It’s been quiet on the vehicle stakes since the last update from our perspective  - OEC continue to beaver away though, and hopefully we’ll pop out later this week/early next to get an update. (I know that the cooker hob [Diesel Wallas] is being fitted as Anton called to ask us where we would  like him to put the exhaust – no jokey answers given and it goes through the locker where a gas bottle would have been). 

Outside of the garage I have been working on a project to develop a fit for purpose GPS that can run T4A (Tracks for Africa) and Open Source maps too – so that pins us to a Garmin based system. The problem is that due to market forces, Garmin currently only do tiny screen consumer models, and even tinier screened hand-helds. These units show you less than enough of the surround than is ideal for overlanding. Of course there are the marine and aeronautical plotters – but they come with a disproportionate price tag for our purpose! Luckily, historically it wasn’t always thus… 

Garmin did produce ‘Garmin Mobile PC ‘ software, which can still be found pretty easily on-line for about £60. It was designed to turn GPS enabled laptops into vehicle navigation units – with a similar (and I think better) interface as the one you’d find on a Nuvi. It includes a set of Euro City Navigator maps – but do note that unlike their GPS units, it will not let you unlock other Garmin maps!  However you can easily load (via Mapsource) unlocked maps – such as T4A and Open Source. 

Next I purchased a battered CF-18 Toughbook tablet on E-bay. this is really old-hat spec wise (XP, 60gbHDD, 512 MB RAM 4000 hours on the clock) – but easily has enough umph to run mapping, and it is certainly tough. I’ve paired it with a bluetooth GPS receiver and with it’s rudimentary touch-screen - Bob’s Your Uncle! A 12″GPS unit with turn-by-turn navigation, that should be up to everything a corrugated road can throw at it for not much more than a proprietary unit. The interface usefully will display grid locations, as well as a  few other niceties beyond those found on the current automotive crop. 

I’ll try to update the blog on its field performance, as I’m sure others must have come across the dearth of suitable units out there. 

Sans Rachel!

 The Herald Express have today published the recent interview, it reads OK to me, but inevitably within necessary, editorial constraints,  it is a precis of the discussion that we actually had that day. (Rachel is sulking a bit as she wasn’t in the picture that accompanied it!). We are hoping that we can stay in touch with the paper in the run-up and during the trip to hopefully entertain and inform those interested.

 Anton at OEC has also been banging on the bush-telegraph for us – and we have consequently made contact with Azalai owner and editor of Land Rover World magazine, Simon Ward-Hastelow. Simon can lay claim to fame in that he registered the UK’s first Azalai some three years ago. So he is the ideal man to determine that there might be some synergy in us getting together when he’s next in these ‘ere parts. Hopefully we can again get a few articles to LRW before and during the trip. The magazine certainly is an ideal media for just the sort of thing we’re doing and we hope that we can provide some material that will be of interest to the readers. 

Next weekend will see us camping, a chance to test a new pair of synthetic sleeping bags. These can be zipped together to form a duvet as well as be used in conventional (mummy style) form. We figured they’d be more versatile, packable and serviceable than a quilt in the Azalai. Certainly if you look at some of the night time temperatures at the time we are looking to travel accross some places, they will be a reassuring back-up to the Azalai’s heating and cosy shelter…..   Something that we will probably be proving sooner rather than later, as it is now inevitable that much of our shake-down will be happening in the winter.

Tags: biography, Charity, disability, Equipment, finance, funding, Gear, Info, motivation, O.T., OEC, philosophy, Press, reading, Sponsorship, T4A, www.motivation.org.uk

By alex ali aali@heraldexpress.co.uk

A DISABLED adventurer is aiming to travel 12,000 miles across Africa in a specially adapted Land Rover.

Richard Harris, 43, and his wife, Rachel, 41, are setting off on the epic journey to give hope to others who have suffered life-changing injuries.

On November 30, 1986, Richard broke his neck playing in a friendly rugby game.

Severe spinal injuries have left him reliant on mobility aids.

He had previously played for Torquay Athletic Rugby Football Club 3rd XV, but on the fateful day he was playing in a Sunday friendly for a South Devon Tech side against Torbay Police.

There was no one else involved when he landed on the top of his head and it pushed forward as he fell ‘clumsily’ on the ball.

Since the accident Richard has qualified as an occupational therapist and now works for Torbay Care Trust.

However, he was so naive about neck injuries at the time of his accident that, when a paramedic asked if he was okay, he nodded his head.

