About
You’ve found Stuck In Low Gear, our blog of our travels in Africa. I started stuckinlowgear.com to share travelogs of our trips with family and friends. Over time it’s turned into a blog to help other travelers plan independent overland trips in Africa and also to share with a bit about what traveling in Africa is actually like.
When we’re not traveling we live in Santa Cruz, California. We both work in academic marine science, providing technical support for marine scientific research at MBARI and USGS.
Andrew has circumnavigated under sail and works as a professional mariner, currently sailing as Captain (when he’s not overlanding Africa). Previously he sailed around various parts of the world on schooners and square riggers. He has also worked as technical support for research in the Antarctic as well as a logistician for Doctors Without Borders in Africa.
Jenny has done all kind of crazy stuff, from scientific diving under the sea ice in the Antarctic, to training dolphins to her current work at USGS. Supporting deep sea research has brought her offshore for weeks or months at a time all over the world.
Hopefully here you’ll find a few good stories, helpful travel logs if you’re planning your own trip, and maybe some resources and links for learning more. Send us an email if you have a question!
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Hi guys,
I was wondering if I could bother you with two questions?
1. Can you recommend a company in Windhoek that rents out similar cars as yours with a pop up /Alu tent?
2. We are getting up there in years, me 67 and Phil 72, next year when we are doing a fourth Nam-Bots-Zim tour again. I think we should probably get trip/evac insurance just to feel more secure.
Do you guys have such insurance and can you share a name/agency? I’m asking you since you are from the USA thinking that the 4×4 SA forum may not have an answer for out of country. Or it could be the other way around. Do we want an agency close by from Nam or SA?
We have always taken a risk in the past and never bothered with insurance, except, it was mandatory on our Antarctica Trip. Just read that Andrew has worked there, very impressive. We went down twice, once with Holland America and then with Poseidon Adventure and included Falklands and South Georgia. So amazing!
Happy traveling!
Katrin
Hi Katrin,
1. Bushlore and Savannah Car Hire have vehicle similar to ours with hard shell tents or even offroad campers on the back that look quite good. We bought our car from Bushlore and continue to be impressed by them, so I think they’re a good outfit to rent from. Ortelius, on the 4×4 forum, has rented from Savannah and rates them highly. Other companies that I think would be good, but I don’t know, are Safari Drive, Techpro Safaris (they both have cars almost exactly fitted as ours, only more polished), Avis 4×4 and Chobe 4×4 (check out the very good and funny videos by James Hendry on youtube, “Overlanding for Dummies,” he is using a Chobe 4×4 vehicle for that). I’m sure there are others, but that is what comes to mind. Britz also rents some full mini campers, but I have met some people that don’t think highly of the vehicles or their equipment (no compressor, for example) but I have not first hand experience with them.
2. We use Ripcord insurance, provided by Redpoint, I think. There are a few versions to cover more or less. The catch is that they sell in larger time blocks than most, I think 30, 90, or 360 days, but you should verify that. We’ve never had to use it, but they are well regarded and easy to deal with. Importantly they have far less exclusions than most insurance companies, and it stays valid regardless of CDC/WHO travel risk ratings and most (but not all) state department warnings.
Jenny worked in the Antarctic much longer than me, 10 years! Seasonally, not straight 🙂
Cheers – Andrew
Hello Andrew, I’m so impressed with you guys working in the Antarctic, as we have briefly had some insight into conditions there, and visited stations during our expedition.
I only just now saw your answers to my questions and want to thank you very much. We ended up renting a roof top tent with an Alu roof from Bushlore. I will look into the Insurance that you mentioned.
I just finished reading your latest blog installment. So sad to just see one camping chair at the cliff! I take it that by now, end of July, you are back together again. I’m glad for Jenny that she got to assist her mom during very tough times. At the same time it must have been much less fun for you to drive solo without sharing with your partner.
Btw, I’m trying Botswana Footprints for the first time for all my bookings. So far they have 50% of my money but have secured less than 50% of the sites! Hoping for the best
Also, after reading the blog, I wanted to comment, but there is no comment section on my side.
Wishing you continued great adventures and safe travels,
Greetings from wet Florida,
Katrin
Thanks for the heads up on the comments, I finally figured out what was going on there. Fixed!
We think highly of Bushlore, I think you’ll be happy. Tomorrow we are meeting up with friends who are renting a Bushlore Land Cruiser with camper, should be fun!
Yes, solo overlanding is not the same as with Jenny (or your respective partner) I know some people do that all the time, but I am used to my person! It was a good experience though.
Your experience with Botswana Footprints I don’t think is unique. There always seems to be a long lag between requesting bookings and getting feedback, vouchers, etc from the agent. We used Botswana Footprints in 2018 and were satisfied, if not enthusiastic, at their service, but they got the job done. All the booking agents are working within a convoluted and archaic system (DWNP still tracks all their bookings on paper, for example. How this works with multiple DWNP offices I don’t know), thus the inefficiencies leading to some anxiety on the part of the traveler! And that you, the traveler, need the voucher in person at the gate and campsite is sort of weird, but you can use an electronic copy on your phone if you’re in a pinch. Its not the best system, but as they say…TIA. If it all worked perfectly then it wouldn’t be the same.
I loved your list of African books. Here are some more I particularly loved:
Elephant Dawn By Sharon Pincott
An African Love Story: Love, Life and Elephants By Daphne Sheldrick
The Elephant Whisperer By Lawrence Anthony
The Tree Where Man Was Born By Peter Matthiessen
The Elephant’s Secret Sense: The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa By Caitlin O’Connell
Enjoy
Thanks for the recommendations!
Note that the ethnicity of the people around Laisamis and onward after the turnoff to Horr and Lake Turkana are Rendille, not Samburu. The two groups are closely related but distinct from one another.
Thank you! I will check update my post.
Hi, amazing trip information and photographs. We’re off to the Caprivi strip and other area’s of Namibia in October. and this blog has inspired me even more! I love your night shots of the night sky. Can you advise what settings and lens you used etc?
Thanks for reading the blog – and great to hear it is getting you stoked for the trip. The Caprivi is great, I’m sure you’ll have a great time. For photography I use a sony mirrorless. I have an A7 III and an A9. For the star photos, those are shot on either a Zeis Otis prime 18mm f/1.8 or on a Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM. The shots are a range of settings, but usually ~3200 ISO (as low as 1600, as high as 6400 or more) and 10-25 seconds. Usually on the lower end. There is a great website for star/astro stuff, lonelyspeck.com, that really helped me with getting dialed on star photos. Enjoy!