THERE has been a series running on television on a 4×4 expedition through Africa, dealing with their adventures and the vicissitudes of life on the road and in camp.
Well, by pure coincidence on my desk has landed a book that could well be a manual for such an expedition, and a very good manual at that. It’s Beware of Falling Mangoes by Maureen Day.*
Over the years we have owned, and driven, an ancient Willys Jeep and an almost as ancient short wheel base Land Rover, travelling and camping around much of southern Africa. We have also made many 4×4 expeditions both down here and in East Africa under all circumstances and in all sorts of vehicles. If only we’d had this book when we started.
A 4×4 expedition is not a stroll in the park, it requires a great deal of careful planning and preparation. The first consideration must always be the vehicle. You come second.
You must think of spares, potential breakdown situations, ordinary maintenance, in fact everything. When it comes to you, you must think about accommodation and sleeping arrangements, and we must assume that you’re camping, not staying in luxury lodges along the way.
There is personal stuff, clothing and toiletries. Then there is medical, a vital component of any safari. Supplies come next, groceries, cooking equipment, and a pretty good idea of what and how you intend to cook (the men can’t braai every night).
Very importantly there’s documentation, for yourselves and the vehicle, and then all the literature you’re going to need, guide books and maps, birds books and so on. Of course, built into to this section is route planning, you need to know where you are going.
If that series on television has inspired you to tackle an expedition through Africa (they aimed to go from Agulhas to Alexandria in Egypt) or on a more localised safari, pack this book first.
It is basically a Book of Lists, lists of everything you are likely to need, from the tool box to the camp fire and everything in between. I am compelled to add just one thing to one list, a fish scaler – you wouldn’t want to be on Lake Kariba and catch a tiger fish or on Lake Victoria and catch a Nile perch and not have a fish scaler. Otherwise, great book. Good luck and safe safari.
And finally, botanists at London’s famous Kew Gardens have returned from a perilous expedition to Cambodia with a brand new orchid.
The mission was to the remote Cardomom Mountains, a previous lair of the infamous Khmer Rouge, more recently taken over by drug lords and illegal loggers.
The botanists, escorted by armed guards, came back with 90 species of rare orchid, but it was only when one of them flowered that they realised that they had found a new species. It belongs to the genus Porpax, but has yet to be named**. Cheers!
*Beware of Falling Mangoes, Maureen Day, self-published, 076-633-2757.
**The Week, the Best of the British and Foreign Media.
