TSONGOLOLO

2011-11-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

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North America 2013

2011-11-15T22:43:00.000-08:00

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Central America 2013

2011-11-15T22:19:00.001-08:00

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South America 2011

2010-01-01T04:34:00.000-08:00

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South America 2010

2010-01-01T04:18:00.001-08:00

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Food for thought

2009-10-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Food for thought
'Why do you do it?' friends often ask, perplexed,
Brows raised, minds sorely vexed.
'The world out there is dangerous!
Aren't you scared? Why do this?
You need steady work, a house, two cars!
You have only a Land-Rover camper, and sleep under stars!'
A thousand “what if’s” are thrown in our faces
But what if we don’t!, ----- go faraway places
Dear friend, if you must ask, you cannot know
This curiosity that drives us so.
To you it is hidden; in us rises unbidden!
But one day the world we’ll have driven
By iron steed, then perhaps this need
Will have vanished, finally vanquished!
That day will find us on our deathbed,
With no regrets for the life we led.
Will you be able to say the same?
Or will you despair a life worn plain?
We will stake our African memories
Against your estate of a thousand trees.
Pit our Serengeti sunset
Against your private jet.
Weigh the Cape York beaches at sunrise
To your Italian suits and ties.
Watch reindeer under the midnight sun in Lapland
To your café-lattes in neverland
Compare the Aussie outback, shooting stars, campfire crackling
To the chardonnay-set & 24 hour shopping
Go cross the Sahara & the mighty Andies
Sure beats the rat-race, rush-hour, memos & meetings
Its easy, its waiting, life, its out there
If you dare!
We'll rejoice in friends before we go,
From all corners of the globe we know
And, amazingly, there are more like us ;
They reject slavery, and are truly free.
They took the chance we all had,
And honestly it makes us sad
That you didn't.
You thought you couldn't...
What?
Live without the luxuries
Of all our modern amenities?
You choose the bonds of mortgage, but claim to be free,
Wasting a lifetime absorbed by TV.
Why watch it? but live it!
One life's all you get!
Don't put off 'til morrow and continue to borrow
The lives of strangers; 'tis the greatest of dangers
To the soul
Which grows old
Before its time.
Hercules, Columbus,
Guevara, Odysseus,
Champlain, Agamemnon,
The list goes on...
What have they in common?
Regardless man or god,
The soil of continents they trod,
Not in search of gold but adventure!
Not growing old 'cause they ventured
Far from safety; but far be it from me
To Judge...

The pitiless pity us
With souls black pitted.
Pray! save it for those less spirited.
For us... our horizons are unlimited.
by James Richmond, Canada
&
Minor additions
By Barry Smith, Australia

Contacts

2007-12-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

Shipping

Shipping from Melbourne to Valparaiso

Dermot Clark
LMF Logistics Pty Ltd
1 Trade Park Drive
Tullamarine
Victoria 3043

Ph: +61 3 9009 5200
Fax: +61 3 9330 2648
Mobile: +61 0402 107 377
Email: demot.clark@lochm.com.au

Clearing Agents Valparaiso

Martina and Enzo
Avenida Quebrada Verde 192
Playa Ancha
Vallparaiso
Chile

Ph: +56 32 2288873
Email: villakunterbuntvalpo@yaoo.de

Note: they will also put you up at their house for a fee.

Homestays

Santiago

Ana and Luis

Alameda 240
Santiago
Chile

Ph: +56 2 8843976
Ana Mob: +56 2 97787519
Luis Mob: +56 2 97122705
Ana Email: aquela4@hotmail.com
Luis Email: laberari@gmail.com

Viña Del Mar.

Natalia Paez

Merced Poniente 77
2580306 Viña Del Mar
Chile

Ph: +56 32 3179221
Mob: +56 7 7989238
Email: natalia.paezaguilar@gmail.com

San Ignacio

Graciela Juliana Lorenzo

Hostel House “El Jesuita”
San Martin 1291
Argentina.

www.hosteleljesuita.com

2007-12-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

To Photo's of Africa

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Central America 2012

2007-12-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

Photo's of Central America
(not available at present)

http://tsongololo-centralamerica2012.blogspot.com/

North America 2012

2007-12-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

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South America 2009

2007-12-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

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Europe

2007-12-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

To Europe Photo's

http://tsongololo-europe.blogspot.com/

2007-11-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

To Australia Photo's

http://tsongololo-australia.blogspot.com/

2009 South America, 2003 to 2009 Australia and 1971 to 1972 Scandinavia and Africa

2007-11-26T18:45:00.001-08:00

2009 South America

Due to circumstances beyond our control!! And the fact that there is nothing so certain as change, we decided to leave the vehicle as it is, with no additional axle.
We have successfully shipped the Land Rover to Valparaiso Chile, and are now “doing” South America. All the Lonely Planet travel guides for North, Central and South America have been read and color – coded for places of interest (there are lots!!. Many maps have been purchased.
We are deeply indebted to James and Kerry Cockburn, www.lodzi.com who have recently undertaken the same trip in a very similar vehicle. They were contacted by us a couple of years ago and have been ‘emailing’ ever since. Then they settled in Australia!, obviously we had to pay them a visit, I think we talked continuously for 4 days!!!.

