40 days!!!!!

S: Things have been moving along quite fast now. We have been able to confirm our departure date now and it is set for 7^th May 2014, which just happens to be a public holiday as it is voting day.

It was quite amazing how straight after this we were chatting about the fact that we needed to start advertising to sell our other car, a Mazda Etude, when our doorbell rang. It was a guy who we sold a DSTV decoder to about two months ago and he remembered that I mentioned we also wanted to sell the car. As it turns out he could not afford the car, but he introduced us to his pastor who eventually bought it. I had to do a few repairs to get it through roadworthy, for which the new owner was extremely grateful. I think after a lot of prayer God has decided it is time for us to go.

A friend of ours welded on the last hi-lift jacking point on the front of the bakkie, thanks Pieter. I still have not tested it, sorry, but am still going to try and get to it. Maybe when I replace the steering parts. The other side was much easier to mount with two bolts, but this one had the towing hook in the way so the only way was to weld it. Speaking of jacks, I managed to fabricate two brackets to hold the jack on the roof rack. I didn’t really want the jack that high, but it was easier to make those brackets than mounting it on the bull-bar. I used the two L-shaped brackets that came with the awning and were not used. L: Smart boy :-))

Our disguised rifle. aka. hi-lift jack (It is crooked because that is the way the brackets worked out)

S: The probe for the EGT (Exhaust Gas Temp) gauge was also replaced and it is now working correctly. I am really happy about this as I have grown to really rely on it. L: This enables us to keep a check on the temperature that the exhaust measures so that you know when to decrease speed so as not to blow the engine – in lady speak, ha ha.

S: The one thing that has been giving me a headache was the pipe between the air filter housing and the snorkel pipe in the fender. The one that came with the snorkel was not the correct one. They sent a replacement which also did not work. The problem is the two holes are off-centre to each other and the distance between the two is about 100 mm. I decided to make one myself. It was not too difficult, but took a bit of time. I started with two rings of rubber which fitted each flange and glued thin strips of rubber from the one ring to the other to form the shape of the pipe. I then used duct tape to make the pipe more rigid and to make it all dust and waterproof I found an aerosol rubber spray which sprays out like paint and forms a rubber layer. After a few layers of the rubber I had my pipe. L: I really am impressed by what Steve has learnt to do and “MacGyver” his way through, learning each day so I am confident that he will be able to handle whatever comes our way on the road, while I keep him calm and put in my tuppence-worth when need be…..(and supply the refreshments.)

S: The water filter system has been reassembled and put back into the back of the bakkie as well as all the electrics and electronics. A Hella socket was also added for the portable shower and air pump.

The water level gauge is also working, sort of, but it does not seem to be indicating correctly. I just need to check that out sometime.

Anyway, this week is ‘pack up and move into storage’ week during my two weeks leave before I work in my notice period. L: (with a little holiday in between – to the Cederberg mountains with friends). S: Not fun trying to decide what to keep and what to throw away. This is the longest we have stayed in a house, 13 years, so have accumulated a lot of stuff. Before that we moved, on average, every two years. L: See now, that was so much easier because there was no time to collect all the junk we have now.

L: We got quite a lot done today, just the two of us and Heather and dodged the rain-drops all day. We have hired a 2/3 of a garage for the first month before we are ready to store for +/- 6 months while we are away. Luckily we are able to stay with friends for the last 5 weeks while we do our final preparations as the tenants needed our home from 1^st April.

L: I also want to mention that we have received so much wool and knitted and crocheted squares and blankets for our “outreach” project through Africa. Thank you to all those that have contributed – Linda H., Dalene W, Ruth S etc. Wow :-))))

We are getting so excited now and slowly getting to see and say goodbye to friends and family…….I had a really tearful day a few days ago realising that I will have no “home” as such and will have to say goodbye to our girls for such a long time……..

Chilling in the Cederberg for a few days for a forced rest before the final stretch.