Words are sometimes more real

As I mentioned in my first blog post I have never written a blog before and already I can see myself becoming a little addicted to this"blogging journey" .... I have SO many things to say and find myself lying awake at night with to do lists reeling through my brain but also comments / ideas / stuff I must add to my blog. Very exciting :)

My reasons for writing a blog on our trip started due to a few reasons. The biggest is that words are often better than videos and photos......I often catch myself scrawling through facebook feeds and seeing peoples "amazing lives"but then hear that this "happy family" are not happy and divorce is on the cards - my heart breaks and I realise the "false advertising" facebook allows. We are all prone to it, we all want to show the world the good times, the happy times, the amazing things we are doing..... but... and this is the big thing here guys..... often just behind that gorgeous happy smiling family there might have been a big fight between the mum and kids before the shot or else tension between the husband and wife, or financial pressures, or work stress.... but we don't see that... we just see the happy.......

I think that both for now and in years to come it will be good to see the REAL stuff that is going on in our trip. The photos will only show incredible happy times (that is what photos are for!) and the videos will do the same... with maybe some getting stuck in the mud times..... but will they show the REAL?? yes of course we will be in the most majestic incredible places and the photos will show these amazing places we will be seeing. But....

This blog will allow our WORDS to be shared..... both as a memory for our family and for our friends and fellow travellers. These words will tell the truth in what we are going through. We are not going into this trip thinking that everything will be sunshine and roses. We KNOW that the kids constant chatter will drive us mad at times, that Dev and I will need a few hours alone to catch our breath and regroup as individuals, that hours on the road will test each of us in its own way, that homeschooling whilst sitting in some of the most beautiful parts of our continent will be hard to figure out, that living simply will be testing ( I will seriously miss my washing machine), that we will crave a roast chicken with veggies (a homecooked meal), that border crossings will be stressful, working on businesses'/events back in South Africa whilst on the road will be tricky with limited internet access, that negotiating for most things we need to buy will drive us mad..... so with this blog I want to share THESE not so "radiant glowing" things on our trip. For you our followers to see our trip in its entirety.

So this photo for example.... yes there is an element of "adventure" in getting a puncture and it does add to the story.... but this is an example of where photos don't tell the whole story.... Nxai Pan in Botswana just after sunset and heading back to camp when we discover we have a puncture. Huge herd of ellies a few hundred meters away from us and dark rapidly approaching and tyre needs to be fixed. Kids having to scan very bushy surrounds for any dangerous game, Dev rushing to get it fixed before total blackness. plus wanting to get back to unfenced camp before dark to rig up lights.... so Ja just one average example of the more "heart racing" times.

Now Some real feelings about this trip.... Dev and I are exhausted with the planning and thinking. If it were possible to leave tomorrow we would! Taking on this endeavour of a year long trip and packing our car and trailer takes a huge amount of thought, planning and mental energy(clothes, food, medicines, visas, passports, vaccinations, insurances, sat phone, school work, changing currency, games to play, ending various contracts here in SA, getting the car 200% ready, car spare parts, prepping food (baking rusks) ......) Then couple this with packing up our entire house and putting it into storage (5 days before leaving) and taking our dogs to their new homes for the year and then Xmas .... family get togethers, pressies and food and of course finding the time to say goodbye to our mates....We are both feeling a little frazzled right now. But with all this frantic exhaustion we know that in 2 weeks and 2 days we will be ready and our house will be packed up and we will be on the first leg of our journey and this stress we are feeling now will be a distant memory and we can finally breath..... but shoo right now today we are MOEG!

I pray that by writing this blog others will see us truthfully in the right light. Not just the social media sunshine..... but sometimes also the nitty gritty emotions of our day to day lives on the road. I promise not to be negative... but as truthful and as real as possible. x