2003 to 2009 Australia

To date we have traveled 140,000 kms in Australia, from South Tasmania to Cape York, the Kimberley to Albany, Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks, Gulf Savanna Country to the Alice.

1971 to 1972 Scandinavia and Africa

Many, many moons ago we bought a series llA diesel Land-Rover and drove this from London to Cape Town via Norway’s North Cape!! but that’s another story.

Water

2007-11-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

We carry 140 litres when tanks are full. We’ve met many (mainly overseas) travellers who carry a quarter of what we do, anyone with half a brain who knows the Outback will tell you water is your number one priority. Despite this, not a year goes by without someone dying of thirst in the Australian Outback. We never pass up an opportunity to top up our water tanks, we have (so far at least) every means of filling up: i.e. standard potable water hose with ‘gardina’ type fittings and various screw connections, a modified portable shower hose with soft rubber end for thread-less taps and ‘gardina’ fitting in place of shower rose. Photo 7.

Also 100mm diameter screw lid covered pipe for filling by bucket. (We have used them all!) On the subject of hose, we found from bitter experience that even good water passed thru a standard garden hose tastes like s—t, use the light blue colored ‘potable’ water hose and tea will taste like tea. In addition our hose is on a reel Photo 8, with one end fitted directly into the tank and provision to ‘flush’ out any water left in the hose from the previous fill. Finally, fit a filter to the inlet end, we use the type of filter used on micro jet home irrigation systems, easy to dismantle and clean (we added our filter after picking up some sandy water at Wilpena Pound that took a lot of flushing to remove) we won’t say what caravan park we used for that!!! Hope the above bits and pieces will prove of some use, happy travelling.

The pre-cleaner

2007-11-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

The pre-cleaner top for the (it seems obligatory) raised air intake on a 4X4. The standard forward facing ‘air ram’ type top, to me, defeats the object by facing into the dust and sucking. We’ve seen many people cleaning, banging, blowing air filters after a good days dust-sucking!. I empty our pre-cleaner once a week or as needed and only change the car air-filter during a service, also, and I don’t know why but our fuel consumption is ± 4% better with the pre-cleaner, it’s made by Donaldson and was around $60.00 3 years ago.

Ned

2007-11-26T18:03:00.000-08:00

The portable fireplace, nicknamed Ned (after the famous Australian bushrangers head armour). He is a 250mm high x 220mm diameter 5mm walled steel bore casing off-cut, with 4 ‘V’S’ cut out around the top and 3 inverted ‘V’S’ on the bottom together with a ‘mouth’. The cutting was all done in the bush with a hand hacksaw and 12 volt power drill, near Darwin, and yes I did ‘perspire’. Instructions for use, place on a level ground with the required area around cleared of flammable material. Photo 1 place a couple of handfuls of dried grass, leaves (or old bank statements) inside; add kindling and small bits of wood. Insert one dried tea bag soaked in diesel, ‘NOT PETROL’ (not many people realise that with every cup of tea comes a free fire starter!)

photo 2. Place grill on top, then billy and ignite, by the time you’ve got the cups and biscuits out the water will be boiling.

in photo 3 the water boiled in exactly 3 minutes. We also use a Hillbilly camp oven

photo 4 made in Victoria. We boil, roast, bake (sometimes burn) virtually anything,. A steak and kidney pie and bread pudding done to perfection,

photo 5. Food can be kept warm (very warm!) by standing next to Ned, as can hot water. To increase or decrease heat simply feed in or withdraw wood. Ned generally uses about 10% of the normal wood required for a conventional fire. Whilst recently in Western Australia at a National Parks campground, a talk was given by F.E.S.A. (Fire and Emergency Services Authority) on how to build a safe campfire in the bush, they thought ours was better!! And took photos for their magazine.

Lastest modifications to Ned, cooking grill extended both sides to enable more flexibility,

Gear and Equipment

2007-10-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of gear and equipment either fixed or loose that we carry, starting at the front.

