Amazing animals

I always knew elephants were remarkable animals but I never paid much attention to them. I’ve always been very interested in and fascinated by predators, like wolves and their African equivalent, the African wild dog. But a couple of years back there was a documentary on tv where a camera hidden in a fake pile of dung was filming a group of elephants from “the inside”. I was gobsmacked and both cried and laughed out loud when watching their advanced everyday life. I so wish I could find that documentary and watch it again!

Since then elephants have sneakily made their way into my life, without my noticing almost. It hit me the other day and I quickly browsed the apartment for elephant things. I found quite a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When were in Zimbabwe about half a year ago I was fortunate enough to get acquainted with these animals in real life and up close. We were offered to go on an elephant safari. I hesitated at first since I don’t believe in domesticating wild animals for tourism. But I was convinced that the money that tourism brings in help finance important projects in the area, one being getting the community to understand the elephants’ value and not poach them.

We headed out on an early morning and spent almost an hour walking around in the bush. We didn’t see any wild animals, but we did spot leopard tracks in the mud. It was a great feeling sitting on such an enormous animal and I couldn’t help but seeing the similarities between the elephant, Miss Ellie, and the horse I ride twice a week. They both seemed to be head strong females who can’t be tricked into doing something they don’t feel like doing. And they like to eat. A lot. All the time.

After the ride we got to spend some time with the ellies on the ground which was almost an even more amazing experience. I’d sit on Miss Ellie’s lap and she’d put her gigantic head on my shoulder, while putting her trunk in my face over and over again to convince me to give her treats. However fast I worked, I couldn’t seem to get those treats coming fast enough for her. It took me some time to get used to their incredibly thick skin and the long black hairs standing out, but Brian was of course in his comfort zone and cuddled his elephant Lundi like he’d done nothing else before.

It was truly an amazing experience. I still don’t support the use of wild animals for tourism but when it’s done in a respectful way, sometimes a few specimen can represent and help save the rest of the species. I’m very happy I did it once and I still think of Miss Ellie and Lundi once in a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I bought a book at the airport coming back from Africa last time. I hadn’t heard about it or the author, but it had a cute elephant on the front and got my attention, so I bought it. I’m so happy I did!

The book was written by Lawrence Anthony, who runs the Thula Thula game ranch in South Africa. He was asked to take on a herd of “problem elephants”, who were causing their current ranch trouble and were threatened to be shot if nobody took care of them instantly. Lawrence naturally hesitated, how do you handle a group of wild elephants to begin with, angry and stressed on top of that? But he followed his gut feeling and had the elephants transported to Thula Thula.

The next few years he managed to make them feel at home and they developed an amazing bond. The stories he tells you in the book, of life and death within the group, advanced communication methods, emotional moments and an almost psychic skill among the elephants, can’t possibly leave anyone untouched. You also get to read about the other animals on the ranch, what it’s like running a game ranch with poaching and other challenges and about Lawrence’s cooperation with the outside community to gain their trust and respect for the work with animals in order to keep saving them.

There is no doubt elephants are highly intelligent, sensitive and extraordinary animals. I’m going to look into visiting Thula Thula when we get to South Africa and see if I can meet with Lawrence and the ellies!

Back after a rocky week

As much as the trip is in fact on our mind 24/7, there are sometimes things that will take our focus off it. My dear granddad passed away last Wednesday, just a week before he was meant to turn 98. Hence the silence on the blog, but after a few tough days I’m now back on track enough to try and juggle work, blogging and all the other things in life at a normal pace again. Granddad was a truly ambitious, versatile and hard working man and as much as it hurts knowing he’s gone, he’s also a great inspiration.

Brian’s latest projects have been to mount the big front lights, two old ones and two new ones, on the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He has also mounted an intercooler above the engine, which will – to make a long story short – give the car more power and improve economy.

 

The timeplan

Having left 17th of August behind us doesn’t only mean that Brian has lived in Sweden for more than four years, but also that it is less than a year until we’re doing this trip! Here’s the timeplan for the next year.

We now have a registration inspection booked for the middle of October. The car is only weeks from becoming Swedish! However it won’t automatically become drivable. If we were to drive it for some time after the inspection we would need to sign up for insurance and start paying vehicle taxes and all those things and we just felt it’s hardly worth it for just a few weeks until it starts getting icy outside. So we’ll simply leave the car registered as off road and friends of ours are letting us park it in their backyard over winter, which we are very, very grateful for. We’ll cover it with tarp and leave it until the snow has melted in the spring, only checking on it and starting it up once in a while during winter.

