Shane and Tarryn Quninel (Team Tane) have driven their Suzuki Jinmy, named Badger, as far as Kigali Rwanda. The pair have had to spend a little extra time in this city as they have been recovering from illness. As they take a short break on the #SuzukiSkyHighAdventure, Shane reflcets on some of the items that have been most useful on their expedition, what they forgot and shouldn’t have and what they have fund to be redundant.
Love Don’t Need
One of the most gratifying things when doing an expedition in the style of Suzuki Africa Sky High, i.e. sharing it with the world, is actually getting responses from that world. Since starting our trip we have had some amazing interactions with our friends and followers, including inspirational messages and notes on our how adventure has inspired. In addition to these we have had some great questions, many of which had caused us to stop and think to find the answers.
This blog is inspired by our friend and follower Vic Rundle who recently asked “Now that you have been on the road for a while can you tell us what you didn’t take that you needed, what you took which you didn’t need and what you took which you love?” Here is our go at a response:
Need – What we forgot but have needed
Fortunately the list is pretty short but has some key items:
- Mont Bell soft shell jackets or a similar mid-layer: we only have thermals then puffy jackets and waterproof layers;
- More canisters for our Jetboil cooker: they are hard to find north of SA;
- Goggles, snorkels and pillows: Wish we had these but simply did not have space;
- Tracks4Africa SD Card: As previously explained, forgetting this was a big balls up but thankfully we have since replaced.
Don’t – The things we took but haven’t used
Even shorter than the last list… its hard to overpack useless cr@p in a Suzuki Jimny:
- Solar shower: It’s a nice to have that we haven’t used. Call us grubs but we don’t shower often when facilities are scarce. In the interest of hygiene we tend to have ‘wet wipe baths,’ and only shower every 2-3 days or swim in a river;
- Mountains of medicine: With the best of intentions, Tarryn packed enough medicine to look after an army; around 5 bags full. Seriously considering dropping half of it at the nearest clinic so we can properly move our seats back.
Love – The bits and bobs which put smiles on our faces
- The mini perculator and flask from Shane’s brother Dylan and our Sister in Law Siobhan, thanks guys!
- Two laptop batteries: very useful for doing blogs and videos on the road;
- Solar panels (fold up panel from Opposite Lock (OL) and Power Monkey Extreme: The OL panel keeps our battery charged and fridge cold while we are stopped for numerous days and Power Monkey keeps our devices and camera charged;
- Fold-up pot from Sea to Summit: Tarryn begged for this for months until I eventually conceded, have now realised it is EPIC for space saving;
- Spray skirt attachment for our Front Runner tent: I begged for this for months until Tarryn eventually she conceded. She now acknowledges it is great in SO many ways; it is our changing room, shade, shelter and private storage unit among many other things;
- Our hammock: Don’t need to explain this one;
- Wizerd dash and door pockets: They give us so much more space than we would usually have and are absolutely amazing for storing small items which would usually get in the way.
All in all we are pretty happy with our packing and can live with our decisions…
Words and photos by Shane Quinnell and Videos by Tarryn Quinnell unless otherwise credited.