You guys have no idea how wonderfully freeing it is to have shared our big plans on here.  And yes, to be honest it’s also kind of terrifying – I’m a little scared.  In fact just thinking about it happening in real life makes me feel a little bit queasy.

Why?  Well, the pressure is on!  Now that we have put it all out there, not doing it is going to be a massive fail.  But it’s why I wanted to share it now and not wait till the day before we leave.  I need to write about the journey to work through it for my own self.  And so much of what we are doing and thinking revolves around planning for it and it’s felt like I’ve been living a double life not sharing it here.  Maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but it’s nice to have what’s on here being a true reflection of what’s really going on at home too.  But also I need pressure to get my butt in action.  And now I have it.

In bucket loads.  So…

Time for action!

Aside from getting Optimus transformed into his prime (sorry, I don’t know when those puns or throw backs to how excellent his name is, will ever get old for me).  Yes, as I was saying.  So aside from his transformation, getting our house packed up and rented out, finding a solution for our dogs and getting the home school stuff sorted, the most important thing is getting our itinerary in some kind of order. (Hot damn that’s a lot of important stuff to get sorted.  Eeek).

Basic Itinerary goals…

We’ve chatted about it at length and our initial plan was to go up country and down again for 3 months, stay in Cape Town for a week and head out again.

So for example we leave in July and head up the East Coast.  (Because you guys up there don’t really get cold Winters and I’m all about that life.)  Up the Garden Route, Jeffrey’s Bay, Durban, um…  other places.  End up in Mozambique (I’m on the right side of the continent hey?), spend a couple weeks there and then go back down but this time slightly more inland.  So um.  Uh…  Those places.  You know.  That are slightly more inland.  The game reserves and Lesotho.  I think those are the ones.  Then come back to Cape Town for a week before heading out again.  This time even more inland.  Like the places that lead to Joburg.  And stuff.  (Can you tell I need to spend more time on this?)

Why was the plan to come back so “often”?

We don’t want to deprive our kids from the company of their grandparents who they usually see every single day.  And obviously we really want to see our friends and family that we’ll be leaving behind.

I suddenly had a moment after I shared our post the other day.  It was when I realised how much we are really leaving behind.  And even though this is an exciting adventure, we still want to maintain our relationships along the way.

Slight change of plans

But then we found out that Seth’s sister, brother in law and their two adorable kids (that I am dying to get to know) are probably going to be visiting for 6 weeks in December.  From Australia.  So it’s not like it’s something that happens often.  I mean we’ve looked at going out there but tickets for the five of us are R100 000 and that’s without food or accommodation.  Crazy!

That throws a slight spanner in the works right?  We don’t want to miss them.  Which means that now we are thinking through the option of not coming back until December for a visit but then staying in Cape Town longer.

Where would you stay when you are in Cape Town?

Obviously we won’t be able to stay in our house that we are renting out, so we would need to find a place to stay in Cape Town.  Luckily Cape Town has places like that in bucket loads.  SA Venues also has a pretty comprehensive list of camping places to visit in the area.  And staying there we can explore the parts of Cape Town that we wouldn’t usually have been in but still be close enough to cuddle my niece and nephew until they can’t take it anymore.

I think that a good 6 weeks here before heading out again will be a nice way to fill up the tanks.  All of them – heart, social and family tanks.  It will also be an opportunity to properly check in at the office.  Plus go on what I am sure will be a much needed date night haha.

With all that in mind, we will definitely be heading up the East Coast in the first 3 or 6 months.  Any recommendations of the best places that you have ever seen in that general area?  I’m thinking iconic spots, rich history or just must see things along the way.

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