoek, Namibia on November 5th.  We rent a Toyota 4X4 truck complete with camping gear and pop-up tent and proceed to criss cross Namibia and Botswana.

Namibia is about the size of BC with only 1.8 million inhabitants.  Think Northern BC paved highways as well as graded, gravel roads.  Namibia was a German colony, so infrastructure is well-organized and safe.

Sights to see:  giant sand dunes cascading into the Atlantic, shipwrecks on the coast, Kalahari desert, a canyon which bears resemblance to the Grand Canyon, quaint European towns with German Lutheran Churches which look as if they were cut out of a postcard from Germany, Etosha National Park (a premiere game park with elephants, cheetahs, lions...), mountains, ancient rock art, waterfalls, and in the north the Himba people who run around topless with loin clothes next to another tribe whose women wear hats with cow horns. (I considered bringing my Viking helmet with me to fit in, but then realized that I already have too much luggage.)

Botswana boasts the world's largest inland delta.  Hopefully we can fly in for a 3 night stay and travels in a dugout canoe.  Chobe Park is another famous game park.  Long distances to drive.  I broke down and finally bought Max an iPod Touch to help him pass the time when driving and to keep up with email.

We return the truck to Windhoek on December 14th and then take the bus to Victoria Falls staying a few days with a family whom we have met thro an organization promoting world peace called "Servas".

The next 2 and a half weeks of the trip are a bit hazy, but I'm hoping we can spend them at a Backpackers Beach Resort on beautiful Lake Malawi (think tropical fish that you see in the aquarium at the dentist's office), before flying to Entebbe, Uganda.

We will be staying in a town called "Jinja" east of Kampala, renting a house there for 5 weeks.  We will be volunteering at a school run by an organization called "Hope for Youth".  My GP in Nanaimo, Dr. Kirsty McIlwaine and her family (including 2 kids Max's age) spent a month there 2 years ago and had an amazing time.  We will probably take weekend trips to game parks, a gorilla reserve and to visit at least one other school in south western Uganda which is being sponsored by acquaintances in Parksville.

We depart Entebbe on Feb. 14th and spend 6 days in Paris, France with a family we know.  I thought this would be good for Max so that he can get back into the French language and perhaps make a French friend his age.  And of course I want to take him to the art galleries.  There is, of course, no personal gain for me in this Paris stopover!  ...except maybe for the occasional cafe latte and croissant.

We arrive in Nanaimo on February 22nd, tired and undoubtably different people from when we left.

I have decided NOT to take a laptop because of my fears of it being stolen.  Also, it would seem that the iPod can do pretty well everything we need.  I hope to purchase a Kobo Vox Reader on October 28th when they come out.  This is an eReader with some iPad capabilities.  It will allow me to take a bunch of reading material for Max and myself without carrying the books.  I already have too many guide books, safari books, African animal books, and a couple of other books about Africa.

Max and I invite you to join us on our trip by following our blog!

Max & Elizabeth's Travels

Teach Yourself Blogging

OK, Folks...we're in Nanaimo preparing for our 112 days of travel.  The modern way of preparing for a trip is to spend endless hours on the internet looking at Travel Agencies, Safari Companies, Car Hire Companies, Google Earth, reading reviews, looking at photos.... AND trying to figure out how to set up a free blog so that all our friends can travel with us.  Guess which of the above we are doing right now???

Max says, "Hi."

What an erudite child.  Let's see if this works.