During the dark and cold months ahead (when Brian will most likely suffer from severe car work withdrawals) we will be busy with all the other work. Starting up the money collection to our charity, contacting sponsors, doing a lot more research on the countries and the travelling and saving up money.

In the spring we should have a more final plan of when we can leave Sweden (mostly depending on work) and what our budget is. Then it’s just a few months left and we will be busy collecting all the final equipment and trying it out. I heard about a couple who are travelling through Siberia now and a week before departure they had packed their car full and taken part in an 4wd/off road gathering, trying out the vehicle with all its weight and gear – that’s something we’re planning on doing as well. (I could honestly use some practicing when it comes to 4 wheel driving!)

And then… It’s time for the trip. Woohoo!

Injector pump issues

We had been working on the car for a good two months and everything was going great except for a few small bad surprises. Then it was time for the first big setback – the injector pump was leaking. It felt like hitting a wall. Brian’s worried look didn’t calm me down either – if it’s something he’s worried about, I know it’s serious.

In a way we should obviously be happy this happened now and not on a lone highway with nothing but bush in all directions during the trip.

At first Brian said he couldn’t fix it, that this was beyond his mechanic skills. That it was the heart of the car. We walked around the problem worriedly for a few days and started looking into taking the car to a professional mechanic. Sending it off to a company specialized on diesel injector pumps? At least 10 000 SEK. Thinking of the costs made our tummy ache even worse. The local mechanic offered to switch it for us if we could just buy another pump and bring it all, but we would still have to cough up thousands.

Brian investigated the pump problem closer and decided to go and get a new seal, a rubber o-ring, since this seemed to be where the diesel leak was coming from. Replacing this seal requires opening the injector pump and those of you who know anything about injector pumps, it’s not a job for the fainthearted. The options were to either take the injector pump out and replace the seal or to remove the air intake manifold, injector pipes and anything else mounted around the pump in order to be able to take the cover off without having to take the pump out. We’re talking car heart surgery.  So we then decided on taking the car to the local mechanic and this was on Thursday last week. I was just about to meet Brian at the mechanics when he gave me a call saying the plan had changed. He was now going to do it himself. Boosted by confidence after talking to a mechanic working at his company who believed Brian could maybe pull it off himself, he was now facing an interesting challenge.

Success. Or a mistake that could easily be 25 000 SEK to fix again. No pressure, hey!

Friday afternoon his colleague let him use his workshop with proper mechanic tools that Brian doesn’t have access to otherwise. Everyone said there was no chance he would be done by the end of the weekend. At 9 pm on Friday the car started and the pump was bone dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Air intake manifold off and all other bits and pieces taken off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the air intake manifold and all the injector pipes which turned out to be quite a mission to get back on in the right order.

No need to tell you he’s proud. And we’re both very relieved. Brian says “Now I know how a heart surgeon must feel when flicking a heart to make it start beating again, and it works.”

Watching the news

We’re right now following the latest reports on BBC World News on tv on the situation in Libya. They’re saying Khaddafi’s regime could be over within 10 days as the rebels are closing in on Tripoli. This is great news, most importantly for the Libyan people of course, but also when it comes to our route. Going through Libya could be an option. However, we’re hoping to be able to travel through Syria and it sadly seems like the Syrian people still has a long struggle ahead of them. Only time will tell.

Anniversary

Four years ago yesterday Brian landed at the Arlanda airport north of Stockholm. He came out in the arrival hall with the biggest smile on his face and I could hardly breathe because of all the butterflies. We had fought through a tear filled Romeo & Juliet situation for months and months, finished off by a massive cyclone that tore down the entire town and abruptly forced us apart, yet we were probably both terrified of what lay ahead. But we were definitely willing to give it a try.

Brian left friends and family in Africa and moved to Sweden, a place he pretty much had to look up on a map first. He calls himself a love refugee. It’s been a four year period resembling the scariest roller-coaster you can think of but we’ve stubbornly kept fighting and always made it through the difficult times feeling even stronger. In December of 2010 we got engaged. People keep asking when we’re going to get married. First of all, we’re in no hurry (we’ve got Brian’s sister’s record of 14 years to beat), second of all we don’t have time or money for it now, with the trip ahead. We usually tell people that if we make it through this trip in one piece and still dating – then we’ll get married.

I love you, baby.

The day Brian arrived in Sweden 2007