“It was the last thing they wanted me to do,” said Richard, sitting on the patio of his Middle Warberry Road home.

He clasps his beard, and adjusts his legs as he sits talking to me in a custom-built all terrain wheelchair that is fitted with large tyres that wouldn’t be amiss on a downhill mountain bike.

His wife Rachel, who also works for the care trust, watches over us as we talk, offering tea and glasses of ice cold water and giving fresh perspectives on the reasons for the trip they hope to start in May 2011.

The trip has already required a £100,000 investment, and a loan has been taken out against their house to finance it — £80,000 has been spent commissioning a special Land Rover conversion.

The ‘Azalai’ camper is custom built in Kingsteignton by locally based OEC Ltd.

The ‘Indlovu Drive’ will ship out to Zululand in May 2011 and Richard and Rachel will be taking a career break for the estimated journey time.

The Land Rover will have a hydraulic back step to help Richard get in and out, hand-controls, and an automatic gear box custom-fitted so he can drive too.

“Because of the innovative Azalai all of the excuses for not doing the trip have gone and the only thing stopping you is you, and you realise that if you don’t do it now the you have been lying to yourself, and either you do it or you don’t,” explains Richard.

They couple already have a distinctive black VW Transporter complete with red A-Team-style stripe which can be spotted around Torquay. But it may need to be sold to help fund the expedition.

He is very frank that advances in ‘personal hygiene’ have also helped allow him to undertake this daunting challenge.

Richards says: “The spinal cord injured person’s world revolves around toileting, it is a protracted process and you need to be able to manage it wherever you are, even if that’s the middle of the Sudan.”

Rachel already knew Richard before his accident. She played hockey and they mixed in the same post-match social circles, 17 years on they are planning their journey through 10 African countries that will see them starting in South Africa at the Hluhluwe Umflozi National Park, north of Durban.

They are aiming to raise £3,000 for Bristol based charity Motivation, who are marking their 20th anniversary with their ‘Wheels Out of Poverty’ campaign.

The couple will also travel through Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

Richard, who has been visiting since 1996, says: “Every time you go back you see changes and improvements but you also see the challenges. You see something that has developed and that adds to the experience of going there. That is just South Africa, and there is a much bigger continent there.”

“Because you are living with the injury, you have to accommodate it and when you are getting rehab, you always have the next little challenge; whether that is being able to sit up, loosen the collar or pick up a cup of tea.

“There is always a reward with each stage, and when you reach the point that it is real, you are back home dealing with it,” says Richard. “Family and those that care for you often don’t have the same, intimate comfort that those trivial personal battles and victories give to one.”

He is full of praise for the rugby ‘fraternity’ that raised funds to help his parents adapt the house and for treating him the same despite his injury.

“It was exceptional because I myself never had to settle for being excluded and I think that is because my friends were and are naturally inclusive,” said Richard.

“We want to prove to everyone that disability should in itself be no reason to not achieve your dreams and ambitions,” says Richard as he talks about the journey that is less than a year away.

For more information on Richard and Rachel’s trip and to donate visit their JustGiving page on www.harris.gb.net.

Tags: biography, Press, Sponsorship

It seems with one thing and another, the theme of the last couple of weeks has been accommodating others – a perk of living in a beautiful part of the world, near the sea. Also, I have had the chance to engage in some frank discussions with my parents about what we need to do/arrange in order to accommodate the trip, the household, and their needs whilst we are away.

Now whereas there is no doubt that the enjoyment of the company of others is truly essential to maintain a happy, fulfilling life, I can’t help but ponder whether this can sometimes occlude attention that should be directed elsewhere….

One of the things that I’m really looking forward to in this trip is spending more time with Rachel. In fact it’s probably more than just time – it’s dedicated, unadulterated, unfettered and unrelenting(!) time together. Too often one might currently find conversations drifting to  mundane, trivial or routine matters, that in turn are reflections of the comfortable shared life that you can easily slip into as a couple. (We are married 17 years this year no less.) Don’t get me wrong, I have no real complaints – but as I’m writing this I’m trying hard not to think of a Spitting Image future as John and Norma Major, “Nice peas dear”, being the pinnacle of mutual interest as we decline into ‘lean and slipper’d pantaloon’ years.

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then, the whining schoolboy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice
In fair round belly, with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side,
His youthful hose well sav’d, a world too wide,
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again towards childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

William (like you didn’t know) Shakespeare

I am pretty confident that our time together will be enhancing and cathartic. Already the mutual challenges and demands of planning the expedition are generating common goals, mutual working and new interest in areas that would otherwise never have been explored in our lifetimes. We are testing both our strengths and our shortcomings and doing so in the context of a confined Land Rover Defender cab and compact, bijou, Azalai accommodation. Inevitably there will be ups and downs – but for sure we will ultimately have more than peas to talk about in our own, developing strange eventful history.

