So we travel

We get from place to place in a planned fashion, sometimes even when our CEO Ian visits brokers out of town. We have done short day trips and longer trips around the country.

Our only misfortune has been a puncture on Verneukpan and almost a year later another just in sight of the large telescope near Sutherland, so yes we have been lucky. We made our appointment at Sutherland just in time though.

However, as I am clearing my garage in preparation to move I felt that I should put a small kit together for future trips. Most of my heavy equipment and tools ended up with Heine Engelbrecht for storage at ADA our training venue where we will use them for training and on overland trips.

I started with a decent-sized bag and evaluated the essentials from what was equipment left behind. First up was a pair of stout leather gloves with reinforced palms, essential for use in any recovery exercise as well as useful around the campsite when looking for wood or dealing with the braai and hot pots.

Although I keep a Maglite in my car I also keep a far more efficient ( in terms of lumens ) flashlight in the bag as well. It’s a lot smaller and useful especially when the lighting in a bathroom or kitchen is not good.

Then I keep a small container with 4 stainless steel glasses, useful in any situation when one wants to have a cold drink, not great though for hot drinks as they retain heat.

I don’t like wearing multi-tools on my belt so I throw in either a leatherman or my swiss-tool. The swiss-tool tends to stay at home as it is rather expensive to replace. On that note be careful of lending stuff out as it often does not come back and one tends to forget these things as you lend them out.

Duct tape is another essential in my bag of tricks it is so useful for so many things. Then I have a mini-tool kit, not great for working on the car but useful for a multitude of tasks and repairs. However, its size does allow you to get into those hard-to-reach spots.

One thing I will always keep is my tool roll, I made it in an upholstery shop where we used to do canvas seats for game-viewing vehicles. It is compact and holds a full set of spanners, pliers, vice grip and screwdrivers. Very useful and it has assisted many a stricken motorist over the years. It’s compact and fits under my seat.

Now I need to look at the rest of the bag. It is amazing how useful it is in multiple situations.

The most important piece of equipment is my tow strap, which can be used for towing and light recovery if necessary.

And this all fits into one bag.

There is space for a flat first aid kit on top of everything, It sounds like a lot but there is plenty of space for more depending on the destination. if you are travelling in a group a pre-trip meeting will help planning and avoid duplication in terms of kit. However, never cut back on recovery gear that is essential and sometimes personal in terms of what you use. Lastly, never forget your catering kit and a sharp knife. I also take a knife sharpener to keep the edge on my blades. It sounds like a lot but it all fits into a small bag! All are extremely useful in an emergency even when you have to assist someone else.