We spend the next few days in the workshop at Mike’s paving business – National Asphalt’s workshop, enlisting the help of Conrad, Ed and Floyd to make a number of changes and improvements to the work already completed in Johannesburg to the Beast.

Most of these changes were really just to make our lives that much easier and to give us a bit more space to cater for our ever growing pile of boxes.

For example, no designated area had been set aside for our two portable solar panels, which we were expecting to make use of every third or so day. So where had the genius of the so called ‘experts’ decided they should fit – ah yes, under the railing that housed the six of our twelve boxes. What this meant was in order for us to get at the panels, all twelve boxes had to be removed and the fridges pulled forward. Brilliant, just brilliant, especially when you consider that the boxes were all ratcheted down in pairs so that they wouldn’t slide about whilst driving.

As you might imagine, this was not a fun task and as such the first order of business was to add a bracket into which the solar panels could slide.

Next we added a cage to the roof rack to protect our gas bottles, spare parts and other bits and pieces that we housed there from theft.

We had the tool box moved to the other side of the vehicle so that it was on the same side as the recovery kit and not the kitchen. This meant that when preparing food, you would have to open the kitchen (back side door on the passenger’s side of the vehicle) and then get any additional items from the front side door by the driver’s side). It doesn’t sound like much, but when you have to do that a least three times a day it gets a bit tiresome – open the door (two locks), unratchet the two boxes (if you’ve been travelling), take the one you want out, close the side door (relocking – this is Africa and you simply don’t run the risk of leaving a door open on a side of the vehicle you’re not sitting on) and carry it around to the kitchen. Then reverse the process an hour later.

We also had to add an inlet hose to the water tank in the back as there was nothing like that. What it meant was that we had to unpack and remove the six boxes that sat directly behind the cab, climb in through the side (not an easy task), get handed a bucket of water (not too many taps with hosepipes in Africa) and pour it into the tank whilst being careful not to spill all over the back of the vehicle.

Once again, this was not a particularly clever solution, but one that was easily fixed by the inlet hose which we secured alongside the tool box.

There we a number of smaller items that we also moved around, changed and fixed, but before the week was out we were set to go.