And that alone justifies the ‘why’ in my mind.

Erberspacher heater unit and calorifier (blue) mounted on the azalai chassis

With regards to the build, we visited OEC last week and whereas there is clear (and quality) progress, I think it would be fair to say that we were disappointed by what seems to be a lot left to do at this time. Now this might well be our desperation to get our hands on the vehicle before the autumn. Bearing in mind that we were expecting the build to start Feb 2010, and even accounting for the auto-box transplant difficulties, the malevolent winter weather, the delayed delivery of the pods from France along with a pinch of salt leeway – it does seem a little bit too far behind to not be, justifiably, a teeny bit ticked-off. We may yet be surprised, as I’m sure the final ‘put-together’ will be relatively quick – but to our untrained eye we are estimating late September (a shame as our last planned summer trip is mid-Sept!)

That said, I think a lot is to do with some welcome, good, old fashioned engineer pride at OEC, in as much as each build stakes their reputation. For example the newly designed main water tank has just been deemed borderline fit for purpose as far as build quality goes; and so OEC have sourced a new supplier to build one that is more robust. There have been countless improvements like this along the way, and it definitely means that by not rushing, we will have a better, even more resilient product in the end. Paul is also going to fabricate the tail-lift himself (in the interests of fairness and given he wasn’t there when we visited – I think Martin will be involved too). He plans to build a wooden prototype once the pod has been finally mounted. This will allow him to check all of the angles before fabricating the actual lift itself. As he described it,  it sounds exactly like we’d envisaged. What I can’t gauge yet is the time that this might add to our already overextended build project. Still, as the saying goes, ‘worry about what you can influence – and leave engineers to do what they do best’

Stuff that’s been done:

• Colorifier and Eberspacher mounted with much plumbing for the same
• More Electrics gone in
• Final cuts and finishing panels done for Azalai (fitting these takes a lot of the remaining time – as Paul says, “well you could rush it, it would just look awful though, so you want to do it properly.” We’d agree.)
• Cut-through completed on back of cab

Obvious to-do’s

• Fit new, re-spec’d water tank
• Fit waste tank
• Fit auxiliary fuel tank
• Finish suspension mods
• Finish plumbing and wiring/electrics
• Solar Panel
• Fit cubby box when powder coated
• Mount Azalai
• Apply trimmings (roof and windows) and finishing panels
• Refit hand-controls
• Design, fabricate and fit lift

So are we happy – yes, but we do think it’s only fair to pressure OEC to pull out all he stops that they reasonably can now. We did accede to a request from them to pay a deposit late last year to secure a Feb/March build slot – and a three to four month lead time…..     But equally, I really don’t want them to think we are wanting them to compromise on their inherent high standards. Maybe I need to add patience to the list of personal virtues bestowed by engaging in this project (I’m sure Rachel would be grateful for that too!)

Tags: adaptation, Ashcroft, Azalai, biography, Build, disability, Equipment, Ethics, motivation, O.T., OEC, philosophy, Specification, Transmission, Vehicle, wheelchair

Thanks to……

HI. WE’RE PEDRO AND VERA AND WE’RE LAND ROVER ADDICTS…

World of Land Rover is a our personal little blog where we bring you news, articles, photos and videos of interest of Land Rover fans like us. But we don’t want to be the only ones writing here. You too canwrite a post about Land Rovers, your Land Rover club, mechanics or whatever you want, or just comment the posts. You can also just send us a message..

Check out this link: World of Land Rover.

Indlovu Drive 2011 Trans-Africa Expedition

Article by World of Land Rover, words and photos from harris.gb.net

DISABLED VENTURER, RICHARD HARRIS, HAS USED A WHEELCHAIR AND ELBOW CRUTCHES TO GET AROUND FOLLOWING A RUGBY ACCIDENT IN 1986. TOGETHER WITH HIS WIFE RACHEL, HE IS PLANNING TO UNDERTAKE A MAMMOTH OVERLAND DRIVE, FROM ZULULAND IN SOUTH AFRICA, ALL THE WAY BACK TO BRITAIN.

