Well the Dtours team will need to pick up its game today. Arriving late last night we only put in a very quick appearance at Joes Beer house. The kitchen was closed so we made our way to the Kebab store just managing to be the last ones fed for the night. The kebabs were fantastic and the staff were really nice. It was a great way to end a tough but fun day. Gabby even got into her work by cleaning up after us, a great start in her new role.

We had a lekker doss, so we are sorted for any kak that comes our way today.
So nice to have some time to relax this morning, do some shopping and get connected with this interweb. Well it appears that these fancy Apple devices turn into Granny Smiths as soon as you leave the 1st world and the blackberries show their true worth.
Us old ballies are struggling with the technology, I'm wishing Steve Jobs had visited the African continent with his phone and Chill can't seem to get a handle on Twitter.

Leaving Windhoek in the sun and warm weather LuLu quickly hits her pace. She is loving this trip as much as we are. The betties are looking paraad in their new save the Rhino T shirts so will be helping to spread the word as well.

Bheji had a leg stretch on the long endless roads of Namibia, it seems just to far to walk so he's back in Kombi.

What a laugh seeing a warthog crossing sign on the highway but very necessary as we quickly passed so many of these just at the side of the road. We are suddenly driving through bushveld with baboons, impala, ostrich, korhaan (I know these have a new name but we are old ballies so will stay with the old one), helmeted guinea fowl, red hornbill, yellow hornbill, pale chanting goshawk, kudu, and blue throated bee eater to name a few.

The new sims installed but still no Internet so back to MTC in Otjiwarongo. Apparently you need to change the settings manually. Gee it feels so nice to be connected again, am going to struggle when we get to more remote places. This town sure is fairly typical of Africa, the city park has lots of people sitting around waiting. Never sure quite what they are waiting for?

Grabbing a few provisions, gas up and we are off to checkpoint jol.

This ride is gonna be kif in Etosha!

When that Blackberry alarm starts it annoyingly brilliant wake up siren, and its only been 4 hours since you set it, you know its going to be a long day ahead. 4am in Bloem and we were up and battling the frigid morning air.  Lulu was cold. She needed love and a slow start. 

A quick oil check, filled her up and we were on the road again. Onto the N1 and the Mother City was our destination. 1010km to Cape Town. It was a big ask of the vintage beauty. But we never doubted her for a moment.

We stopped somewhere near Colesburg for a break and some coffee. Freezing hardly describes how we were feeling. With no heater in the German Touring van and a few breezes blowing in here and there, we were starting to feel that icy period just before the dawn.

It was so cold that when the attendant tried to clean our windscreen it just frosted over. No problem – he fetched a bucket of hot water and poured this over the windscreen. It cleared it, but then the edges started to freeze. It was time to get out of there. Onwards into the Karoo. 

The rest of the day went well and we rolled into Cape Town to meet up with the rest of the crew at 10pm'ish! It was a long day but we were at the start. Lulu did us proud. Tomorrow – some final preparations and shopping and then registration at Camps Bay and meeting the other teams.

The Put Foot Rally is for those who see themselves as Explorers, unafraid to chart the uncharted, unfazed by running out of petrol or losing a tyre... in the middle of a pack of lions or herd of elephants. This adventure is for those who listen to the Garmin and Tom-Tom girls for their sexy voices and for those who laugh in the face of a 2-minute noodle diet. If you are that person..  the passionate adventurer who takes life as it comes.... then this is for you!

Registration is on 17 June 2013 at Camps Bay High School, Cape Town!

This 1973 Volkswagen Combi is the proud maternal protector of imake a difference's 2013 D-Tours Put Foot Rally team! And she comes with more Put Foot Rally miles (or km's) than anyone on our team.

For Lulu's 2nd turn (in a row - more on this "just now") on the unforgiving and sometimes treacherous roads of Southern Africa, we decided to throw out the free-spirited hippy vibe in place of one that would not only encapsulate the vision of her drivers but also of ever-present yearning on our continent's heart - the protection of our rhinos!


In 2012, Lulu hosted "Team Liz" #27. We hope to do the previous team proud by continuing the rally with the same style and finesse as Lulu's previous owners did.

You know they say life begins at 40... With a rack like that she's sure to be a knock out with the lads ;)