Bulbar
Winch – Warn 9000lb electric with isolator switch in cab
Vice – Aluminum mounted on bulbar.
G.P.S. Signal receiver - Mounted on bulbar
Light Guards – 25mm mesh.
Radiator bug guard 6mm mesh
Wing protectors – Aluminum.
Reinforced bonnet and spare wheel holder.
Raised air intake with Donaldson pre-filter. (see separate article)
Windscreen stone guard - 12mm mesh
Rhino Roof Rack – Aluminum, lightweight bolted together NOT welded. Rack, solars, rods etc ± 80kg Note: Heavily laden roof racks increase centre of gravity and possible roll-over and can destroy vehicle roof.
Pick and shovel mounted vertically on passenger side.
Ladder to roof rack (removable and with extension) on driver side.
Second spare wheel.
Water filler (100mm pipe) to facilitate filling by bucket. (see separate article)
Potable water hose (17m) on reel with filter (don’t use garden hose) (see separate article)
External gas pipe with bayonet fitting for outside cooking in hot weather.
Shower pump and fittings in small locker.
Rear light guards - 25mm mesh.
Extendable aerial pole. (For T.V.)
Radio aerial.
Water tap on outside, gravity fed.
Trayon Camper ‘1980’ model (1980mm wide!)
Fly – covers tent and protects from Sun – an absolute must in hot weather – keeps inside a lot cooler.
Fly extension – zips onto either side of main fly and provides shade to tent side.
Fly screens unzip in tent, greatly increases air flow.
Inside cab:
Garmin Nuvi 750 G.P.S. with South American Maps. (we call it Mabel).
Magellan G.P.S. with maps of Australia.
Reversing camera screen.
Compressor – for tyres
Clinometer
Compass – Silva – used mainly in towns and cities!.
2 x hand held C.B. Radios – useful when reversing.
Internal roof rack for 2 travel bags, rucksacks.
Inverter 12V in 220V out.
Battery charger – on the odd occasion we use a caravan park we use the charger to top up batteries instead of taking solars off.
Regulator for solar panels 20 AMP Sunsmart.
Trojan deep cycle batteries x 3. Total AMP hours 390
Water tank 80 L on floor where rear seats were.
Water tank 60 L under tray.
Sand ladders – 2x Maxtrax.
Tool Kit
Recovery gear 2x long straps, 1x snatch strap, tree protector, snatch block and several shackles.
‘Ned’ our very efficient home made fireplace. (see separate article)
Hillbilly camp oven set.
Water purifier Steripen (U.V.)

Refrigeration

2007-10-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

Regarding the refrigeration, the camper came with a 3 way dometic fridge, this worked well until we started to spend serious time in the hotter climates. At 33c in the shade the wheels would fall off!. Despite having it serviced, new burner, extractor fan fitted 33c was it’s limit. We tolerated this for 2 years, finally replacing it with a 12v only Waeco, best thing we ever did!! The 3 way, on gas only, (on 12v power it was even worse) would use 9Kg in 3 weeks (we did an accurate test) or ± $500.00 per annum. Our 12v fridge has now paid for itself in gas saving alone, plus it works well. A Useful if not essential item is a digital fridge thermometer, we have 2, one in the cab (indicates when fridge door comes open!) and one in the camper.

Auxiliary Power

2007-10-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

During years of travel we have met many, many other travelers, from multi millionaires driving the biggest and latest “Winnebago with the lot” to young people in an old station wagon, all doing their own thing and most (but not all) having a ball. The conversation at some stage comes around to ‘Auxiliary Power and Refrigeration’. We have had our own issues with both and will explain. Most people only have a vague understanding of their power system and seem to think that ‘an extra battery’ is all that is required. Obviously the more ‘goodies’ you need to run, the more power you need, we use the Piranha split charge system which, when the engine is running, will charge the auxiliary batteries after the main vehicle battery is fully charged, in addition we use solar panels. Our solar panels are mounted on the roof – rack so as to be ‘operational’ as long as the sun shines. They are also easily removed and set – up, when we stay for a couple or more days at a time. In the lower latitudes it is vital to ‘aim’ them into the sun, as being flat on the roof is very inefficient, we have 3 Trojan 12V deep cycle batteries totaling 390 AMP hours, 4 solar panels (3 x 80w, 1 x 64w) the system works well and we can run the Lap Top all day plus water pump when needed, lights TV at Night and fridge all the time, without running the engine, all this from a few hours of sun.

Camper

2007-10-22T20:23:00.001-07:00

The Trayon, when opened up gives us the same space as a 13ft caravan. Allowing you to ‘Live’ inside away from flies, bugs etc. The only disadvantage is that in high wind, the noise of the canvas sometimes keeps us awake at night, despite liberal use of sponge blocks between poles and canvas. Made by a small family company on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, when we are in the area we always call in and say G’day.

The Trayon was chosen simply because to start with, no towing. No leaving behind a caravan or camper trailer while you go off for a few days, no need to carry extra camping gear if you do go off for a while. The Trayon takes us about 7 minutes to set up from ‘handbrake on this is it’ to the first cold beer being popped! Closing down takes a couple of minutes more, we have lived in the camper for over 6 years, water does not get in, nor does dust, it also has not shaken itself to death unlike some rigs we have seen (no names will be mentioned!!)

Vehicle

2007-10-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

We chose a Land-Rover – again – because, well, we wanted a tough and robust vehicle with a reputation for good payload and fuel economy, most armed forces around the world use them (which says something) and although the basic ‘style’ has changed little over 50 – 60 years, under the bodywork (still aluminum) Is a Modern up – to – date machine with permanent 4.W.D. and turbo intercooled diesel bits and pieces! The Defender 130 Td5 suits our needs, can carry 1.5 tons and takes the Trayon camper easily, we cruise along at around 90 K.P.H. and use ± 11 Litres of diesel per 100 KMS, we looked at all the other 4.W.D.’s also but at the end of the day, when the dust had settled, the calculations done, the Defender won, so we ordered one!! Why red, people said, well in our history of owning many cars, whenever we had a red one, nobody hit us!!!