This is the kind of article I really enjoy. When you see on TV our on a magazine an article about someone that’s going to do something great for charity it almost feel like they live in another World, without the hardships and worries of “normal people”. Of course they have to find money for the trip as well as raising the funds for the charities they chose to support, but it almost seams effortless…

I read on in their blog, where Richard writes about their plans and the Defender preparation but also about bank loans and how they are going to pay for it all. These are normal people, like you and me, with jobs and mortgages and bills like the ones we pay. The difference is we’re sitting down reading about it on our computers but they are actually doing something worth mentioning.

What’s the story?

Richard has been living with the effects of a spinal cord injury since, as a rather clumsy 19 year-old rugby player; he single-handedly managed to break his neck. Since then he has trained and practised as an Occupational Therapist and through his love of rugby, wildlife and photography, has been drawn to visit South Africa many times. Luckily these are passions that Rachel shares too. The couple have self-driven many miles of photographic safari in that beautiful country, but are now desperate to explore more of the continent.

Richard explains, “We first visited South Africa in ’96 on a rugby tour. It was supposed to be ‘the’ trip of a lifetime – but we found, as have many others, that Africa grabs you – it gets under your skin – and so we have been back many times since. The challenges that people face given the fates of history and politics are incredible and inspiring. Every time we go back it’s different. You cannot fail to be moved by peoples’ spirit and resilience.”

Richard, Rachel and the Azalai Defender

So why the long trek?

“On our second visit, I distinctly remember seeing a French badged Land Rover Discovery in Hluhluwe game reserve. I thought ‘Wow, it’s possible to drive here from Europe!’ – Now that really is special. We looked into it but at the time there wasn’t a vehicle that could do the trip and let me stay independent in my self-care regimen. Things have moved on, and with buying and adapting the Azalai, we are now in touching distance of realising a very special ambition.

Both cite the personal development that comes from taking on such a venture. “It’s like doing another degree” Richard says, “The planning, research and reading is eating up the hours. It’s great fun though and it’s already a fulfilling experience before we’ve even driven a mile.” Rachel has her work cut out too, “I have somelessons in vehicle mechanics and maintenance booked, it’s essential that we can at least service the Land Rover as we go. This is certainly a new area for me but I am relishing the challenge and the experience.”

“The other children include me now. I can easily visit my friends and get to school. My wheelchair can cope with the rough ground here. It's good to have a chair that fits me, an adult's wheelchair would be too difficult to push.”

Land mines are a constant threat to children

Motivation – The charity
The Harris’ are proudly supporting the Bristol based charity ‘Motivation’. Their aim is to raise the profile of disabled people throughout the world and they have several projects in the countries to be traversed. Motivation’s work is categorised by three key issues: mobility, empowerment and inclusion. Their activities include the design and provision of low-cost appropriate wheelchairs, vocational training programmes to help disabled people access and lobby for their rights in society, and they work with other organisations to include disabled people into their work and programmes. By focusing in these areas they aim to positively impact on the physical, social and economic situation of people with mobility disabilities.

There is a clear synergy given Richard’s history and his career in Occupational Therapy. “I am really thrilled that Motivation are letting us support them and their work. Most people will be shocked to know that the U.N. Statistical Office estimates there are 20 million people in the world who need a wheelchair but don’t have one – so anything to help is welcome.”

 

The Azalai Camper – Land Rover 130 Conversion

The Azalai promises accessible living and sleeping space, masses of equipment storage, catering facilities suitable for long hauls and crucially, to meet Richard’s care needs, even an onboard toilet & shower. This is a truly special vehicle that makes the adventure a reality for Richard and Rachel. All they need now is just a little help and support, some more hard work and the best of luck ….

A ‘grafted living pod’ fitted by OEC Ltd, utilizes the very latest, lightweight but strong, insulating, vacuum moulded composite materials. Extra fuel and water tanks are under the floor, storage is all below window height. This preserves stability and agility. “We’ve invested more than our life savings to cover the £70k gross cost” confesses Richard, “But there really is no other vehicle as suitable or as adaptable for this trip.” (Because of his disability Richard had to spend an extra £10k fitting an Ashcroft automatic gearbox, hand-controls, and a lift to access the pod.) But what about eight months sharing a 2.5×1.8m living space come rain or shine? Over to Rachel, “Based upon our photo-safari experience to date, it turns out we do remain compatible.” A good job too!

Know more about the Richard and Rachel’s adventure, the Azalai camper and Motivation’s work and how you can help.

Tags: adaptation, Africa, Azalai, biography, Build, Charity, disability, Ethics, finance, funding, money, motivation, Overland, philosophy, Press, Resources, Sponsorship, wheelchair, www.motivation.org.uk

Rachel and Richard contrive a pose with the Pod, note the lack of windows!

