Truck

I'm not sure I've fully described our truck yet. In keeping with the whole 'slightly less cheesy, slightly less “family”' atmosphere of this trip, the truck doesn't have anything as twee as a name. It's like...the truck reminds me a little of when I went shopping after my second or third snowboarding trip. It was only after snowboarding a couple of times that I worked out what I really wanted from my equipment, what didn't function so well, and what would work for me. What I mean is this truck has been designed by someone who knew exactly what they wanted, how they traveled, what they'd need when overlanding around Africa. For a start, there are twenty-six seats, but they're arranged so that there are two areas in the truck, at the back and front. Both areas face inwards so, in effect, there are two social areas. You can actually hang out and socialise on this truck, rather than simply travel in it to a destination.

You may recall that every day on the Nomad truck started with 'Beautiful Day' by U2. It got a bit tiresome after a while, particularly as the stereo system was a bit dodgy. Compare and contrast with Rob on our first day:

'Here's the stereo jack. You can put any music you want on, but if anyone puts on 'Beautiful Day', I will kick their arse.'

Magic.

The other contrast is in seating. With Nomad, we were on strict rotation every day. On this truck, there's a three-second rule: You move for three seconds, someone can take your seat. It works well.

The stereo is awesome – there's an audio jack between the two seating areas where you can plug in iPods and whatnot (Rob's favourite word is 'whatnot'). There are also two cigarette-lighter-style charging points. We have three cool boxes in the middle of the rear social aread (where they double as foot rests and tables. The biggest – marked 'LP FOOD ONLY' is for food for cooking – from the 'Local Payment' cash we paid at the start. This is only to be opened by the day's cook group, since they're only kept cold with ice bags.

The cabin is completely separate from the rear passenger area, and we don't see Boyo and Rob while we're driving. There's a buzzer in the back, with a key for 'x1 for photo stop' and 'x2 for toilet stop'. There's also an intercom phone, but we haven't used it yet. The seats are very comfortable, and all the luggage is in holes underneath these seats. It's not obvious at all, and Rob reckons they've been broken into in the past and lost nothing, since the thieves couldn't find the bags.

Oh yes, 'The Beach'. At the front of the passenger area, there's a raised platform, the width of the truck, and between three and four feet wide. It has cushions on it, and the roof above it can be folded back. It's basically for sunbathing, but you can also kneel and stick your head out of the top of the truck. Four people can squeeze on there at a time. It's a fantastic touch.