This week’s visit to OEC was definitely a benchmark of sorts – 30th July 2010 was the first day that the Azalai pod was mated with the base vehicle. Certainly this was good to see, as it must mean we are getting near that elusive and tantalising completion date – but tempered in that the next step is to take it off again! The pod is offered up to mark the remaining cuts that need to be made e.g. through to the cab, the second fuel filler etc. The lifting jig utilises the window and roof openings – so the windows have been removed until the pod finds its permanent home on the chassis. The water tank had also been removed for this exercise (to avoid damage and promote access to help with the marking-up). There is minimal finishing trim in place (obviously) and so it certainly could be said that ‘Paula’ looked a little bit rough around the edges. However, once these final cuts are done, it clearly can’t be too much more time and work to add or reapply the few remaining disenfranchised parts.

Poly-bag in place, rear suspension

This would then allow efforts to switch to designing, sourcing and fitting the tail-lift. The uprated suspension is going in, with the rear offside at least sporting the uprated shock, spring and poly-air bag – but the other wheels’ adornments are work in progress, as is the air system for the bags – again though, these can’t be too far off completion.

The rear end - quite a drop for the tbd lift to cover, especially on raised suspension

In the cab the Exmoor Elites are in, and the post testing consensus is very comfy indeed. The extended runners demonstrably give much more leg room, which will help with the  final set-up of the hand-controls. We agreed that a smaller steering wheel will help here too and we will be fitting one from  QT in black.

The naked cubby box was in for our approval, and although unorthodox, it will be substantial, practical and in keeping with the decor when powder coated and upholstered.

Sharon, Penny and Rachel - the Tombola Queens!

The weekend of firsts continued on Saturday, as we had our first fundraising and awareness event courtesy of the absolutely rammed Marldon Apple Pie Fair. We had a tombola stand and it was a great platform to raise awareness of the trip and Motivation. As a consequence we have now managed to breach the £400 mark, raised to date for Motivation. A special mention to Sharon Rylance and Penny Jones for helping out all day – as well as Rachel. Thanks must also go to Mandy Lewis (the Avon Queen), Jane Nicholls, Dee Burton, Tricia Smith, Dan Tisdall and Shaz for donating many of the fabulous prizes. I’m not really sure I’m cut out for the circus life, whereas I’m comfortable talking to people in depth about the project and answering their questions (in fact I quite enjoy it) – I’m not so good at collecting their donations. I’ve been musing about this since. I wonder (albeit at a psycho-dynamic level) if it’s a reaction to having to re-establish my independence post accident, and now finding myself (well ourselves strictly speaking) asking others for help. It may just be another skill to (re)learn as part of the project. Certainly people were on the whole genuinely interested and happy to contribute. (The trekinetic wheelchair generating a fair bit of interest too.) As the seasoned tombola experts say, “Every One’s a Winner!”

Anyway, we have the next one in our sights, a Fish Cookery Demonstration and Lunch at the Bickley Mill with Nigel Ward. Tickets will be just £22.50 and the date is Wednesday 24th November lunchtime (12:30 start). Please do contact us for more details. We’d love to see you there and think it will be great fun.

Nigel was one of the founders of Channel Fisheries 1981. Based in Brixham the company grew its reputation by sourcing the majority of their fresh fish from the early morning market on the quayside. Most of the produce is purchased from small inshore day fishing boats affording absolute control over quality and traceablity. Channel Fisheries committment to sourcing and delivering the finest quality fresh fish culminated in association with the Royal Household and a reputation as one of Britains leading suppliers of fresh fish and seafood. So this really will be a special and unique event. Nigel is a very entertaining speaker and is an expert in the field.

Rachel looks like I felt!

So whereas things do seem to be progressing in the right direction, the nagging doubt about how much more there is to do (build/train/save/fundraise) before May 2011 inevitably remains. We continue to miss proving and training events through what’s left of the summer, and the time and availability to do this in the winter/spring recedes proportionately. We must be at least a month away from completion – with the lift remaining an unknown, although Paul at OEC feels this can now be progressed with some gusto. Fingers crossed, as only after spending some shake-down time with the vehicle can we really reach a decision about committing to 2011 or deferring to 2012. At the moment it must be 55:45.

Tags: adaptation, Azalai, biography, Build, Charity, Equipment, Gear, money, motivation, OEC, Specification, Vehicle, wheelchair, www.motivation.org.uk